City Council & Planning Commission
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A plan that is not feasible is no plan at all.

If the Gateway Plan is not going to provide truly affordable housing for the people who need it, then what’s the point? If working people can’t buy a home and can’t afford the rent, then we need to think this through more.

Want to better understand the basis for a person’s decision?
Check out the Four Decision-Making Styles.

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City Council & Planning Commission – July, 2024

• Arcata Fire District – Fire and Safety issues in Arcata and the Gateway Plan
• Ministerial Review in the Gateway Area Plan – Links to articles on Ministerial Review.
• Ministerial Review – Ben Noble: Form-Based Code presentation
  From the one hour June 29, 2022 presentation.  14 minutes. Important.

City Council & Planning Commission – June 2024

• Merritt Perry — Fortuna City Manager will be Arcata’s new City Manager
• Arcata in the 1970s — 9-minute film and still photos
• What a destructive fire in a 4-story apartment building looks like
• Sunset-101 Interchange Roundabout articles
  New articles on this will be added. Please check back for more.

City Council — for the General Plan, Gateway Area Plan, Gateway Code and Final EIR public hearing meetings

• Suggestions for May 29, 2024: Gateway Area Plan, Gateway Code, General Plan, and EIR
• Gateway Plan and General Plan Updates – Newsletter – May 27, 2024
• For a little levity:  The Gateway Singers — “The Ballad of Sigmund Freud”
  2-1/2 minutes. A song from 1958.
• Four-Story Buildings do not belong in the Bayview, Sunset, and Upper I & J Street Neighborhoods
• The Gateway Code — Specific Issues
• Can we have buildings with human-scale design elements for the L Street corridor woonerf?  An example of a good design
• An absolutely awful building design for the Gateway Area Plan

City Council & Planning Commission – May 2024

• The Marin County Form-Based Code
  A beautifully-designed, informative, well-illustrated form-based code document. 322 pages. Article includes four pages showing a zoning that corresponds to the Gateway area — worth looking at.
• 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. Inclusionary Zoning was removed by the Planning Commission at their May 14th meeting — and not yet added anywhere else. And still no L Street woonerf and linear park.
• The Gateway Plan process: A thousand and one topics got lost in the wilderness
  
• Four-story hotel approved by David Loya and not approved by the Planning Commission? It’s possible.
• A successful woonerf and linear park in the L Street corridor needs Gateway Code policies
  An outline of what’s required for a successful Woonerf and Linear Park in the L Street corridor. 
• Gateway planning for Bus stops and a transit center — A missing opportunity
• The Gateway Code — Specific Issues
  Descriptions and links to more than two dozen articles about the deficiencies of the Gateway Code — and what can be done to repair it.
• Gateway needs good architects !
• To the Council and Commission: The draft General Plan is not ready

City Council & Planning Commission – April 2024

• Comments and Suggestions for the Gateway Code
• Guides for the Council, Commission, and Community — to the Gateway Code comments and suggestions
• The Gateway Code: What has been discussed, and what has been forgotten?

• Appreciation for Judith Mayer, Ph.D., for her seventeen years as a Planning Commissioner

• The City of Arcata needs revenue. “Rich Uncle” Cal Poly Humboldt isn’t paying its share.
• Four-story hotel approved by David Loya and not approved by the Planning Commission? It’s possible.
• Criteria for Zoning Administrator approval be 4,000 sq.ft. — not 40,000 sq.ft.
• 71-year-old Californian explains why she won’t sell her home and downsize
  Reading time:  5 minutes.
• FM3 survey: Putting a sales tax increase on the November 2024 ballot, and more
• Video: FM3 sales-tax survey at the Council’s goal-setting session — with questions on building height and parking desired
  
• Gateway’s “Inclusionary” apartments — How much rent would you be paying?

• Barrel-shaped apartments project for Gateway’s Barrel District floats through Planning Commission
• April Fool’s Day humor… and other fuzzy tales and cartoons
• Gateway Area Plan approved at 11th hour; PlanCom, Council, Loya jubilant

City Council & Planning Commission – March 2024

• The Gateway Area Plan, the General Plan, the Environmental Impact Report, Local Coastal Plan… and articles about these documents.

