I Like Eureka Housing

Measure F Does NOT Help Relieve the Housing Crisis.

Instead of increasing housing, Measure F stops the city from building 199 affordable apartments that are approved for construction.

VOTE “NO” ON MEASURE F,
AFFORDABLE HOUSING FOR NONE!

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Did you know that fear of "low income" housing led Eureka's voters to pass a 1950 ballot measure attempting to uphold the practice of segregation, even after civil rights laws made outright racial segregation illegal?

MEET ARTICLE 34: How Eureka's Old Fight Against Subsidized Apartments Led to One of the Nation's Strongest Anti-Affordable Housing Laws, and What Legislators are Doing to Repeal It  

Howdy friends!

The tech company that shall not be named is trying to get us to pay them to show our posts to more people. We don't believe in that - we're a grassroots group of your neighbors, coworkers, friends, and people you interact with every day. We believe in our community, we believe that YOU can help us get the word out about Measure F Eureka.

How can you help?

- By reading the full text of Measure F here, so that you know the facts: https://www.realhousing4eureka.com
- By talking to your friends and neighbors about this misleadingly named initiative
- By making sure you are both "Following" and have "Liked" this page (these are two separate steps for some reason)
- By inviting your friends to "Like" this page
- By "Liking" and sharing our posts on social media
- By volunteering your time: https://www.realhousing4eureka.com/volunteer
- By donating to help us fight the big money behind this initiative: https://www.realhousing4eureka.com/donate

Remember, vote NO on F!

Those of you who care for older adults may have witnessed that some of them ‘fail to thrive’ when living alone. In the 2021 study Built Environments for Healthy Aging: A Social Determinants Approach (American Public Health Association) Elizabeth G. Hunter, M. Aaron Guest and Elaine T. Jurkowski report that rural elders are disproportionately impacted by lack of access to housing, transportation and food. This population is also vulnerable to social isolation with its concurrent health risks.

“Residents of rural areas have multiple barriers to connecting with one another, including transportation challenges, built environments that are not always walkable or conducive to social interaction, more limited economic resources, less access to broadband Internet and cellular connectivity, and more restricted access to health care, including mental health care,” wrote Dr. Carrie Henning Smith in a 2020 scholarly article for JAMA Health Forum. “Each of these is heightened for older adults in rural areas, who tend to be less mobile than their younger counterparts and more reliant on resources within their particular community. While older adults in rural areas report having larger social networks than older adults in urban areas, they also report higher levels of loneliness, indicating structural barriers to connecting.”

Aging in Community Those of you who care for older adults may have witnessed that some of them ‘fail to thrive’ when living alone. In the 2021 study Built Environments for Healthy Aging: A Social Determinants Approach (American Public Health Association) Elizabeth G. Hunter, M. Aaron Guest and Elaine T. Jurkowski ...

Who counts as "Very Low Income" in Eureka? For a single adult, the threshold for "Very Low Income" in Eureka is $2,408 per month.

The maximum combined State and Federal monthly SSI payment for a single adult who is "Aged or has a qualifying disability" and lives independently is $1,182.94.

For a single Blind adult living independently, the maximum combined SSI payment is $1,267.32.

Most people DO NOT get the maximum payment.
Source: https://ca.db101.org/ca/programs/income_support/ssi/program2a.htm

Who counts as "Low Income" in Eureka? For a household size of one, full-time employees in these jobs (and more) are likely to qualify as "Low Income", making $46,200 or less per year:

Grocery store cashiers
Janitors
Receptionists
IHSS workers
Landscapers
Baristas
Security guards
Nursing assistants
Retail clerks

In November of 2004, the City of Eureka started making plans for cleaning up and developing the heavily contaminated Balloon Track. They secured some grant funds to study the process. Then, word came that the Arkleys were going to buy the property from the railroad, and the plans were abandoned. In 2006, Cherie Arkley promised the Arkleys would use their own money to clean up the Balloon Track and waved off the idea of seeking EPA grants to pay for it. Almost 20 years later, the Balloon Track has not been cleaned up, has not been developed, and is a blighted eyesore.

