Note: What is shown below is a copy of the original letter, made for this website. It is included here only so that the contents of the original letter can be searchable. (The PDF received from the City is in the form of an image, and so is not a searchable document.)
What is below is not the letter sent by the letter-writer. It may contain typographical errors and other departures from the original. The PDF displayed above is accurate. The text below is not accurate. It is printed here for indexing purposes, so that each word can be indexed and included in the search.
To: City Manager Karen Diemer, Community Development Director David Loya
Planning Commission Chair Davies, Commissioners Tagney, Mayer, Figueroa, Lehman, Simmons, Yodowitz
Mayor Sarah Schaefer, Vice-Mayor Meredith Matthews, Councilmember Kimberley White
From: Fred Weis
Date: Monday, April 24, 2023
Subject: Improper and misleading e-notification from the Community Development Department
Synopsis:
The Planning Commission spoke clearly that they want community involvement on questions on proposed re-zoning.
The e-notification from the Community Development Director this morning is counter to the Commission’s specific requests.
This is important and timely — it should be corrected today.
To Karen and the Commissioners:
I am trying to get along with everyone here, but this morning’s message from the Community Development Department has made this impossible.
The Commission had a great meeting on Saturday and much got accomplished. I find it unfortunate that I have to contact you in this fashion.
The Community Development Director has mischaracterized what you — the Commission — specifically said on Saturday.
You want a time for people who are concerned about re-zoning of parcels to be able to speak, and for there to be a discussion on that.
This was expressed by you clearly and explicitly. The transcription of what you said is below — and the YouTube link. It’s only ~3 minutes long.
What you said is NOT what this morning’s e-notification says.
This is a terrible disservice to the public. This morning’s e-notification says nothing about a discussion on re-zoning.
There is nothing in this message that would indicate that a person concerned with the re-zoning of parcels in Arcata should come to this meeting.
The word “rezoning” is conspicuously absent from the Community Development Department Statement. Instead, the euphemism “The Commission will consider the Draft Land Use Map amendments” is used.
Here is what the Commissioners said:
Commissioner Mayer:Can we commit to a time when we will address these specific rezoning suggestions? Because I know that members of the public had come in several times when we never got around to those items.
Commissioner Tangney
Well, I think Judith is making an excellent point that this *is* a topic that the public is going to want to be here for, if they are already writing letters and speaking. — So it would be nice to target a date. Does Thursday work?
Chair Davies:
Is everyone okay with putting this on the agenda for Thursday for our special meeting?
The e-notification contains factually correct statements. But does it convey to the public what is going on here? No, it does not.
I will add that this is a not uncommon situation that the Community Development Director has substantially misinterpreted or altered the intent or meaning from the Planning Commision, from City Committees, from the public, and even from things that he himself has said. A discussion on all of that would detract from the current situation. However we can note that a similar (not identical) situation came up in the vote by the Commission on the L Street – K Street couplet, on April 11.
On an immediate basis: This message needs to be re-worded, corrected, and sent out again.
The follow-up corrected e-notification should be sent out immediately. I suggest that any new notification be run by the Commission Chair and Vice-Chair prior to it being sent — so we do not have more of this misrepresentation occuring.
Further, the agenda for the Thursday, April 27th, meeting needs to be updated to reflect what the Commission requested. (With clear wording, please, and the sequence of business items proper.)
It is up to the Chair, however I suggest that the business item for considering the zoning changes be given its own public comment period — and that the single public comment period that is part of the “special meeting” format be used for items other than that.
Specific questions:
Do you believe that the neighboring homeowners near the affected parcels need to be re-noticed by mail? If not, how will they know about this meeting?
Will the proposed “Implementation Measures” on the upzoning to Residential High Density of the Bayview, Northtown, Arcata Heights, and Sunset neighborhoods be discussed at this meeting, and the potential re-definition of what Residential High Density allows for commercial usage?
(I would propose to NOT discuss those Implementation Measures at this meeting, but to have it at a future meeting.)
To me and in the view of many, many people in our community, the Community Development Director whether by design or by sloppiness has engaged in systematically reducing the involvement of community members in the General Plan and Gateway Plan processes. I hear this almost daily from people across a wide spectrum of age, income, and previous and sometimes considerable City involvement.
David, you do a lot of good work, but you are way out of line on these mischaracterizing situations. In my view, and in the view of many people.
Karen, I have spoken to you about this. Please do something.
Mayor Schaefer and Vice-Mayor Matthews: We’re trying to get a good plan done here. These misstatements to the public are what turns people off — and makes people angry and upset.
This must stop, and right here with this notice it can be corrected quickly — for this one instance, that is.
For me, I am engaged in creating maps so that the Commissioners and the public can understand where a few of these proposed zoning changes will take place. Why? Because the maps that have been supplied are not adequate. When a local Realtor with 25 years experience — who has been on committees and is involved in community planning — tells me he cannot figure out where these parcels are from looking at the maps… that’s a problem.
