_{Thumbnail: Del Norte County supervisors Valerie Starkey and Dean Wilson join the former Crescent City Council at a groundbreaking ceremony of the new Battery Point Apartments in September 2024. | Photo by Jessica Cejnar Andrews}

Among the items discussed at Monday’s Crescent City Council meeting:

Opposition to Housing Bill: Though nearly 300 new housing units are being constructed in Crescent City, the City Council opposed a bill the League of California Cities says streamlines development at the expense of local environmental and public review.

Assembly Bill 647 would allow for up to eight housing units — only one of which would be set aside for affordable housing — on lots housing single-family homes, City Manager Eric Wier said, citing the nonprofit organization that advocates for local municipalities.

Introduced by Los Angeles-area assemblyman Mark Gonzalez in February, the legislation would supersede “a lot of our planning ordinances,” Wier said, and would allow those housing units to be developed without review by the Planning Commission or the City Council.

“It’s designed to streamline housing to the point that it takes away a lot of local approvals and local zoning [authority],” Wier said.

A proposed letter opposing AB 647 was added to the City Council’s agenda as an urgency item on Monday. According to Wier, the League of California Cities is asking local municipalities to weigh in on the legislation by Thursday.

In their opposition letter, the City Council noted that AB 647 would also require local jurisdictions to allow up to eight accessory dwelling units, also known as mother-in-law apartments or granny flats, on the same lot, “bringing the total allowable [number of] units to 16, while simultaneously ignoring existing height limits, density requirements and parking standards.”

“AB 467 and other ministerial or by-right housing approval processes fail to recognize the extensive public engagement and costs associated with developing and adopting zoning ordinances and state-mandated housing elements that are certified by the California Department of Housing and Community Development,” the city’s letter states. “It is concerning that cities are being forced to spend tens of thousands of dollars on housing plans only to have them pushed aside and replaced with one-size-fits-all zoning dictated by the Legislature.”

Crescent City Councilor Candace Tinkler said when she heard about the legislation she wanted to see what the motivation was behind it. She said she was concerned about how AB 647 would impact the local aesthetics, adding that after living in communities with a high density, it didn’t appear there was much thought given to the “style of growth” in those communities.

“We all know we have a housing crisis in California and I am empathetic to those who need housing. However, I don’t personally believe that that is what [AB 647] is addressing,” Tinkler told her colleagues. “Having lived in Southern Florida and … you can’t actually see that coast as you’re driving along because it’s so densely built up. I would hate to see that in our beautiful area where I think our biggest asset is the ability to see the coast.”

Tinkler praised the strides the Crescent City Planning Commission, staff and previous City Council have made to further affordable housing and said “we can do it in a way we all feel is appropriate for this community.”

Tinkler’s colleagues Jason Greenough and Daran Dooley also weighed in on the proposed legislation, stating that AB 647 takes “our local zoning and permitting out of our hands.”

CCPD Welcomes New Officer: Garrett Shannon, a 10-year veteran with the Curry County Sheriff’s Office, received his badge as Crescent City Police Department’s newest officer on Wednesday.

Shannon was a detective with the Curry County Sheriff’s Office and was cross-deputized with the Del Norte County Sheriff’s Office on some interstate cases both agencies were investigating, CCPD Chief Richard Griffin told councilors. He’s worked on internet crimes against children cases as well as other cyber crimes.

Griffin said he met Shannon in 2016 as a representative of the Del Norte County Sheriff’s Office attending a funeral for a fallen officer in Seaside, Oregon. While he and his family were traveling through Gold Beach, he saw an officer fighting with someone outside of a bar.

“I got out and helped the officer that was fighting and I said, if you need anything else my name is Sgt. Richard Griffin, I’m going to go back to my family now that you’re OK — that was then-Officer Garrett Shannon,” Griffin said. “I didn’t know who he was. I don’t even think I got your name that night. And he didn’t know who I was. It’s weird how full circle sometimes things go.”

Shannon is a combat veteran with the U.S. Marine Corps and has received a lot of accolades with the Curry County Sheriff’s Office. Griffin also read out a letter of recommendation from Colin Benson, Oregon’s senior assistant attorney general, who praised the work Shannon did helping him investigate a trojan horse cyberattack on a computer network.

“As you know modern search and seizure law, interview techniques and investigation strategy is more challenging today than ever before,” Benson wrote. “Frequently the factor that determines whether a case will be considered for prosecution is not an officer’s talent as an investigator, but his or her ability to communicate with the prosecution team. Mr. Shannon demonstrated exceptional skills on the investigation and was able to help me understand the case sufficiently to have meaningful discussions with my colleagues.”

Benson, who was a prosecuting attorney for 23 years, said he appreciated Shannon’s enthusiasm and dogged work ethic.

Yurok Tribe Donates K9 Cage to CCPD: Crescent City Councilors accepted the Yurok Tribal Police Department’s donation of a K9 cage.

Griffin said there’s no reason for CCPD not to take the cage since it could be used for parts or to replace a whole cage. The police department currently has four vehicles equipped for K9 units and has two working dogs on patrol.

The cost for purchasing a new cage is between $3,000 and $4,000 while used cages typically go for $1,500 to $2,000, Griffin said. The Yurok Tribal Police Department is currently decommissioning one of their vehicles and had asked the Crescent City chief if his department could use it.