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I am writing a second letter (my first was July 31) in support of the Gateway Area Plan. I am a proponent of the Plan and infill generally. I live in Eureka and work in Arcata (at Cal Poly Humboldt). I ride my bike to work approximately 3x per week, which means I’m riding in Arcata about 3 mornings and 3 afternoons every week. Arcata has always changed and will continue to change. How we prepare for change is absolutely vital. A big part of this
change is population growth, both from the growth of Cal Poly Humboldt and the people who are moving here as climate refugees. There will be increasing numbers of jobs here, whether at the university or at other economic development opportunities, and there needs to be housing. If that housing is unplanned, then there will still be people, but our development will sprawl, with (in my view) very negative impacts on the forests, wetlands, and farms of our
region. This style of sprawl is recognizable over most of California, but we have mostly been spared it because of
remoteness. But growth is coming, and the only thing to do is either prepare for growth or let it happen to us.
Let’s think about unplanned growth for a moment: more people driving from remote places, so more traffic of
commuters in Arcata (public transit doesn’t work very well for dispersed populations); loss of farmland, wetlands, and
forest land as sprawl eats up green space in Bayside, Indianola, and Freshwater. There would be fewer opportunities to
grow food at any scale as farms are subdivided. There would be more development in ecologically inappropriate areas.
More emissions from increased traffic; more impact on services such as wastewater and stormwater systems.
I appreciate that people love the feel of Arcata. There is much to appreciate about it, and the style of infill is important.
Remaining/becoming more bicycle friendly is important. I’ve seen people very protective of the L street corridor and
current biking there. It’s a great little area to walk and bike ‐ I agree. But it alone will not make the city
walkable/bikeable. K street, with unplanned growth, will become a barrier. Thinking about Arcata (and the entirety of
the Bay) is important when thinking about whether you can reasonably get from point A to point B on multiple modes of
transportation.
There has been a high level of vitriol from many people regarding the Gateway Area Plan. I think there’s an idea that
buildings will pop up overnight, and also an idea that only the people in Arcata should have a voice in this process. I get
it ‐ I’m an outsider, I live in Eureka. I support housing, infill, and all the things proposed here for Eureka as well. But this
won’t happen in a vacuum. Arcata and Eureka are linked in so many ways, and housing is one of them.

Protecting green space, habitat, and wetlands is another. We should work together on this (alongside McKinleyville!).
There are so many things I look forward to regarding the Gateway Plan Project ‐ especially thinking about design,
including setting back upper floors to break up the monotony of large buildings; creating more parks and pathways;
increasing public transportation opportunities. Building up ‐ even allowing for (eventually) 8‐story buildings will restrict
the footprint of development. Planning for multi‐modal transportation and a mix of residences and services will
maintain and improve quality of life. I’m excited to keep participating in this process. This is a process that prepares for
the future, including my students who are moving here, and to their kids, and to their grandkids. And I would like that
future to be environmentally and socially responsible.
Regards,
Erin Kelly
(professor at Cal Poly Humboldt)