"The city of Eureka doesn't build homes, so we're asking the community: Do you have a realistic potential to accommodate another unit?" Senior Planner Kelsey Fletterick told the Times-Standard in late September.
That question is now arriving as mail. The City of Eureka's Development Services Department is sending letters to owners of selected parcels, and according to the city's press release, as published by Lost Coast Outpost, the letter comes in a bright blue envelope. Responses are due November 1, 2026, about ten days after this post goes up.
The letter ties into how Eureka plans to add housing over the next eight years. That plan affects what an ordinary residential lot in town can become, and how easily.
How the current cycle met most of its affordable housing numbers
Every California city adopts a Housing Element on an eight-year cycle, and the state assigns each one a share of regional housing need, called the RHNA. For the 2019 to 2027 cycle, Eureka's share was 952 homes across five income categories.
Eureka had little vacant land. The city's own report on its 2025 progress says that is why it adopted Implementation Program H-34, which made city-owned land available to nonprofit affordable housing developers. The sites the adopted Housing Element lists for that program are mostly city parking lots, including Sunny and Myrtle, Eighth and G, 6th and M, the City Hall lot at 6th and L, and 3rd and H.
The program came close to its goal. The 2025 progress report counts 309 deed-restricted affordable homes planned, entitled or under construction on city-owned property. That covers about 82% of the city's very-low- and low-income housing need for the cycle and leaves it 23 units short of the program's goal of 332.
The projects behind those numbers are visible around town:
- The Mallard, from Linc Housing. Lost Coast Outpost reported in August that the project has 90 affordable homes on three sites, with the first homes expected in fall 2026. The Times-Standard gave the addresses as 550 M St., 611 8th St. and 1310 Myrtle Ave.
- EaRTH Center, from Danco Communities, the Humboldt Transit Authority and the city. According to Lost Coast Outpost, ground broke August 26 at 3rd and H streets on two former city parking lots. The project combines a transit hub, ground-floor commercial space and 45 affordable apartments.
- Laquilh Hou Daqh, the Wiyot Tribe's elder housing project. It is being built on the lot just east of Eureka City Hall, and the Times-Standard reported construction underway in September.
- Sunset Heights, from Rural Communities Housing Development Corporation. It is a planned 43-unit building on city land between Fairfield and Broadway. The Times-Standard reported in July that it still needed state funding and tax credits, and 2027 was a possible start if those came through.
The approach only works while the city has land to offer. Development Services Director Cristin Kenyon told the Times-Standard that "the city doesn't own that many parking lots. We don't own all the land in Eureka. We have limited control."
The next cycle nearly doubles the target
| 2019–2027 cycle | 2027–2035 cycle | |
|---|---|---|
| Homes Eureka must plan for | 952 | 1,740 |
| Main source of affordable sites | City-owned lots under Program H-34 | Mostly private parcels, plus other public agencies' land |
| How sites get counted | Vacant parcels and city land | Owner sign-ups on the site inventory |
The new number of 1,740 homes would be hard enough with plenty of open land, and Eureka doesn't have much. The previous Housing Element identified 150 vacant sites, and 48 of them fell inside the city's mapped gulch greenway areas. A 2024 staff report noted that each of those sites was credited with one home, whatever its size.
Fletterick explained to the Times-Standard why that matters. A city with undeveloped land can show the state it has room fairly easily. When the potential sites are already developed or underused, she said, the state "demands more evidence from you."
A signed statement from the owner is one of the strongest forms of evidence the city can give. That is why the letters exist. If the state does not certify the Housing Element, Fletterick said, Eureka loses eligibility for a range of state funding, including money for transportation and economic development.
The city needs private owners to say "maybe" more than private owners need anything from the city. That imbalance explains the benefits attached to the form.
What the city says enrolled owners may see
According to the city's press release, signing up is free and voluntary. It does not commit an owner to build anything or follow any particular plan. It only lets the city count the site toward the state requirement.
The release says owners who sign on "may also see benefits," and the Times-Standard's reporting adds detail. The benefits described are:
- Environmental review done in advance. Enrolled sites are included in the Housing Element's own CEQA review. The Times-Standard reported that, under SB 131, those sites will need no additional environmental review.
- A flag in the permitting system. Sites go onto a GIS platform that city staff and developers use to speed up permitting.
- A city contact. Each enrolled owner gets a designated development liaison.
