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.

Table of Contents for Arcata1.com
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For the September 26, 2023, Study Session
      Estimated reading times shown.

• 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.

 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

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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.