Special City Council Meeting - May 7, 2024

View Agenda - Watch Entire Meeting

Land Acknowledgement - Watch

The land that Eureka rests on is known in the Wiyot language as Jaroujiji. Past actions by local, State and Federal governments removed the Wiyot and other indigenous peoples from the land and threatened to destroy their cultural practices. The City of Eureka acknowledge the Wiyot community, their elders both past and present, as well as future generations. This acknowledgement demonstrates the City’s commitment to dismantle the ongoing legacies of settler colonialism.

Roll Call

Councilmember Castellano presiding as Mayor Pro Tem; Councilmember Moulton, Councilmember Fernandez, Councilmember Bauer, and Councilmember Contreras-DeLoach present in chambers. Absent: Mayor Bergel.

I. Reports & Action Items - Watch

A.1. Sunset Heights Update - Watch

Agenda Summary

Attachment 1 - Scheme 1 Site Plan Concept

Attachment 2 - Scheme 2 Site Plan Concept

Attachment 3 - Survey Results Summary

Presented by Assistant Planner Smith

The Sunset Heights property is located on a bluff overlooking Broadway, between West Henderson and West Harris streets. The site is 4.13 acres across four contiguous parcels. The site is identified in the Housing Element as needing to provide 80 deed-restricted dwelling affordable dwelling units, 20 of which need to be for low income households and 60 units for very-low-income households.

A memorandum of understanding (MOU) was signed with Rural Communities Housing Development Corporation (RCHDC) in September of 2023 for development of Sunset Heights. Since that time, staff conducted an online survey with 298 respondents in October of 2023. The first of three required public meetings were held on November 15, 2023, and staff is before Council at this meeting to present preliminary designs concepts for feedback. Staff anticipates designs being finalized summer of 2024, planning permits would be processed in the fall of 2024. Between now and when construction begins funding will be secured by the developer, and it is anticipated that construction could begin in 2028.

Director of Multifamily Development at RCHDC Beth Matsumoto spoke about the current funding climate. RCHDC is a nonprofit housing developer and property manager headquartered in Ukiah, and Director Matsumoto is based locally. Director Matsumoto noted that tax credit funding is the largest source of funding available for affordable housing. To be successful in the competitive application process to win a tax credit reservation, projects needed to have state and local funding for about 30% of the total development cost. Now, when competing with other rural projects, need about to have closer to 50% of local development costs in local and state funding to be able to win the tax credit reservation. This means that funding sources such as the Permanent Local Housing Allocation and housing trust funds are more critical to achieve the City’s new housing production goal, and encourages Council to consider that as priorities are set for local housing allocations.

Architect Robert Hayes, principal in charge of Robert W. Hayes and Associates, reviewed the preliminary site plans for Sunset Heights, presenting two schemes for the footprint of the development. The firm was established in 1999, 80% of their work is for affordable housing developments, and they have projects across northern California.

The Sunset Heights property has constraints on how it can be developed. There is a slope setback that reduces the area of development to approximately 1.9 acres in a long, skinny shape. The elevation drops across the property as well, from about 65 feet elevation at the neighbors across the alley from the site to 50 feet elevation at the lowest point of the developable area. The site also has opportunities with the proximity to Humboldt Bay and the interesting topography of the site.

The concepts have a goal of minimizing the impact on the neighborhood and maximizing the number of units in the development. The two schemes have some differences in the footprint of the proposed buildings, and in Scheme 1, the units are narrower and longer than in Scheme 2.

The first scheme begins with a basement level at the lowest part of the property, on the north end of the site across two of the four buildings. This level is a story below the neighboring houses. Utilizing the long, narrow unit configuration with an open plaza allows for seeing through the site to Humboldt Bay. The first floor level begins at 60’ elevation, and has units across all of the four buildings situated on the site. The two middle buildings are shorter, the north building stopping after the first floor, and the south building stopping after the second floor. The two end buildings are three floors tall, and the basement level of the northmost building makes it four stories in total. The buildings have open plazas or open space between them to maintain as much of the view of Humboldt Bay as possible. Architect Hayes explained the thought with this scheme is to keep the tallest buildings on the ends of the site, to balance the need to housing and the impact to the neighborhood. Scheme 1 has 43 units in the north portion of the site, and the tallest structure is about 45 feet to 50 feet tall, and 44 units in the south portion of the site there are 44 units, and the tallest structure is about 40 feet high, with a total unit count of 87 units.

The second concept, Scheme 2, is very similar to the first one. The units in Scheme 2 are wider and shorter than Scheme 1, but it does not have the same plaza area providing an aperture through to Humboldt Bay. Scheme 2 does have some open space, but because the units are wider, there is less space between each building. The north portion of Scheme 2 has 46 units and the south portion has 44, with a total number of units of 90 for Scheme 2.

Council Questions

Councilmember Bauer appreciates the thoughtful design and consideration of the neighbors and neighborhood. Asked if the site could be engineered to increase the buildable acreage available. Answer: Architect Hayes explained that the site has a 30-foot setback from the bluff drop-off is determined by the soil engineer, and that while there may be ways of engineering the site to gain more buildable acreage, as the architect, he is not comfortable not staying within the constraints from the soils engineer.

