Companion articles:
Eureka’s Vision Statement — How does it compare to Arcata’s?
Vision Statements of award-winning cities from around the world
Contents
How this draft of the Vision Statement was created
The current draft — as of December 12, 2023
The March 27, 2023, version
How this draft of the Vision Statement was created
Even though the Vision Statement is a very important part of Arcata’s General Plan update, it was not on the City’s website along with the General Plan Elements. That omission has since been corrected.
In 2023, Thanksgiving Day came on November 23rd. Without any prior notice or indication of any kind, on either two days before Thanksgiving or the day before Thanksgiving, a joint study session meeting with the City Council and the Planning Commission was called for, take place on the Tuesday after Thanksgiving weekend. We don’t know which of those two days it appeared on the City meeting calendar — either late Tuesday afternoon or else on the Wednesday before Thanksgiving — because there was no e-mail announcement sent out to the public. This issue of the notices of the meetings not going out to the public via the listserv e-mail process is unfortunately all too common.
At that time, people were out of town, with families, and so forth. In my view, it was not appropriate to announce and hold a meeting with such short notice.
On the agenda for that evening was “Consider Draft Elements of the General Plan.” Included in the recommendation was “Staff recommends the Council and Commission discuss the Vision Statement.”
As it turned out, the “discuss the Vision Statement” became a workshop where the people present contributed their views. The people who were at the meeting separated into three groups, with each group looking at two of the paragraphs of the Vision Statement: Conservation and Diverse Character at one; Prosperity and Equity; and Health and Safety and Community Well Being, and Connection and Community.
These workgroups are not recorded on the video of that meeting — there’s about 15 minutes missing on the video. Community Development Director David Loya commented “I do apologize for the folks on Zoom. We’re going to be kind of pausing the Zoom while we’re in breakout sessions, because there’s no way to allow folks on Zoom to see what’s going on in these breakouts. But we will be reconvening and reporting out but the results of those work.”
If this meeting had been announced as a workshop, then perhaps there would have been more members of the public there to offer their contributions.
But that was not the case. As it was, there were three members of the public at the meeting.
The notes of separate workgroups were written on large sheets of paper, which were then presented one a time to the overall group. Below are images from the video of four — the video didn’t capture the other two.
The current draft — as of December 12, 2023
This is what is being presented as the current draft (12/12/2023) of the vision statement. It contains some, but not all, of the suggestions and modifications that came from the November 28, 2023, joint study session.
Arcata Community Vision
Arcata is a community that prioritizes …
Conservation
We pride ourselves on our continuing efforts to preserve the unique, natural beauty within and around the City, and are committed to living sustainably within Arcata’s resource base.
We will prevent pollution, protect the environment, meet climate goals, and conserve water, wastewater, energy, and land so they may be enjoyed several generations into the future.
We promote compact growth to maintain a permanent greenbelt, and preserve our marsh and wildlife sanctuary, community forest, and trails.
Prosperity
We promote universal access to quality life-long learning, education, and opportunities for economic success.
We support and encourage responsible economic activity across industry sectors from retail activity, restaurants and entertainment to entrepreneurs, artisans, and local small businesses.
We support all members of the business community as well as our residents who are committed to local investment.
Health and Safety and Community Well Being
We keep it healthful. We strive for Arcata to be a safe and healthy place to live, work, play, and learn.
Our economy, educational opportunities, health services, housing availability, built environment, and our inclusive community, all support physical, mental, and social well-being.
We see opportunities for artistic expression, access to recreation in the natural environment, and walkability as key components of a healthy community.
Equity
We ensure a welcoming, safe, and equitable community where everyone has the opportunity to attain their full potential and no one is disadvantaged in achieving this potential because of race, religion, age, social position, economic position, culture, background, or any other socially defined circumstance.
We recognize that the City of Arcata is located on the ancestral territory of the Wiyot peoples and work in partnership with local tribes to dismantle the legacy narratives of settler colonialism.
We offer reconciliation and respect to their elders, past and present.
Connection and Community
Arcatans of every age, race, religion, ethnicity, gender identity, sexual orientation, disability, and socioeconomic background share a sense of connection.
Everyone feels welcome to actively participate and involve themselves in shaping our collective community.
This sense of community is present in all civic activities, neighborhood and interest groups, community events, cultural events, and social activities for the entire region.
The University is a stimulating presence, and we work to grow with Cal Poly Humboldt.
