City of Arcata

ARCATA – On Tuesday, Nov. 6 registered Arcata voters had the opportunity to vote in favor of, or against the McKinley statue measure, known as Measure M.

The majority of Arcata voters (62.16 percent) voted Measure M down. As such, the City Council’s vote from Feb. 21 still stands, and city staff will initiate the review of relocating the McKinley statue from the center of Arcata’s Plaza.

The McKinley statue is identified as a historic feature of the Plaza in the city’s guiding document called the General Plan, and this designation requires the city to complete an Environmental Impact Report (EIR) prior to taking action to relocate the statue.

The intent of environmental review under the California Environmental Quality Act (CEQA) is to describe the potential impacts of removing McKinley to city officials and the public.

The Community Development Department will finalize the environmental review currently underway, with their immediate goal being the preservation and safe storage of the statue.

This review process relies heavily on input from community members and resource experts, and once the input received is incorporated into the environmental documents, the Planning Commission and City Council will hold public hearings to formally decide to relocate the statue.

In order to complete the relocation process, the EIR process must be finalized. The Draft Environmental Impact Report (DEIR) has been circulated for public comment, and the input received will be incorporated into the Final EIR, which is estimated to be completed by the end of this year.

The City Council will make its decision in early 2019 to finalize the statue relocation project.

Additional details will be announced as they become available.

Community members with offers and suggestions for the relocation of the McKinley statue are encouraged to call (707) 822-5955 or email [email protected] with the subject line of “McKinley Statue Relocation.”