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Dear Planning Commissioners,
Last week I learned that our rented farmland in Exhibit 5 of the Chapter 2 of the Draft LU Element (see below), has been proposed for rezoning from Agricultural‐Residential to Residential‐High Density. These two farm parcels along Arcata’s 17th Street are a beloved part of Arcata’s walking and bicycling experience. People stop all day long to feed the llamas and pigs, and to take selfies, like an informal petting zoo. And people love the Tule Fog Farm bacon and eggs we sell at the Farmers’ Market.
Small farms are part of what makes Arcata great. That is why:
1. Every prior General Plan has mapped these ag parcels as part of Arcata’s Green Belt.
2. Every year the City Council has directed Staff to preserve them in the annual Goal Setting meeting by unanimous vote.
The below Guiding Principal and Goal B adds new language that encourages “developing infill areas” of Arcata’s
greenbelt, and eliminates language that would prohibit conversion of the ag land. I don’t think Arcatans want you to
change the Goal language this way. And besides, these A‐R parcels do not even meet the definition of infill‐‐they are
surrounded on all four sides by AE zoned farmland, Janes Creek and Shay Park.
2
Similarly, LU‐1e/1a below is rewritten by Staff to remove the explicit prohibition against developing farmland. I think
Arcatans want you to keep that language from our previous General Plan.
My sincere thanks for helping preserve Arcata’s open spaces and greenbelt.
Sean Armstrong
To help protect your privacy, Microsoft Office prevented automatic download of this picture from the Internet.
Sean Armstrong
(he/him for business, but occasionally she/her)
Managing Principal, Redwood Energy
Schedule a meeting with me at: calendly.com/seanarmstrong
1887 Q Street, Arcata, CA 95521 (unceded Wiyot Territory)
redwoodenergy.net
2023 U.S. Speaker on Net Zero for the U.S. State Department
2022 Clean Energy Champion in the California Energy Commission Clean Energy Hall of Fame
2020 Innovation Award from the Department of Energy
2017 Grand Prize Winner of the United Nations World Habitat Awards
2017 Sustainability Award of the Southern California Building Industry Association
2016 Grand Prize Winner of the international Building Industry Association/PCBC Gold Nugget Awards
2015 Innovation Award from the Department of Energy