  This is a page with over 50 articles on the major documents — and including those documents — that the Planning Commission is currently working on, all in one place. The page includes links to the documents on the City of Arcata website.

• 71-year-old Californian explains why she won’t sell her home and downsize
• Andrea Tuttle: Comments on the draft Environmental Impact Report
• Comments on the draft EIR from Fred Weis — What was submitted
• David Loya: A trail will last “in perpetuity” — unless something else changes
  4 minutes to read. Plus 3 minutes for the video  or 2 minutes to read the transcription.

The General Plan draft Environmental Impact Report and the Gateway Code are both inadequate and sub-standard. The deadline for submitting written comments on the draft EIR was March 18. Comments from Andrea Tuttle and Fred Weis are now on Arcata1.com. I’ll be posting comments from other people also.

• An annotated Table of Contents for the Draft Environmental Impact Report
  A valuable guide to the EIR. This is a listing with hundreds of entries of the sections of the EIR, with notes and flags on what’s considered important.
• The Gish Gallop — and Brandolini’s Law
  One of the most popular articles on Arcata1.com. You can read this for fun and enjoyment, but it also rings true. 5 minutes to read, or just look at the cartoons and laugh.
• The General Plan Draft Environmental Impact Report is here — 1,990 pages
• The Documents of the General Plan Draft Environmental Impact Report
  

City Council & Planning Commission – February 2024

• Part 1:  Sunset and LK Wood / Highway 101 roundabouts — Where are the bike lanes?
• Part 2:  Sunset and LK Wood / Highway 101 roundabouts — Will this work? Is this safe?
• The Gateway Code (Form-Based Code) – THIRD DRAFT February 2024
  There is still no mention or modification of the code for the L Street Linear Park.
  Contains new 3D images of what a Gateway Area build-out could look like.

The General Plan draft Environmental Impact Report is out, and the newest version of the Gateway Code (the Form-Based Code) is available also. Over these next weeks there will be a variety of articles on these two very important documents.

3D images of buildings in the Gateway districts

• 3D images of Gateway Area build-out, from the Gateway Code
• The 3D images in the draft Environmental Impact Report
• The Gateway Barrel District “Illustrative Plan” of 1,500 apartment units

As a heads-up on what’s to come:  The General Plan draft Environmental Impact Report and the Gateway Code are both inadequate and sub-standard. I’ll be getting into this more in future articles. For now we have:

• The General Plan Draft Environmental Impact Report is here — 1,990 pages
• An annotated Table of Contents for the Draft Environmental Impact Report
• The Documents of the General Plan Draft Environmental Impact Report
• The Gish Gallop — and Brandolini’s Law

• “It’s Halftime in America” – Super Bowl commercial, 2012

“I’ve seen a lot of tough eras, a lot of downturns in my life.
And times when we didn’t understand each other.
It seems like we’ve lost our heart at times.
When the fog of division, discord, and blame made it hard to see what lies ahead.
But after those trials, we all rallied around what was right, and acted as one.”

Also on Arcata1.com:  Paul Simon: American Tune

City Council & Planning Commission – January 2024

• A dimension beyond that known to Arcata — The Gateway Zone
  Humorous but true. How many “aspirations” of the Gateway Plan seem to belong in The Twilight Zone of imagination.
• “Infill Opportunity Zones” — What are they, and where are they?
• Andrea Tuttle letter from February 2022 — now 23 months later
  This letter dates from February 2022. The questions about the Gateway Plan still ring true.
• Arcata Ballpark – Entrance Alternatives and Survey
  With closer views of the three façades, and a view of the original 1937 invoice for the construction of the ballpark — $11,577.65
• Larger issues for the Council and Commission to consider – from November 28, 2023
• Arcata’s Vision Statement: Pretty good and can get better
• Eureka’s Vision Statement — How does it compare to Arcata’s?
• Vision Statements of award-winning cities from around the world
• Senator Margaret Chase Smith: Honesty and Trust in the Gateway Area Plan
• The Iceberg of the Gateway Plan — and the cockroaches, mosquitoes, termites, rats, and rot.
• President of local NAACP speaks to the City Council on no community input
• Nicaragua’s dictator goes after Miss Universe
• The Orange Juice Test — and the absence of Home Ownership in Gateway

City Council & Planning Commission – December 2023

Topical articles for you to read

   The Brown Act State law in California — Selected Articles  

The Brown Act presentation to the City Council — December 6, 2023
Video and slides. 1 hour 10 minutes.

Inclusionary Zoning

The California Inclusionary Housing Programs searchable database

A list of Inclusionary Housing Programs in California

Arcata’s Housing Element calls for 20% affordable housing for the Gateway Plan. What happened?

The costs to the people of Arcata of Cal Poly Humboldt’s expansion

Colleges must pay for increased traffic, firefighting and other costs caused by campus expansions

UC Berkeley lawsuit decisions may affect Arcata too

A clash over housing pits UC Berkeley against its neighbors
“Additional students will put more pressure on the local housing market and increase rents for everybody, hitting low-income students and low-income nonstudent families the hardest.”
“We don’t want students to have to live in cars, campers, and hotel rooms.”

What’s going on with the Gateway Area Plan?

500 or 3,500 apartments in Gateway? Please clarify

The Myth of “Privately-Owned Publicly-Accessible” Open Spaces
The Community Benefits Program in the Gateway Area Plan is a noble concept. Unfortunately, in its current conception, it will not work.
Over 500 views. Estimated reading time 14 minutes but can be skimmed by reading the topic headings. Includes suggestions for solutions.

When will the General Plan and the Gateway Plan be completed?
In 2022, it was projected that the General Plan and Gateway Area Plan would be completed in December 2022.
In 2023, it was projected that the General Plan and Gateway Area Plan would be completed in December 2023.
The projected completion date is now sometime after September 2024 — but that has not yet been formally announced.

City Council & Planning Commission – November 2023

• Do you want a 5-story apartment in a residential neighborhood?
      Reading time:  3 minutes

City Council – Planning Commission joint study session

Taking place October 24, 2023

• Many Arcatans today worry that our city is losing its identity
      Reading time:  3-5 minutes
• Arcata’s Racial Equity outreach for the General Plan update is a sham
      Reading time:  6 minutes
• Cal Poly Humboldt – Expansion  Over 600 views
      Reading time:  5 minutes
• Could Gateway’s Barrel District be 100% free of cars?
      Reading time:  3 minutes
      plus articles and photos on the “Culdesac” car-free development
• Plus the links below for October

October, 2023

• Santa Cruz takes building height and inclusionary housing to the VOTERS
• Garden Village in Berkeley: Pre-Fab modular housing that could be used for Arcata
• David Loya’s L Street video is a big Brown Act violation
• Mass Timber Technology in 4- to 6-story buildings
• New Commissioner Matt Simmons proposes huge changes to established neighborhoods
• What if Gateway apartments had rooftop gardens?
• Rentals Percentage in Arcata: “Do the math”
• Windowless bedrooms? Sunlight is considered a luxury benefit
       Reading time:  5 minutes

• Will upper floor step-backs vanish from the Gateway Code? Over 500 views
       Reading time:  8 minutes
  
• The Village Project: What went wrong?
       Reading time:  10 minutes

For the September 26, 2023, Study Session      

• The September 25, 2023, Gateway Open House meeting – Synopsis and photos
      Reading time: 6 minutes 
• Please measure apartments by number of bedrooms, not number of units 
       Reading time:  2 minutes
• Louis Sauer, architect: Low-rise dense housing in an urban setting
      Estimated reading and viewing time:  5 minutes
• Density: How many units per acre for apartments around Humboldt
      Estimated reading and viewing time:  5 minutes

  And more on Housing Issues – continued in listings below.

 General concerns

• Tabatha Miller – Divesting Fossil Fuel corporations from pension investments

Housing issues

• “Mio” apartments in Seattle — Density of 205 units per acre
      Reading and viewing time:  5 minutes
• State Density Bonus Housing Law — How it affects us here in Arcata
      Reading time:  12 minutes, plus more to read the source material
  
• Inclusionary Zoning, objective design standards approved in Santa Cruz
      Full article, 7 minutes. Skimming, 2 minutes.
• The cost of Regulations when constructing new housing: How much, and how can it be reduced?
      Reading time, estimated: 14 minutes. Can be skimmed.
  
