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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.

Redwood City has PlanComish review

Redwood City's Downtown Precise Plan was adopted in 2011, after three or four years of development.  It is helpful to us because it incorporates a well-designed Form-Based Code -- and has a blend of Discretionary Review and Ministerial Review.

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.

L Street Pathway and Linear Park – Selected Articles

A selection of articles, maps, aerial images, and opinions on the L Street Corridor Linear Park and the proposal for and against the K-L Street couplet. Includes link to the Petition for the L Street Linear Park.

Cal Poly Humboldt – Expansion

Reading time: 5 minutes -- Cal Poly Humboldt looks to expand by 6,000 students, and that may be 3,000 students more than they are building housing for. Adding students also means adding 700-1,000 faculty, staff, and support employees, plus their partners and children. Ancillary jobs in the community would add another 2,000 people. Where are they all going to live?

Letter from Nick Lucchesi – January 15, 2022

A letter from Nick Lucchesi of Pacific Builders, dated January 15, 2022. ** A must-read letter. **

Andrea Tuttle letter from February 2022 — now 23 months later

READ THIS LETTER ! Arcata resident Andrea Tuttle Ph.D. environmental planning, former Director Calif Dept. Forestry (CDF), past Calif Coastal Commission & North Coast Water Quality Control Board, principal consultant State Senate.

Rentals Percentage in Arcata: “Do the math”

Original article May 2022, updated October 2023. Arcata's Gateway plan could add 3,500 apartments to our town, as Cal Poly Humboldt expands. Unless more than 60% of all new apartments are owner-occupied condos, Arcatans will have a small chance of owning their homes.

Planwest’s schedule: We’re completely off-course

We are completely off from the Planwest schedule for the Gateway plan. Let's re-evaluate where we are, and adjust accordingly. With specific requests for what the City Council can do.

Aerial Views of the Gateway area

Here are some aerial views of the Gateway area. The aerial views give a more clear vision of the size of the Gateway area, relative the area of Downtown and Northtown Arcata.

Steve Railsback – Times Standard opinion – December 8, 2021

Dr. Steve Railsback points out 5 major questions with the draft Gateway plan. A thoughtful and concise summation. From December, 2021.

Nick Lucchesi letters from January 2022 and August 2023

Two letters from Nick Lucchesi of Pacific Builders. First from January 15, 2022 -- A MUST-READ LETTER. Second letter from August 2023.

Complete Nonsense: David Loya’s May 23 Staff Report on Ownership Opportunities

Providing housing for people is the key purpose of the Gateway Area Plan. "Home ownership opportunities” is defined as owner-occupied housing that’s affordable to people of all income ranges, including middle-income and even lower-income households. *** David Loya told the Planning Commission how these home ownership opportunities could happen. In my view, what he describes as being feasible is nonsense.

3D Modeling: We’re still waiting

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.

Condensed version of Complete Nonsense: David Loya’s May 23 Staff Report on Ownership Opportunities

Providing housing for people is the key purpose of the Gateway Area Plan. "Home ownership opportunities” is defined as owner-occupied housing that’s affordable to people of all income ranges, including middle-income and even lower-income households. *** David Loya told the Planning Commission how these home ownership opportunities could happen. In my view, what he describes as being feasible is nonsense.

What is the financial impact of Gateway development?

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?

Does Building Luxury Condos Create More Affordable Housing?

This article is a re-print of the article of the same name in the July 25/August 1, 2022, issue of The Nation. It is...

Your neighborhood is at risk of being rezoned for High Density housing

Do you want your neighborhood rezoned as Residential High Density? **** Come to the City Council meeting on Wednesday, April 5th, and tell our City Councilmembers what you want and do not want for Arcata. The citizens of Arcata have not been informed. **** If you care about your neighborhood, please come and speak. ****

Robert Crumb: City of the Future, 1967

A single panel from "City of the Future" as imagined by Robert Crumb in 1967. "Everyone will be tuned in to everything that's happening all the time!" Note the captions on the buttons on the electronic devices: Economy, Politics, Science, Literature, Art, Facts, Fancies, Opinions, Ideas, Notions  -- just like a modern website news page.

Fred Weis reads the Brown Act to the City Council

It seems that the public is not receiving the information that is our right to receive, under the law. Why the public is not receiving this information is anyone's guess. And why a citizen feels the need to read the opening lines of the Brown Act Law indicates that much is wrong.

Sea Level Rise – the basics

Sea Level Rise could affect plans for the Gateway area. See maps here of what Sea Level Rise looks like.

A possible 6-story design for Arcata

Here's a 6-story building that could work in Arcata, with some modifications. Originally proposed for Santa Cruz, it incorporates many of the design elements and features people here have said are important.

Density Guide for Housing Types

A density guide that shows the variety of types of housing that is suitable for different density levels.  Which types would be suitable for Arcata?

Quimby Act Dreams — How do we get parks in Gateway?

The "plan" for human-access parks in the Arcata Gateway area is woefully inadequate. To make the Gateway area livable for thousands of people, we need real parks.

Letters to the Planning Commission — April 12, 2022

The Community Development Staff packet for the April 12, 2022 Planning Commission meeting had correspondence received by the City about the Gateway plan. Some letters were over 4 months old, not previously available to the public or the Commission.

Transcript: Planning Commission meeting — February 8, 2022

Transcript with added commentary. Includes misguided views on the cost of housing. Public comment from Carlisle Douglas.

Transcript: Planning Commission meeting — April 12, 2022

Video of portion of the April 12, 2022 Planning Commission meeting. Vice-Chair Judith Mayer says Form-Based Code and discretionary review are not mutually exclusive, and will work hand-in-hand well together. Comments from David Loya on Form-Based Code and what went wrong with the Village project.

Why this website exists

Why this website exists? Because this is what Ministerial Review looks like.  The data center building on 11th Street goes against everything that's important to us. No jobs, no vitality. This is the blight in Arcata

Vancouver, British Columbia: 40-story buildings proposed

A plan for Downtown Vancouver, British Columbia involves new building heights of 40-stories, seriously changing the existing neighborhood.

The Village Project: What went wrong?

Arcata's Village project was stalled in public comment for almost 2 years. A year after it was eventually approved, the developers withdrew. What went wrong?

McKinleyville is transparent. Arcata is not.

How is it that McKinleyville has all of the info for their Town Center plan in one location?  And in Arcata, the same info is scattered all over the place -- or is in obscure locations that so buried that it might as well not exist. Read more here.

Gateway Maps: Historical Structures

Aerial image from 7th Street, looking north. The point-of-view is from a spot above the current Amerigas site. All the blocks to the left (west) of K Street are part of the Gateway area. According to the December 2021 Draft Plan, six-story apartments could be built across the street from these homes.

HSU professor emeritus honored with environmental award

Bob Gearheart helped create the Arcata Marsh in 1985. Gearheart was honored with an environmental award on May 7, 2019 for his longtime work on natural treatment systems such as the Arcata Marsh. This artic;le originally appeared the Times-Standard.

Letter from Andrea Tuttle, Ph.D. — February 13, 2022

READ THIS LETTER ! Arcata resident Andrea Tuttle Ph.D. environmental planning, former Director Calif Dept. Forestry (CDF), past Calif Coastal Commission & North Coast Water Quality Control Board, principal consultant State Senate.

“Arcata News” video of the Gateway Plan

Excellent brief video about the background and basis of the Gateway plan. Date: January 16, 2022. 3 minutes 42 seconds