The Eureka City Council will discuss the Waterfront Eureka Plan on Tuesday. (The Times-Standard file photo)
Aiming at bolstering local housing supply and meeting state mandates, the Eureka City Council will discuss a plan to accelerate development on the waterfront at their regular meeting on Tuesday.
The Waterfront Eureka Plan — which encompasses the commercial bayfront, Old Town, and library districts — attempts to bolster the local housing supply by facilitating the development of at least 115 housing units in the area by 2027 utilizing city-owned lots that have sat vacant for years. Both the council and the public are encouraged to give feedback on the plan, a draft of which can be found at waterfronteureka.com.
“The 2040 General Plan recognizes Eureka is experiencing a shortage of housing at all income levels. The city is especially hard hit by this trend because it is almost completely built-out and has little to no room for expansion beyond current city limits, or expanding any zones, especially the City’s residential zones,” the draft reads. “For this reason, the 2040 General Plan establishes downtown and the central waterfront as primary areas for future growth, including for residential and employment uses to be built as higher-density, mixed-use, infill development.”
Eureka is not the only place in Humboldt County scrambling to drastically increase housing supply via mixed-use infill development. Arcata is currently working on its General Plan including the Gateway Area Plan, which would rezone more than 100 acres in the city’s Creamery District to allow denser housing.
Beyond the Tuesday meeting, there remains voluminous opportunities for public and council feedback on the plan. City staff expects the planning commission to make a recommendation to the council in September and anticipates bringing the plan’s final form before the council to a public hearing in October. The public review period for the current draft will end Aug. 11.
Also at the meeting, the council will vote on an ordinance that would change certain parking rules in Old Town. The ordinance would change certain time-limits from two to four hours, turn several public lots into paid parking zones at $0.50 per hour and implement an employee permit parking pilot program for the area’s workers.
The would-be paid lots are at the southwest side of Third and E streets, the northeast side of Third and E Streets, the southeast side of First and E streets, and the southeast side of Second and H streets.
Also related to parking and the city’s attempts to bolster the housing supply is the city’s planned conference with legal counsel about a lawsuit filed against the city over plans to facilitate Old Town development. Citizens for a Better Eureka — in addition to other tactics like a recent petition — sued the council, accusing them of endangering the safety of Old Town employees by constructing affordable housing in the area and attempting to throttle business margins through the loss of parking spots.
Jackson Guilfoil can be reached at 707-441-0506.
