No menu items!

Information for the Future of ArcataA view of the whole story

Home
Contents / What’s New
- Newest Articles
- The Gateway Code – Specific Issues
- Gateway Plan, General Plan, EIR, more — Documents & articles
- Table of Contents – Getting Around
  - ALL CHAPTERS and more — Click/Press here
    - Chapters
      
      Specific, Special, and Fun
      
      The Gateway Code — the form-based code — sets the rules for the “look and feel” of everything that is built Gateway area.
      
      The Gateway Area Plan, the General Plan, the Environmental Impact Report and other City Documents — and articles about these documents.
      
      Ministerial Review articles
      
      Arcata Fire District – Fire and Safety issues in Arcata and the Gateway Plan
      
      Maps, Aerial Views, and 3D overall views
      
      The Environment: Arcata, National, Global
      Including streets and roundabouts
      
      Look & Feel and Planning in the Gateway Area
      with 3D images of buildings
      
      Gateway Density & Feasibility Study
      
      Form-Based Code & Ministerial Review — Overview
      
      Affordability and Home Ownership
      
      Parks, Open Space, and Solar Shading
      
      Parking in the Gateway Area
      
      The L Street Pathway and Linear Park
      
      Sea Level Rise and Groundwater issues
      
      The Creamery District
      
      Cal Poly Humboldt
      
      Infrastructure: Fire Protection, Police, Wastewater Treatment
      
      Selected Letters and Articles from the Community
      
      Useful links — to articles on Arcata1.com and elsewhere
      
      What’s New
      The most recent articles
      
      City Council & Planning Commission: Portal / Links
      For everyone. See what the current and hot topics are.
      
      Timely and Topical – Here and in other locations.
      Assorted articles
      
      The 99 most popular articles
      
      Community-Led Meetings
      
      Arcata and Community
      Events and items of interest for all of us here.
      
      Brown Act violations in Arcata
      
      Useful links — to articles on Arcata1.com and elsewhere
      
      Humor and Music
      
      April Fool’s satires and fun fiction
      
      Interesting and Fascinating
      
      Newest Articles
      
      See more Newest Articles
      
      A.I. summary of the Triton “Standards of Cover” report:
      September 10, 2025
      Reading time 2 minutes. An A.I. summary of the AP Triton "Standards of Cover" report. It has not been edited here. It was produced on September 9, 2025, prior to the Council / Arcata Fire District joint study session on September 10th.
      
      A.I. summary of the Triton “Standards of Cover” report:
      September 10, 2025
      Reading time 2 minutes. An A.I. summary of the AP Triton "Standards of Cover" report. It has not been edited here. It was produced on September 9, 2025, prior to the Council / Arcata Fire District joint study session on September 10th.
      
      A.I. summary of the Triton “Standards of Cover” report:
      September 10, 2025
      Reading time 2 minutes. An A.I. summary of the AP Triton "Standards of Cover" report. It has not been edited here. It was produced on September 9, 2025, prior to the Council / Arcata Fire District joint study session on September 10th.
      
      A.I. summary of the Triton “Standards of Cover” report:
      September 10, 2025
      Reading time 2 minutes. An A.I. summary of the AP Triton "Standards of Cover" report. It has not been edited here. It was produced on September 9, 2025, prior to the Council / Arcata Fire District joint study session on September 10th.
      
      A.I. summary of the Triton “Standards of Cover” report:
      September 10, 2025
      Reading time 2 minutes. An A.I. summary of the AP Triton "Standards of Cover" report. It has not been edited here. It was produced on September 9, 2025, prior to the Council / Arcata Fire District joint study session on September 10th.
      
      A.I. summary of the Triton “Standards of Cover” report:
      September 10, 2025
      Reading time 2 minutes. An A.I. summary of the AP Triton "Standards of Cover" report. It has not been edited here. It was produced on September 9, 2025, prior to the Council / Arcata Fire District joint study session on September 10th.
      
      A.I. summary of the Triton “Standards of Cover” report:
      September 10, 2025
      Reading time 2 minutes. An A.I. summary of the AP Triton "Standards of Cover" report. It has not been edited here. It was produced on September 9, 2025, prior to the Council / Arcata Fire District joint study session on September 10th.
      
      A.I. summary of the Triton “Standards of Cover” report:
      September 10, 2025
      Reading time 2 minutes. An A.I. summary of the AP Triton "Standards of Cover" report. It has not been edited here. It was produced on September 9, 2025, prior to the Council / Arcata Fire District joint study session on September 10th.
      