- Priority for funding and infrastructure. The release lists priority for future local housing funds and for infrastructure access among the possible benefits.
- Protection from downzoning. The release also lists protection from future rezoning that would reduce what can be built.
The last item stands out given the timeline. A 2024 city staff report notes that the state's Housing Crisis Act of 2019 already stops Eureka from reducing a property's residential capacity unless capacity is added somewhere else. That act sunsets in 2030. The new Housing Element cycle runs through 2035.
Kenyon also listed the kinds of sites the city is looking at. They include large commercial parking lots that rarely fill, church and religious institution sites, small residential parcels that could be split to create a separately saleable house, the larger parcels "that aren't completely constrained by gulch," and land owned by other government agencies, including the state.
What private building in Eureka has looked like so far
If private parcels are going to carry the next cycle, the city's own permit records show where things stand. Private building in Eureka has mostly been small.
In 2025, the city issued permits for 143 new housing units. That included 21 accessory dwelling units, 6 single-family homes and 116 multifamily units. The Linc Housing Scattered Sites project alone made up 90 of those units, or 63%.
In 2024, without a large city-land project in the count, 46 units were permitted, and 25 of them were ADUs. The 2024 project list includes garage-to-ADU conversions, new and prefabricated ADUs, a junior ADU, a tiny house on wheels, small-lot subdivision infill, and a duplex at 257 Hodgson Street described as built under SB 9. The same report's summary table shows zero SB 9 units for the year, so its two sections don't agree on that duplex.
Taken together, in the years when city land was not doing the heavy lifting, roughly half of Eureka's new homes came from backyards and garages. Going from about two dozen ADUs a year to a 1,740-home plan helps explain why the city is writing to so many owners.
Rules already on the books
Eureka's adopted plans and progress reports describe several tools for small-scale building:
- Lot splits. Under the adopted Housing Element, Eureka's SB 9 amendments took effect in March 2022. They allow an eligible R1 lot to be split, with up to three units on each new lot, counting a junior ADU and a second home or ADU.
- Small-lot subdivisions. The same document describes subdivisions that can create separately saleable lots as small as 2,000 square feet. It also describes conservation subdivisions, which cluster homes on the buildable part of a parcel and preserve the constrained part.
- ADU fees and timelines. According to its 2023 progress report, the city waives water and sewer connection impact fees for all ADUs. A 2023 zoning cleanup also cut the deadline for decisions on ADU applications from 60 days to 45.
- Eureka Builds It! The city's 2026 request for qualifications describes a proposed program with homeowner financing, subsidies and permitting help for ADUs, along with a vetted list of design professionals. It is a solicitation to set up the program, not a set of pre-approved plans.
Rezonings for individual sites already happen. In December 2024, the City Council approved a General Plan amendment and rezoning for a future mixed-use housing and medical project on a vacant church site at 272 Harris Street.
What this means if you're buying or selling a parcel
For most Eureka homes, the blue envelope won't change the sale. It matters more for property where much of the value depends on what could be built: a deep R1 lot, a corner parcel that might split, a lot on the edge of a gulch with road access, or a commercial site with more parking than it uses.
For that kind of property, whether a parcel is on the city's inventory is one more question buyers and sellers may want to put to the city. Only city planning staff and the right professionals can confirm what a particular parcel can hold and which of the described benefits would apply to it. The city's release says owners who didn't get a letter can contact staff to find out whether their property could be included. If you're trying to figure out how a lot like this affects value, our home valuation page and sellers' guide are good places to start.
Quick answers
Does signing up commit me to building? No. The city's release says signing is free and voluntary and does not commit an owner to build anything or follow a specific plan.
I didn't get a blue envelope. Can I still respond? Yes. The Times-Standard reported that participation isn't limited to owners who got a letter. Anyone considering an ADU, a lot split or a larger project can contact Development Services.
Where is the form, and who do I contact? The Priority Opportunity Site Form is on the city's Housing Element Update page. The listed contact is Senior Planner Kelsey Fletterick at 707-441-4113, at 531 K Street.
This post is general information about city programs and state housing rules, not legal, tax or financial advice. Before making decisions about your own parcel, check the details with city planning staff and the right professional.
If a blue envelope arrived at your Eureka property, or you're looking at a lot partly for what it could hold someday, Coldwell Banker Cutten Realty can help you understand what that potential means for its value. Learn more on our Eureka page, then contact us today.
