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To see the comments that people wrote, click here.
To see the images of what they wrote, click here.
Other related articles: Creamery District meeting – May 16, 2023 – What the People want
Creamery District / Gateway Meetings — May 16th & May 23rd
David Loya Trashes the Creamery Discussion – May 16, 2023
It was not an open discussion meeting
The Community Development Department held its neighborhood Creamery District meeting at the Arcata Playhouse on Tuesday, May 16th. City staff present were Community Development Director David Loya, Jen Dart, and Gillen Tener Martin. In addition to staff, about 42 people attended.
In his introduction David Loya made clear what he was there to discuss. What the people there wanted to talk about apparently was not of large importance.
There was some agitation and grumbling among the participants during this intro. There were people present who thought that this meeting would be an open discussion about how the Gateway Plan might affect the Creamery District. Specifically, people wanted to discuss the question of the L Street Corridor Linear Park. Equally specifically, David Loya told the group that the Linear Park was not one of the topics on that evening’s list of topics to be discussed. But people could bring it up at the “Open Ideas” table.
The written comments give some clues on what the participants were there to talk about
“Four stories max” and “L Street Linear Park” were repeated in different forms many times.
In discussing how the meeting went, one person who engaged in a variety of discussions wrote this:
Someone (I think Faye Honorof) also asked if they are tracking the turnout of these public meetings, and if they are showing not just comments from community members but also HOW MANY voice support or dislike of certain things. Gillen said no and something like it wouldn’t be a fair picture of community sentiment because not everyone comes to meetings. I thought that was interesting.”
The Comments from the participants
The Post-it Notes
| If maximum building height is 7 stories how much higher can a build be built with 100% bonus density? 12 stories? 14 stories? |
| Make the Creamery area the “5th district” in gateway plan, Respecting the historic site, the community gathering, Arts + small business incubator of this area |
| Primary concerns: Height, Parking, L Couplet, Principal review, mixed housing types, incorporate businesses. |
| Public feedback not showing up in changes. |
| 4 stories max |
| Where is all the public input going? |
| Adequate / realistic parking |
| No L-couplet / Yes Linear park |
| Principal review only = not good. Have community input for certain size projects (Concerns / hopes) |
| Mixed housing types & mixed uses (business + housing) |
| 4 stories max |
| Improve K St ASAP |
| L St no cars |
| Keep L St. car free |
| No couplet |
| We have a unique chance in Arcata to create a lovely Linear Park |
| Stop at 4 story height limit as the rest of the City of Arcata |
| Stop at 4 stories |
| “Vortex bladeless wind turbine” retrofitted as street lights. |
| A central warehouse on the city limits where large trucks were to off load goods which would then be delivered to stores via a fleet of electric vans would eliminate the need for making a thoroughfare out of the non-existent ‘L’ Street. |
| Gateway – No more than 4 stories ! |
| City mailer RE: Gateway |
| Force builders who are not familiar with local climate to hire local building consultant (Keep Grant$ Local) |
| Linear Park will make our Gateway pleasant. “First Impressions” |
| I propose NO Buildings taller than the Creamery be built on any side of the Creamery. No height Dominance immediately around Creamery! |
| Community benefits |
| Car-free |
| L St. Linear Park |
| What would be the mechanism for establishing this under current state regs re: housing density |
| No L Street as couplet |
| L St should not be a through street |
| Keep linear park & trail for bikes & pedestrians only |
| Basically car free |
| Protect the L St corridor and make it a linear park as the 2010 Rail w/ Trail Feasibility Study |
| Isn’t Grant money intended to stimulate Local economy? |
| K St. concerns – Stop signs, Stop light, Flashing crosswalks, bulb outs, reduce speed limit. |
| Parking structure & trolley to downtown |
| Remove parking on K St to allow for biking & bike lanes. |
| Signage to direct people off K St. |
| Paint curbs red on K Street so it’s clear where we can/can’t park |
|
Protect wetlands especially linear ditch south of 7th St. that is a Fish & Wildlife designated wetland & used for flood control as well.
