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The Eureka City Council made quick work of last night’s agenda, a welcome change after what seems like an extended run of lengthy, often contentious meetings focused on hot-button issues. While last night’s discussion largely focused on the city’s Gulch Greenway Ordinance, there was also some talk about the new Eureka Operations Complex and the latest policing statistics from the Eureka Police Department.

Let’s dig in!

Eureka Operations Complex

Following a mere 15-minute discussion, the city council unanimously approved a $8.2 million funding request for the new Eureka Operations Complex, the city’s new Public Works headquarters, maintenance facility and corporation yard. The new facility, planned for a vacant lot behind Lost Coast Brewery’s brewing facilities on Highway 101, will also serve as the city’s emergency operations center during critical incidents. 

The funding allocation includes $7.6 million for the first phase of construction, which is slated to begin later this year, along with $324,000 to Scott Edwards Architecture for additional design services and $237,000 to Swinerton Builders for pre-construction services for the second and final phase of the project. If everything goes according to plan, the second phase should wrap up by the end of next year.

Speaking at last night’s meeting, Project Manager Katie Marsolan said for years the city has been wanting to move the corp yard from its current location at 945 W. 14th Street, near Costco, to an upland site outside of the coastal zone. The city purchased the 5.6-acre site from the owners of the Ocean View Cemetery in November 2023 and quickly retained an architect and contractor to draw up plans for the new facility. 

After the presentation, Councilmember Scott Bauer asked if the city had plans to incorporate solar energy into the project. That’s the end goal, but the funding isn’t quite there, Marsolan said.

“The actual positioning of our building allows us to have great exposure for solar,” she continued. “We will have some photovoltaic solar on the building, but we won’t be covering the whole building yet, until I can afford it or get a cool grant.”

Councilmember Leslie Castellano made a motion to approve the funding request, which was seconded by Bauer and approved 4-0, with Councilmember G. Mario Fernandez absent.

Gulch Greenway Ordinance

Click to enlarge.

After years of planning, the Gulch Greenway Ordinance received unanimous approval at last night’s meeting. The long-awaited ordinance sets new development standards and environmental protections for the “Gulch Greenway Management Area,” which includes parcels within and adjacent to Cooper Gulch, Second Gulch and the gulches of Martin Slough.

The council approved the ordinance in two separate actions. Bill No. 1044, which passed in a 3-0 vote, with Bauer recused and Fernandez absent, added a Gulch Greenway Overlay Zone to the city’s inland zoning map and additional regulations to the zoning code. Bill No. 1045, which passed 4-0, with Fernandez absent, added a few municipal code updates for tree removal, landscaping and grading. 

During the public comment portion of the meeting, Eureka resident Sue Parfit asked for clarity on a piece of the ordinance that says, “vegetation removal required by the property owner’s insurance company as a condition of maintaining coverage may be approved with a Zoning Clearance.”

Following public comment, Councilmember Kati Moulton expressed similar concern, adding that she wanted to ensure that residents — especially during the purchase or transfer of a property — would have ample time to obtain insurance if they didn’t have it already. Development Services Director Cristin Kenyon said staff could easily amend the text to address Moulton’s concern.

After a bit of additional discussion, Moulton made a motion to that effect, which was seconded by Councilmember Renee Contreras-DeLoach and passed 3-0. 

Discussion surrounding Bill 1045 was focused on tree hazards and who residents should contact if they have an immediate concern. Kenyon said staff could add that information to the city’s website. The bill passed in a 4-0 vote. 

EPD Quarterly Report (April-June)

Stephens | Screenshot

Ahead of next week’s quarterly meeting of the Community Oversight on Police Practices (COPP) Board, Eureka Police Chief Brian Stephens shared the latest round of department statistics with the council.

In the years following the COVID pandemic and a period of severe understaffing at EPD, Stephens said the department became “more reactive than proactive toward certain things,” which he’s been trying to change. In the last quarter, officer-initiated activity has gone up by 95 percent, Stephens said.

“Our traffic stops are up 292 percent,” he continued, noting that there’s been a 10 percent decrease in both 9-1-1 and non-emergency calls in the same time period. “[Traffic stops] play a vital role, not only in our traffic enforcement side of the house, but they also lead to multiple other types of investigations for our patrol officers to dive deep into because they’re stopping people and finding different things on those stops.”

Bike and pedestrian stops are up by 833 percent, he said. A little later in the discussion, Mayor Kim Bergel asked what people were being stopped for and whether officers were stopping children without helmets.

“Do you want us to hand out tickets to kids?” Slattery joked. Bergel, somewhat annoyed, said she was concerned about the rate of concussions among children who didn’t use helmets. 

Stephens said the increased enforcement was prompted, in part, by the fatal traffic accident that took place two months ago on Harris Street. 

“[After that] we did give direction to be more aggressive [in] looking at violations of the law concerning bicyclists that have to do with rules of the road,” he continued. “Folks running stop signs, stop lights, riding the wrong way — the things that are leading to some of the more horrific traffic collisions that we’re having. We’re trying to address those and make the public aware of those violations … to hopefully divert some of those accidents from actually happening.”

However, Stephens couldn’t say whether kids were being “pulled over” for not wearing helmets. “I can’t say that for sure, but I would hope that officers would address those situations … when they have time to do so,” he said.

Stephens also noted that mental health-related calls and 5150 holds are up, which he attributed to the fact that there is a full-time officer in Old Town.

“That Old Town officer allows for more direct contact in the areas where we see some of the highest concentration of our community members needing assistance,” Stephens said. “He has been working collaboratively with [Crisis Alternative Response Eureka] CARE to address some folks that need some additional attention, and trying to get them the assistance they need.”

The council thanked Stephens for the report, with a few members sharing personal gripes about people speeding on city streets, but did not take any action on the item.

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