The Red Roof Inn and Days Inn in Valley West | Photos: Jacquelyn Opalach
A project that will convert two Valley West hotels – the Red Roof Inn and Days Inn & Suites – into permanent shelter for the homeless in our community has moved one step closer to reality after the Arcata City Council announced the necessary development on Wednesday evening voted changes and approves the grant and loan applications to fund the projects.
As a result of the development change, the city’s combined district for homeless apartments decided in 2009 will be expanded to include hotel properties. It also adds a language that standards for Long-term supportive living (PSH) Settlements, a form of housing designed to serve as permanent homes for the homeless.
The project is a partnership between the city, local nonprofits Arcata House Partnership (AHP) and development company To dance, and is supported by grant funds from the Homekey program – a nationwide effort to rapidly expand housing for the homeless population. AHP will buy the Days Inn and convert it into 60 apartments for the chronically homeless and Danco will buy the Red Roof Inn and convert it into 78 units for the homeless. With the approval of the council, the city also agreed to provide both organizations with a loan that will be repaid from the grant money (with three percent interest).
Many community members spoke during the Zoom virtual meeting on Wednesday. Some supported the project because of the urgent need for housing by the homeless, but many opposed it, citing concerns about the safety, crime and possible depreciation of nearby property.
“This will divide one of the lowest income groups within a block of Valley West,” commentator Carol Graham said during the meeting. Graham added that despite living on a block from the hotels, she hadn’t received any notification of the proposed projects.
Project planners held two public outreach meetings on December 1st – one through Zoom and one in Valley West. A parishioner, Melissa Lazon, said she attended the face-to-face meeting and was “touched” by comments from the homeless people present that they wanted to be a more active part of their community and help improve the valley’s Western Quarter with Things like a public garden and community workshops.
“By the way, the homeless are already in our backyard,” said Lazon. “You are already part of our community. Let us give them the dignity they deserve and the services they need to rebuild their lives. The whole of Arcata needs affordable living space and that is the beginning. “
Chris Dart, President of Danco, and Krediten Spoor, General Manager of AHP, both spoke during the meeting and attempted to address some of the community’s concerns. Dart and Spoor mentioned that both properties would have a 24-hour management and would be fenced around the perimeter for security reasons. Spoor said the facility would not look like a prison, but more like a gated community.
Spoor added that the Days Inn’s pool room would be converted into a community center that could eventually host events and support group meetings, and that tenants would have access to drug counseling programs and other support services, with one case manager provided for every 10 tenants. She also stressed that the residents of these apartments would pay 30 percent of their income in rent (if they had no income, they would not pay anything) and that they were human houses and not temporary housing.
“The number of homeless is significant,” Spoor said during the meeting. “We have to act – and quickly – before more people die on the streets, before more people become homeless, before more people suffer unnecessarily.”
Feel a little concerned about that Recommendation of the planning committee not to approve the project, Councilor Brett Watson requested that the Council continue the discussion at a later meeting to allow the Commission to review. But Watson’s motion died for want of a second. Vice Mayor Emily Goldstein then moved for the council to proceed with the zone change and her proposal was passed unanimously. The decision to approve the two funding applications was also unanimous and little discussed.
The ordinance amending the city’s zoning regulations to allow project development will be sent back to the council for approval on January 5th
The City Council of Arcata | Screenshot from the video of the online meeting
Update of the gateway area plan
In other housing-related matters, the council received an update on the Gateway area map – A proposal to facilitate the development of high density housing in the metropolitan area including and around the Creamery District, roughly between K and Q Streets and 17th Street and Samoa Boulevard.
After many outreach meetings and hikes Over the last year or so, the city released the draft plan earlier this month, encouraging the public to review the plan and direct questions and comments to the city. David Loya, Community Development Director at Arcata, first outlined some frequently asked questions for the council.
Public questions included concerns about whether the project is in the tsunami zone (it isn’t), whether it will (shouldn’t) be affected by sea level rise, and whether businesses and homes will be forced to evacuate ( she won’t).
While no one will be evicted, the city plans to incentivize some businesses so that their property can be converted into apartments, especially businesses that take up lots of space but don’t employ many people. An example of this type of business is storage facilities – like Bud’s Mini-Storage on Fifth and K Streets, which takes up an entire city block.
Bud’s Mini-Warehouse on Fifth and K Streets, Arcata | Screenshot from Googlemaps
Another big problem related to this plan is parking, Loya said, referring to the problem as “you cannot win no matter what you do”. Loya openly stated that this particular plan does not emphasize parking as the city tries to discourage people from driving.
“This plan has the ambitious goal of achieving a car-free lifestyle,” said Loya. “Move towards a car-free neighborhood – a place where you can walk, work, and live in one place. This plan is intended to place less emphasis on parking and encourage other modes of transport. ”
Of course, parking was mentioned by many members of the community during the public statement, where more than two dozen people spoke, as was possible building heights. Though no height restrictions have yet been set, the city has mentioned that it allows up to eight floors, which several parishioners said not to support.
Many community members also supported the project, emphasizing the need for housing in Arcata and mentioning that filling is the best approach to create the amount of housing we need.
Rob Holmlund – former Eureka City Community Development Director and chief planner for Planwest Partners Inc., who made the Gateway Plan – gave a presentation to Loya. He outlined some of the key components of the plan and explained why this area of Arcata is so sought after for housing, including its walking distance to downtown and its proximity to many prominent businesses. Echoing Loya, Holmlund pointed out that the neighborhood has a lot of potentially unused commercial properties like warehouses and large warehouses owned by companies like Wing Inflatables. Some of these companies could be asked to relocate or consolidate their operations to use fewer buildings or parts of their property.
Holmlund also mentioned at the beginning of his talk that he believes that people’s attitudes and expectations regarding housing may need to change. He said a lot of people say they advocate more housing but then add that they don’t want to be built up too densely, don’t want more than four floors, want enough parking, and don’t want it to affect the community.
“When I hear that, I’ve heard over and over again: ‘I want a magical enclosure that has no impact, that no one can see and that doesn’t change anything in my community,'” Holmlund said jokingly. “And what people really ask for is a magical, flying rainbow unicorn. It’s a really great dream, but you can’t have both the case you want and no effects at all. ”
If you have any concerns about the Gateway Area Map, there are still plenty of time to leave your comments and there are many other ways to learn more. You can review the draft of the plan here and email your comments or questions comdev@cityofarcata.org.
Images from Holmlund’s presentation, “Equals” added by Stephanie McGeary
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