|
| People have concerns about Cal Poly growth & lack of pre-planning for student housing. |
| I JUST WANT CAL POLY to WITHDRAW! TRULY! |
| Focus on Open Space as shared amenity |
| New Library |
| Community project impact fee |
| Ownership ops |
| CPH May buy up properties & build what they want |
| Set heights lower than they currently are |
| What about fire service |
| GATEWAY – NO MORE than 4 STORIES! |
| Linear park is our Gateway when Great Redwood Trail Arrives here |
| Stop at 4 story height limit as the rest of the City of Arcata |
| Stop at 4 stories |
| Protect Creamery Bld – historic [fees] must be paid in Creamery dev. |
| Arts fund rather than Public Art – let the artists decide |
| Building dev must use “arts community benefits” if dev in Creamery |
| Emphasize park space as a community benefit |
| Incorporated wetlands next to pathways as privately owned public spaces as a community benefits |
The Posters on Design Standards and “Cool Items”
| “Design standards” – Page 1 |
| Solar, nesting site, grey water features |
| Natural lines (not harsh / boxy – broken up, diverse, not super sleek) |
| Take environmental cues |
| Bird-safe windows |
| Rooftop garden |
| Balconies |
| Not a fan of floor to ceiling glass |
| No Mission architecture |
| Weather efficient; insulated – consider mold – carbon board |
| American Clay |
| Art – murals |
| Indigenous features (round openings) |
| “Design standards” – Page 2 |
| Outdoor space – don’t compromise on |
| Don’t limit colors, allow variation – no presets |
| Living roofs |
| Operational windows |
| Variation in siding / materials |
| Water collection |
| Bike room / infrastructure – 1st floor – easy roomy |
| Avoid uniformity |
| Build with character |
| Street trees |
| Creamery as an example of desired setback |
| Wide sidewalks (wider than 8 ft on new development?) |
| Underground parking? (Groundwater?) |
| Plan for rain – covered archways / entries/exits – especially commercial – balconies |
| Accessible features – ADA parking – ensure spaces for persons with disabilities / elderly |
| Architectural styles that compliment the existing Creamery architecture |
| EV vehicles infrastructure |
| Varying sizes of units |
| “Cool ideas / Preserve / Protect” – Page 1 |
| New home for Arcata Library |
| Trails – Linear Park |
| Arcata Playhouse |
| Kinetic Lab (historic site, not owned) |
| Building itself – historic structure |
| Rent control / Affordable housing |
| Historic architectural design / Precedent |
| Can Creamery be its own district within the plan? Historic features that have specific needs for protections |
| Kid friendly dance studio, keeping family-oriented dance studios, play areas |
| Open space/field – organically created / feel |
| Not a whole lot of traffic |
| Electric golf carts on the road (in car-free districts) besides Barrel District |
| Creek daylighting |
| Artist-oriented / celebrated; old Arcata innovation |
| More murals |
| “Cool ideas / Preserve / Protect” – Page 2 |
| Wetlands as privately-owned public space |
| Live / work community |
| Honor Wiyot |
| Honor railroad history |
| Protect our local economy |
| Roads blocked off |
| Mixed use, greenery / open spaces |
| Think about gentrification / forcing artists out in this |
| Commercial first floor ( restaurants / galleries) |
| Great Redwood Trail / bike tourism (could bike to / from SF) |
| Things to protect: natural amenities – water, air, wildlife corridors |
| Preserving open spaces at north and south |
| Daylighting creeks! Salmon found in Arcata creeks |
| Easements – open space easements, frontages – open up space on corridors |
| Ensure “missing middle” housing / home ownership opportunities |
| Neighborhood meetings / open dialogue |
| More Creamery meetings / engagement |
| Benches |
| “Cool Cont.” – Page 3 |
| Keep business / commercial features |
| Nothing dominates Creamery Building |
| Preserve arts / business – focused title of District – make more explicit |
| Keep noise / loud spaces – artist district |
| Design standards: |
| Setback considerations – enough to give sidewalks space |
| Stepbacks / setbacks for shading re: existing structures; gathering on streets |
| Setbacks more than 10 feet back (solar shading models) |
| Solar on top of parking structures / carports |
| Solar water heating |
| Practical / usable architectural features |
| Courtyards / parklets (children-friendly) – intermixed |
| Areas for edible gardens / community gardens |
| Flexible colors / allowing tenants to have say in colors |
The images of what was written
Here are the individual notes that people wrote and posted.
These are ALL of the notes.
That is, if you see “No L Couplet / Yes Linear Park” or other words to that effect, that’s what people wrote… and no one wrote “Make L Street into a major arterial truck route thoroughfare so we can get more traffic into the Creamery District.”