• US Congress Research reports: Housing Trends & Policy Considerations
• US Congress Research reports: Housing Issues report – July 14, 2023
  50 page report, plus quickly-viewed charts on trends in housing costs.

Affordable Housing and Home Ownership

• What is Affordable Housing? — With suggestions for definitions.
• 5 articles with statements from David Loya on how the design of the Gateway Plan will achieve Home Ownership and Affordable Housing goals — and lots of reasons why, in its current form, the Plan cannot achieve those goals.
• The Gateway Area Plan at 18 months: The Promises Still Seem Unlikely
  The editorial in the Mad River Union, from May 24, 2023

Solar Shadowing – 3D images, videos, and more 

• Solar Shading Impacts – video and still images
  Three 30-second videos of solar shadows in the Gateway area, plus more images and commentary.   Reading / viewing time could be 2 minutes to 10 minutes.

• David Loya “Solar Shading Impacts 3D GIS Analysis” video
  Includes full transcription and all images from the video of Shading Analysis, plus the original video.
      Reading/viewing time: 6 minutes.

September, 2023 Estimated reading times shown

• California Coastal Commission hears about the Gateway Area Plan
       4 minutes
• The Myth of “Privately-Owned Publicly-Accessible” Open Spaces
       13 minutes
• Where are the 3D images? We need them now, more than ever before.
  

  The budgeted amount for 3D GIS modeling is $34,596. As of June, 2023, for development of 3D modeling: Over $34,400 has been spent. There is under $188 that remains. For that $34,400, what have we seen of this? Not very much.
       3 minutes

• Planwest 3D Massing Diagrams are non-existent — We do not have the 3D diagrams to evaluate the Gateway heights and massing. The contract for this was 8 months ago.
       4 minutes

• Big Issues of the Gateway Plan: Fire Protection — and a solution
       8 minutes
  
• “Have you ever noticed that in the places where they make it good for the developers, it’s usually not so good for people?” 
        < 1 minute
• Four Decision-Making Styles: Analytical, Directive, Conceptual, and Behavioral
       5 minutes
  

For the August 22, 2023 joint City Council / Planning Commission study session

• 3D Modeling and Visualizations have been removed from the draft Gateway Area Plan
       Estimated reading time:  6 minutes
• Pre-Meeting Ideas from our City Councilmembers: City Council – Joint Study Session – August 22, 2023
• The Planning Commission did NOT give a “Recommendation for adoption” to the City Council on the Gateway Plan
• Can the Planning Commission complete the Gateway Plan AND the General Plan in 3 sessions? No, they cannot.
       Estimated reading time:  7 minutes

August, 2023

• How much Gateway housing, really? 3,500 … 500 … or none?
• Video — Gateway Area Plan Mobility, Trails, and Couplets — and L Street
  From August 11, 2023. Discusses alternatives to having L Street as a couplet road … but neglects to bring up the most obvious alternative:  No Couplet
• What is the timeline for Council and Public input, discussion, and review of the Gateway Plan and the General Plan?
• Linear Park and Woonerf examples for us to look at

Currently of interest:

• Draft Gateway Plan Step-backs: The illustration does not show what the Plan really is
  
• Will upper floor step-backs vanish from the Gateway Code?
• Uniontown Revisioning: Put housing over CVS and Safeway
  In May, 2020, a group of six Humboldt State students submitted a well-thought-out proposal called the “Uniontown Revisioning Project.” The idea is that residential apartments could be constructed above the current buildings of the Uniontown shopping center, at 7th and F Streets.  The report also includes a discussion of Form-Based Codes and required design elements and considerations.

