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In response to ongoing issues with illegal dumping along Eureka’s waterfront, the city is looking to install a gate on Marina Way, between “B” Dock and the Wharfinger Building, to prevent overnight vehicle access. The gate will be locked from dusk til dawn, but pedestrians will still have access to the parking area during the day.

The Coastal Development Permit request, submitted by the City of Eureka to its own staff, was approved by the Development Services Director Cristin Kenyon during a public hearing on Monday afternoon. The permit request does not require additional discretionary permits and, as such, does not require review from the city’s planning commission or city council, though the decision can be appealed to either body within 10 days.

During the hearing, City Manager Miles Slattery emphasized that the decision to install a gate “has nothing to do with people that are camping” along the waterfront. “It has solely to do with the amount of resources that we’ve been expending in this area,” he said, later adding that the city has spent “thousands and thousands of dollars in staff time” to address illegal dumping. 

“Now, is that illegal dumping happening only from community members experiencing homelessness? Not at all,” he continued. “The vast majority of the larger material we have there is coming from people [who] are housed and come in there and make illegal dumps.”

If you are among the concerned community members who contacted both the city and the Outpost to express concern about the new gate and what it might mean for your waterfront lunchtime ritual, Slattery says you’ve got nothing to be worried about. 

“This will not affect that in any way, shape or form,” he said. “It’s totally for the purpose of making sure that we’re not spending an inordinate amount of resources in cleaning up an area.”

For a few years now, the city has used a “Lot Cop” to keep an eye on traffic along Marina Way, but now that the city is facing a “budget crisis,” it will have to ditch the surveillance system, Slattery said. “We’re getting rid of two of our Lot Cops, so we won’t have the ability to do that anymore.”

During public comment, community members Sarah Torres and Sandra Warshaw expressed concern about the city’s unhoused population, especially people who park their vehicles and camp along Marina Way. 

“I do think it is harsh of the city to propose a gate when people who are in vehicles and, for whatever reasons, cannot go to the [Rescue] Mission [and] cannot use Betty Chinn’s services,” Torres said. “Maybe put a pause on it until we have a place for people to camp — legally or illegally — in their vehicles.”

Slattery reiterated that the area behind the gate will still be accessible to the public. On the note of camping, he added, “It’s never been legal for them to camp there, but it’s not like we’re out there arresting people for camping there.”

Director Kenyon acknowledged the “tricky situation” that arises when balancing environmental resources and public use, but said the gate would “minimize the impact [of dumping] to the extent feasible.”

She agreed to approve the coastal development with a small clarification to address apparent confusion around when dawn and dusk occur. (Dawn=sunrise and dusk=sunset — you’re welcome!)

You can read the full proposal at this link.