Arcata Offers Another Gateway Area Plan Community Engagement Update
This is a press release from the City of Arcata:
A portion of Arcata’s Gateway Area, courtesy of the City of Arcata.
The Community Development Department released the draft of the Gateway Area Plan on Wednesday, December 1, 2021 which provides details of how Arcata’s Gateway Area could be redeveloped to create more housing and job opportunities for the community.
The Gateway Area Plan draft will be circulated to the public for approximately one year before it can be adopted by the City Council, and members of the public may review the Gateway Area Plan draft and an informational video about the draft at cityofarcata.org.
City staff has been holding a series of public meetings to discuss the contents of the draft since December 2021, and the Community Development Department has scheduled more public engagement opportunities this month which include:
- Tuesday, February 8 – The draft plan will be discussed at the Planning Commission meeting at 6 p.m. The meeting agenda and Zoom link is available at cityofarcata.org.
- Saturday, February 12 – City staff will be present at the Arcata Plaza Farmers’ Market from 10 a.m. to 2 p.m. to share information, answer questions, and help community members complete the Community Vision Survey.
- Tuesday, February 15 – The draft plan will be discussed at a special Parks & Recreation Committee meeting at 6 p.m. The meeting agenda and Zoom link is available at cityofarcata.org.
- Saturday, February 26 – City staff will be present at the Arcata Plaza Farmers’ Market from 10 a.m. to 2 p.m. to share information, answer questions, and help community members complete the Community Vision Survey.
In addition, the City of Arcata has released the Notice of Preparation (NOP) of an Environmental Impact Report (EIR) for the General Plan Update. This EIR process includes an analysis of the Gateway Area Plan draft as a new Element of the City’s General Plan, and associated zoning changes needed in order to implement the General Plan. The City encourages the community to submit comments and suggestions regarding the preparation of the EIR, environmental issues and alternatives that will be addressed in the EIR, and any other related issues.
The NOP review period begins on Friday, February 4 and closes on Monday, March 7 at 5 p.m. Written comments may be sent by email to Community Development Director, David Loya, at [email protected], with cc to [email protected], or by mail to City of Arcata, Community Development, 736 F Street, Arcata, CA 95521.
A virtual public scoping meeting regarding the EIR will be held on Thursday, February 24 at 5:30 p.m. The meeting is being conducted on Zoom, and the link to attend can be found at cityofarcata.org/sirp.
More opportunities for public engagement regarding the Gateway Area plan draft will be announced as dates are finalized. Arcata residents are encouraged to share their input and reach out to the Community Development Department with questions regarding the draft of Arcata Gateway Area Plan.
Groups of five to 20 community members are invited to schedule their own Gateway Area Walking Tour with City staff by calling (707) 825-2213. City staff is also available to meet with individuals or groups interested in discussing the plan. Staff can be reached by email at [email protected] or by calling (707) 825-2213 to schedule a virtual or in-person meeting. COVID-19 health and safety measures must be followed at all in person meetings and walking tours, including physical distancing and wearing facial coverings regardless of vaccination status.
To stay updated on public comment and engagement opportunities, residents are encouraged to sign up for the Community Development Department’s Long Range Planning & Community Visioning email notification list. Sign up by clicking here or by clicking the eNotifications Sign Up button on the homepage of the City’s website.
The Community Development Department has created a Community Visioning Survey for residents and non-residents to share their thoughts on Arcata’s future. Based on community feedback, the deadline to participate has been extended to Friday, April 1. Feedback received from the survey will help shape Arcata’s future development priorities. The survey is available in Spanish and English at cityofarcata.org
For more information on the Gateway Area Plan draft or to learn more about Community Development projects and plans, please click here, visit cityofarcata.org or call (707) 825-2213.
Join the discussion! For rules visit: https://kymkemp.com/commenting-rules
Comments system how-to: https://wpdiscuz.com/community/postid/10599/
Something that might be useful to ANYONE combating NIMBYism for the general good;
https://the-atlas.com/projects/placer-county-overcomes-nimby-opposition-to-lower-cost-housing-3028?utm_campaign=articles&utm_content=pandemic-changed-where-americans-want-live-361520&utm_medium=feature-box&utm_source=route-fifty&utm_term=housing
TLTR; Quick scientific surveys showed “The dominant noise from the opposition (at county meetings) was not representative at all. The community overwhelmingly supported building smaller and cheaper housing.”
“Like other counties, Placer County faced a housing shortage due to longstanding NIMBY opposition at meetings and online. Armed with real data showing that NIMBY sentiment was not representative of the community, the county finally overcame the opposition and passed the first housing plan in 30 years.”
“Placer County hoped to address a housing shortage that was impacting the local economy and making it hard for people to buy homes. Past plans to build smaller and cheaper housing had been strongly opposed by outspoken NIMBY opposition. The county hoped for support but the people who self-selected themselves to participate in public meetings and unscientific surveys created the impression that an anti-housing sentiment was representative of the overall community.
[…] Solutions UsedCounty elected officials regularly heard and saw the input from NIMBY opposition so they naturally assumed that was what the whole community thought. But data from a series of quick scientific surveys created by FlashVote surprised them by proving this was wrong.
Public support for statements like “Placer County should remove barriers to building smaller and less expensive housing units” was 3 to 1. The community supported the idea that “The range of housing costs in Placer County should match the range of people’s incomes” by 4 to 1.
The dominant noise from the opposition was not representative at all. The community overwhelmingly supported building smaller and cheaper housing.”
PS, I looked over FlashVote’s web site, and although the web site is nauseatingly corny they do promise results in 48 hours at a cost of $2 – $5K pr survey, depending on extra languages etc. Seems cheaper than a lot of other solutions. I have no affiliation with FlashVote.
So the people of the community voiced their opinion that they didn’t want it. Advocates of the social structuring came up with some kind of online digital opinion finding poll that said exactly the opposite and reinforced what they were pushing and proving that the residents were just being narrow minded and unfair. Sounds vaguely familiar.
Side effect of multiple unit, multiple story buildings with limited parking, another nail in the coffin of garage bands. Credence Clear Water, The Ramones, Nirvana, The Electric Prunes, to name a few.
It’s really hard to secure housing in CA. That said cramming lots of people in on top of each other isn’t healthy. The noise, the lack of parking, and just constantly feeling the energy of people all around you with nowhere to get a break from that makes for a heavy mindset. I don’t have all the answers and just my opinion – I wish it wasn’t so hard to feel safe in your home.
Watched the whole Zoom meeting tonight….Arcata is screwed