To: Planning Commission
From: Planning and Building Department
Agenda Section: Workshop
SUBJECT:
title
A Public Workshop on the Draft Inland Low-Impact Camping Area Ordinance to allow small-scale low-impact camping on private rural lands. The ordinance has been written to be in line with minimum requirements of Assembly Bill 518.
Assessor Parcel Numbers: (APN) 000-000-000
Record No.: LRP-2025-19172
Unincorporated areas of Humboldt County.
end
RECOMMENDATION(S):
Recommendation
That the Planning Commission:
1. Request that staff present the staff report;
2. Receive public comment;
3. Deliberate and comment on the Draft Inland Low-Impact Camping Area Ordinance; and
4. Provide guidance to Planning & Building Staff on any desired amendments to the Draft Inland Low-Impact Camping Area Ordinance prior to a public hearing.
Body
DISCUSSION:
Executive Summary:
Assembly Bill 518 was passed in October of 2025, which allows counties to permit small-scale low-impact camping areas on private rural lands without requiring a costly state permit for a Special Occupancy Park. The Low-Impact Camping Area (LICA) Ordinance has been drafted to meet the minimum requirements of AB 518 and address concerns that are specific to Humboldt County. The inland LICA ordinance (Attachment 1) is being presented for this workshop, and a coastal LICA ordinance will be presented when this reaches the public hearing stage. The Commission is being asked to consider comments from the public and provide Staff guidance on any desired amendments to the draft inland ordinance.
Background:
Assembly Bill 518
The purpose of AB 518 and the LICA ordinance is to increase affordable camping options in the County, reduce pressure on crowded campgrounds, and strengthen California’s outdoor recreation economy while providing potential income for property owners located in rural areas. Policy CO-P10 of the Conservation and Open Space Element in the Humboldt County General Plan encourages private outdoor recreation and management of compatible outdoor recreational services and facilities as a means to generate economic returns for the landowner from conservation and open space lands where such recreational uses do not significantly detract from the agricultural capability or timber productivity of lands planned and zoned for agriculture or timber.
Issuance of local permits consistent with AB 518 allows operation of low impact camping facilities without the requirement to obtain state permits for a Special Occupancy Park. The draft LICA ordinance presented for this workshop has been drafted to achieve this requirement. The Bill Text for AB 518 is included in Attachment 2, and a full list of the minimum requirements is included in the Informational Bulletin from the Department of Housing and Community Development in Attachment 3. Minimum requirements of AB 518 include, but are not limited to the following:
• Density limit of up to 9 accommodations for the rental of transient occupancy
• Parcel size minimum of 2-acres or more
• Accommodation setbacks must be at least 200 feet from neighboring residences and 30 feet from the property line
• A property manager must be available by phone 24 hours a day seven days a week during active booking periods
• Must meet local and state requirements for fire safety, solid and human waste, and other zoning and permitting requirements that protect the public health, safety and welfare
• Not allowed on a site that is not a legal parcel, within an urban area as designated by the US Census Bureau, or on a site that 75% of the perimeter of the parcel adjoins parcels that are developed with urban uses. Urban uses is defined as “any residential, commercial, public institution, transit or transportation passenger facility, or retail use, or any combination of those uses” under Section 21072 of the California Environmental Quality Act.
Prior Public Drafts of the LICA Ordinance
The initial draft of the LICA ordinance focused on meeting the minimum requirements of AB 518 while protecting the environment as well as the public health, safety and welfare. The draft was sent for referral to the appropriate agencies in mid-June of 2026. Comments on the inland draft were received by the Building Division, Department of Environmental Health, California Department of Fish & Wildlife, Farm Bureau, Garberville Fire Protection District, and Cal Fire. Agency comments received on the inland draft LICA ordinance were considered and incorporated into the public draft of the ordinance, which was published on the County’s website on July 8, 2026, at www.humboldtgov.org/LICA <http://www.humboldtgov.org/LICA>.
Initial Public Workshop July 15, 2026
Known interested parties were made aware of the updated public draft inland ordinance, and an initial public workshop was scheduled and held virtually on Zoom, on Wednesday, July 15, 2026, to receive comments and concerns. Verbal and written comments were received. A major theme of these comments was the draft was overly regulatory and made hosting a LICA site infeasible. There were many very good comments that provided ways of addressing concerns and these resulted in modifications to the draft presented for this workshop (Attachment 1).
Public Comments on the Public Draft Inland LICA Ordinance
Comments received on provisions of the public draft inland ordinance that could not be modified due to the minimum requirements of AB 518 or standard building code requirements included the following concerns:
1. Limitation of stays for 14 consecutive nights and 28 calendar days out of the year.
2. The 2-acre minimum parcel size requirement.
3. The minimum setback requirements of 200 feet from neighboring residences and 30 feet from property line.
4. Building permit requirement for permanent and temporary structures, including decks, foundations, utility connections, or other structural improvements.
