Board approves partial Williamson Act cancellation to transfer land to BLM while keeping house on tax roll

The Humboldt County Board of Supervisors on May 12 approved a general-plan amendment, zone reclassification and partial cancellation of a Williamson Act contract for the Westfall Agricultural Preserve near the Headwaters Forest Reserve, enabling the larger parcel's transfer to the Bureau of Land Management while keeping a 4.36-acre house parcel in private hands.

Save the Redwoods League, which bought the property in 2016 with the intention of dedicating most of it to the BLM for habitat protection and public access, asked the county to reclassify a small inholding that contains a 1,200-square-foot remodeled house and barn so the structure could remain on the tax roll and be sold to a private buyer rather than demolished as a condition of federal acquisition (SEG 6560–6580; SEG 6628–6636).

Planning staff explained the change: the 77-acre parcel would transfer to federal ownership for conservation and public access, while the 4.36-acre parcel is re-designated from Agriculture Exclusive (60-acre minimum) to Agriculture General (4-acre minimum) consistent with neighboring parcels; that small parcel would be immediately removed from the Williamson Act contract (SEG 6570–6576, SEG 6578–6588). The assessor's appraised value for the house parcel was $550,000 (October appraisal), which triggers a potential Williamson Act cancellation penalty; half of the penalty is payable to the state and half to the county, and the county share was estimated at $68,750 (SEG 6610–6614).

Save the Redwoods' representative asked the Board to consider waiving the county portion of the cancellation fee; staff noted that the Department of Conservation had not granted prior waivers and that the fee-waiver question was not described in the staff's project description and would require a separate board action to change (SEG 6622–6626, SEG 6920–6942). The League confirmed it would pay the penalty fees if required and reiterated its objective of preserving the majority of the property for Headwaters Forest Reserve expansion while keeping the house available as housing stock (SEG 6768–6779).

The board approved staff's recommendation to reclassify the small parcel and to proceed with the partial cancellation necessary for the federal transfer; several supervisors thanked Save the Redwoods and staff for persistence on a long-running project and discussed return-to-board options if the county wishes to consider fee forgiveness later (SEG 6723–6736, SEG 7182–7196).

What happens next: the county will record the amendment and the partial Williamson Act cancellation and coordinate with the BLM to finalize transfer of the remainder of the property. Any request to waive county cancellation fees would require a separate action and a future agenda item.

Sources: Planning staff presentation and Save the Redwoods League testimony, Humboldt County Board of Supervisors meeting, May 12, 2026 (project report, assessor appraisal).