The original article dates from August 15, 2023.
Update
The Arcata City Council approved the formation of the L Street Corridor full-width Linear Park in August, 2023. The third version of the Gateway Code came out in early February, 2024 — over five months later. The text of this third version appears to be 100% identical to the text of Version #2. There is no mention of the L Street Linear Park, and definitely no accommodation for the park in the standards set forth in the Code.
The Form-Based Code for the Gateway area is now called the Gateway Code. It specifies the building height and massing for each of the four districts in the Gateway area: Barrel, Corridor, Hub, and Neighborhood.
The design elements that create the “look and feel” of how buildings will appear — and how humans will interact with the buildings, and be affected by them — is all in the Gateway Code. Currently (August 2023) in its first draft, the Code will see changes as the City Council weighs in. Just the three City Council members who can discuss and vote on Gateway matters, that is.
This article shows some examples of what the Gateway Code would allow. I am not implying that 5-story or 7-story buildings will be built — only that, by code, they can be built.
One key element is the “step-back” specifications. Often the upper floors of a building are “stepped back” from the front face of the building, both to reduce the apparent mass and size of the building to someone on the street and to allow (in theory) more sky and possibly sun to come in. The current discussion calls of a step-back of just 8 feet, starting on the fifth story. Where we live, with the sun staying at a low angle for six or eight months of the year, an 8-foot step-back is not enough for any significant improvement. And starting the step-back on the 4th story is a whole lot better than starting on the 5th. By this code, there can be a sheer vertical wall, 50 feet straight up.
For more articles on the look & feel of the Gateway area, click here.
1. What could be built
What is shown here may seem preposterous, but this is indeed what could be built with the current draft Gateway Code. Yes, it looks (and feels) like a canyon.
If two buildings of these sizes were built across the street from one another, the L Street pathway could get just 5 hours of sun — in the middle of August. By mid-September, it would be only 3 hours of sun a day. If tall buildings were built alongside L Street, out of 12-1/2 hours of daylight the pathway would be in shadow for 9-1/2 hours in the day — in September. For the six months from October through March, it’s worse.
Or it could be:
