From: Gregory Dagg
To: Meredith Matthews; Stacy Atkins-Salazar; Alex Stillman; Kimberley White; Sarah Schaefer; Tabatha Miller; David Loya; Rhea Varley; Merritt Perry; Engineering Dept; Emily Sinkhorn; Jennifer Dart; Delo Freitas Subject: New Business b. Introduce Ordinance No. 1584, An Ordinance of the City Council of the City of Arcata Repealing Article 12 (Public Safety Committee)
Date: Tuesday, March 31, 2026 11:12:42 AM
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Letter Regarding Ordinance No. 1584 and the Elimination of the Public Safety Committee Date: April 1, 2026
Dear Mayor, Council members, and City Leadership,
I am writing regarding Ordinance No. 1584, which proposes to repeal Article 12 of the Arcata Municipal Code and formally eliminate the Public Safety Committee. I strongly oppose this action. Given the City’s documented and ongoing failure to uphold basic public safety laws, dissolving the only body explicitly tasked with public safety oversight is not only inappropriate—it is dangerous.
This letter builds upon my previous written and spoken testimony, including:
• February 26, 2026 – Public Safety Study Session (5A1 Goals: Public Safety) https://pub-arcata.escribemeetings.com/FileStream.ashx?DocumentId=25225 • March 18, 2026 – Letter Re: Resolution No. 256‑48, 2025 General Plan Annual Progress Report (APR) https://pub-arcata.escribemeetings.com/FileStream.ashx?DocumentId=25449 • Prior correspondence titled “Ongoing Failure to Enforce Vehicle Muffler Noise Laws and Non‑Compliance with State Noise Element Requirements”
Across all of these communications, I have documented a consistent pattern:
The City of Arcata has not upheld the laws of the State of California, despite having sworn to do so.
Repealing the Public Safety Committee at this moment—without replacing it with a stronger, more accountable structure—would further erode public trust and remove one of the few remaining avenues for community oversight.
1. The City’s Documented Failure to Uphold State Law
For more than two years, Arcata has been fully staffed in its police department. Yet during this time, the City has:
• taken zero enforcement actions on California Vehicle Code §§27150–27151 (muffler and exhaust noise laws),
• 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, • failed to implement the Noise, Safety, and Air Quality Elements of the General Plan, and • submitted an APR to the State that does not accurately reflect these failures.
These are not minor administrative oversights. They are violations of Government Code §65302(f) and a breach of the City’s legal obligation to enforce state law.
2. Eliminating the Public Safety Committee Removes Oversight at the Exact Moment Oversight Is Needed Most
The Public Safety Committee has been underutilized and unsupported by the City—not because the community lacks public safety concerns, but because leadership has chosen not to prioritize enforcement or accountability.
Rather than strengthening this body, Ordinance No. 1584 proposes to eliminate it entirely.
This is the opposite of what Arcata needs.
Given the City’s long‑standing refusal to enforce basic safety laws, the appropriate response is not to dissolve oversight—it is to increase it.
3. A State‑Reporting Safety Commission Is Now Necessary Because the City has repeatedly demonstrated:
• unwillingness to enforce state law,
• unwillingness to conduct required measurements,
• unwillingness to acknowledge non‑compliance in state reporting, and • unwillingness to implement the General Plan’s Noise, Safety, and Air Quality Elements, I am formally requesting the creation of a Safety Commission that reports directly to the State of California, not solely to the City Council.
Such a commission should be empowered to:
• document non‑enforcement of state laws,
• ensure compliance with Government Code §65302(f),
• oversee required noise and safety data collection,
• review APD enforcement performance,
• monitor public health and air quality impacts, and
• ensure accurate reporting in the General Plan APR.
If the City cannot or will not meet its legal obligations, then oversight must come from a higher authority.
4. Regional Comparison: Arcata’s Inaction Is Not Normal As I have previously documented, the Eureka Police Department increased traffic enforcement by 233% in the first eleven months of 2025—despite staffing constraints and the absence of a dedicated traffic unit.
Arcata, fully staffed for more than two years, has taken no comparable action.
This contrast demonstrates that enforcement is a matter of leadership priorities, not capacity.
5. Ordinance No. 1584 Should Not Move Forward Without a Replacement Body That Strengthens, Not Weakens, Public Safety Oversight
Repealing the Public Safety Committee without establishing a stronger, more accountable structure is unacceptable. It signals that the City intends to further distance itself from public safety responsibilities and from the community’s legitimate concerns and the State of California Laws.
Sincerely,
Gregory Daggett.