The Commission and the Council can decide on their own what they want to do. But it is a big issue if the public is misinformed or misled.
Please do feel free to call or write. I do appreciate what you are doing to keep Arcata wonderful.
Fred Weis
707-822-4400
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This message from the Community Development Department came this morning at 10:12 a.m.
The Planning Commission committed to reviewing outstanding items in the Land Use Element, including the Land Use Map with proposed changes, at its upcoming Special Meeting on April 27, 2023, starting at 5:30 p.m. The Commission will consider the Draft Land Use Map amendments at the beginning of the meeting. We have received comments on the proposed land use amendments, and the Commission will address those comments in this upcoming meeting.
The Commission will be making a recommendation on the proposed changes to the Council, who is the final decision maker. The Council will decide which land use amendments to make to meet our housing needs into the future. But the Commission’s recommendation is a critical step in adopting these changes to meet our future housing needs. Your participation is a vital part of this decision.
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Below is the actual text from the Saturday, April 22, meeting. There may be minor errors in the transcription — if so, please let me know.
Chair Davies said “Yeah, given that we have a project for Tuesday that we need to review. Is everyone okay with putting this on the agenda for Thursday for our special meeting? Sure. Any opposed?”
Transcription from the Saturday, April 22, 2023, Planning Commission meeting.
The times below are for the City video. To match it with the YouTube video, add ~10 seconds to the time shown here.
The YouTube link to go directly to this section: https://www.youtube.com/live/1vePlsABylI?feature=share&t=13622
Judith Mayer (Commissioner) 3:46:52
When should members of the public come to speak at our meeting and these rezoning suggestions? Because I… [interrupted by David]
David Loya – Community Development Director 3:47:00
I would encourage folks to, you know, speak on these matters at, you know, at every meeting, if they wish. To write letters, to write emails, you know, you’re hearing it from them. We’ve heard, you know, some really good points of view on, you know, some of these zoning changes, the A-R projects here, or parcels here rather. You know, many people have spoken on, we heard a couple of people speak on, you know, the St. Louis Craftsman’s Mall area. So you all are hearing those. We, at this point, because of the way that the process is working, we don’t have a specific date that we’re noticing. These people will have to look on the agenda and see, you know, is this coming up at that time as a specific agendized item. And or tune into, you know, the meetings on Tuesday and Thursday to see if you get to them. I can’t predict whether or not you will get through your materials on Tuesday and Thursday. I would love to tell people that’s when you’re going to talk about it. But it’s it’s really out of any of our control to be able to predict that.
Judith Mayer (Commissioner) 3:48:03
Can we commit to a time when we will address these specific rezoning suggestions? Because I know that members of the public had come in several times when we never got around to those items.
David Loya – Community Development Director 3:48:15
Let me ask the Commission — Would you like to commit to a time to address these land use map questions?And agendize as well.
Dan Tangney (Commissioner) 3:48:24
So next week’s meetings are already agendized. So we’re talking about perhaps the meeting after that?
David Loya – Community Development Director 3:48:31
You have on your agenda the ability to go back into any of these bike rack issues, any of them, it’s all in the agenda. And so this material is in your agenda for Tuesday and in your agenda for Thursday. The specific focus of the staff report doesn’t incorporate this, but if you want to say right here and now, hey, Tuesday, we’re going to talk land use, we’re going to dedicate an hour to talking about land use. I can’t tell you that’s what you’re going to do. But you all can.
Scott Davies (Chair) 3:48:59
I mean, I kind of like the flexibility of us being able to work through our scheduled items, and then get back into the bike rack as we did today as time allows. But I would like to hear everyone’s input on that.
Dan Tangney (Commissioner) 3:49:10
Well, I think Judith is making an excellent point that this *is* a topic that the public is going to want to be here for if they are, you know, already writing letters and speaking. And we’re all losing track a little bit. I’m thinking back on — Oh, I’m gonna have to go back through all the e-mails that they’ve emailed to it or letters that they’ve emailed to us to be reminded of the concerns. So it would be nice to target a date. Does Thursday work? I mean, can we just….
Scott Davies (Chair) 3:49:37
Yeah, given that we have a project for Tuesday that we need to review. Is everyone okay with putting this on the agenda for Thursday for our special meeting? Sure. Any opposed?
Peter Lehman, Planning Commissioner 3:49:48
I’ll just say that I agree with both of you that there’s enough interest so that we should have at a time soon.
David Loya – Community Development Director 3:49:57
So we’ll message that out through our e-notifications and et cetera — that Thursday in addition to what’s on the agenda already that you plan to get back to the land use bike rack. So if you’ve got land use questions come then. Thursday the 27th. Yes.
[NOTE: What David Loya just said — “that you plan to get back to the land use bike rack” – is NOT what the Commissioners were talking about.]
Matt Simmons 3:50:12
Can I suggest that it comes first to the agenda, so that we get to it? While people are here on the day that we told them to come?
Scott Davies (Chair) 3:50:18
That’s okay with me. Great. Okay. Thank you for that.
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