5. The limitation of LICA sites not eligible on R-1 (Residential Single-Family) zones. While Staff investigated the flexibility of allowing LICA sites on parcels that are zoned R-1, this is not possible due to the definition of “urban uses” as stated above.
Comments repeatedly provided on the public draft inland ordinance included concerns about the following provisions:
1. The requirement for the property owner to live on-site.
2. The requirement for property manager(s) to be owner’s that live on-site and to be available on-site 24 hours a day seven days a week when campers are present.
3. The requirement for clustering accommodations near the residence and the need for a biological assessment and a Special Permit when campsites are located outside of the 2-acre building envelope of the residence.
4. The requirement for host provided water source that meets the California Drinking Water Act.
5. The temporary allowance of portable toilets used for on-site sanitation facility requirement (up to 180 days out of the year).
6. The setback requirement for campsites to be located outside of a streamside management area.
7. The prohibition of generator’s use.
8. The requirement for the access road to meet a Roadway Category 4 and for the operator to have an established Road Maintenance Association for sites located on a Shared Use Private Road System.
9. Concerns about the fire safety standards specific to specifications for firepits and the requirement to have a minimum of 2,500 gallons of designated fire suppression water on-site.
Updates to the Draft Inland LICA Ordinance
The following updates were made to the draft inland ordinance in response to the comments received above:
1. The requirement for property owners to live on-site has been updated to require property owners to reside within the boundaries of Humboldt County and the requirement to have an existing residence on-site has been removed. (Section 54.2.4.3 of Attachment 1)
2. The requirement for property manager(s) to be owner’s that live on-site and to be available on-site 24 hours a day seven days a week when campers are present has been updated to require designated property manager(s) to be available either on-site or by phone 24 hours a day seven days a week when campers are present. To ensure campers have available services to access a property manager, the operator shall verify that cell services are available when property managers do not live on-site. (Section 54.2.5.1 of Attachment 1)
3. The requirement for low-impact campsites to be clustered within the 2-acre building envelope of an existing residence has been removed and replaced with the siting requirement for low-impact campsites to be within a pre-disturbed area that was in existence prior to January 1, 2026. For campsites proposed outside of a pre-disturbed area a biological assessment and a Special Permit are required to determine if rare or endangered species are present and apply necessary mitigation measures. (Section 54.2.5.27 of Attachment 1)
4. The requirement to provide potable water on-site by the host is not a local or state requirement. We have modified the language for this provision to say if the host provides potable water that it shall meet the requirements of the California Drinking Water Act. (Section 54.2.5.27 of Attachment 1)
5. The Planning Division is in discussion with the Division of Environmental Health (DEH) regarding a potential amendment to Humboldt County Code Section 613-4 (b) Prohibition of Holding Tanks; Portable Toilets; Vault Toilet, to allow the use of portable toilets year-round for permitted LICAs. (Section 54.2.5.25 of Attachment 1)
6. The requirement for low-impact campsites to be located outside of streamside management areas has been removed and only permanent structures and vegetation removal are prohibited within streamside management areas. This allows a campsite in a pre-disturbed area or in a grassy area. (Section 54.2.5.27 of Attachment 1)
7. The prohibition on generators has not been removed due to fire hazards, noise impacts, and the fact that these sites are intended to be low impact. (Section 54.2.5.7 of Attachment 1)
8. The requirement for sites to be on a Roadway Category 4 has been reduced to only require access roads to be the equivalent of a Roadway Category 3 and for driveways to meet the Minimum Fire Safe Regulations for ingress and egress. The requirement for sites off a Shared Use Private Road System to have an established Road Maintenance Association has been removed and updated to only require evidence of the continued maintenance of the shared road. (Section 54.2.5.22 of Attachment 1)
9. The specifications for firepits have been updated to be more general and the requirement for 2,500 gallons of designated fire suppression water has been reduced to 500 gallons and is only required when campfires are allowed, and/or permanent structures associated with the LICA are on-site. (Section 54.2.5.28 of Attachment 1)
Conclusion:
The comments received on the July 8 public draft inland LICA ordinance and resulted in a greatly improved draft ordinance. The Planning Commission is being asked to receive additional comments on the updated draft and provide Staff guidance on any desired amendments to the draft inland ordinance.
OTHER AGENCY INVOLVEMENT:
The project was referred to the following responsible agencies: Building Division, Department of Environmental Health, California Department of Fish & Wildlife, Farm Bureau, Garberville Fire Protection District, and Cal Fire. All responding agencies have either responded with no comment or modifications to the ordinance. All requested modifications have been made, and agencies are in support of the proposed draft inland LICA ordinance as written.
ATTACHMENTS:
1. Draft Inland LICA Ordinance
2. AB 518 Bill Text
3. HCD Informational Bulletin
Please contact Megan Acevedo, Associate Planner, at macevedo@co.humboldt.ca.us or 707-441-2634 if you have questions about this item.