From: Rhea Varley
To: Beth Redfern
Subject: FW: Resolution No. 256‑48 – 2025 General Plan Annual Progress Report (March 18, 2026)New Business d.
Date: Tuesday, March 17, 2026 10:54:42 AM
From: Gregory Daggett < >
Sent: Tuesday, March 17, 2026 10:54 AM
To: Meredith Matthews <[email protected]>; Stacy Atkins-Salazar <[email protected]>; Alex Stillman <[email protected]>; Kimberley White <[email protected]>; Sarah Schaefer <[email protected]>; Tabatha Miller <[email protected]>; David Loya <[email protected]>; Rhea Varley <[email protected]>; Merritt Perry <[email protected]>; Engineering Dept <[email protected]>; Emily Sinkhorn <[email protected]>; Jennifer Dart <[email protected]>; Delo Freitas <[email protected]> Subject: Re: Resolution No. 256‑48 – 2025 General Plan Annual Progress Report (March 18, 2026)New Business d.
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Re: Resolution No. 256‑48 – 2025 General Plan Annual Progress Report (March 18, 2026) Request for Corrections and Compliance in the Noise, Safety, and Air Quality Elements Dear Mayor, Council members, and City Leadership,
I am writing regarding Resolution No. 256‑48, the City of Arcata’s 2025 General Plan Annual Progress Report (APR) scheduled for consideration on March 18, 2026. After reviewing the APR and comparing it with the City’s documented actions over the past several years, I must express serious concern that the report does not accurately reflect the City’s performance—or lack thereof—in three critical General Plan Elements: Noise, Safety, and Air Quality.
This letter builds upon my previous correspondence titled “Ongoing Failure to Enforce Vehicle Muffler Noise Laws and Non‑Compliance with State Noise Element Requirements.” The issues raised in that letter are not isolated operational oversights; they represent systemic non‑compliance that directly affects the accuracy and legality of the City’s General Plan reporting.
Noise Element: Continued Non‑Compliance with Government Code §65302(f) The APR asserts progress in implementing the Noise Element. However, the City has:
• conducted no required noise measurements on primary arterial and major streets for 27 years,
• relied on 1997 noise data and speculative modeling in major planning documents, including the Gateway Area Plan Draft EIR,
• taken zero enforcement actions on Vehicle Code §§27150–27151 despite full APD staffing for more than two years, and
• failed to monitor or research noise pollution as required by state law.
Government Code §65302(f) is explicit: cities must measure, quantify, and update noise conditions using real data. Modeling without measurement is not compliance. Reporting progress where none exists undermines the integrity of the APR and places Arcata out of alignment with state requirements.
Safety Element: Noise Enforcement as a Public Safety Obligation The Safety Element requires the City to reduce risks associated with transportation, impaired driving, and hazardous behaviors. Excessively loud vehicles are frequently linked to:
• reckless driving,
• modified engines and illegal exhaust systems,
• impaired or high‑risk operators, and
• elevated collision and fatality risks.
Humboldt County leads the nation in fatal crashes involving impaired drivers and ranks second in the state for pedestrian crashes. The City’s refusal to enforce basic muffler noise laws—laws that require only a fix‑it ticket—represents a failure to implement the Safety Element’s core objectives. The APR does not acknowledge this gap.
Air Quality Element: Overlapping Impacts from Vehicle Noise and Emissions Modified exhaust systems that produce excessive noise also frequently increase emissions, particulate output, and combustion inefficiencies. The City’s non‑enforcement therefore has direct implications for:
• localized air pollution,
• public health impacts,
• compliance with regional air quality goals, and
• the accuracy of the City’s reporting to state agencies.
The APR does not address these intersections, nor does it acknowledge that non‑enforcement contributes to worsening air quality conditions.
Regional Comparison: Eureka Police Department’s Enforcement Efforts The contrast with neighboring jurisdictions is stark. During the first eleven months of 2025, the Eureka Police Department (EPD) increased traffic enforcement by 233%, rising from 2,415 traffic stops to 8,060. These efforts directly targeted the same behaviors Arcata residents experience daily:
• speeding on major roadways,
• distracted driving,
• unsafe driving behaviors,
• driving under the influence, and
• reckless driving.
EPD has also taken proactive steps to arrest drivers operating vehicles at dangerous speeds and in a reckless manner throughout the city.
Importantly, EPD achieved this despite significant staffing constraints. The department no longer has a dedicated Traffic Unit, meaning traffic enforcement is handled by a small number of patrol officers—often only four to six—who must balance these efforts while responding to emergency calls across the city. Despite these limitations, EPD remains committed to improving roadway safety. Their message is clear: enforcement alone is not enough; community partnership is essential. But enforcement is still a necessary foundation.
Arcata, by contrast, has taken no comparable steps. Despite being fully staffed for more than two years, the Arcata Police Department has not increased enforcement, has not conducted required noise measurements, and has not implemented any strategy to address the chronic and worsening problem of illegal vehicle noise and reckless driving.
Pattern of Avoidance and Inaccurate State Reporting
As documented in my previous letters, the City has been aware of these issues since at least early 2022. Staffing shortages were cited as the reason for non‑enforcement at that time. That justification no longer applies. The City has been fully staffed for over two years, yet enforcement remains at 0%.
By omitting these facts, the APR fails to provide the State of California with an accurate account of the City’s progress—or lack thereof—in implementing the General Plan.
The General Plan is the City’s foundational policy document. Its credibility depends on accurate reporting and faithful implementation. The City’s ongoing refusal to enforce noise laws, its decades‑long failure to conduct required noise measurements, and the resulting inaccuracies in the APR represent a serious breach of public trust and a violation of state mandates.
Requested Actions
I urge the Council to:
• Correct the 2025 Annual Progress Report before adoption. • Direct staff to immediately begin conducting state‑required noise measurements under Vehicle Code §27150.2.
• Develop and implement an enforcement plan targeting illegal exhaust systems, speeding, and reckless driving.
• Report publicly on enforcement metrics, including stops, citations, and compliance trends.
• Bring the Noise, Safety, and Air Quality Elements into full compliance with state law.
Arcata residents deserve the same level of safety, accountability, and basic enforcement that neighboring jurisdictions are already providing. The City must act.
Sincerely,
Gregory Daggett