CITY OF ARCATA
CITY COUNCIL MEETING
COUNCIL CHAMBER OCTOBER 19, 2022
1 A regular meeting of the City Council of the City of Arcata was held on the above date at 6:00 p.m. as a hybrid meeting, via teleconference utilizing Zoom Video Communications and in person, with Mayor Atkins-Salazar presiding. Notice of this meeting was posted on October 14, 2022.
PRESENT: Atkins-Salazar, Schaefer, Matthews, Stillman, Watson (via teleconference arriving at 6:04 p.m.). ABSENT: None. STAFF PRESENT: City Manager Diemer, City Attorney Diamond, Director of Community Development Loya, Assistant City Engineer Caisse, Director of Environmental Services Sinkhorn, Deputy Director Information Technology Savage, City Clerk Dory.
LAND ACKNOWLEDGMENT
Mayor Atkins-Salazar read a statement acknowledging that Arcata (Goudi'ni) was located on ancestral Wiyot land.
FLAG SALUTE
Mayor Atkins-Salazar led the Pledge of Allegiance.
EARLY ORAL COMMUNICATIONS
Mayor Atkins-Salazar invited public comment.
Gregory Daggett encouraged the Council to take into consideration the Coastal Commission's report on the City's wastewater treatment facility rehabilitation project before making long-term decisions regarding the facility and its future location.
Sherry Potter, General Manager of Hotel Arcata, expressed frustration with the homeless situation on the Plaza stating it had a negative effect on the hotel's earnings and that people felt unsafe, even in the daytime.
Joanne McGarry implored the Council to recognize the climate emergency. She asked what the City would do regarding fossil fuel emissions.
Emily Parsons, Manager of Humboldt Outfitters, relayed an incident where a homeless person assaulted her while stealing from the store. She said the current situation on the Plaza was dangerous and frightening
Lori Waldorf asked that the City not make repairs to the small trail that ran from Alliance Road to Western Avenue and instead install a non-climbable fence at the top and bottom of the trail with locking gates, or remove the trail altogether.
James Becker wanted the Council to know that the at its November meeting, the Transportation Safety Committee had reaffirmed its recommendation that the L Street corridor become a linear park.
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Glen Colwell asked that the City proceed with caution in making improvements to the trail from Alliance Road to Western Avenue until a policy was formulated to address criminal activity on footpaths in Arcata.
Gerardo Hernandez urged the Council to continue emphasizing the value of its solidarity to the marginalized communities in Arcata. He asked the Council to continue the progression of unity and equality.
Mayor Atkins-Salazar closed Early Oral Communications.
CONSENT CALENDAR
Mayor Atkins-Salazar removed item D from the Consent Calendar for further discussion.
Councilmember Watson removed items A and C from the Consent Calendar for further discussion.
ON MOTION BY SCHAEFER, SECONDED BY STILLMAN, AND WITH A UNANIMOUS
VOICE VOTE THE COUNCIL ADOPTED ITEM B, ONLY, ON THE CONSENT CALENDAR FOR OCTOBER 5, 2022. AYES: ATKINS-SALAZAR, SCHAEFER, MATTHEWS, STILLMAN, WATSON. NOES: NONE. ABSENT: NONE.
ABSTENTIONS: NONE.
A. Item VIII-A was moved to Items Removed from Consent Calendar.
B. Bi-Weekly Report on Disbursements.
C. Item VIII-C was moved to Items Removed from Consent Calendar.
D. Item VIII-D was moved to Items Removed from Consent Calendar.
ITEMS REMOVED FROM CONSENT CALENDAR
A. Approve the Minutes of the City Council Meeting of October 5, 2022.
Councilmember Watson complained that his comments were not included in the section of the minutes on the award of the construction contract for the Wastewater Treatment Facilities Improvement Project and asked that approval of these minutes be delayed and his comments against awarding the contract be included.
BY GENERAL CONSENSUS, THE COUNCIL DEFERRED APPROVAL OF ITS OCTOBER 5, 2022, MINUTES TO ITS NEXT REGULAR MEETING.
C. Award a Contract in the Amount of $1,932,890.00 to Carollo Engineers, Inc., for the Engineering Services During Construction for Phase 1 of the Arcata Wastewater Treatment Facilities Improvements Project; and Authorize the City Manager to Execute all Applicable Documents.
Councilmember Watson requested this item be pulled so he could vote separately on it.
SCHAEFER MOVED AND STILLMAN SECONDED TO AWARD A CONTRACT IN THE AMOUNT OF $1,932,890.00 TO CAROLLO ENGINEERS, INC., FOR THE ENGINEERING October 19, 2022
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SERVICES DURING CONSTRUCTION FOR PHASE 1 OF THE ARCATA
WASTEWATER TREATMENT FACILITIES IMPROVEMENTS PROJECT; AND AUTHORIZE THE CITY MANAGER TO EXECUTE ALL APPLICABLE DOCUMENTS.
