Five Story Hyatt Hotel in Trinidad Could Cause Problems So Come to Public Meeting, Urges Humboldt Alliance for Responsible Planning
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The Trinidad City Council has scheduled a public meeting to facilitate community discussion on the progress of the hotel. The meeting is Tuesday, March 17, at 6 p.m. at Trinidad Town Hall. The public is urged to attend. Spread the word!Trinidad [Photo from the HARP Facebook page]
Last week, the Bureau of Indian Affairs (BIA), which oversees the project, released a 900-page “Finding of No Significant Impact” (FONSI), which gives the developers a green light to proceed. The link to the full FONSI is here.
Rancheria executive director Jacque Hostler told the North Coast Journal on Tuesday that construction will start before June, and occupancy of the new 100-room, 5-story Hyatt is planned for summer 2021.
The hotel project prompted the City of Trinidad to undertake an extensive nine-month review of its water system capacities and future needs; the Planning Commission has sent its drafts of new policies to the City Council for review and implementation. The city engineer and planning commissioners have said that the Trinidad water plant’s current capacity is fully allocated to anticipated residential development along existing water lines.
The BIA’s report accepts claims that two wells the Rancheria is developing on its property will be able to handle the anticipated hotel demand (peak = 14,000 gallons/day), although there has been no independent inspection of the wells’ capacity and water quality as far as anyone knows. The two wells are described in Appendix H of the FONSI report (page 788). See a map on page 796 (image above) that shows the location of the wells, #1 in the northwest of the rancheria property, and #2 right on the shoreline in the southwest quadrant of the property, downhill from Scenic Drive (and, apparently, below the Rancheria’s leach fields).
Hostler told the Journal that the Rancheria hopes the wells will supply all the hotel’s needs; if not, she said, she hopes the city of Trinidad will make up the difference, or they will truck water in along Scenic Drive.
Part of the reason for Tuesday’s public forum is to engage the community in a conversation about the impacts of the hotel’s construction and operation on the Trinidad area, and represents an opportunity to hear the City Council members’ perspectives on the project, and what might be done to mitigate its impacts for residents.
Because although the BIA has found that there will be “no significant impact” from this development — and the major highway interchange from 101 planned to serve the Rancheria hotel and casino — no one who lives here believes that.
Please come Tuesday to share your perspectives and join your neighbors in looking ahead for solutions.
Ted PeaseHARP — Humboldt Alliance for Responsible Planning
![Trinidad [Photo from the HARP Facebook page]](https://kymkemp.com/wp-content/uploads/2020/03/41603607_10215339418095229_2309155004524527616_o-300x199.jpg)
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Oh Pease! Ha ha! White privilege much?
Drill the wells, and test the water flow BEFORE moving on with this unwanted project in Trinidad. I for one, don’t want the hotel period. May the great well God make all drill holes dry as a bone!
I think the water supply argument is a red herring, or a distraction, or some other term that I can’t think of right now, that means something people are focusing on because they can, not because it’s relevant or an actual issue.
The real problem is it’s a fucking ugly abomination that we’ll all have to look at, while bringing in crime, impaired drivers, tourists with no respect for the local environment, and generally being harmful to every one and every thing, all so a few people can make a buck.
And yet the Chamber of Commerce ia constanting bantering about bringing tourists to Humboldt County. Appears the only thing they are interested in is $$$$. They don’t care who trashes the area’s forests or beaches just as long as they get “their” money. Sadly it is all retail to them. Motels, restaurants and high priced shops selling dumb things made in China. If they get their way Humboldt County will be like Branson, Missouri. A natural area wrecked by greedy business people only promoting a once beautiful area for monetary gains. Welcome to the Trump World of making America great again. Yeah, great for greedy business people.
hahaha yeah Trumps fault for the sovereign nations of rancherias
Isn’t it funny how they’re okay with a huge ugly hotel in a historically significant area, but some wind turbines that would help the community, oh god the horror make it stop! Bunch of hypocrites they are!
Accurate you are
I’m sure their ancestors love the idea.
the turbine thing cracked me up for all the sanctimonious protests about sacred land and such. First of all, they Wiyots don’t have access to that ridge to hold ceremonies now, maybe in the past, but not now. Second, as sea levels rise, their island in the middle of Humboldt Bay, the center of the universe, will cease to exist, it will be underwater,
Truck the water in along Scenic Drive?! Are you f-ing kidding me? Has no one on the board ever seen a water truck and the impact it has on roads?? Constantly leaking water as it barrels along. I’m no scientist but isn’t the road there already crumbling into the ocean? Especially one as delicate as Scenic Ave, it shouldn’t be hard to find support on this one, another great idea folks!
So much for the myth that native Americans care for the land better than whitemen.
