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Gateway Plan

Gateway’s “Inclusionary” apartments — How much rent would you be paying?

Under the affordable housing provisions of the Gateway Area Plan, buildings over 14 units are required to have 14% or 16% of the apartments be affordable. But the rent amounts that are proposed wind up being higher than what renters are paying now. How can this be considered as affordable?
Gateway Plan

A list of Inclusionary Housing Programs in California

A summary of the contents of the CCRH Inclusionary Housing database, with information on the rental programs. The database has information on 150 programs in California. This list is sorted with the highest percentage of minimum affordable housing at the top.
Affordable Housing

The California Inclusionary Housing Programs searchable database

Do you want to look up what the Inclusionary Housing requirements are in, say, Healdsburg, Santa Rosa, Petaluma, Berkeley, Santa Cruz, West Hollywood, or Goleta? Here's where you can find that data, for both renting and owning. The results can be viewed on-line or printed out. The California Inclusionary Housing Programs searchable database.
City Planning

Santa Cruz takes building height and inclusionary housing to the VOTERS

Reading time: 8 minutes -- Citizens in Santa Cruz have a ballot measure to provide 25% affordable housing in new construction, and required a vote of the people for buildings over 8 stories.
Affordable Housing

Inclusionary Zoning, objective design standards approved in Santa Cruz

Read time: 7 minutes. Skim: 2 minutes. -- We can look at how Santa Cruz has dealt with some of the same issues we face here in Arcata. Santa Cruz already had an existing 20% inclusionary requirement. New proposal: Projects with a 25% inclusionary requirement get a 30% density bonus. Projects with a 30% inclusionary requirement get a 50% density bonus. Other issues: Public hearings for new larger construction.
Affordable Housing

State Density Bonus Laws / Inclusionary Zoning / Community Benefits — David Loya presentation

“And our design standards and Community Benefits programs are unlikely to be implemented due to waivers and concessions.” --- Arcata's Director of Community Development David Loya has provided this video presentation of the various affordable housing programs. 15-1/2 minutes, July 28, 2023. VIDEO and full TRANSCRIPTION.
Affordable Housing

After telling the Council we’ll see Inclusionary Zoning, what Loya has provided is worthless

David Loya spoke: "There is the full intent to have an inclusionary zoning requirement in the Gateway Area Plan." -- "... in the Mission Statement is to create mixed-use, mixed-income projects. And so the way that we intend to do that is through Inclusionary Zoning." ** Unfortunately, the "inclusionary zoning" that is there is worthless.

Wendy Ring – June 16, 2023 – Inclusionary Zoning

*** If we can't be leaders in this space, at least let's not be laggers. *** I do support the plan's requirement for a percentage of affordable units. This should not simply be an optional "community benefit" to be rewarded with additional building height because California's Density Bonus Law already does that. ornia's Needs: The average percentage of affordable units required in city and county ordinances is 15%, compared with 3% in the current plan.
Affordable Housing

Draft Gateway Form-Based Code yields very little Inclusionary Zoning homes

The long-awaited initial draft of the Form-Based Code finally arrived. As promised, it does contain requirements for Inclusionary Zoning in the Gateway Area. *** Unfortunately the Inclusionary Zoning requirements are ridiculously low. To even call this "inclusionary zoning" is a stretch. This would be laughable except that this is a such serious matter -- and so important for the people of Arcata and for the future of Arcata.
Affordable Housing

Gateway Plan needs inclusionary affordable housing requirements, says Rebecca Buckley-Stein

Rebecca Buckley-Stein spoke to the City Council on March 1, 2023, about the need to have inclusionary affordable housing as part of the Gateway Plan. What is Inclusionary Zoning? Your questions answered, plus additional resource links.
Building Height

Arcata Fire District letter to the City Council, May 28, 2024: Don’t approve Gateway

From the Arcata Fire District May 28, 2024 letter: "We are writing to request that approval of these elements be denied at this time and put on hold until the AP Triton Standard of Coverage (SOC) for the AFPD is completed and the Arcata City Council and AFPD Board of Directors achieve consensus on a plan for the likely expansion of the District's capacity."
City Planning

Suggestions for May 29, 2024: Gateway Area Plan, Gateway Code, General Plan, and EIR

To the City Council for the 1st public hearing at the Council on the General Plan, Gateway Area Plan, Gateway Code, and Program Environmental Impact Report. --- "As you must be aware, the Council is in a difficult situation here. You are being asked to approve a set of documents that are incomplete." With 5 very important topics suggested for review, and 5 other lesser but still very significant topics.
Affordable Housing