Sound familiar? Don't let this happen again, Vote NO on Measure F!

Thanks to everyone who stopped and talked with us at Arts Alive last night.

Eureka needs to build over 900 units of housing (just under 400 of which must be Affordable Housing) in the next few years in order to meet our Regional Housing Needs Assessment (RHNA) allocation.

But what is RHNA? This page from the California League of Women Voters has some great resources to learn about this law:

RHNA/Housing Element Toolkit What is the Regional Housing Needs Assessment (RHNA)?RHNA is the process to determine the number of housing units, at all income levels, that a jurisdiction is required to plan for under California law. The plan for RHNA allocation must be included in the “Housing Element” section of the local g...

Remember the time Rob Arkley, financier of the "Housing For All (none)" initiative and backroom property swapper tried to rally the troops to starve the poor out of Humboldt by "cutting programs" such as the food bank?

THIS MAN IS NOT GOING TO BUILD AFFORDABLE HOUSING ANYWHERE.

https://lostcoastoutpost.com/2013/sep/12/rob-arkley-wants-homeless-to-go-away/

While there is more parking in both old town and downtown than there was 30 years ago, the increased empty storefronts speak to a need for more affordable housing and the more robust community that would go with that housing, leading to more folks shopping and being housed in old town and downtown Eureka.

Hey folks, you've probably received quite a few of those fancy mailers making claims about Measure F, the "Affordable Housing for All" initiative that would stop housing from being built.
We're about $2,000 away from being able to do a postcard mailer of our own. We're not backed by a billionaire or a corporation - we are a grassroots organization made up of your friends and neighbors, fighting this misleading ballot initiative out of our own pockets.
Would you be able to chip in to help us fight to save real housing in Eureka?

Hey folks, you've probably gotten quite a few of those fancy mailers making big claims about Measure F, the "Affordable Housing for All" initiative that would actually create no housing for anyone.

We're about $2,000 away from being able to do a postcard mailer of our own. We're not backed by a billionaire or an LLC or a holding company - we are a grassroots organization made up of your friends and neighbors, fighting this misleading ballot initiative out of our own pockets.

Would you be able to chip in to help us fight for real housing in Eureka?

https://www.realhousing4eureka.com/donate

The mask comes off! IT'S ARKLEY!

Rob Arkley Pursued Purchase of Jacobs Middle School Property Before Eureka City Schools Entered Land-Swap Deal With Secretive Corporation  

The deceptively-named "Affordable Housing for All" initiative builds Affordable Housing for nobody. If passed, it would cost the citizens of Eureka hundreds of units of badly-needed affordable housing, grant money that will be used to improve our community, and potentially hundreds of thousands of dollars in state fines. Eureka cannot afford to buy this lie! Vote NO on the Affordable Housing for None initiative!

The lack of transparency in the Jacobs school purchase is apparent to many members of the community. The fact that the proposed changes to the City's general plan by the measure funded by Security National greatly affects the Jacobs property doesn't feel like a coincidence. A measure that will stop adorable housing in the works in Eureka from being built.

Question: why doesn't the most recent glossy mailer from the Affordable Housing for None group have pictures of the "amenities" including "shops, restaurants, and services" that are "close to" the former Jacobs Middle School?

Answer: BECAUSE THERE AREN'T ANY! The closest restaurant is 3/4 of a mile away. Same for the closest grocery store. They have to use stock photos of old town instead!

These three affordable housing developments are among those that are being threatened by the "Affordable Housing for All (none)" initiative.

Linc Housing Secures Another $15M for 90 Affordable Housing Units in Three Eureka Locations  

Did you see us at Friday Night Market?

Opponents of affordable housing in Eureka act like the concept of having housing in Old Town and downtown is some sort of untested new theory that will "kill businesses and jobs". The reality couldn't be further from the truth - Old Town has ALWAYS been a mixed-use, walkable neighborhood with homes, businesses, and amenities next door to each other, or even upstairs from each other!

