Maggie Murchie worked in the Arcata Community Development Department for 23 years, from 1986 through December 2009. As part of the many duties she was responsible for, she was also the face behind the counter — the first person who someone needing assistance or with a question would encounter. An on-going tribute to the memory of Maggie is on this website here.

Her wit and wisdom combined into curt one-line responses that she would bring out when the situation warranted their use. Among these were:  ​​”Anxiety on your part does not constitute an emergency on my part.”

At their March 1 and April 5, 2023, meetings, the Arcata City Council formally directed the Planning Commission to do as much as it can — as fast as it can — to create complete and workable drafts of Arcata’s new General Plan update, the new Gateway Area Plan, and the brand-new first-time-ever Form-Based Code for the Gateway area. The Council has requested complete working drafts of these three documents by the end of June, 2023 — now (at the time of this writing) under 3 months away. It does not seem to matter that, under the direction of Community Development Director David Loya, this process has been going on for around two years with many fits and starts, much misdirection, and little to show in terms of actual decisions and output.

There has been a tremendous amount of learning that has taken place during this time, and a strong recognition by the Planning Commission as to the size and scope of the difficulties and needed compromises that Arcata faces. By adhering to this accelerated schedule, in many ways the Planning Commission will be discarding the input and knowledge of this past year. The lists and notations that came from this past year of topics needing input from experts and discussions with community members — all of that is thrown away.

While the lack of tangible progress on the part of the Planning Commission can certainly be discussed, the notion that the process can be suddenly accelerated to 200 miles per hour — and still get good or even adequate results — is open to question.

Dozens of people, including former planning commissioners and including recent Planning Commission Chair Julie Vaissade-Elcock, have questioned the wisdom of this accelerated schedule. And indeed the City Council, at the close of the their meeting on April 5, left the actual “due date” open to extension.

Now-retired contractor and designer Daniel Duncan (see his book “2022 Arcata: 18 Ways of looking at a City” here) had composed this message for the City Council:

​​The Planning Commission needs the time — whatever it takes — to get the code right while including the maximum public input in the process. There is no reason to compel the Planning Commission to come up with a full plan by July 1.

Many of you may remember a certain outspoken counter-person who worked in building/planning for several years to deal with the often impatient and frustrated public. Her name was Maggie. I got to know her pretty well when I was a builder requiring necessary visits to city hall for permits. 

When a customer got uppity with Maggie, she gave that customer a piece of her mind. One of her favorite phrases was, ​​”Anxiety on your part does not constitute an emergency on my part.”

​When the State comes knocking with its draconian new regulations, as the Density Bonus Law and the “Objective Standards” in review and permitting — whatever that means — I suggest you give them a piece of Maggie’s advice.

And then allow the Planning Commission to proceed at its own normal pace to write the new codes that must meaningfully respond to the myriad challenges of population growth while keeping Arcata Arcata.