Gateway Plan and General Plan Updates – Newsletter – May 27, 2024

THIS NEWSLATTER WAS SENT OUT ON MONDAY, MAY 27, 2024. The two scheduled public hearings with the Arcata City Council take place on Wednesdays -- May 29 and June 5, 2024. If needed, the public hearing meetings will be continued. The City Council will consider, take public comment on, discuss, and perhaps vote to adopt the Gateway Area Plan, the Gateway Zoning Code, the Arcata General Plan 2045, and the Final Environmental Report.
City Planning

Gateway Code: What is new — and wrong — in the “May 14, 2024, Version 5” version

This “May 14, 2024” version contains changes that the Planning Commission has never seen or discussed. It contains changes where the Commission said not to change. It contains inadequate changes for things that the Commission wanted changed. It's still missing many things that the Commission brought up and did not fully resolve. It has Inclusionary Zoning wrong. And still no planning for the L Street woonerf and linear park.
Community Input

The City Council said “Yes” to the L Street linear park. David Loya tried to defy them.

The City Council requested the L Street corridor full-width linear park. For eight months, Arcata's Community Development Director did nothing. David Loya said, "I understand why it could have been confusing." But the Council's direction was not confusing to anyone but him.
Form-Based Code and Ministerial Review

Comments and Suggestions for the Gateway Code

Comments and suggestions on the draft Gateway Code. This is the form-based code that defines the look and feel of every building, street, park. and more of everything that will be built in the Gateway area. You can use this document along with the "Guides for the Council, Commission, and Community — to the Gateway Code comments and suggestions" to learn more about developers can and cannot do.
April Fools' Day

Gateway Area Plan approved at 11th hour; PlanCom, Council, Loya jubilant

With an outpouring of jubilation and champagne, the City Council approved and adopted the Gateway Area Plan just prior to 10:00 p.m. on New Year's Eve, 2024. In a never-before-seen scene set at City Hall, reminiscent of an Arcata version of the warm-hearted ending of the film "It's a Wonderful Life," the entire town rallied behind the promise (or premise) of affordable housing for working people.
Arcata & Community

What’s in the Community Benefits Program for the Gateway Area Plan?

The Community Benefits Program for Arcata's Gateway Area Plan has gone through many twists and turns and iterations. The basic idea is that if a developer wants to build at four stories and above, there must be some "community benefits" included in the project. The community benefits evolved from a list that was developed by the Community Development Staff and the Planning Commissioners -- with, in theory, input from the public.
Affordable Housing

What is considered very-low, low, or moderate income in Arcata?

This article looks the State of California dollar figures for what is meant by "very low income" and "low income" and "moderate income" and "above moderate income" here in in Arcata and Humboldt County. These are the 2023 figures are from the State of California Department of Housing and Community Development (HCD).
Building Height

The Gateway Code (Form-Based Code) – THIRD DRAFT from Ben Noble, February 2024

This is the 3rd draft of the "Gateway Code" -- the form-based code for the Gateway Area Plan, as delivered from the City's consultant Ben Noble. Dated January 31, 2023. This article contains the 3rd draft, the 2nd draft from September 2023, and the 1st draft from June 2023.
Arcata

The Iceberg of the Gateway Plan — and the cockroaches, mosquitoes, termites, rats, and rot.

Everyone knows the Iceberg Theory. What you see is only 10% of the iceberg. The rest of it is hidden underwater. That would be 90% that's unknown. The same is true of the Gateway Area Plan. How can anyone make a decision if 90% of what's necessary to make that decision is unknown? The answer is: You can't.
City Planning

“Infill Opportunity Zones” — What are they, and where are they?

Reading time: 5 minutes -- There are many references to the City's four "Infill Opportunity Zones" as identified in the 2019 Housing Element. "These infill zones were areas designated for high-density redevelopment to help meet the housing objectives the City has." The actual map is not so easy to find. Here is the map, with detailed views and some commentary.
City Planning

Larger issues for the Council and Commission to consider – November 28, 2023

The letter below was sent on November 28, 2023 to the members of the City Council, the Planning Commission, and the Community Development Director. It outlines some (not all) of the larger issues regarding the expansion of housing that have not been adequately brought up for discussion or resolution. Estimate reading time 6 minutes.
Arcata

Brown Act violations – A letter to our City Attorney

This letter discusses some of the numerous Brown Act iolations we've experienced here in Arcata. It was sent to the new (3 months at that time) City Attorney, Doug White, and to the City Manager; Community Development Director, and to the City Council on the evening of December 4, 2023. A presentation on the Brown Act was on the agenda for the Council's December 6 meeting. There will be further articles on this issue as we learn more from the City Attorney. Estimate reading time: 20 minutes. Can be skimmed.
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