Gillen Tener Martin / Tuesday, June 25 @ 1:25 p.m. / Agendizer

Eureka Planning Commission to Consider Reversing Design Committee’s Denial of Fiveplex on Buhne After Housing Advocates Threaten Litigation. Plus: Eureka’s Waterfront RV Park!

In a special meeting tomorrow evening, the Eureka Planning Commission will revisit Adams Commercial General Contracting (ACGC) Inc.’s proposed five-plex on Buhne Street.

If approved, ACGC’s proposal would develop a vacant 9,000-square-foot parcel near the corner of West Buhne and Garland Streets into five units – one one-bedroom, three two-bedroom and one three-bedroom – each with their own garage.

The Design Review Committee previously denied the project in its May 8 meeting, citing public comment the City received from neighbors concerned with potential losses of privacy and sunlight.

“The proposed complex will permanently take away western sun that has been unobstructed for 132 years,” West Buhne property owner Dan Reid wrote to the City in a May 7 email, referring to potential shading impacts on his 1892 Queen Anne Victorian home.

Other letters voicing worries about light loss stressed the mold-prone nature of the Victorians the neighborhood is speckled with, and some forwarded to the City by Reid included a real estate professionals’ opinions that the placement of ACGC’s proposed development would reduce his property’s value.

“Due to the applicant’s representative expressing inflexibility to work with the surrounding neighbors to address neighborhood concerns and potential sunlight/shading issues of the project on the adjacent neighbor’s property, the Design Review Committee finds proposed development to be detrimental to public health and safety,” the Committee’s rejection resolution stated.

On May 16, ACGC filed an appeal of the Design Review Committe’s denial, and on May 17 ACGC Real Estate Development Director & Community Liaison Raelina Krikston sent a letter to the City stressing the quality of the project’s construction and aesthetics, its compliance with Eureka’s zoning and regulations and the ways in which the five units would contribute to local housing needs.

“Ensuring a commitment to maintaining the quality of life for all residents, whether they rent or own, underscores the project’s dedication to fostering a harmonious and inclusive community,” Krikston wrote.

Krikston’s letter also pointed to the project’s alignment with California’s Housing Accountability Act (HAA), which restricts local agencies in their abilities to deny housing projects that meet “objective” local planning standards – “objective” meaning “involving no personal or subjective judgment by a public official and being uniformly verifiable by reference to an external and uniform benchmark or criterion available and knowable by both the development applicant or proponent and the public official,” as California Government Code §65589.5(h)(9) states.

A few days later, the City received a second letter citing the HAA, this time from the California Housing Defense Fund (CalHDF), a non-profit housing organization that uses legal advocacy to hold communities to state housing laws and their own zoning standards.

“Denial of this project based on the subjective findings of the Design Review Committee, which have no basis in the municipal code, exposes the City to a significant risk of litigation,” wrote CalHDF Executive Director Dylan Casey and Director of Planning and Investigations James M. Lloyd.

In a statement provided to the Outpost in advance of tomorrow’s meeting, Krikston wrote that Eureka’s own 2040 General Plan includes a strategy to “maximize potential of the few vacant and underutilized sites” and reiterated the proposal’s compliance with Eureka’s requirements for setbacks, height restrictions, parking and maximum units, as well as its desirable blend of Farmhouse and Craftsman-style design inspirations and modern sustainability features (“100% electric,” equipped with solar panels and electric vehicle charging).

“In the past 9 years, ACGC has completed 30 residential units through in-fill projects that transform underutilized property into homes for our community as a key part of these same housing goals set by the city,” Krikston wrote in the provided statement, “These apartments are occupied 99% of the time and demonstrate the need for middle-range housing for Eureka’s workforce, students, seniors and families.”

CalHDF’s May 23 letter also included what it termed the “public benefits” of ACGC’s proposal, such as growth to Eureka’s tax base and reduced competition for existing housing stock in the city.

Staff are recommending that the Planning Commission reverse the Design Review Committee’s denial of the project, provide conditional approval for the project and adopt a resolution confirming the City’s determination that the proposed project is categorically exempt from the provisions of the California Environmental Quality Act (CEQA) in tomorrow’s meeting.

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Also at Tuesday’s meeting, the Commission will consider approving a Conditional Use Permit, Coastal Development Permit and Design Review for local developer Travis Schneider’s RV Park Project, which would create a new resort RV park between two City-owned parcels on Waterfront Drive. (For background, see an Outpost story from 2019 at this link.)

The meeting starts at 5:30 p.m., and the agenda can be found below. Original agenda in PDF form, along with remote participation instructions, can be found at this link..

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Eureka Planning Commission

June 26, 2024, 5:30 p.m.

A. ROLL CALL

B. SALUTE TO THE FLAG

C. APPROVAL OF MINUTES

1. Planning Commission Meeting Minutes

D. ORAL COMMUNICATIONS

E. PUBLIC HEARINGS - CONTINUED

F. PUBLIC HEARINGS - NEW

1. ACGC Five-Unit Multi-Family Residential Development Design Review (DR-24-0001) Appeal Location: Vacant lot one parcel west of the southwest corner of West Buhne Street and Garland

2. Schneider RV Park Project Location: 1535 Waterfront Drive; APNs: 002-241-013, -007, and -006 (City of Eureka), and

3. 1535 Waterfront Drive Lot Line Adjustment and Street Vacation for Schneider RV Park Location: Lot Line Adjustment: Two City-owned parcels north of Waterfront Drive, to the west and north of

G. DIRECTOR'S REPORTS AND COMMUNICATIONS

H. ADJOURNMENT

I. NOTICES

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