The State Density Bonus laws and the Gateway Community Benefits program

• State Density Bonus Laws / Inclusionary Zoning / Community Benefits — David Loya presentation. 15-1/2 minute video
  “And our design standards and Community Benefits programs are unlikely to be implemented due to waivers and concessions.” — David Loya, June 28, 2023
• The Gateway Community Benefits program — Details of the “points” proposal
  For all the work that the Planning Commission put into the Community Benefits Program, there’s a strong possibility that it will never (or rarely) be used.

• Density Bonus Laws explained — David Loya, from the Planning Commission packet, March 14, 2023.

What’s popular and of interest right now

• Former Commissioner John Barstow: Building Height, the Form-Based Code
• The “Other Considerations” table – Multiple versions
• Fred Weis explains how the April 11 vote on K-L Couplet went off-track
• The Village Project: What went wrong?
• Dan Burden, Walkability Expert — Here in Humboldt, July 22-25, 2023
• The 99 most popular articles

Gateway Density & Feasibility Study

• Gateway Density & Feasibility Study – Introduction
• Gateway Density & Feasibility Study – Full Article, with videos and transcriptions

Will upper floor step-backs vanish?

• Will upper floor step-backs vanish from the Gateway Code? Over 350 views
• Ben Noble on “Building Height Ratio” concept — Avoiding the “canyons” of taller buildings
• Councilmembers, Commissioners: What do we want our buildings to look like?
• Podium Construction: New apartment buildings all look the same  
  Why do so many new apartment buildings seemingly look the same?
  America’s New Apartment Buildings Look the Same

Parking issues and questions

• Gateway Parking: 48 Drivers = 6 parking spaces
• No Parking in the Gateway area? Banks may be unwilling to provide financing

Should the K/L Street couplet be an option or a recommendation?

(A review of the Planning Commissioners’ straw poll vote)

• The transcription from the April 11, 2023, Planning Commission on the L-K Street Vote
• Fred Weis explains how the April 11 vote on L-K Couplet went off-track

Latest Form-Based Code articles

• What do we want our buildings to look like? With images of the St. Vinnie’s site
• Ben Noble on “Building Height Ratio” concept — Avoiding the “canyons” of taller buildings
• Councilmembers, Commissioners: What do we want our buildings to look like?
• Will upper floor step-backs vanish from the Gateway Code?
• The draft Form-Based Code: First Impressions
• Click here for more Form-Based Code articles

New Articles

• The Gateway Community Benefits program — Details of the “points” proposal
• David Loya once again dismisses the Transportation Safety Committee’s recommendation: “Removal of couplet in favor of a linear park through the L St corridor”
  Part Two:   David Loya’s reply, and a response back to him

Topical

• 138 acres of Gateway: What is actually buildable?
• The Planning Commission needs to step up to the plate
• 3D Modeling: We’re still waiting
• Humor & Irony: California’s Transparency Law (the Brown Act) is unreadable in Arcata’s version
• Dave Ryan says: The Transportation Safety Committee’s recommendations are being withheld and misquoted

Inclusionary Zoning

• Loya tells the Council there will be Inclusionary Zoning: March 1, 2023
  The Inclusionary Zoning that is there is worthless
• Draft Gateway Form-Based Code yields very little Inclusionary Zoning homes
• Gateway Plan needs inclusionary affordable housing requirements, says Rebecca Buckley-Stein
  

Form-Based Code

• The Form-Based Code – draft from Ben Noble, June 5, 2023
  Just the Form-Based Code itself. No commentary.
  With a cell phone-sized viewer and a tablet/desktop-sized viewer.
• The draft Form-Based Code: First Impressions
• Redwood City Downtown Precise Plan – Form-Based Code
• Form-Based Code Study Session: February 11, 2023
  Building Placement and Massing Standards
  Building Design Standards
• David Loya’s Building & Massing presentation
• Form-Based Code Workshop – February 23, 2023
• Click here for many Form-Based Code articles

Older articles that are topical right now

• What is the financial impact of Gateway development?
  Written May 30, 2022 — one year ago.
• David Loya on Supply and Demand
  Over 470 views from the public.
  This article was originally written May 30, 2022 — a year ago. Please read and see if you can make any sense out of what David Loya is proposing for Arcata.