When HSU built the Jolly Giant dorms the city of Arcata had to buy a new ladder truck. These trucks can cost hundreds of thousands of dollars. Last year I called the CDF office in Trinidad and no one was willing to talk to me about this issue. Will the taxpayers be stuck with this huge bill for something that only benefits a business that pays no taxes.
Ok, maybe they can lower it to four stories and make it longer.
100 rooms at a casino doesn’t seem that bad. The Casino is already there. It’s not going to turn into another Waikiki…Its only one hotel. It’s a totally separate issue from the windmills that were in the middle of a flyway. We all know the economy needs help now that the county government has tanked the small scale weed market. Of course we don’t want Humboldt to turn into another overrun tourist destination, but we also must recognize that these realities do occur. Think Big Sur, which is now overrun with tourists. Humboldt has become a climate refuge, so it may have a big boom in the near future. I hope not, but look what happened in Hawaii.
Hey, while you’re at it, ask Mexico to stop the drug cartels. Ooh, and tell China to eradicate the Coronavirus. Also, Big Ben is reaally tall. London should be ok with lowering it if you hold some USA town meetings, right?
The tribe is a Sovereign Nation. Your opinions don’t much matter, nor should they.
Five story hotel built on a cliff. BRILLIANT!
When I was a planning commissioner I remember thinking that Trinidad, which is as beautiful a place as we have here in Humboldt, was the home of more backbiting neighbors and uptight types than any place in the county. The folks across the road were going to put a bathroom in their garage and the neighbor would show up and accuse him of creating a rental. The guy who had a plywood front window pissing and moaning about the house being built across the street blocks his view. The place has a bad case of cabin fever
Walk up Trinidad Head. Look east to the beautiful bluffs between town and Moonstone. Now picture a big hotel with bright lights, but don’t stop there. What else will be added once the hotel has destroyed the scenic beauty of Scenic Drive. How about an amusement park. Hot dog stands.
This is how the destruction of a beautiful place begins. Stick an eyesore in a pristine location and no one can complain about additions because the place is already ruined.
I used to bike Scenic drive before the casino. Ever since it went in you take your life in your own hands biking that road.
FONSI= finding of no significant impact? Really? There is a reason trinidad remains a rare gem on the planet, its small, clean, quaint, beautiful, and for tourist reasons , is a welcome respite from the direction much of the rest of the world is going. The rare jewel that it is brings in plenty of place is packed during the summer!
As a forty year resident of trinidad area, historically frequenting the beaches along scenic drive, i will tell you when the casino went in, a huge change occurred along scenic drive. Trash, traffic, mega cigarette butts, car break-ins., car break-ins, car breakins.. Truth is casinos and their patrons can go anywhere to drink, smoke, do drugs, and gamble. Why in the world would trinidad want more of that?
Why would the tribe even want more of that? I beloeve each tribal member already get plenty of cash from the existing casino… what change in their life are they hoping for with more cash?
Might be worth it if the Rancheria would agree to employ Security guards at College Cove and other beaches in this beautiful area to stop Tweakers from breaking out car windows to steal the goodies they can see in innocent people’s cars. This Situation kind of reminds me of when they wanted to put an LNG storage tank on the beautiful peninsula. Ignorant assholes will do anything for that Almighty dollar.
Didn’t Trinidad put an end to vacation rentals? The existing permit is only good until the property changes owner? ( Either dies or sells)
Wow who got paid for that one?
i think the casino should pay for the full price of the on and off ramps. taxpayers should not help pay for any of this
I think it’s hilarious how all these liberals in Trinidad, who are constantly braying about “Indigenous Peoples” and “Native Populations”, and how disrespected they are, how all the white people are oppressing them, how much everyone owes them all, how sacred their land is…..Until the Tribe wants to do as it pleases ON IT”S OWN F&^KING LAND.
And then they throw a damn temper tantrum like the spoiled brat hypocrites they really are.
Guess we’re supposed to give them some one else’s land. But don’t build anything in MY backyard.
I need my view!
This is where I’m retiring at!
200 years ago, most of those folks up in Trinidad would be out scalping natives.
Look at the fit they threw about the Tribe taking the boat launch area out of California’s jurisdiction, and putting it under BIA.
“You can’t do that! That’s not what we want you doing with your land!”
A$$h0les.
Yah! Let’s all gather in a group meeting and cough and sneeze over objections to a sovereign nation doing its thing. I have an idea, let’s infect a bunch of blanks with corona and donate them to the tribe! Or even better idea, why not look at our own land, water and resource use and see what we can do to limit our impact. The land the tribe was “given” after the genocide was considered to be the worst area when it was deeded to the tribe, now when its going to be used to better the tribes future its a problem? Let’s all step back and look at our own lives.
If you want to attend the meeting, make sure you cough and sneeze a lot.just sayin