Press release from “Housing For All” proponents:

Mike Munson, one of the two proponents of the City of Eureka Housing for All and Downtown Vitality Initiative, today turned in initiative petitions containing 2,811 signatures to the City of Eureka Clerk’s office. Ten percent, or 1,600, of the city’s registered voters’ validated signatures are needed for an initiative to qualify for the ballot.

“We are confident we have obtained the required number of signatures,” said Munson. “Once the City Clerk and County Registrar count and validate the signatures, voters will have an opportunity to pass our Initiative and enable Eureka to provide housing while preserving the economic vitality of our Historic Downtown.”

Added Munson, “We are very encouraged by the broad support we found in every neighborhood in the city.”

Once the registrar validates the needed number of signatures, the City Council can select from several options, including (1) choose to adopt the Initiative directly and forego the cost of putting it on the ballot in a city election; (2) decide to place the Initiative on the next ballot (March 2024); or ask for more information in a report from planning staff, which must be completed within 30 days, before deciding to either adopt the Initiative directly or to place the Initiative on the ballot. Eureka business owners Munson and Michelle Costantine co-signed the petition which, if ratified by a majority of the voters, will amend the City of Eureka’s General Plan by:

1. Designating the site of the publicly owned former Jacobs Middle School (which is now vacant) for housing for all income levels,

2. Improving the city’s plans to provide housing downtown by requiring the preservation of existing parking,

3. Providing adequate parking for new downtown housing.

“We believe the City of Eureka needs to provide more housing to address the unprecedented housing crisis,” said Munson. “The city has a badly flawed plan. It will eliminate hundreds of downtown parking spaces to make way for very low-income housing. The loss of parking will devastate downtown business and do nothing to relieve the housing crisis experienced by working- and middle-income families.”

If passed by the voters, the Housing for All Initiative will give Eureka the ability to provide hundreds of units of housing at both the Jacobs site and downtown. It will also help downtown grow into an attractive place to live, work, and play by preserving the parking needed for tourists, visitors, and workers while providing the parking many families need to thrive. More information, including a copy of the City of Eureka Housing for All and Downtown Vitality Initiative, can be found at eurekahousingforall2024.org.

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