Councilmember Fernandez asked about the undeveloped portion of the site, and what access for pedestrians and vehicles would look like at the site, noting that Highway 101 on Broadway has a number of accidents. Councilmember Fernandez also noted that a pedestrian access bridge across Broadway could be beneficial. Answer: Architect Hayes shared that there are thoughts about how the rest of the site could be utilized, but is not able to commit at this point in the concept. Some space could be used for people. Vehicle access onto the site is being developed for one-way access, with preliminary design entering the site from Harris Street and exiting the site onto Henderson Street. The best pedestrian routes have not been developed yet. The vehicle paths are similar from Scheme 1 to Scheme 2, and the entrances and exits will be designed to standards. City Manager Slattery added that the northern most parcel, which was previously a City-owned right-of-way, is an ideal location for stormwater treatment and runoff. The location could also be used for public access in addition to the stormwater use.

Councilmember Moulton asked for the required number of low-income and very low-income units on the site. Answer: Architect Hayes 20 units for low-income households and 60 units for very-low-income households.

Councilmember Contreras-DeLoach asked why it would take three years to secure the funding. Answer: City Manager Slattery noted that this is a conservative timetable. The next round of tax credit applications are open in June, and it will be competitive locally among different projects just here in the City. Referring to a recently completed project, that project required three extensions to be able to secure the funding, and that took three years. The intent with this project is to look for other state funding, to get to the 50% funded from local and state funds which will help with competitiveness for the tax credits. Sometimes different rounds will make a certain type of housing more competitive like senior housing or multifamily housing. Three years is a conservative timeline, but doesn’t mean couldn’t happen before then.

Mayor Pro Tem Castellano asked if Redwood Coast Regional Center was still involved with this project. Answer: Director Matsumoto confirmed that they are involved, and are interested in contributing a portion of the funding.

Mayor Pro Tem Castellano noted that a lot of the concerns that were shared from the public about housing being developed on the site are being met through the designs presented here. Noted that the discussion is not getting into traffic mitigation in this meeting, and asked if there were other efforts in the plans to address the neighborhood concerns in particular. Answer: Assistant Planner Smith noted that the primary concerns from the survey respondents were traffic and safety, slope stability, neighborhood safety, and maintaining the viewsheds to Humboldt Bay. These preliminary design concepts are addressing at least three of those four, and at this early stage, that is pretty good.

Mayor Pro Tem Castellano asked if there will be laundry facilities on-site. Answer: Architect Hayes confirmed that there will be facilities on-site.

Councilmember Fernandez ask for more information about the relationship between Redwood Coast Regional Center and this project. Answer: Director Matsumoto explained that RCHDC has partnered with Redwood Coast Regional Center on a few projects previously. They support people who are developmentally disabled, and RCHDC sets aside a certain number of units for people who are their target population. Mayor Pro Tem Castellano noted that they were at one of the early meetings for this project and spoke in favor of the project.

Public comment for this item

No public comment made for this item.

Council Questions & Comments

Councilmember Bauer commented that he was surprised that this site had not been developed already, and is hopeful that Council can support the completion of the process and get people into housing as soon as possible. Councilmember Bauer supports Scheme 1, to maintain the view for the neighborhood.

Councilmember Moulton is supportive of Scheme 1 with the view sheds, and believes that maintaining the viewsheds is worth losing three units from the design, noting that one of the major concerns from the neighborhood is mitigated through this design. Appreciates the ideas of integrating pedestrian access, as that area has a lot of pedestrian traffic.

Councilmember Contreras-DeLoach is in favor of Scheme 1 for all the reasons that other Councilmembers have mentioned.

Councilmember Fernandez commented that he is in favor of either scheme, and will support Scheme 1 to meet the concerns from the neighbors.

Councilmember Moulton asked about the proposed vehicle direction, asked if the only way to exit the complex would be onto Henderson Street and then to Broadway. Answer: City Manager Slattery confirmed that is the direction of travel.

Councilmember Contreras DeLoach remarked that the vehicle entrance and exit direction is the only item of concern for her, noting that it is a large loop for anyone travelling from one side of town, and that people will want to use the easiest path of travel, and would like to see that incorporated in further designs. Assistant Planner Smith shared that there have been discussions with Public Works, and that this project would be required to pave that alleyway. Architect Hayes confirmed that the alley will be paved, and will be 20 feet wide, and that there can be further discussion about the ingress and egress on Henderson and Harris Streets, and that the project would want to promote one-way traffic. The Henderson Street access point may be wide enough to have an entrance and exit, but would require more study and engineering as moving the project forward.

Mayor Pro Tem Castellano supports Scheme 1 and appreciates the design of the outdoor plaza spaces as an amenity for the residents. Asked about the mix of size of the units, if were one- to three-bedroom units. Answer: Architect Hayes responded that they are a mix of units from single occupancy rooms (SRO) to three-bedroom units. There aren’t many SROs in the design, and the majority of the units are one- and two-bedroom units.

Council reached consensus on Scheme 1 of the preliminary design concepts, Architect Hayes will develop that concept further.

Adjournment - Watch