The Collector
March 15, 2024
Wiyot Tribe Asks for Dismissal of Arkley Parking Lot Lawsuit
The Wiyot Tribe this week requested that a judge dismiss one of several Rob Arkley-backed lawsuits against Eureka’s efforts to build affordable housing on underutilized downtown parking lots. The particular lawsuit in this case is focused on the parking lot at 5th and D Streets, which appears to be the closest to Arkley’s heart because it is near his company’s offices. Last year, the City Council awarded development rights on this parking lot to the Wiyot Tribe’s Dishgamu Humboldt Community Land Trust, giving them a strong interest in the outcome of the lawsuit. The tribe has also come out strongly against the related Arkley-backed November ballot measure designed to block walkable housing and transit facilities on this and other downtown sites.
Speaking of the November ballot measure, the Eureka City Council will discuss next week whether to immediately rezone the former Jacobs school property, since a shady deal with the school district may soon put it in private hands and therefore make it subject to local development rules. Readers of The Collector will recall that this property is part of the bait-and-switch effort by Arkley and his cronies to mislead voters into blocking the downtown projects by making empty promises of housing at the old school site instead. The Jacobs property is not a bad site for new housing, but the city doesn’t control what happens on a privately owned site (unlike the city-owned parking lots downtown). Nevertheless, the City Council could decide next week to zone the Jacobs site for housing now, encouraging that kind of development in the future.
Humboldt Supervisors Adopt Strategic Plan
The four-year plan for the county includes a new commitment to adopting “Complete Streets Guidelines.” The plan also includes other goals for “multi-modal, safe, sustainable and equitable” transportation, as well as a re-commitment to adopting a regional Climate Action Plan in the near future. We are excited to see this new direction from the county, and we will be monitoring closely to ensure they live up to these commitments.
State Transportation Commission to Allocate Money for Local Zero-Emission Buses
Following up on state grants awarded to local transit agencies, the Commission is slated to allocate funding next week for a Humboldt Transit Authority hydrogen fueling station in Eureka and a Redwood Coast Transit Authority electric bus charging station in Crescent City. The Commission will also allocate funds for a project in Blue Lake that includes significant bike and pedestrian upgrades.
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News from Beyond the North Coast
California Isn’t Making Enough Progress Toward Climate Goals
A new analysis shows that the state is not reducing climate pollution enough to hit state targets. And California is one of the world’s biggest economies, s0 the state’s failure to achieve needed emission reductions could have catastrophic consequences.
Transportation is the state’s biggest source of climate pollution, and transportation emissions depend partly on where people live. That’s why another new report argues that infill housing is a big part of the climate solution.
There’s No Good Argument for Parking Mandates
But that doesn’t mean that removing mandates for new development won’t have any impacts. For example, it will likely mean that local governments have to more effectively manage curb parking.
The Collector is CRTP’s weekly transportation news roundup, published every Friday. We focus on North Coast news, but we also include relevant state, national and international transportation news – plus other items that we just find kind of interesting! To submit items for consideration, email colin@transportationpriorities.org.