Eureka’s Waterfront Plan Approved But Some Tweaking Likely

Years in development, the Waterfront Eureka Plan is approved but there’s room for changing it as there’s support for waiving minimum parking requirements in some of the plan’s districts.

The plan gained unanimous approval by the city council at its May 6 meeting, closing a formative phase that included many public meetings.

Ultimate approval still waits, however, as the state’s Coastal Commission will have to certify the plan as part of the city’s Local Coastal Program (LCP).

And as council approached its vote on the plan’s approval, there was talk of changing it to universally waive minimum parking requirements for residential development.

During a public comment period, Colin Fiske of the Coalition for Responsible Transportation Priorities vouched for lifting the requirements throughout the plan area.

“Eureka’s plans and policy documents acknowledge that these mandates are problematic and restrict new housing supply,” he said. “And a number of years ago, Eureka led the way in loosening parking mandates and providing needed exceptions. Now it’s just time to get rid of them altogether.”

Jen Kalt of Humboldt Waterkeeper backed that up.

“There’s been a lot of studies showing that this is the single policy that can make the biggest difference in increasing new housing development,” she said.

The plan waives parking requirements for residential projects within a half-mile of transit stops, making the most the plan’s 130-acre area exempt from the requirements.

A commercial bayfront district and a portion of the district that includes the county library branch are the ones where the parking minimums would be in effect.

Community Development Services Director Cristin Kenyon said when the LCP is updated, it will include the “parking ratios” in effect inland but “a lot of exceptions and reductions” are also included.

“If council wants us to go in a different direction, we’re open to that,” she continued.

Councilmember Leslie Castellano said she supports Fiske’s and Kalt’s recommendations but agreed that the LCP update process will suffice for making them happen.

Also discussed was the plan’s minimum of 65 percent ground floor “storefront transparency,” referring to window area, with “visually interesting displays.”

“Having some experience in the retail world, sunlight can be a big factor in degradation of products and materials within a storefront,” said Raelina Krikson during public comment.

She suggested “a mural fund to help support interesting and interactive frontages.”

There’s one type of business that’s required to keep its windows completely covered – cannabis lounges.

Councilmember Kati Moulton asked if that means the lounges are prohibited in the plan.

Kenyon said there’s room for exceptions and using visual shielding such as window frosting.

Moulton said the plan reflects “the idea of having a really vibrant and inclusive Old Town that’s got people living and working and shopping, and that’s what makes it a place worth going to.”

Other notable aspects of the plan include its allowance of coastal-dependent uses like fishing and boating in bayfront areas and its division of the bayfront into two districts.

One reflects the mixed use approach of Old Town and the other is more varied, allowing larger development types such as RV parks.

The library district has a mix of office/residential and commercial uses, and the Old Town and the Bayfront Commercial zoning districts include streets designated for “pedestrian-focused frontages.”

That designation has standards applying to street-facing ground floors of new development, including12-foot minimum ground floor ceiling heights and prohibition of street-facing residential uses except for high density residential development.

General standards include prohibiting parking between buildings and streets.

The pedestrian-friendly aspects of the plan also include requiring landscaping between buildings and streets, and “pedestrian-scale lighting and signage.”

Earlier: Waterfront Eureka Plan: Planning Commission Backs New Zoning and Design Guidelines for Northern Bayfront