Our connectivity goes beyond Arcata; we work with partners to tackle problems we can solve only together.
Diverse Character
Arcata is made up of a variety of distinctive, interconnected neighborhoods with diverse architectural heritage and well-designed, high quality gathering spaces for neighbors and visitors.
New development complements the character of the neighborhood in which it is located.
Arcata’s focus is on creating human-centered spaces that are well-designed and enjoyable to exist in, with a focus on future development that will encourage both livability and “thrivability.”
We work with Cal Poly Humboldt with mutual respect and consideration to support this vision.
The March 27, 2023, version
This is what was presented as the March 27, 2023, version of the vision statement. It was the starting point for the November 28 joint study session. The March 27, 2023, Planning Commission meeting at which this version of the vision statement evolved was one of the more mixed-up and confusing meetings. (Video of the meeting, starting around 1:02.) At the meeting, some commissioners apparently were commenting on one draft of the vision statement while other commissioners were commenting on a different draft. What is shown below is what they came up with, but it was clear that the Commission needed another pass at it.
The phrase “so they may be enjoyed by the seventh generation” is further highlighted. The use of this phrase here is (in my view) a terrible corruption and misuse of the Indigenous People’s concept of the Seventh Generation principle. It can be summed up as “In our every deliberation, we must consider the impact of our decisions on the next seven generations.” I do not believe that how we are living and making our decisions at this time in any way reflects a consideration of the impact on our decisions to a generation of people who are here seven generations, or perhaps 200 years, from now.
The discussion of this at the Planning Commission’s March 27, 2023, meeting was yet another example of a violation of the Brown Act. The agenda item says “This meeting will focus on organizing the outstanding reviews to provide the recommendations in the timeframes established by the Council. In addition, this meeting will be an opportunity to complete a review on the Land Use Element, and potentially start on review of the Circulation Element.” It does not mention a discussion of the Vision Statement, as is required by law. (The full agenda packet for March 27, 2023, can be seen here.)
The Visioning Statement was not on the agenda for that meeting. Therefore there was advance notice for the public to attend or comment.
The March 27, 2023, version of the vision statement. Words or phrases that were changed at the November 28, 2023, meeting are highlighted. Words and phrases were added at that meeting are not shown here — they will be in the version shown above.
Arcata Community Vision
Arcata is a community that prioritizes …
Conservation
We are committed to living well, and within Arcata’s resource base.
We will prevent pollution, protect the environment, and conserve water, wastewater, energy, and land so they may be enjoyed by the seventh generation.
We promote compact growth to maintain a permanent greenbelt.
And we pride ourselves on our continuing efforts to preserve the unique, natural beauty within and around the City.
Prosperity
We are committed to ensuring that everyone has access to quality life-long learning, education, and opportunities for economic success.
We support and encourage economic activity across industry sectors from retail activity, restaurants and entertainment to entrepreneurs, artisans and small businesses.
Health and Safety and Community Well Being
We ensure that Arcata is a safe and health place to live, work, play, and learn.
Our economy, education, health services, built environment, and social and community context all support physical, mental, and social well-being.
We see opportunities for artistic expression as a key component of a healthy community.
Equity
We ensure a welcoming, safe, and equitable community where everyone has the opportunity to attain their full potential and no one is disadvantaged in achieving this potential because of race, religion, social position, economic position, culture, background, or any other socially defined circumstance.
We recognize that the City of Arcata is located on the ancestral territory of the Wiyot peoples and work in partnership with local tribes to dismantle the legacy narratives of settler colonialism.
We offer reconciliation and respect to their elders, past and present.
Connection and Community
Seniors and students, families and singles, people from every race, religion, ethnicity, gender identity, and socioeconomic strata all share a sense of connection.
Everyone feels welcome to actively participate and involve themselves in shaping our collective community.
This sense of community is present in all civic and government activities, neighborhood and interest groups, community events, cultural events, and social activities for the entire region.
Our connectivity is regional; we work with partners to tackle problems we can solve only together.
Diverse Character
Arcata is made up of a variety of distinctive, interconnected neighborhoods with diverse architectural heritage and well-designed, high quality gathering spaces for neighbors and visitors.
New development complements the character of the neighborhood in which it is located.
Arcata’s focus is on creating human-centered spaces that are well-designed and enjoyable to exist in, with a focus on future development that will encourage both livability and “thrivability”.
We work with Cal Poly Humboldt with mutual respect and consideration to support this vision.