Southern Humboldt Community Park

Background

In 2000, in a dazzling effort that captivated the Southern Humboldt community, Southern Humboldt Community Park (spearheaded by local businessman Stephen Dazey) raised more than $600,000 in donations for the purchase of a very unique 475-acre parcel of prime agricultural land, located less than one-mile from the town of Garberville. The community responded immediately to protect this property from the jaws of high-density residential developers and also to support the shared dream of a creating a community park with seemingly unlimited potential.

The Southern Humboldt Community Park (SHCP) is a non-profit organization that was established to acquire, operate and preserve these lands and to promote a variety of uses including civic, recreational, educational, agricultural, grazing, animal husbandry, to protect open space, and to restore wildlife habitat and riparian corridors.

Southern Humboldt County is located within the California Coastal Range, a mountainous region with little flat land. The SHCP has approximately 200 acres of flat land. The SHCP has more “useable” property than the towns of Garberville, Redway, and Benbow combined. According to the Humboldt County General Plan these townsites are currently at full build-out and have little room to accommodate future expansion or development. The SHCP properties are located less than one-mile from the town of Garberville. The land is remarkably scenic and has one-mile of river passing through the piece. Humboldt County has zoned this parcel as prime agricultural land due to the unusually rich and diverse soils found on this site. It is a rare and unique property that is a prime target for residential and commercial development.

There has been unprecedented community support in the acquisition of this property; it is now time for us to close the deal. Additional funds are necessary to complete this purchase. There are currently four mortgage holders on these properties. The past year has found the SHCP unable to pay the mortgages. While our mortgage holders have been forgiving, there has been increasing pressure from, the largest mortgage holder, a local developer. Unless funds become available to us soon, there is a serious and immediate threat of losing a major portion of this property to development.

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