Weekly Updates
Welcome to our new Weekly Updates page with information about land-use and urban planning activities underway or upcoming in Petaluma!
You can receive these updates via email by subscribing to Petaluma Urban Chat here.
If you like to share these updates with a friend, simply point them to this page at urbanchat.org/weekly-updates.
April 22, 2024
Calendar notes for the week of April 22, 2024.
This will be a moderately quiet week, with the biggest urban events being tomorrow’s hearing on the deed-restricted affordable housing Rovina Lane Apartments and then the Thursday Urban Chat lunch which several new members may attend for the first time.
But next week, particularly Wednesday evening, will be remarkably well-filled. Further details are below under Upcoming Meetings, but here’s a quick summary of the May 1 calendar. Two meetings on different General Plan frameworks, the documents which lay out the structure of the upcoming General Plan update, an EIR scoping session on the proposed Downtown Overlay, and a long-awaited presentation on historic preservation in vital and economically important downtowns. It’s an embarrassment of riches so over-scheduled that no one can partake of it fully.
Continue reading the weekly update here
April 15, 2024
Calendar notes for the week of April 15, 2024.
Wednesday, April 17 (This week) – Petaluma Urban Chat – This will be the second Urban Chat-organized Zoom call to discuss a draft framework for the General Plan update. This call will cover the Infrastructure framework.
Thursday, April 18 (This week) – Petaluma Urban Chat - StrongTowns is organizing a Zoom call for the authors of the upcoming book “Escaping the Housing Trap” to discuss their assessment of the national housing market, with its resulting unaffordability and homelessness.
Thursday, April 18 (This week) - Petaluma General Plan Advisory Committee – The topic of the April GPAC meeting will be the progress of the working groups in their reviews of the draft frameworks. These frameworks will eventually become the Elements of the new General Plan. Upcoming public outreach will also be discussed.
Continue reading the weekly update here
April 8, 2024
Calendar notes for the week of April 8, 2024.
This week is particularly well-filled with General Plan educational and advocacy opportunities. If you haven’t yet gotten involved with the General Plan update, this is the week to start.
Urban Chat will organize and facilitate a series of Zoom calls to review the individual draft “frameworks” that will eventually become the chapters of the updated General Plan. The first of these Zoom calls will be on Wednesday and will cover the Transportation framework. Dave Alden will facilitate this call.
Wednesday, April 10 (This week) – Know Before You Grow – With the draft General Plan land-use alternatives to be released shortly, KBYG will dig into a national movement to rethink an increasingly controversial element of zoning, single-family zoning. We’ll watch a recording of Nolan Gray, author of “Arbitrary Lines”, talking with the Congress for the New Urbanism. We’ll then follow up with a local Q&A. It will be a great opportunity to learn about the often dubious history of single-family zoning.
Continue reading the weekly update here.
April 1, 2024
Calendar notes for the week of April 1, 2024.
Within the past two weeks, Petaluma Planning and the General Plan consultant have issued most of the draft General Plan “frameworks”, the documents that will eventually become the chapters or “Elements” of the updated General Plan.
Community feedback on the draft elements is being sought.
To play a role in that community feedback, Urban Chat will be hosting a series of Zoom calls on the individual frameworks. The first call will be Wednesday, April 10, followed by the second on Wednesday, April 17. I’ll host the first two Zoom calls and am reaching out to other GPAC members about facilitating the later calls. Further details are below.
Continue reading the weekly update here.
March 25, 2024
Calendar notes for the week of March 25, 2024.
Moving onto the primary topic for this week, spring began a few days ago. With more and more days feeling like winter is behind us, I’m certainly thinking of travel, particularly travel to hang out with other urbanists.
Previously, I’ve mentioned the back-to-back annual meetings of StrongTowns and the Congress for the New Urbanism in Cincinnati in mid-May. Those meetings remain a must on my annual calendar. I’m now planning my full Midwest itinerary.
