Once a year, Arcata’s Planning Commission presents a report to the City Council of its activities and progress over the previous year. Then-vice-chair Scott Davies delivered the 2023 presentation to the Council on January 18, 2023.
On the agenda for Planning Commission’s January 9, 2023, meeting is to discuss and adopt the Commission’s annual report to the City Council. This report will be presented to the Council on January 17, 2024.
Contents
- Draft of the 2023 Planning Commission Report, to be discussed and changes made. The completed document is intended to be approved at the Commission’s January 9, 2024, meeting.
- Videos of the presentations. Presented to the City Council in January of 2023, 2022, 2021, 2020, and 2019.
- The written reports. Presented in January of 2023, 2022, 2021, 2020, and 2019.
- Collected reports. From 2007 through 2022 (presented in January 2023).
Here you can read multiple reports, one after the other, for consecutive years.
By reading or skimming through the reports from years past, we can see what was important at points in the past, what was accomplished, what was delayed, and what was abandoned. You can use the Search button (or Ctrl-F) to search through the collected reports for specific words or phrases.
Being able to view all the Planning Commission reports in one place does more than just jog our collective memories. It also shows where these reports provided information to the Council that was misleading or sometimes false. Consider this, from the 2022 report, as presented to the City Council on January 18, 2023:
From this 2022 report: “The Commission made a recommendation on the Housing for Homeless combining zone amendments.” This statement is either very disingenuous or outright false, depending on how the reader wants to see things. The Commission never made a recommendation on the Housing for Homeless agenda item. For more on what did happen, see details here further in this article.
Historical Context
There is great historical context here. Such as these:
2013 The local economy has not yet rebounded in such a way that has resulted in a surge of new projects. The only development projects that came before the Planning Commission in 2013 were City-sponsored projects: the Shirley Blvd and Boyd Rd Annexations and the City’s Corp Yard demolition (West End Rd). Approximately half of the Commission meetings in 2013 were cancelled due to lack of projects.
2014 Continue to make the Coastal zone-wide Local Coastal Plan update a priority for the Planning Commission and the Community Development Department. Staff applied for and received a grant for $54,000 from the Coastal Commission to complete the Local Coastal Plan (LCP) update.
[Note: As of January, 2024, the Local Coastal Plan update is not yet complete. It is expected to be completed in 2014. This came up on subsequent reports as “Continue to make the Local Coastal Plan a priority” or “Finalize the LCP update in 2018” or “update to the LCP completed in 2019″ or “This has been an ongoing goal of the Commission” or “anticipates adoption in 2021” or “would like to see the update to the LCP completed in 2022″ or “The Planning Commission anticipates having a submission-ready LCP by the end of 2023” or similar — in 2012, 2013, 2014, 2015, 2016, 2017, 2018, 2019, 2020, 2021, 2022, and now in the report for 2023.]
2015 On February 24, the Commission recommended to the Council that it approve the annexation of a portion of the Sunnybrae Forest Management Unit (323) acres into the City for public access and resource management purposes. The Council approved the annexation and LAFCo also approved the annexation at its September 15 meeting.
2017 Begin updates to the general plan elements with focus on Energy, Growth Management, Parks & Recreation, Public Facilities & Infrastructure, and Land Use Elements. This work will include the preparation of a Housing Strategic Plan (HSP) as well as the next 5-year update to the Housing Element. The HSP will be similar in format and form to a Specific Plan and will focus on geographic or neighborhood areas, the feasibility of increasing mixed-use development potential, including in the Foster/Sunset neighborhood.
2018 Copy and pasted from 2017: Begin updates to the general plan elements with focus on Energy, Growth Management, Parks & Recreation, Public Facilities, etc etc.
2019 Begin updates to the General Plan. This project is still seeking funding. The Commission has had several high-level deliberations on the topic. But the City does not have the funds to initiate the CEQA and planning work necessary to update the General Plan.
2020 Begin updates to the General Plan. This project is underway. The public engagement initiated with the Housing Element update in 2019 carried through 2020. Staff continue to engage the community to reflect on long-range planning work.