Mayor Atkins-Salazar invited public comment.
Joanne McGarry asked if this item was part of the construction contract awarded at the last Council meeting. She also questioned its placement on the Consent Calendar.
Gregory Daggett noted there was a Phase 2 to the Wastewater Treatment Plant Facilities Improvement Project estimated to cost another $33 million. He stated his concern that Arcata was not building a new plant at a new location.
Mayor Atkins-Salazar closed the public comment period.
Mayor Atkins-Salazar responded to Ms. McGarry that this contract was in addition to the construction contract awarded at the Council's previous meeting.
THE MOTION PASSED ON A FOUR-TO-ONE VOICE VOTE. AYES: ATKINSSALAZAR, SCHAEFER, MATTHEWS, STILLMAN. NOES: WATSON. ABSENT:
NONE. ABSTENTIONS: NONE.
D. Reject All Bids for the Annual Sidewalk Improvements Project 2022 and Re-Bid the Project.
Assistant City Engineer Caisse explained that the bids for this project came in at $50,000 above the $135,000 estimate for the project.
MATTHEWS MOVED AND SCHAEFER SECONDED TO REJECT ALL BIDS FOR THE ANNUAL SIDEWALK IMPROVEMENTS PROJECT 2022 AND RE-BID THE PROJECT.
Mayor Atkins-Salazar invited public comment.
Joanne McGarry requested that when a resident came in to report a problem with a sidewalk, City staff make them aware of any upcoming projects that may alleviate the problem.
THE MOTION PASSED ON A UNANIMOUS VOICE VOTE. AYES: ATKINS-SALAZAR, SCHAEFER, MATTHEWS, STILLMAN, WATSON. NOES: NONE. ABSENT: NONE.
ABSTENTIONS: NONE.
OLD BUSINESS
A. Provide Direction for Amendments to the Short-Stay Vacation Rental Program.
Director of Community Development Loya reported on stakeholder meetings held in October to elicit feedback on a revised short-stay vacation rental ordinance. He asked the Council which of the following proposed changes it wanted to make: 1) Remove the exemption for long-term tenancy from the cap; 2) Remove the exemption for owner occupancy from the cap; 3) If one or both of these October 19, 2022
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exemptions were eliminated, specify the cap; 4) Should the ordinance include a proximity limitation; 5) Should the ordinance include a limitation on the number of permits any one owner could possess, and, if so, what should that number be; 6) Should the ordinance eliminate the requirement for the posting of phone numbers; 7) Should hotel rooms be regulated by the short-stay ordinance; 8) Should the City pursue contracts with listing platforms for collection of transient occupancy taxes; and 9) Should the short-stay cap include an exemption for historic landmark properties? The Council went through the questions and polled each member in order to reach a consensus response to staff.
Mayor Atkins-Salazar invited public comment.
Marian Amber asked the Council to consider limiting clustering of short-stay rentals because too many rentals on a street changed the residential quality of that street.
Shannon Yodowitz spoke in support of the historic landmarks exemption from the cap.
Paul Pitino thanked the Council for removing the requirement to post the owner's or manager's phone number on the property.
Bob Doran also thanked the Council for removing the phone number posting requirement and advocated for collecting transient occupancy tax through the booking platform.
Joan Edwards thanked the Council for removing the phone number posting requirement.
Gregory Daggett said the cap was unfair to those who wished to begin using their property as a short-stay rental because the limit had already been met by those who received their permits early in the process.
Joanne McGarry stated the posting of a phone number on the property was not necessary.
Dana Quillman spoke against terminating the long-term rental exemption, suggested allowing owners to own two or three rentals, and said she was against the posting of phone numbers.
Raelina Krikston said it was appropriate to allow people to own one short-stay vacation rental to supplement their fixed or retirement income, and suggested that owners that had multiple units could pay a higher fee for their permit.
Jeffrey Scott Sterling spoke in favor of preserving the charm of Arcata.
Mayor Atkins-Salazar closed the public comment period.
RECESS: The Council recessed from 8:21 to 8:28 p.m.
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BY GENERAL CONSENSUS, THE COUNCIL DECIDED THAT IF IN THE FUTURE IT
APPEARED THAT INDIVIDUAL SHORT-STAY VACATION RENTAL OWNERS WERE
OBTAINING AN UNREASONABLE NUMBER OF PERMITS, THE ORDINANCE BE
BROUGHT BACK TO THE COUNCIL TO CONSIDER LIMITING THE NUMBER OF PERMITS ANY ONE OWNER COULD HOLD.
