“Meeting-in-a-Box” Sessions

City staff has prepared targeted packets for further outreach that can be easily used both by staff or by various members of the community, further broadening our ability to connect and capture information from a variety of community stakeholders. A “Meeting-in-a-Box” is a self guided meeting format that will be available on the city’s website. This meeting in a box format will allow community members to dig into topics that are most interesting to them and submit ideas to city staff. The meeting in a box format will be available to the public through April 2022 in order to ensure maximum reach of engagement.

Launch a Meeting-in-a-Box by following this link.

“Town Hall” Zoom Meetings and In-person Open Houses

The City of Arcata will be holding a Spanish-language meeting on the Arcata Gateway Area Plan draft in Valley West at The Courtyards Apartments, located at 3101 Boyd Road in Arcata, from on Thursday, April 14 from 6 to 7:30 PM. 

The meeting will focus on gathering feedback from Valley West community members on the draft Plan, and will be held in both English and Spanish. The meeting will feature a presentation by Director of Community Development David Loya on the draft Plan with topics of interest including transportation, circulation, building height and scale, and other related topics. The presentation will be followed by a questions and answers session and group discussions to gather community input on the draft plan. Food will be provided. Guests in attendance are recommended to follow COVID-19 protocols at the event such as masking and social distancing measures. 

We are holding virtual and in-person public meetings to present the vision and core principles of the Gateway Area Pan as drafted, including land use, building form, and transportation/circulation among other topics. 

• We held our first Town Hall meeting on the Gateway Plan draft on December 9th, 2021. A recoridng can be viewed here: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-O8-3oQvM50

City staff is currently coordinating with the North Coast Grower's Association to table the Arcata Farmer's Market the 2nd and 4th Saturday of each month starting January 22, 2022. Stop by and say hello! Printed versions of the Gateway Area Plan, current General Plan, and the Visioning Surveys will be available.

The City will be looking at additonal tabling opportunites at Cal Poly Humboldt, the Arcata Arts Market, Valley West Park, and other locations throughout the city in 2022. 

Engagement Highlights to Date

• The City of Arcata Planning Commission is continuing to work through various chapters of the draft Gateway Area Plan at its regularly scheduled planning commission meetings, which take place the second and fourth Tuesday of every month at 6 PM. These meetings can be attended in person or via Zoom at this time. A tentative public engagement schedule for the next few months is attached to this email, and will be updated on the website shortly. Past Planning Commission meetings where Gateway Plan topics have recently been reviewed, as well as agendas for upcoming meetings, can be watched on the City’s website, here.
• Deputy Director Jennifer Dart also presented information to the Economic Development Committee this past week regarding the Gateway Plan draft, and provided the committee with updated information on business types that may be considered “legal nonconforming” as a result of updating allowed land uses within the Gateway Area. Her presentation can be viewed on the City’s SIRP YouTube channel, here.
• The City is currently working to prepare an Environmental Impact Report (EIR) to support updates to the General Plan and the Gateway Area Plan. Director David Loya presented information regarding the growth assumptions that feed into this analysis via a public scoping hearing which was held March 10, 2022. His presentation can be can be viewed on the City’s SIRP YouTube channel, here. 
• Updated frequently asked questions as a result of public feedback and engagement over the past few months can be viewed on the city’s website here. Please note that we will continue to update these Q &As as we are able. If you have specific questions not addressed, we are always available via phone or email.
• The City is working hard to develop a next phase of public engagement and education, focused on the proposed Form-Based Code and associated guiding design standards of structures, streetscapes, and public  spaces within the Gateway Area Plan. This work will take place over the next few months and a specific schedule related to form-based code design engagement will be made available within the next few weeks. 
• The City is currently planning to present an update of our public engagement date and themes from that engagement at the City Council’s regularly scheduled June 1 meeting. The agenda will be made available here when published in advance of the meeting. Any attachments associated with that presentation will be sent to the listserv in advance of the hearing.

• Recorded Community Visioning Session held on December 17, 2020
  • Notes from the Community Visioning Session held on December 17, 2020 (English) | (Spanish)
  • Recap video (English)
  • Recap video (Spanish)
• Recorded Community Visioning Session held on February 25, 2020
  • Notes from the Community Visioning Session held on February 25, 2021 (English) 
• Recorded Victor T Schaub Lecture presentation held on April 20, 2021
• Walking Tour Participant Packet
• Community Engagement Summary: Infill Market Study
• Gateway Area Plan Town Hall #1 recording