Let's have a look at some insurance maps of Old Town from 1900. For those unfamiliar with reading these maps, any structure marked with a "D" is a "Dwelling" - there are also "tenements", "boarding houses", and "female boarding houses" (which may or may not have been of "ill repute"). Offices, grocers, churches, schools, bookstores, doctor's offices, pharmacies, restaurants, carpenters, and a surprising number of candy factories were all conveniently located within just a few blocks.

(stay tuned, next week we'll compare these to 1949 and the present day!)

Get a better look at historic maps of Eureka at https://www.loc.gov/resource/g4364em.g4364em_g005331900/?sp=5&st=image&r=-0.326,0.387,1.715,0.859,0

For more information on the cost of building parking structures under housing in earthquake prone areas : https://publications.wginc.com/2023-parking-structure-cost-outlook

Why can't they just build a two-story parking garage underneath the affordable apartment buildings like the deceptive "Affordable Housing For All" initiative would require?

The answer is COST. In an earthquake-prone area like Eureka, the cost PER PARKING SPACE would be between $30,000 and $36,424, based on 2023 construction cost estimates from parking industry experts WGI (their report can be found at the link)

For a parking lot with 70 spaces, the ballot initiative would require a parking garage with 140 spaces to be built. 140 spaces x $30,000 per space = $4,200,000

Yes, over four million dollars would be added to the cost of building desperately needed affordable housing, both reducing the amount of apartments that can be built, and increasing the monthly rent for tenants by hundreds of dollars per month.

The "Affordable Housing for All" initiative is actually "Affordable Housing for None".

2023 Parking Structure Cost Outlook WGI's annual Parking Structure Cost Outlook provides detailed forecasting & cost data that has become an essential tool for developers & design teams.

communities

A thriving community, and especially a thriving Old Town, requires a diverse mixed-use "ecosystem" combining housing, businesses, services, activities, cultural institutions, and more.

The deceptively named "Affordable Housing for All" initiative would actively harm Old Town by restricting mixed-use development and requiring the ground floor of the City of Eureka's planned residential buildings to be set aside for parking garages instead of restaurants, coffee shops, offices, stores or wheelchair-accessible apartments. The initiative would also prevent the City of Eureka from building any other type of development on these city-owned lots - no new museums, recreation centers, performance venues, offices, parks, or healthcare facilities.

Vote "No" on the false "Affordable Housing For All" initiative!

Despite its name, the ‘Housing for All and Downtown Vitality Initiative’ would stop the construction of affordable housing and would put the city in legal jeopardy, risking millions of dollars of state grant funding. Eureka deserves better. Eureka needs housing for the people that work at the businesses in old town and downtown-affordable housing for the bartenders, waiters, grocery store clerks, teachers, etc. that work hard and need places to live that they can afford in the long term. 

Pictured-Our Campaign kick off party 🥳 🎉

Time with community discussing the effects of the proposed 'Housing for All Initiative', thanks to everyone that came out ❤️❤️❤️

What tune will this lovely song sound good in? Also come join us Saturday February 17th 4-7pm to hear this song, easy yummy snacks, win cool door prizes, and make Eureka a little safer from Arkley’s Anti-Housing initiative.

Judge Tosses Suit From 'Citizens for a Better Eureka' Backers Accusing the City of Violating Elections Code  

The California Faculty Association (CFA) Board of Directors unanimously voted to call for a system-wide strike in coalition with our Teamsters Local 2010 members between January 22 – January 26. Read more.

They are calling on community allies to join them on their picket lines at Cal Poly Humboldt to help them win a fair contract!

Fair wages and affordable housing are directly linked. We stand with our local unions and invite you to join in this collective action!

Cal State faculty strike across all 23 campuses in historic labor walkout The faculty at Cal State strike at all 23 campuses. The union of 29,000 seeks 12% raises this year, among other benefits.