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Dear Planning Commissioners,

I am writing to urge you to go back to regular meetings for the month of June and beyond. The “special meetings” format is impeding the public’s right to weigh in on nonagendized items AND on each separate agendized item following staff reports, as well as being afforded an opportunity to respond/comment on new information in the reports.

As Lisa Brown pointed out in her comments, the decision to designate every PlanCo meeting as a “special meeting” for several months is a violation of Arcata’s municipal code, specifically Municipal Code 2209: “The Planning Commission shall hold regular meetings twice monthly as set by schedule established by the commission.” It may also be a Brown Act violation, although I’m not an expert on that, however the Brown Act does mention that regular meetings should take place at a time and location convenient to the public.

In any case, several community members have commented about their sense of being shut out of the process for public comment for the past couple of months of these “special meetings.”

At the last Planco meeting, Lisa Brown requested that the Planco go back to regular meetings so the public has an opportunity to weigh in on each separate agendized item, and I concur. Shutting down the public’s right to comment on non‐agendized items, and limiting discussion on separately itemized points on the agenda is an inherently unfair and undemocratic process. That only gives us something like 12 seconds to comment on each agendized item, and no time to speak on nonagendized items.

I’d also like to question the accelerated process for deciding on the General Plan, the Gateway, form‐based code and EIR all at the same time, and curtailing community input on this and other matters before the PlanCo and city council. What is the aim behind fast‐tracking this? This whirlwind of deciding everything at once as quickly as possible feels like a “shock and awe” strategy, which won’t lead to good and thoughtful planning that has the community’s buy‐in.

I know you were hoping to see a draft of the General Plan, the Gateway Plan, etc, by July. But that’s when half the population will be out of town, including Commissioner Judith Mayer, who had asked to have input on the final details of the draft plans. What is the rush that you couldn’t wait even one month until say, August, so that students and community members who will be out of town have a chance to make their voices heard?

Final point: We’ve had more opportunities for input on the Gateway Plan than we have on the General Plan. And now the General Plan is being rushed through very quickly. I’m sorry but I have to question whether that is by design(?). It’s just that the process is so different from way this was done when the previous General Plan was being debated.

It took four years, with a good many opportunities afforded for community input to come up with the previous General Plan. Now everything is being rushed through at once and the public is confused about what’s on the agenda. And these

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“special meetings” only afford one opportunity at the start for public input, which is not the case with regular meetings. That is an egregious curtailing of the public’s right to weigh in on matters that are important to us.

Also, at times items on the agenda are described in vague terms like “special considerations” or “bike rack elements,” so the public doesn’t know what’s going to be discussed or even when to show up for meetings that are important to us. Commenter Fred Weis has previously pointed out that is also a Brown Act violation (i.e. using vague language on the agenda when it should be more specific). On his web site, he points out out that there have been numerous times where the City has violated the Brown Act.

https://arcata1.com/serial‐meeting‐brown‐act‐violations‐what‐is‐the‐law/

What’s most concerning for me is that it feels more and more like these decisions are top down, rather than driven by community input. Otherwise, why the rush and the move to make every meeting a special meeting? And why would the PlanCo ignore the 700+ people who signed a petition to keep L‐Street a linear (car‐free) park, and go ahead with making the proposed L‐Street truck route a goal?

I appreciate your service. I truly do. But I fear that the City is making itself vulnerable to lawsuits. Ultimately it’s the taxpaying residents who will pay the price for that in more ways than one. Or by having a General Plan and Gateway Plan imposed on us that doesn’t have the community’s buy‐in.

In sum, something has gone very wrong with the process for public engagement, and all we are asking is that you to do the right thing: Please direct the PlanCo to immediately resume regular meetings for the month of June, and please don’t refer to them as “special meetings.” Let’s get back on the right track. Thank you.

Respectfully,

Lisa Pelletier (Arcata resident)