General Interest

• City Council: Let’s move forward! Written one year ago.
• Andrea Tuttle letter from February 2022 — now 15 months later
• Nick Lucchesi letter from January 2022 — now 16 months later

Transportation Safety Committee 

• Transportation Safety Committee rejects the L – K Street Couplet – AGAIN
• The L Street Linear Park page – All articles

Creamery meetings – Maps and Business information

• May 16th Creamery Meeting: The discussion is minimized in the Staff Report
• What People Wrote – at the May 16th Creamery meeting
• Creamery District meeting – May 16, 2023 – What the People want
• David Loya Trashes the Creamery Discussion – May 16, 2023
• Creamery District — Businesses and Maps
• Creamery District / Gateway Meetings — May 16th & May 23rd
• The 12-minute video segment of your November 8, 2022, discussion on this, and a transcription of what the Commissioners said click here.

Current topics – for the Planning Commission 

• Did the Planning Commission violate the Brown Act — again — at their April 27th meeting? Yes, they did.
• What is Affordable Housing? — a suggestion for definitions
• Obfuscation and Gobbledygook – The video and transcription of the July 26, 2022 Planning Commission meeting
• David Loya on Supply and Demand — from the Planning Commission meeting of February 8, 2022
• The Gish Gallop — and Brandolini’s Law
• Rezoning Arcata: Alliance Road Industrial-Light property was improperly rezoned
• Fred Weis explains how the April 11 vote on L-K Couplet went off-track

Rezoning articles and issues

• Alliance Road Industrial-Light property was improperly rezoned
• Re-Zoning Arcata: The Big View and aerial images
• Rezoning Arcata: 17th & Q – from Ag Land and Industrial Light — to Residential High Density
• Rezoning Arcata: 17th & Q proposed as Residential High Density – More images tell the story

The Planning Commission wants to decrease public input, and continues to violate the Brown Act “transparence” laws.

• Did the Planning Commission violate the Brown Act — again — at their April 27th meeting? Yes, they did.
• Transportation Safety Committee Chair says: Our Linear Park recommendation is not accurately shown in the Gateway draft plan
• Fred Weis explains how the April 11 vote on L-K Couplet went off-track
• Discarding the democratic process even further: The Planning Commission meeting – April 11, 2023
• Calling it a “Special Meeting” does not make it a Special Meeting
• How and why did the Planning Commission change their meetings from 6:00 PM to 5:30?
• What happened at the April 11 Planning Commission meeting? A 6-minute video and transcription

The L Street Pathway and Linear Park

• The L Street Linear Park page – All articles
• The L Street Corridor — It’s a goldmine, waiting to happen
• Why the decision on the L Street Linear Park is so important — and so crucial
• Dave Ryan says: Abandon the L-K Street Couplet.
  Embrace the L Street Linear Park and Pathway.
• 2010 Rail with Trail Feasibility Study by Karen Diemer and many other contributors
  that shows L Street as a linear park
• The L Street proposal: There’s no room for an ambulance.
• The L Street – K Street Couplet: An engineer’s view
  From the August 23, 2022, joint CC/PC study session. 14-minute presentation and 20-minute discussion.
• K Street / L Street Couplet Decision
  Excerpt from a letter from Fred Weis to the Arcata City Council.  August 16th, 2022
• Learn about the L Street Pathway
  and L Street Pathway Deception here
• L-K Street Couplet: Does the City have the Rights-of-Way?
• L-K Street Couplet? David Loya admits we don’t have the property rights.
• Request for a “Plan B” if the K Street & L Street couplet cannot be constructed
• Gateway Needs Parks!   and   Letter to the Parks & Recreation Committee – July 13, 2022   and   Quimby Act Dreams — How do we get parks in Gateway?
• The full Transportation Safety Committee page

Sea Level Rise

• Sea Level Rise presentation to Council and PlanCom — Tuesday, March 28th
• Sea Level Panel Discussion – March 28, 2023 – The Meeting Outline and Objectives
• Fred Weis speaks to the Planning Commission on Sea Level Rise – January 10, 2023
  With transcription. Watch the video: 6 minutes.  Read the transcript:  4 minutes
  
• U.S. Coastal Communities underestimate Sea Level Rise dangers
• Sea Level Rise – the basics (article from May, 2022)
• Gateway Sea Level Rise talk – Planning Commission, January 10, 2023
  With transcription. Watch the video: 6 minutes.  Read the transcript:  4 minutes.

