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A controversial 8 story apartment building in Oceanside
https://thecoastnews.com/oceanside-council-approves-unpopular-8-story-seagaze-project/
Hi Jen and Karen,
This report about a controversial 8-story apartment in Oceanside might be educational for CC and Planco with respect to
how the state law is being implemented. Question is: how do we avoid this happening to us? Is this what we really want
for Arcata? Does our proposed form-based code protect us from the above situation? If we leave our districts as
designated for 5-8 stories, does that make us more vulnerable? If we left them at 4 stories, does that protect us? Lots of
questions remain to be answered. so what’s the best strategy for Arcata, at least in the short run, to avoid being
overwhelmed by the recent state law’s provisions?
Please forward this article to the City Council and Planning Commissioners, along with my paragraph above..
Please confirm receipt.
Thank you. Jane

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Jane,
Thanks for sharing. We definitely need to be careful about how state law impacts our local planning. I think my team has
been very cognizant of this during the development of the plan, but it is great to pose the questions as they come up to
ensure we’re still on track.
This example is really out of context for Arcata. State density bonus law was updated in 2021 adding a host of benefits to
projects for a range of target populations (including students, moderate income, and seniors, all of which had previously
not been included, to name a few). However, most of the elements added in 2021 are targeted to higher population
areas. The requirements include having a sustainable communities strategy that is approved by the metropolitan
planning organization (MPO). The requirements tie to high‐quality transit corridors and major transit stops. The latter
are defined in state law and we have neither. The former don’t apply to us as we are not in an MPO.
Notwithstanding, much of what we are attempting to do is getting ahead of state law so we reserve some local control.
As you may be aware, the housing accountability act, and several others passed and proposed, will continue to erode
our local control if we don’t take advanced and proactive measures to plan for our community.
David Loya (him)
Community Development Director