      A.I. summary of the Triton “Standards of Cover” report:
      September 10, 2025
      Reading time 2 minutes. An A.I. summary of the AP Triton "Standards of Cover" report. It has not been edited here. It was produced on September 9, 2025, prior to the Council / Arcata Fire District joint study session on September 10th.
      
      A.I. summary of the Triton “Standards of Cover” report:
      September 10, 2025
      Reading time 2 minutes. An A.I. summary of the AP Triton "Standards of Cover" report. It has not been edited here. It was produced on September 9, 2025, prior to the Council / Arcata Fire District joint study session on September 10th.
      
      A.I. summary of the Triton “Standards of Cover” report:
      September 10, 2025
      Reading time 2 minutes. An A.I. summary of the AP Triton "Standards of Cover" report. It has not been edited here. It was produced on September 9, 2025, prior to the Council / Arcata Fire District joint study session on September 10th.
      
      A.I. summary of the Triton “Standards of Cover” report:
      September 10, 2025
      Reading time 2 minutes. An A.I. summary of the AP Triton "Standards of Cover" report. It has not been edited here. It was produced on September 9, 2025, prior to the Council / Arcata Fire District joint study session on September 10th.
      
      A.I. summary of the Triton “Standards of Cover” report:
      September 10, 2025
      Reading time 2 minutes. An A.I. summary of the AP Triton "Standards of Cover" report. It has not been edited here. It was produced on September 9, 2025, prior to the Council / Arcata Fire District joint study session on September 10th.
      
      A.I. summary of the Triton “Standards of Cover” report:
      September 10, 2025
      Reading time 2 minutes. An A.I. summary of the AP Triton "Standards of Cover" report. It has not been edited here. It was produced on September 9, 2025, prior to the Council / Arcata Fire District joint study session on September 10th.
      
      A.I. summary of the Triton “Standards of Cover” report:
      September 10, 2025
      Reading time 2 minutes. An A.I. summary of the AP Triton "Standards of Cover" report. It has not been edited here. It was produced on September 9, 2025, prior to the Council / Arcata Fire District joint study session on September 10th.
      
      A.I. summary of the Triton “Standards of Cover” report:
      September 10, 2025
      Reading time 2 minutes. An A.I. summary of the AP Triton "Standards of Cover" report. It has not been edited here. It was produced on September 9, 2025, prior to the Council / Arcata Fire District joint study session on September 10th.
      
      See more Newest Articles
  - The Gateway Code – Specific Issues
  - Gateway Plan, General Plan, EIR, more — Documents & articles
  - Maps and 3D Images
  - Look & Feel and Planning
  - Density and Feasibility
  - Form-Based Code & Ministerial Review
  - Affordability and Home Ownership
  - Parks, Open Space, Solar Shading
  - Parking
  - Sea Level Rise and Groundwater issues
  - L Street Pathway and Linear Park
  - The Creamery District
  - Cal Poly Humboldt
  - Fire Protection and Infrastructure
  - Selected Letters and Articles from the Community
  - Topical Articles — from here and other locations
- City Council & Planning Commission: Portal / Links
- The 99 Most Popular Articles
- Topical Articles on a variety of topics
- Letters from our community
- Solutions
- Useful Links
- Important and Interesting
Gateway
Arcata / The Environment
Letters & Opinions
Humor & Music & Fun

- Advertisement -

AUTHOR NAME

fredredwoods

483 POSTS

0 COMMENTS

https://arcata1.com

Gateway Plan

David Loya dismisses the TSC’s recommendation, Part 2: David Loya’s reply, and a response back to him

June 21, 2023

David Loya dismisses the Transportation Safety Committee's input in a major way -- yet again. Arcata's Community Development Director David Loya has inadequately, inaccurately, or in a diminished fashion presented recommendations from the Transportation Safety Committee to the Planning Commission. **** David Loya's reply, and a response from Fred Weis ****

Affordable Housing

The Gateway Community Benefits program — Details of the “points” proposal

June 21, 2023

The Gateway Community Benefits Program is simple in concept. In order to construct a building higher than three stories -- and have it go through the streamlined "ministerial review" process -- a developer has to provide something for the community. But the existing State Density Bonus laws may entirely subvert our Community Benefits program and render it meaningless.

Affordable Housing

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

June 20, 2023

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.

