Carlisle asks Matthew Owen, Scott Bauer, Liza Welsh, Eddie Morgan, William Tuttle…
Sprawl
If completed, the McKay Tract subdivision will have further negative impacts on Eureka’s dangerous streets.
If elected, will you speak out against this project?
— Carlisle
Responses
Matthew Owen
The McKay development has already been in process for 15 years and if all goes well, will probably take another two years before the first home is built.
The developer’s goal is to build 330 homes over the next 30 years. If my math is correct, that’s approximately 11 homes per year. Not exactly “sprawl”.
Considering we have a housing crisis and desperately need additional housing I’m in favor of this project.
If elected, I will be front and center for the City of Eureka to come up with plans for additional housing in-fill (apartments) in many of their city owned vacant lots.
Eddie Morgan
Thank you for your question, Carlisle.
Eureka has a housing shortage. Young people, working people, and young families cannot find affordable housing—to rent or purchase. It is important that the City of Eureka be part of the solution and pass measures to change this so that future generations can thrive.
The McKay development is a move in this direction, and I believe that slow, planned growth differs from sprawl. I appreciate your concern for the safety of our residents, and as someone who walks through Eureka’s streets regularly, I know that traffic can be menacing. Therefore, I think it’s important to ensure that new housing areas, like the planned McKay development, have safety infrastructure—stop lights, crosswalks, bike lanes—that provide for safety. As a member of the City Council, I would work to focus on these safety measures.
In addition to new housing developments, the city council is taking action to open up city-owned parking lots and vacant land to allow for the construction of additional Affordable Housing units (See the July 7, 2020, City Council minutes for three examples of such measures: http://www.ci.eureka.ca.gov/civicax/filebank/blobdload.aspx?BlobID=17871). I agree with this decision as well, as this will mitigate sprawl by filling in housing gaps within our existing community.
By supporting planned, safe development and in-fill of existing land with additional housing units, the City Council can participate in providing housing for future generations.
Liza Welsh
I know just how dangerous Eureka’s streets can be. Before COVID-19, I rode an electric scooter to my office. While I took all possible precautions, there were intersections that terrified me, either because they were unprotected or because they were designed in a way that is hostile to pedestrians and cyclists. The intersection of H and Harris, where one-way streets and a two-way street come together with no stop light or pedestrian crossing point, is one example. To make our streets safer, we need to use road diets and other Planning tools to reduce the speed of traffic and to identify priorities for installation of walk signs, traffic lights, and other measures to control traffic and to protect the public safety.
While I understand that we need housing, I am concerned about the mechanics of the McKay project. The development lies at the wildland urban interface. It will increase traffic. It is not accessible via public transportation. It does not provide for bicycle transportation. Most importantly, most of these new units will not be affordable or accessible to the people who are most affected by housing shortages in this economy.
Instead of new suburban-style subdivisions, we should embrace density and we should aggressively pursue infill development and transit-oriented development. The remaining empty lots and parking lots in Eureka should be targeted for apartment-style projects that will provide housing to the people who need it most. We should develop housing that is in proximity to the places where people work, that is accessible via public transportation, and that is affordable to those who are looking for housing. We should require developers to cover the costs of developing the infrastructure necessary to support these projects, and we should plan now for the challenges and technology of tomorrow.
Finally, I’d like to plug the report Elephants in the Road by the Coalition for Responsible Transportation Priorities. This report discusses how climate chaos, the safety crisis, and the rise of autonomous vehicles will shape the future of Humboldt County’s transportation system. It can be accessed at the following link: https://transportationpriorities.org/elephantsintheroad/
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