2021 The Strategic Infill Redevelopment Program is well underway. The Housing Element and Infill Market Study have been adopted. Public engagement around updates to the General Plan and targeted rezoning, including the Arcata Gateway Area Plan, are well underway. The General Plan will provide the policy guidance on which the targeted rezoning will be based.
The Commission has an ongoing goal to review long-range planning documents and the zoning code. The Commission focused on updates related to the Gateway in 2021. The Commission reviewed and approved the General Plan Annual Performance Report in March of 2021.
2022 The Commission reviewed and made recommendations on, or approved, several projects in 2022. The Commission made a recommendation on the Housing for Homeless combining zone amendments. These resulted in the addition of approximately 150 units of housing for homeless individuals and small households. The Commission also approved three Use Permits, six Design Review Permits, three Planned Development Permit amendments, and the Capital Improvement Program General Plan Consistency determination. In addition, the Planning Commission reviewed the General Plan Annual Performance Report. Lastly, the Commission considered a Mills Act Contract.
Note: As there were very few permits involved, it would benefit the report to include the specific projects, as has been done in the past.
The Use Permits were for: Septentrio Winery Tasting Room at 650 6th Street; Humboldt
Premium at 460 I Street (the former V&N Burger Bar); and Finn, dba Pale Moon Brewing Company at 600 F Street, Suite 7.
The Planned Development Permits were for: Westwood Garden Apartments at 2351
Westwood Court and Valley East Lofts Multifamily Development Project on Valley East Boulevard. The 2022 report lists three — it appears that there are two.
To say that “The Commission made a recommendation on the Housing for Homeless combining zone amendments ” is either disingenuous or outright false, depending on how it’s taken. The Commission never made a recommendation on the Housing for Homeless agenda item. The item was discussed at the December 14, 2021, meeting. There was a motion for approval that died for lack of a second. It was then voted to be continued at the next regularly scheduled meeting, as it was determined that the item was inadequately presented, with insufficient information. There were other planning and oversight issues as well, that were outlined by Commissioner Mayer in a letter to the City Council. (Undated, likely ~January 6, 2022. This can be viewed in the 1/4/2022 Council packet, here, page 20.) It was not a requirement that the City Council have the recommendation of the Planning Commission in order for the Council to move forward on its approval. When the item came up at the January 11, 2022, Planning Commission meeting — that’s the “2022” date that this report has its reference to — the “item was closed by majority vote since City Council has already taken action on this item.” There was no recommendation.
1. Draft of the 2023 Planning Commission Report
To be discussed and changes made. The completed document is intended to be approved at the Commission’s January 9, 2024, meeting.
This is a DRAFT. It will be updated on this website with the completed version.
2. Videos of previous presentations
2023
Vice-Chair Scott Davies delivered the 2023 presentation to the Council on January 18, 2023. 9 minutes.
Unlike the previous presentations of the Commission’s annual report, there was no public comment period allowed by the Mayor for this report.
2022
Vice-Chair Judith Mayer delivered the 2022 presentation by Zoom to the Council on January 19, 2022. 10-1/2 minutes.
2021
Chair Dan Tangney delivered the 2021 presentation by Zoom to the Council on January 20, 2021. 6 minutes.
2020
Chair Dan Tangney delivered the 2020 presentation to the Council on January 16, 2020. 10 minutes.
2019
Community Development Director David Loya delivered the 2019 presentation to the Council on January 16, 2020. 10 minutes.
3. The written reports
These reports were presented to the City Council in January of each year.
The 2022 report was presented in January 2023, and so on.
For collected reports — from 2007 through 2022 — where you can read multiple years in a file, see here below.
2022 report
Included in the City Council agenda packet for January 18, 2023.
2021 report
Included in the City Council agenda packet for January 19, 2022.
2020 report
Included in the City Council agenda packet for January 20, 2021.
2019 report
Included in the City Council agenda packet for January 16, 2020.
2018 report
Included in the City Council agenda packet for January 16, 2019.
Collected Reports
The reports are typically 2 pages.
Here you can read them in consecutive order.
2007 through 2010
2011 through 2022