Oppose with extreme prejudice the Board's move to "ratify" their July 31, 2024 Letter of Support for SB620 (Low Impact Camping).
This support letter completely ignores overwhelming public opposition (over 60 written comments) to the Planning Commission at their August meeting. Ignoring constituents as well as the County Planning Commission who outline unaddressed, myriad common sense issues of public safety as well as private road restrictions. This back door "ratification" is reminiscent of the CEO and Supes eviction of the Veteran Service Office on Observatory.in Ukiah. Does the County really need now to devote staff time, money and months of battle over legitimate concerns merely to placate and please a State legislator?
KZYX has done reporting on the hipcamp proposal after hearing from numerous residents that the existing hipcamps were a source of nuisance activity and required a disproportionate response from volunteer fire departments. After identifying the existence of 70 hipcamps, KZYX fact checked our results with the Hipcamp company, who said there were a total of 80 Mendocino hipcamps on their platform. The income that would have been provided the county from these camps if ToT taxes were paid is $60,000 compared to $12.7 billion in travel-generated state and local taxes paid in Mendocino in 2023. There was a very high rate of turnover among the hipcamps, indicating that many of the people who have tried offering a hipcamp as a supplemental form of income have decided not to continue. Hipcamps are typically located on private roads, and the income from the camp is not enough to cover the wear and tear on the road caused by heavy RVs and trailers.
I have stayed in hipcamps while exploring California with my husband and dog my position is neutral.
Oppose with extreme prejudice the Board's move to "ratify" their July 31, 2024 Letter of Support for SB620 (Low Impact Camping).
This support letter completely ignores overwhelming public opposition (over 60 written comments) to the Planning Commission at their August meeting. Ignoring constituents as well as the County Planning Commission who outline unaddressed, myriad common sense issues of public safety as well as private road restrictions. This back door "ratification" is reminiscent of the CEO and Supes eviction of the Veteran Service Office on Observatory.in Ukiah. Does the County really need now to devote staff time, money and months of battle over legitimate concerns merely to placate and please a State legislator?
KZYX has done reporting on the hipcamp proposal after hearing from numerous residents that the existing hipcamps were a source of nuisance activity and required a disproportionate response from volunteer fire departments. After identifying the existence of 70 hipcamps, KZYX fact checked our results with the Hipcamp company, who said there were a total of 80 Mendocino hipcamps on their platform. The income that would have been provided the county from these camps if ToT taxes were paid is $60,000 compared to $12.7 billion in travel-generated state and local taxes paid in Mendocino in 2023. There was a very high rate of turnover among the hipcamps, indicating that many of the people who have tried offering a hipcamp as a supplemental form of income have decided not to continue. Hipcamps are typically located on private roads, and the income from the camp is not enough to cover the wear and tear on the road caused by heavy RVs and trailers.
I have stayed in hipcamps while exploring California with my husband and dog my position is neutral.
https://www.kzyx.org/2024-08-21/mendocino-planning-commission-recommends-against-legalizing-small-commercial-campgrounds