This letter from Playhouse Arts, Arcata’s local arts agency, was sent April 4, 2022, to the City Council and staff. However it was not available to the public until August, four months later. Some highlighting has been added. Signed by 23 people.

April 4, 2022

RE: Artists in Action Document Regarding Gateway Area Plan

To The Esteemed Members of Arcata Staff, City Council and Constituents,

The proposed development currently titled “The Gateway Project” would be closely
adjacent to, and thus materially impactful on an existing arts neighborhood, “The
Creamery District,” that is inclusive of the offices and performance space of Arcata’s
Local Arts Agency (Playhouse Arts) and a number of other longstanding and culturally
storied structures and institutions. As such, it is critical that any new development in this
area be planned and designed with careful consideration of aesthetic and logistical
implications regarding the surrounding space and the community that occupies and
frequents it. Failure to do so could result in the dilution (and potentially dissolution) of
some of the place-based traditions and practices that help to make Arcata and
Humboldt worthy of investment in the first place.

In order to ensure that the development that is enacted in this space is commensurate
with and creatively supplemental to the pre-existing surrounding districts, we, the
cosigners, would like to propose and advocate for the adoption of a series of preset
stipulations regarding planning and design in the space under consideration, all
intended to ensure both a shared commitment to the aesthetic and cultural history of the
area and the shared aesthetic and cultural future we hope to iteratively author together:

• We encourage the City of Arcata to retain the existing name “The Creamery
  District” for the space between 7th and 10th and K and N street, as years of
  work have been done to thoughtfully design and promote this space. Rebranding
  this space as part of the development would be problematically disruptive.
• We propose that the Local Arts Agency’s advisory subcommittee called “The
  Arcata Arts Advisory Committee” should be engaged in overseeing and informing
  the aesthetic and cultural implications of new development projects. This Council
  would not be arbiters of aesthetic taste or gatekeepers for artistic quality, but
  would instead be responsible for facilitating community conversations, making
  recommendations based on robust community input, and ensuring the artist/
  artisan community of Arcata is informed and heard. This Council would ensure
  there is both demographic and regional representation from the many regions of
  the city, to keep the “Quilt” of uniqueness alive in Arcata.
• To implement an amenity for developers to “set aside” a land parcel that would
  support the development and building of an Independent Native Arts and
  Cultures District in the Strategic Infill Area.
• We would ask that a requisite, preset proportion of the budget of any proposed development be invested in a “Community Arts Trust” (hereafter “CATS”), a one-time funded endowment (with the potential of further investment from future developments) that would be organized and distributed by the aforementioned Advisory Council. The funds could be used
  • • to create ongoing funding for arts of all genres, creating diverse and justly distributed opportunities for artists and our community to uphold the stated values of the Infill plan.
    • to explore health and dental care programs for artists, as well as support for aging artists.
    • to implement developer requirements to build financially accessible housing for artists, students and the greater Arcata community.
    • to encourage developers to partner with the Arcata Arts Advisory to design and create unique, functional housing for performing and visual artists, artisans and their families.

We hope these amenities can be implemented in addition to the Arcata Strategic Arts
Plan and that we can work together to create a vibrant, equitable, artistic future for
Arcata! 

Signed,

Dr. Cutcha Risling Baldy             Peggy Ho
Katie Belknap                            JustArts
Kash Boodjeh                            Tina MacKenzie
Kathryn Cesarz                          Laura Mufoz
Daryl Chin                                 MacKenzie Ridgwood
Jacqueline Dandeneau                Melanie Schauwecker
Haley Davis                               Rachel Sundberg
Neroli Devaney                          Amy Uyeki
David Ferney                            James Woglom 
Ben Goulart                              Patty Yancy
James Hildebrandt                    James Zeller