ON MOTION BY SCHAEFER, SECONDED BY MATTHEWS, AND WITH A
UNANIMOUS VOICE VOTE, THE COUNCIL ELIMINATED THE EXEMPTION FROM
THE CAP FOR LONG-TERM TENANTS, ELIMINATED THE REQUIREMENT TO POST
A TELEPHONE NUMBER ON THE PROPERTY, AND ADDED AN EXEMPTION FROM THE CAP FOR HISTORIC LANDMARK PROPERTIES. AYES: ATKINS-SALAZAR, SCHAEFER, MATTHEWS, STILLMAN, WATSON. NOES: NONE. ABSENT: NONE.
ABSTENTIONS: NONE.
NEW BUSINESS
A. Public Hearing to Adopt Resolution No. 223-18 Authorizing the Submission of an Application for Funding Under the Permanent Local Housing Allocation Program (PLHA) 2022 Notice of Funding Availability (NOFA) and the Execution of a Grant Agreement and Any Amendments Thereto; and Adopt Resolution No. 223-20 Authorizing Approval of a Contract Agreement with the City of Fortuna's Subgrant of Its 2019 PLHA Allocation.
Director of Community Development Loya said that Resolution No. 223-18 authorized application for Permanent Local Housing Allocation funds which were non-competitive and which Arcata was eligible to receive. Further, Resolution No. 223-20 authorized an agreement with the City of Fortuna to transfer its funding allocation to Arcata. He said that staff felt the most efficient and effective use of these funds was to put them into a shovel-ready project and use the funds for pre-development or development costs for a project that would create affordable housing in the community. He said the Council was not committing to a particular project at this time and that action would come at a later date.
STILLMAN MOVED AND MATTHEWS SECONDED TO ADOPT RESOLUTION NO. 223- 18 AUTHORIZING THE SUBMISSION OF AN APPLICATION FOR FUNDING UNDER THE PERMANENT LOCAL HOUSING ALLOCATION PROGRAM 2022 NOTICE OF
FUNDING AVAILABILITY AND THE EXECUTION OF A GRANT AGREEMENT AND ANY AMENDMENTS THERETO; AND ADOPT RESOLUTION NO. 223-20
AUTHORIZING APPROVAL OF A CONTRACT AGREEMENT WITH THE CITY OF FORTUNA'S SUBGRANT OF ITS 2019 PLHA ALLOCATION.
Mayor Atkins-Salazar invited public comment.
Joanne McGarry asked if there were specific projects for this funding.
Mayor Atkins-Salazar closed the public comment period.
City Manager Diemer responded that there were no specific projects proposed at this time.
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THE MOTION PASSED ON A UNANIMOUS VOICE VOTE. AYES: ATKINS-SALAZAR, SCHAEFER, MATTHEWS, STILLMAN, WATSON. NOES: NONE. ABSENT: NONE.
ABSTENTIONS: NONE.
B. Discuss and Consider Adoption of Resolution No. 223-19, Establishing Regulations Governing Sidewalk Vending on City Property and Rights-of-Way.
Director of Environmental Services Sinkhorn explained that adoption of this resolution would prescribe specific rules and regulations around sidewalk vending, providing opportunities for entrepreneurship, while retaining safe sidewalk access. She said there was a new state law, the Safe Sidewalk Vending Act (Senate Bill 946), and its goal was to end criminalization of sidewalk vending, fruit stands, etc. She said the Act outlined opportunities for local jurisdictions to set regulations within that law to insure the public health, safety and welfare, while allowing for vending of food, beverages and merchandise for entrepreneurship. She said sidewalk vending was defined as vending from anything that did not have a motor, i.e., the regulations would not apply to food trucks. It also would not be associated with special events as vending at events was addressed by the events' permits. Director Sinkhorn said the goal for drafting the proposed resolution was to make findings for sidewalk vending consistent with state law and outline that pathway for vendors.
Director Sinkhorn asked the Council to adopt the resolution with the following amendment: Under Operating Requirements, add an additional paragraph labeled 1(D), "Stationary sidewalk vendors within the interior Plaza shall operate in three (3) designated Arcata Plaza Stationary Sidewalk Vending Spaces available daily on a first come, first served basis in order to ensure public health and safety for pedestrian travel through the Plaza."