But there are opportunities to learn more about urbanist topics without visiting Cincinnati. None of these are on my calendar for this year, but they remain possibilities for future years.
Continue reading the weekly update here.
March 18, 2024
Calendar notes for the week of March 18, 2024.
For those not at the David Baker Architects KBYG forum last Wednesday, you missed a great evening. Not only was the 90-minute presentation and following Q&A in the Mystic Theatre worthwhile but the extended conversations at McNear’s afterwards made the evening particularly complete.
The forum was recorded. Check it out here.
Continue reading the weekly update here.
March 11, 2024
Calendar notes for the week of March 11, 2024.
I’ll keep it short this week. You must be at the Mystic Theatre on Wednesday evening for the Know Before You Grow forum with David Baker Architects. Period. No excuses.
Even if you’re not an urban planner or architect, you must be part of the conversation about how land uses should be conceived and implemented. Plus, lots of folks will be there with whom you’d like to rub shoulders and exchange thoughts.
A link for further information and to RSVP is here.
Continue reading the weekly update here.
March 4, 2024
Calendar notes for the week of March 4, 2024.
The David Baker Architects KBYG forum at the Mystic Theatre is now only nine days away. Reservations continue to accumulate. Seats remain available, but please make your reservations as soon as possible to ensure you’re not left out and to help us finalize our plans.
Meanwhile, the Oyster Cove City-mandated community meeting will be this coming Thursday. The project has been entitled but architectural and site design approval are still pending. The project has been the subject of a Planning Commission workshop and will later return to the Commission for final approval.
February 26, 2024
Calendar notes for the week of February 26, 2024.
The next few weeks will be great for Urban Chat and its Know Before You Grow committee!
This coming Wednesday, KBYG will gather at LivXplore Realty and on Zoom to learn the fundamentals of public transit from Jarrett Walker, the author of "Human Transit", the bible for many transit planners. In recent weeks, the role of transit in the climate-friendly future of Petaluma has become increasingly acknowledged.
Then, two weeks from Wednesday will be the David Baker Architects KBYG forum at the Mystic Theatre. We anticipate the largest crowd in the history of KBYG. The presentation by three DBA principals, including Baker, will hopefully trigger a conversation about housing and development practices in Petaluma. RSVP here!
An article in yesterday’s San Francisco Chronicle noted that David Baker Architects is designing two high-profile affordable housing projects in the Mission District of San Francisco. It was the Petaluma Mayor who emailed me about the article on page A-8, so City Hall is also looking forward to the forum.
February 19, 2024
Calendar notes for the week of February 19, 2024.
For the last few weeks, I’ve been writing about the March 13 Know Before You Grow forum with David Baker Architects of San Francisco. Three principals of the firm, including Baker, will visit Petaluma to talk about their book “9 Ways to Make Housing for People”. All credit goes to Veronica Olsen for her gentle persistence in working with DBA.
Thus far, we haven’t been able to announce a venue but that need has now been addressed. We’ve made final arrangements for the Mystic Theater. Seven years after KBYG was created and twelve years after Urban Chat was founded, this will be our first use of the Mystic. David Baker Architects is an appropriate first program and we hope to return to the Mystic often.
February 12, 2024
Calendar notes for the week of February 12, 2024.
The Oyster Cove project, northeast of the river and immediately downstream of the D Street bridge, has previously secured approvals for a tentative map, zone change, and more. On Tuesday evening, the project will return to the Planning Commission for a workshop on site planning and architecture.
As of now, it appears that Oyster Cove will be the first project to break ground within easy walking distance of the downtown SMART station and the Transit Mall, one of the most important Petaluma development areas for climate-friendly housing.
Urban Chat hasn’t yet officially taken a position on Oyster Cove, but most members and directors have expressed support.
Everyone is encouraged to attend the Tuesday evening workshop to learn more about the project and to make public comments on the proposed site planning and architecture…
February 5, 2024
Calendar notes for the week of February 5, 2024.