Gateway Plan

Dave Ryan says: The Transportation Safety Committee’s recommendations are being withheld and misquoted

June 19, 2023

This letter was sent by Dave Ryan, Chair of Arcata's Transportation Safety Committee, to David Caisse (the TSC liason), to the full Transportation Safety Committee, and to David Loya. It was distributed to the Planning Commissioners at their April 11, 2023, meeting. It was partially posted to the City's website -- just the first page, and not the whole letter -- on April 14. Here is the full letter from Dave Ryan.

Gateway Plan

Humor & Irony: California’s Transparency Law (the Brown Act) is unreadable in Arcata’s version

June 19, 2023

In a June 22023, e-mail with Arcata's Community Development Director David Loya, I quoted to him a key sentence from the very first paragraph of the Brown Act -- California's transparency "sunshine" law. I've quoted this to him before, mainly because I do not believe that Arcata's top planner (although with no planning degree) abides by the law. ***** In a surprising bit of irony, on the City's website the words that have the Brown Act quote are unreadable. *****

Draft Plan - One Year Anniversary

The Planning Commission needs to step up to the plate

June 18, 2023

The following is a letter sent by Fred Weis to the City Councilmembers. According to the Planning Commission's absurdly accelerated schedule, they are expected to deliver recommendations of a draft of the Form-Based Code, a draft of the Gateway Plan, and a draft of the General Plan following their meeting on July 11th. It is expected that these drafts will be rough and incomplete. With all the work that the Planning Commission has to do, you'd think they'd be working overtime, right? Nope. Their meetings have been shorter than ever.

For the Planning Commission & City Council

138 acres of Gateway: What is actually buildable?

June 16, 2023

At the June 13, 2023, Planning Commission "special meeting" Chair Scott Davies asked the question "And do you know or have you looked at what percentage of the actual buildable parcels in that 138 Acres is the ratio of those orange parcels to the total acreage of the Gateway Area?" **** This question is critical for understanding development in the Gateway area. The key is the phrase "the actual buildable parcels."

- Overview

3D Modeling: We’re still waiting

June 16, 2023

Original article: June 16, 2022 --We've been promised the 3D modeling for at least four or five months now. *** ONE AND A HALF YEARS NOW **** Why is 3D Modeling so important? Look at the pictures here and decide for yourself.

Affordable Housing

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

June 13, 2023

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

June 11, 2023

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.

Arcata & Community

Vandalismo en Sanctuary Garden – Centro del Pueblo habla con el Ayuntamiento de Arcata

June 9, 2023

More than 60 members of our community came to City Hall on Wednesday, June 7th, for the Arcata City Council meeting. Many people, including Centro del Pueblo Executive Director Brenda Perez, spoke to the Council. Over the past three years, the Sanctuary Gardens has been vandalized one dozen times. The people of Arcata are asking the City Council to do something.

Arcata & Community

Sanctuary Garden vandalism – Centro del Pueblo speaks to the Arcata City Council

June 9, 2023

Form-Based Code and Ministerial Review

Redwood City Downtown Precise Plan – Form-Based Code

June 7, 2023

Redwood City's Downtown Precise Plan includes Form-Based code and Planning Commission review. It all took 4 years to develop. The Form-Based Code can serve as a model for Arcata.

Draft Plan

From high-speed rail to the Olympics, why do big projects go wrong?

June 6, 2023

"By his reckoning, only 8.5% of projects meet their initial estimates on cost and time, and a piddling 0.5% achieve what they set out to do on cost, time and benefits." -- "Over-optimistic time and cost estimates stem from both psychological and political biases: a reliance on intuition rather than data, and . . . “strategic misrepresentation”. This is when budgets are deliberately lowballed in order to get things going, on the premise that nothing would ever get built if politicians went around being accurate."

Affordable Housing

The draft Form-Based Code: First Impressions

June 6, 2023

A letter to Arcata's City Councilmembers and Planning Commissioners: This draft Form-Based Code has about 40% of the information and code that is needed for a good Form-Based Code. It fails to provide for the intents and interests and purposes of the Gateway Plan. It does not fulfil our needs.

Building Height

The Form-Based Code – draft from Ben Noble, June 5, 2023

June 6, 2023

This is the initial draft of the Form-Based Code for the Gateway Area Plan, as delivered from the City's consultant Ben Noble. Dated June 5, 2023. This entire Form-Based Code draft is 58 pages.

