BIGGER IS NOT ALWAYS BETTER
In 1967 JD "Proc" Proctor, a local fishing and hunting guide, opened the JH Ranch on French Creek to the public.It consisted of a few housekeeping cabins, and a lodge containing a restaurant and cocktail lounge. It was all newly built from logs he had cut, and lumber he had milled with his own sawmill. Scott Valley locals enjoyed going to the restaurant for special occasions; and clubs and organizations had meetings and parties there.
Seeking to expand, in August 1970 Proc obtained a use permit from Siskiyou County that entitled him to have 136 people occupying the resort at one time including guests and staff. In 1979 the current owners purchased the resort and began to increase the number of guests. No longer were locals able to go to the restaurant. Neighbors noticed the increased traffic up and down French Creek, they noticed the increased number of people, and they noticed the increased noise coming from the resort.
In 1993 Siskiyou County also noticed that JH was no longer in compliance with their use permit for 136 people. The JH Ranch admitted to having 250 people there, except on overlap days when 480 people would be on the premises. Instead of enforcing the 136 person limitation, in October 1993 the County increased the occupancy limit to 250 people, except on one overlap day when the limit was 480. In 2006, responding to multiple complaints from neighbors, the acting planning director Terry Barber visited the resort and cited eight areas out of compliance, and reminded them in a lengthy and detailed letter that "the total number of guests and staff is restricted to 250 on-site and 230 off-site." In 2007-2008 The Grand Jury investigated the JH Ranch and concluded that the Supervisors should order " that occupancy shall not exceed the 136 occupancy level at the JH Ranch until a full review of environmental, noise, traffic, safety, and all other issues...are resolved." Since that time it is unclear exactly what issues, if any, have been resolved. But one unresolved issue is perfectly clear, the JH Ranch Resort has continued to exceed the occupancy limit of 250. They now are reported to be having around 800 people per day.
The impacts of the increased numbers are readily apparent by the streams of cars and vans on French Creek Road, Highway Three, and Scott River Road as guests are shuttled to mountain trails or to their other resort Scott River Lodge.
The Planning Department is currently reviewing a proposal by the JH Ranch Resort to increase their maximum occupancy to 1600 people. This is more than the combined populations of Etna and Fort Jones. Actually a close reading of their proposal reveals that JH wants NO LIMIT on the number of occupants other than determined by infrastructure requirements.
So the real question here when looking at the impacts on the environment, on the roads and traffic, on the fish and wildlife, on our rural life style is--what is an appropriate number of people to be at the JH Ranch Resort?
Friends of French Creek agree with the County's position in 1993 of no more than 250.
