_{Castle Rock is one of the photos featured in an article in the Yosemite National Park Journal. | Photo courtesy of Visit Del Norte}

Though it wasn’t an item they were asked to approve, Crescent City councilors learned that $3,700 in money set aside to market the community paid for an ad in a magazine with a 550,000 annual print circulation.

The half-page ad and an article featuring photos of Castle Rock, the redwoods and Battery Point Lighthouse will appear in the Yosemite National Park Journal, City Manager Eric Wier told councilors on Monday.

Published by Outside Interactive Inc., the magazine aims to help readers plan a road trip to Yosemite National Park and other communities in the region, including the California coast.

Wier said Lynnette Braillard, founder and creative director of Oregon-based LuLish Design, made him aware of the opportunity to advertise in the Yosemite National Park Journal, but there wasn’t enough time to bring it back to the Council.

“It was one of those opportunities where we had the money set aside for just something like this,” Wier said, noting that the City Council had set aside a total of $30,000 for the Del Norte County Visitors Bureau to market the region.

According to Wier, Yosemite National Park Journal has an annual print circulation of 550,000, 4.5 million annual website users and 7.9 million annual digital page views. Most of its readers, about 90 percent, live in the United States.

On Tuesday, Cindy Vosburg, executive director for the Crescent City-Del Norte County Chamber of Commerce, told new members of the Harbor District Board that she took the call from the representative from Yosemite National Park Journal about two weeks ago.

The $3,700 that Wier spoke of paid for a half page ad, Vosburg said.

“The same people that go to Yosemite will come to Redwood National Park,” Vosburg said. “It’s targeting those types of people. And we ended up with a four-page spread. We bought a half-page ad and the rest is earned media. This is all editorial content they came out [with]. We provided the photos … this was just published just this month.”

On Monday, Crescent City Mayor Blake Inscore called the magazine impressive, noting that while it’s for people planning a trip to Yosemite, it highlights other destinations. He also pointed out that people are often planning future trips while they’re vacationing, which is why it makes sense to advertise Del Norte County in a magazine geared toward Yosemite.

“This is going to pay dividends that is not always easy to track,” Inscore said. “But I can guarantee you, the $3,700 investment here will be paid back 10-, 15-, 20-times that in TOT and sales tax revenue just because of having this ad here.”

Inscore, who, along with appointed councilor Kelly Schellong-Feola, sat through his final full City Council meeting before new members take their seats, said that Crescent City is setting records in its TOT revenue because it continued to market the community even through the COVID-19 pandemic.

Crescent City hired Braillard in 2022 to market its RV park, swimming pool and Beachfront Park.

Braillard has been working with the Crescent City-Del Norte County Chamber of Commerce and Visitors Bureau since 2019.

Building Codes: Three members of the Crescent City Council adopted the California Building Standards Codes — an action the city had not formally taken since 2007, according to City Attorney Martha Rice.

The ordinance the Council approved applies to appendices in the California Building Code dealing with flood-resistant construction, patio covers and emergency housing. It also applies to the California Residential Code and its appendices, which also governs patio covers, emergency housing as well as tiny houses, swimming pools, existing buildings, automatic vehicular gates and 3D printed building construction.

The Building Standards Codes also applies to the California Electrical Code, the California Mechanical Code, the California Plumbing Code, the California Energy Code, the California Fire Code, the California Existing Building Code and California Green Building Standards Code.

According to Rice, formally adopting the code allows the city to make changes and have stronger means of enforcing the building code.

Backflow devices: City Councilors also updated an ordinance governing back-flow prevention devices, which prevent contamination of the city’s water supply. According to Rice, these devices are installed between the city’s water service meter and the customer’s building. The ordinance, which applies to a section of the Municipal Code last updated in 1988, allows the city to discontinue water service to a customer that refuses or fails to comply with those cross connection control regulations. It includes an update on the types of backflow prevention devices that can be installed, Rice said, and includes annual inspection requirements and enforcement remedies at the city’s disposal.

“Basically if you refuse or fail to test and maintain your back-flow prevention devices, after many warnings and letters, then the city may do so for you and put that cost on your bill,” Rice told councilors.

Municipal Code cleanup: Finally, councilors approved a clean-up ordinance, removing duplicated language in the municipal code governing storm water quality management. According to Rice, the city had adopted Municipal Code Chapter 12.36, termed “water quality management” in 2003. In 2011, at the recommendation of the California Coastal Commission, the city moved that language to the zoning code as part of an update to its local coastal plan. However, the initial chapter, Chapter 12.36, was not repealed. According to Rice, they occur in two places.