Affordable Housing

David Loya on Affordable Housing – May 9, 2023 staff report to the Planning Commission

June 4, 2023

Affordable Housing, Home Ownership, and Gentrification were featured topics for discussion at the May 9, 2023, Planning Commission meeting. But there was no discussion of affordable housing or home-ownership opportunities at that Planning Commission meeting. No discussion at all -- just a staff report on this crucial topics. **** This is that staff report -- with COMMENTARY.

Affordable Housing

The Gateway Area Plan at 18 months: The Promises Still Seem Unlikely

May 31, 2023

Now at eighteen months from the introduction of the Draft Gateway Area Plan, the wonderful world that was promised by the plan seems ever more unlikely. I refer to that wonderful world of “thousands of housing units that are environmentally sustainable and affordable to people in all income ranges” and “a broad range of housing densities and types, including rental and owner‐occupied options” that is promised on the opening page of the Draft Plan and continued in that theme throughout the document. *** Let’s look at what’s been ignored over these past eighteen months.

Affordable Housing

More Loya Nonsense: High Density Apartments will cause vacancies in Houses

May 31, 2023

Arcata's Community Development Director David Loya explains his version of how single-family houses will become available for sale. As more apartments are built, people will want to live in apartments and rental houses will become vacant, and the owners will sell. Could this be true?

Affordable Housing

The New Yorker: Apartments for Rent

May 30, 2023

The cover of the May 29, 2023 issue of The New Yorker magazine. "Open House" by Marcellus Hall. No explanation needed.

Economics

What is the financial impact of Gateway development?

May 30, 2023

What's the fiscal aspect of development in the Gateway area? What will be the changes to Arcata's over-stretched Police & Fire Departments? Who will pay for it? Will the City be running at a deficit in 10 years?

Community

Opinion: Who Should We Honor on Memorial Day?

May 29, 2023

The cost of war is not borne solely by soldiers on the field of battle and that for too many, the field of battle is unavoidable. In Iraq nearly half a million civilians died in the war and the eight-year American occupation. **** These civilians did not volunteer. They did not sign up nor were they drafted. And yet they died just the same. Their families mourn just as deeply. How should we remember them? Can we make space in our hearts for them, too, this Memorial Day?

For the Planning Commission & City Council

L Street – Proposed design does not fit

May 27, 2023

If indeed L Street were to become a through road carrying truck traffic from Alliance Road, there would be some pretty major issues. UPDATED

Gateway Plan

Serial Meeting Brown Act violations – What is the Law?

May 25, 2023

The Brown Act also prohibits use of a series of communications, of any kind, among a majority of members of a legislative body, directly or through intermediaries, to discuss, deliberate, or take action on any item of business that is within the subject matter jurisdiction of the legislative body. -- PROHIBITS USE OF A SERIES OF COMMUNICATIONS OF ANY KIND - DIRECTLY OR THROUGH INTERMEDIARIES.

1...101112...21 Page 11 of 21

Chapters

Specific, Special, and Fun

A.I. summary of the Triton “Standards of Cover” report:

A.I. summary of the Triton “Standards of Cover” report:

A.I. summary of the Triton “Standards of Cover” report:

A.I. summary of the Triton “Standards of Cover” report:

A.I. summary of the Triton “Standards of Cover” report:

A.I. summary of the Triton “Standards of Cover” report:

A.I. summary of the Triton “Standards of Cover” report:

A.I. summary of the Triton “Standards of Cover” report:

A.I. summary of the Triton “Standards of Cover” report:

A.I. summary of the Triton “Standards of Cover” report:

A.I. summary of the Triton “Standards of Cover” report:

A.I. summary of the Triton “Standards of Cover” report:

A.I. summary of the Triton “Standards of Cover” report:

A.I. summary of the Triton “Standards of Cover” report:

A.I. summary of the Triton “Standards of Cover” report:

A.I. summary of the Triton “Standards of Cover” report:

fredredwoods

Latest news

A.I. summary of the Triton “Standards of Cover” report:

from Fred Weis: Suggested solutions for AFD’s fire protection issues

Legalities: Will the AFD allow a four-story building to be approved?

Triton’s Standards of Cover report “recommendations” are worthless

AP Triton full report: Community Risk Assessment – Standards of Cover Deployment Analysis

Menu

Popular Categories

Top Stories

Planning Commission or 1-Person review?

Redwood City has PlanComish review

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

Cal Poly Humboldt – Expansion

Letter from Nick Lucchesi – January 15, 2022