STILLMAN MOVED AND SCHAEFER SECONDED TO ADOPT RESOLUTION NO. 223- 19, A RESOLUTION OF THE CITY COUNCIL OF THE CITY OF ARCATA
ESTABLISHING REGULATIONS GOVERNING SIDEWALK VENDING ON CITY
PROPERTY AND RIGHTS-OF-WAY, AS AMENDED AT THE MEETING BY ADDING A NEW PARAGRAPH 1(D) UNDER "OPERATING REQUIREMENTS": "STATIONARY
SIDEWALK VENDORS WITHIN THE INTERIOR PLAZA SHALL OPERATE IN THREE (3) DESIGNATED ARCATA PLAZA STATIONARY SIDEWALK VENDING SPACES
AVAILABLE DAILY ON A FIRST COME, FIRST SERVED BASIS IN ORDER TO
ENSURE PUBLIC HEALTH AND SAFETY FOR PEDESTRIAN TRAVEL THROUGH THE PLAZA."
Mayor Atkins-Salazar invited public comment.
Joanne McGarry spoke of her ADA concerns with people vending on sidewalks outside of the Farmers' Market. She said she felt it was important to adopt these regulations.
Raelina Krikston said that having events and vendors did a lot to attract new life and culture into an area.
Mayor Atkins-Salazar closed the public comment period.
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THE MOTION PASSED ON A UNANIMOUS VOICE VOTE. AYES: ATKINS-SALAZAR, SCHAEFER, MATTHEWS, STILLMAN, WATSON. NOES: NONE. ABSENT: NONE.
ABSTENTIONS: NONE.
ORAL AND WRITTEN COMMUNICATIONS
Mayor Atkins-Salazar invited public comment.
Joanne McGarry said she wanted the City Council to take the climate crisis seriously and address it on a regular basis in all its decisions.
Gerardo Hernandez said it was important for some type of educational program for Arcata so residents could gain more knowledge of representations and inclusivity in the community. He encouraged the City to recognize Pride Month and the Day of Silence.
An unidentified member of the community spoke regarding online conduct by Councilmember Watson that he felt was worthy of scrutiny. He conjectured that Councilmember Watson was affecting a fake identity to push his agenda outside the purview of the City Council by impersonating someone going by the name Delilah Goldstein on the website ArcataTruth.com. He requested Councilmember Watson resign.
Raelina Krikston requested the Council consider a temporary moratorium on new construction in Arcata until the Gateway Area Plan and General Plan update were adopted.
Mayor Atkins-Salazar closed Oral and Written Communication.
COUNCIL AND STAFF REPORTS
Councilmember Schaefer reported on the success of the I Block Party and on her attendance at a meeting of the Board of Directors of the Redwood Coast Energy Authority.
Mayor Atkins-Salazar reported on local work being done in regard to the offshore wind leases. She announced Arcata Main Street had a new Executive Director—Brandey Wheeler.
Councilmember Matthews reported on her attendance at meetings of the Boards of Directors of the Humboldt Transit Authority and the Humboldt Waste Management Authority.
Councilmember Stillman said she would be attending an upcoming meeting of the Board of Directors of the Redwood Region Economic Development Commission. She reported on her attendance at a meeting of the Board of Directors of the Humboldt Transit Authority.
Councilmember Matthews asked for an update on the single-use carry-out container ordinance implementation.
Councilmember Watson said he didn't think he had ever created a fake profile, ever. He relayed communications he had with Delilah Goldstein.
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Councilmember Watson said he received the City's sales tax reports from HdL and noted there was a 30 percent decline in tax revenues from Quarter 3 2021 to Quarter 1 2022. He asked why the Council did not have this information when it was adopting the budget and how that could be prevented in the future.
City Manager Diemer responded to Councilmember Watson's concerns.
On inquiry by Councilmember Stillman, City Manager Diemer said the declaration of surplus lands process would be coming to the Council soon.
Councilmember Stillman put out a request to the public for downtown office space that could be made available to the Chief of Police for an auxiliary office.
Councilmember Stillman asked if the Council wanted to discuss footpaths/trails in the city.
Councilmember Stillman said the Friends of the Arcata Marsh wanted to know when the gate closure at the Arcata Marsh and Wildlife Sanctuary was going to change.
Councilmember Stillman reported that Godwit Days would be working interactively with the Audubon Society and Friends of the Arcata Marsh for this year's event.
At the request of Councilmember Stillman, Mayor Atkins-Salazar suggested holding a future study session with the Arcata Police Department on homelessness.
BY GENERAL CONSENSUS, THE COUNCIL AGENDIZED A REVIEW OF
MAINTENANCE OF FOOTPATHS/TRAILS IN THE CITY AND AN UPDATE ON THE SINGLE-USE FOODWARE CONTAINER ORDINANCE.
ADJOURNMENT
The meeting was adjourned at 9:45 p.m.
Respectfully submitted,
Bridget Dory
City Clerk