City Council articles

• 3D images of the Julian Berg building — in the setting of Arcata
• Maps, 3D, and Aerial Views
• City Council meeting – Study Session with Committee Chairs
  February 21, 2023
• Berkeley modular “village” housing with rooftop garden
• Planwest’s schedule: We’re completely off-course
• Study Session – City Council and Planning Commission – August 23, 2022
  The meeting lasted 3-1/2 hours. But what was said of value, and what was determined? Not much.

Visualizing Housing Density

• Visualizing Compatible Density
• “Dwelling Units per Acre” – Another terrible way of measuring housing
• “Housing Units” and “Housing Density”
   Why these are terrible ways to measure housing success

Form-Based Code

• Form-Based Code Workshop – February 23, 2023
• The February 11, 2023 Planning Commission study session with Ben Noble
• Click here for many Form-Based Code articles
  

Fire Protection

• Click here for all the newest articles
• Fire Danger in Arcata High-Rises:  2-minute 47-second video from Eric Black
• Arcata Fire District presentation to the Planning Commission, January 10, 2023
  Video of Eric Loudenslager’s talk, the Commissioners’ questions, and comment.
  Two hours total.
• Arcata Fire District Board Meeting – December 13th, 2022
• Cal Poly ignores Arcata Fire District response to the Draft EIR
• Arcata Fire District Director: Eric Loudenslager – August 4, 2022
  

Parking and Economic Development

• The Economics page
  
• Economic Development Committee’s recommendations on Parking: Lost in the process?
  With 6-minute video of the Committee discussing parking
• Gateway: No Cars Allowed
• Getting rid of parking in Arcata: A social engineering experiment
• Gateway Street Parking: Why it will be inadequate
• 8th and 9th Streets: Where’s the parking?
• Getting oriented: The Creamery Area
• Economic Development Committee comments on the Draft Gateway Plan – August 1, 2022
• Economic Committee meetings, and economic themes in general

Westwood Garden Apartments

• Planning Commission approval on October 25,
  and appeal to the City Council on December 7, 2022 January 4, 2023

Scroll down for more links

Looking for something?  You can use the search box at the upper right corner of every page.

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This website exists to provide information for you. The Gateway Plan — in its implications and consequences — is an extremely complex matter. There is no one-size-fits-all solution. Only by being informed can the public and our elected and appointed officials make the needed determinations that will create a new Arcata.

The images, maps, information, viewpoints, and policies provided by the City planners and consultants are simply inadequate. People making decisions need information.

If there is information that you’d like, or you have questions or observations about the Gateway Plan, please write.

Here are some ideas and articles for recommended reading.
You can tap or click on any link to go to that page. Use your back-arrow to return to this page.

Looking for something in particular, or a name or a topic or something that someone said?  You can use the search box at the upper right corner of every page.

Overview and Maps

• Maps: Building Height Districts
• Overall aerial views of the Gateway Area
• Maps and aerial views of the building height districts
• 3D images and aerial views

Gateway Advisory Committee

• The Gateway Advisory Committee page
• Letters sent to the City Council and the Planning Commission about the Advisory Committee

General 

• The latest articles.  See what’s new and hot.
• Added Sept 8, 2022:  The Five Biggest Myths of the Gateway Plan

• Form-Based Code – Learn more here

  
  

• Home Ownership is wanted – But it likely won’t happen
  and Rentals Percentage in Arcata: “Do the math”
• Feasibility:  Letters from Andrea Tuttle, Steve Railsback
• Sea Level Rise – the basics   and   Letter from Steve Salzman – March 30, 2022

• Editorials from Fred Weis

  
  

• Robert Crumb’s “A Short History of America” 
• Humor and Music
• the Home page for lots of articles and links

And more !  Check back regularly.

If there is information that you’d like, or you have questions or observations about the Gateway Plan, please write.