Transparent Humboldt Coalition issues analysis, response to Measure F and suggests direct actions to opponents

 

(Image from THC website)

This morning, Transparent Humboldt Coalition released an analysis and proposed community response to Measure F on their website. 

THC analysis and response:

1. While touted as “pro-housing”, Measure F removes hundreds of housing units and fails to assign any new units to fill the state’s Regional Housing Needs Assessment. It proposes new housing on a site that is owned by a government agency, which is not subject to municipal zoning even by initiative.

2. The proposed “HFA Overlay” would restrict development on 21 city-owned parking lots to “high density” residential above ground level parking. These lots are currently zoned for mixed use, allowing for commercial and public-service uses. The majority of these lots are not suitable for housing, and limiting them to this purpose will damage Eureka’s ability to develop a truly vital Old Town neighborhood.

3. The proposed Old Town overlay presents restrictions that constitute onerous requirements for development and which will trigger state penalties and open Eureka to legal liability. This includes subjecting Eureka to “builder’s remedy,” meaning developers will no longer be subject to public oversight or restrictions including the parking requirement imposed by Measure F, negating the initiative’s purpose.

4. The proposed Old Town overlay requires costly construction techniques to meet earthquake safety requirements. An open ground floor such as a parking garage is known as a “soft storied” building, and is likely to collapse when exposed to the shearing stress of an earthquake. The costs to offset this requirement mean that residential unit rents will fall outside of Eureka’s working class affordability, and cannot be offset with commercial rent because of Measure F’s restrictive overlay. 

5. California requires that cities be able to prove they can meet projections set by the Regional Housing Needs Assessment. Measure F removes the numerical values from portions of Eureka’s housing element that would meet this requirement. It replaces these numbers either with open ended language such as “a significant number,” or not at all.

6. Taken as a whole, these deficiencies are certain to cost Eureka the Prohousing designation awarded to the current housing element. Further, there is a high likelihood Eureka’s housing plan will lose certification from the state, triggering a cascade of penalties including, but not limited to, up to $7M/year in fines, loss of access to state housing funds, and a state takeover of Eureka’s housing element. 7. Measure F cannot be altered by any method other than fielding another initiative. It includes language to force any future draft of Eureka’s general plan to include Measure F’s restrictions. This will saddle Eureka with penalties from the state indefinitely, at great taxpayer expense.

7. Measure F cannot be altered by any method other than fielding another initiative. It includes language to force any future draft of Eureka’s general plan to include Measure F’s restrictions. This will saddle Eureka with penalties from the state indefinitely, at great taxpayer expense.

Transparency Failures:

Measure F was drafted in secret by private individuals without any public input or engagement from key stakeholders. The campaign has been rushed through its phases, deliberately limiting the opportunity for thoughtful community review or expert analysis.

Additionally, after community backlash regarding the inability of Measure F to impose zoning on land owned by a municipal agency, Measure F’s sponsor attempted to acquire the Jacobs School site. According to emails uncovered by The North Coast Journal, this acquisition was intentionally timed to minimize public input and the process has been condemned by the Humboldt Civil Grand Jury.

Accountability Failures:

Despite nearly all funding coming from a single source, Robin Arkley via Security National Bank, he has publicly denied any involvement. This is belied by his repeated public statements of intent to field an initiative to preserve Old Town’s parking lots. Further, as Arkley attempted to secretly procure the Jacobs School site through an anonymous LLC, he publicly claimed not to be involved. When questioned on the measure's inconsistencies, proponents have failed to provide clear, responsive answers. Instead, the campaign unfailingly attempts to deflect with divisive attacks on public officials, private citizens, and community

organizations. Representatives have When questioned on the measure's inconsistencies, proponents have failed to provide clear, responsive answers. Instead, the campaign unfailingly attempts to deflect with divisive attacks on public officials, private citizens, and community organizations. Representatives have proposed unfounded conspiracy theories, unsubstantiated accusations, and even threats of violence to community members. No representative of Measure F has acknowledged, rebuked, or apologized for these actions.

Integrity Failures:

Ctizens for a Better Eureka is an astroturf organization created as a front for Rob Arkley’s campaign of spite and grievance against city officials for refusing to capitulate to his demands, in favor a honoring the public process and input from the city’s voters.

Every representative is directly financially tied to Arkely through Security National Bank. From the outset, CBE has practiced deceptive methods to advance and promote Measure F, beginning with naming a policy that subtracts housing stock and commercial parcels to preserve parking lots “Housing for All and Downtown Vitality.” CBE’s paid canvassers were trained to intentionally mislead voters in order to gather signatures to qualify for the ballot, resulting in hundreds of voters requesting to have their names removed from the petition. Meanwhile, CBE filed multiple lawsuits with the intent to bypass public process, including a demand to be included on the March primary ballot in hopes that a smaller electorate pool would be easier to sway. Every public statement and piece of written literature has contained volumes of false, misleading, or disingenuous statements. Rather than enumerate them individually, the Coalition categorically condemns the Measure F campaign, its representatives, and its sponsor for their attempts to manipulate Eurekans with misinformation and disinformation.

Proposed Response:

The Coalition urges the community to vote No on Measure F in order to defend Eureka against the impacts of this policy. However, the Coalition also recognizes that Citizens for a Better Eureka will continue its attempts to undermine public processes unless further action is taken. Therefore, the Coalition calls on anyone opposed to Measure F to participate in the following direct actions, with the intent of exhausting CBE’s resources and time.

1. Click every ad. CBE has spent heavily to advertise online and on social media. Billing for these ads is based on “click-through rates,” meaning that every time a user clicks on the ad to view the linked content the advertiser is charged a small amount. The Coalition urges you to click every “Yes on Measure F” ad you see. If you’re concerned about CBE capturing your metadata, use your browser’s incognito mode. If you have the time and patience, refresh and repeat your click no less than 2 minutes apart as many times as you can.

2. Link to this press release in their comment sections. CBE aggressively curates their social media comment sections to remove all but their supporters' posts. If you count the number of comments visible to you and compare it to the number of comments counted on the post, you’ll see a wide discrepancy every time. Curating these posts requires time from volunteers or paid professionals. Whenever you see a “Yes on F” post on social media, especially a sponsored post, comment with a link to this press release and nothing else.

3. Request "Yes on F" sign, then alter it. CBE has shown extraordinary sensitivity to community members altering signs on their own property, including advertising false criminal accusations against community members who’ve done so and trespassing on private property to replace altered signs. Meanwhile, they’ve repeatedly and illegally placed signs on public property, requiring the city to spend taxpayer resources removing them. In response, the Coalition is calling for Eurekans opposed to Measure F to request signs from their website, then alter to reflect the true feelings of our community. Be creative. To be less provocative, simply hide the sign away. When Measure F’s representatives attempt to remove or replace the sign, report them for trespassing if you feel safe with police contact.

While a single individual practicing any of these direct action tactics may be viewed as a nuisance, collectively we can impact CBE’s ability to execute their campaign of misinformation. As a community we can illustrate not only that this policy is unacceptable but that the tactics Citizens for a Better Eureka employs will no longer be tolerated. Send them a message. They’ve F’d around, now it’s time for them to find out.