The Upper-floor Step-Back shown in the draft Gateway Plan is false

To skip directly to the illustrations, click here.
To skip to Which City would you rather live in?, click here.

In the Arcata draft Gateway Area Plan, we’re using “Form-Based Code” as a backbone of the Plan’s design. Form-Based Code uses illustrations and architectural diagrams to show — clearly, we hope — the intentions of the code. And to show to both the developers and the public what the City planners want new buildings to look like.

Getting these illustrations right is crucial.

Unfortunately, the drafts for the Gateway Area Plan use illustrations that often misleading or actually false. It can be said that these are only “drafts”… but I think that it’s time for some reality.

One such “non-real” illustration is on Page 81 of the July 11, 2023 draft plan, which shows proposed street diagrams. The illustrations use cars that are the size of a Honda Fit — very small sub-compact cars, far smaller than a typical Subaru or Ford pickup truck. For a further description, see L Street – Proposed design does not fit.

Here’s a portion of the illustration for a proposed new L Street roadway. What’s in the draft plans — all three of them — is on the left. Typical vehicles in Arcata are not 5-1/2 feet wide.

Step-Back illustrations are crucial

A building’s Setback is how far from the property line the wall of the building is placed. The current proposal is that there be Zero feet setback from the property lines. Yes, that means that the sheer vertical wall of a new building can be built right on a property line — regardless of what is on the neighboring property.

The Step-back is how far back a building’s upper story walls are located, relative to the walls of the lower stories. Upper floor step-backs allow more light (and, possibly, sunlight) to get to the street, and avoid the “canyon” feel of the vertical wall of a taller building. For more on this, see Ben Noble on “Building Height Ratio” concept — Avoiding the “canyons” of taller buildings.

Reader:  Go to Sorrel Place on 7th Street between I & J, and see if anyone walks on the south side of the street, the sidewalk that is on the north side of the building. Even in July that sidewalk is in shade. It’s four stories with no upper-floor step-backs, and it feels like a canyon.

In what I regard as a misguided decision, the Planning Commissioners — none of whom are architects — thought that by having the step-backs start on the 5th story, then there could be more housing built — and it would be easier (i.e. cheaper) for the developer to build. They were told this by the architect from the Urban Field Studio report. Yet here in Humboldt County, we see many examples of buildings with step-backs starting after 3 stories. Those developers figured out how to make a building with a good design, and how to build it economically.

.

Here’s what’s on Page 52 of the July 11, 2023, draft plan. This is the same illustration that’s been in all three drafts — even though the discussion on setbacks and step-backs has changed over this time. The original idea was to have the step-back start after the 3rd story. That is, the 4th story would be “stepped back” from the face of the 3rd story’s walls.

Note the very deep step-back that occurs on the 4th story.

And here’s what’s incorrect about this illustration.

The Planning Commission is discussing changing the upper floor Step-back to start on the 5th story, and have the Step-back amount be just 8 feet. Here in Arcata, where the sun is at such a low angle in the Wintertime — for four months of the year, at least — a step-back of just 8 feet does not give people on the street much daylight. 

Here’s the same illustration — but with the upper-floor Step-back set to be 8 feet, starting at the 5th floor. This is a realistic illustration of what can be built, based upon the current discussions.

Now, let’s compare the two.

What’s on the right is what has been shown in all the Gateway Area Plan drafts to this time. It is unrealistic, misleading, and false. On the left is what could be built, based upon the proposed Gateway Code.

.

Which City would you rather live in?

Here are views if two buildings were built using what’s in the draft Plans… versus what is in the proposed Gateway Code.

1. From the draft plan. Not too bad for people on the street — pedestrians, bicyclists, all of the public.

2. This is what is proposed in the Gateway Code. On the street level, it’s a canyon.