The first official annual meeting of Petaluma Urban Chat has now been conducted, twelve years after we began serving our community. As torrents of rain fell outside, twenty of us gathered, elected the first board and officers, and had extended conversations about the directions Urban Chat could take. I loved many of the ideas that were broached.
The first monthly Urban Chat board meeting will be Wednesday, February 28. Everyone is invited…
January 29, 2024
Calendar notes for the week of January 29, 2024.
Finally, nearly twelve years after the first meeting at the Aqus Café, after about 75 Know Before You Grow forums, after our first Better Cities Film Festival, after building a reputation for insightful comments on local land-use matters, and much more, Petaluma Urban Chat will have its first official annual meeting.
As further noted below under Upcoming Meetings, we’ll meet Wednesday evening at the LivXplore Realty office, next door to the Petaluma Historical Library & Museum. As of now, the anticipated agenda will have a review of where we’ve been, a summary of who we are today, thoughts about where we go next, election of a board of directors, and initial actions by the newly elected board…
January 22, 2024
Calendar notes for the week of January 22, 2024.
I have much to share this week.
First, with the first Urban Chat annual meeting only nine days away, this is a reminder that to participate in the meeting, perhaps to be nominated for the board, to have your voice heard, and much more, you must be an Urban Chat member. Annual membership comes with a $50 donation or $5 per month. You can sign up on our website or bring a check to the January 31 meeting.
Second, we have a growing nucleus of a book club to read “9 Ways to Make Housing for People” by David Baker Architects. The goal is to have two or three meetings prior to the March 13 Know Before You Grow forum at which David Baker and two other members of the firm will speak about the lessons in the book. I received my copy late last week and have now read more than half of it…
January 15, 2024
Calendar notes for the week of January 15, 2024.
I have two big themes to touch upon this week. The first is the draft Blueprint for Carbon Neutrality, a document being developed as part of the General Plan update. The Tree Advisory Committee and Recreation, Music, and Parks Commission will both have meetings this week to offer comments on the draft document. Also, the Transit Advisory Committee will have a similar meeting in early February.
I’m both intrigued and confounded by this document, unsure when it will be finalized, puzzled whether Petaluma has the wherewithal to implement the long list of tasks, and unconvinced if complete implementation would be sufficient to achieve the goal. I had a short chat this past week with someone who should have known more on these questions than me. He was equally unsure…
January 8, 2024
Calendar notes for the week of January 8, 2024.
With the holidays vanishing into the rearview mirror, urban planning activities at City Hall and elsewhere are ramping up.
Starting with City Hall, this evening the Council, among other agenda items, will conduct a workshop on the flooding risks from sea level rise and increased riverine flooding.
Thursday afternoon and evening, the Transit Committee and Climate Commission will hold back-to-back meetings. Transit will talk about the upcoming Free-Fare and Micro-Transit programs, both of which were included in the 2023-24 City budget for the first time. Following that meeting, the Climate Commission will receive comments on the Blueprint for Carbon Neutrality.
I’ll spend much of my week at City Hall…
January 1, 2024
Calendar notes for the week of January 1, 2024.
We’ve begun a new year. Let’s make 2024 a year of great advancement for Petaluma and for walkable urbanism.
Obviously, last week was mostly quiet for public meeting information. The only new content is the agenda for the PBAC meeting this coming Wednesday, which is further described below.
However, I should correct an omission from last week’s email. I failed to mention Friends of SMART (FoS) as a possible local participation opportunity. FoS promotes SMART and SMART’s goal to provide affordable, reliable rail transit between North Bay cities. I’ve been involved with FoS for several years and put a check in the mail to them earlier today…
December 25, 2023
Calendar notes for the week of December 25, 2023.
The calendar email is a day early this week. It didn’t seem appropriate to email it on Christmas Day. Also, I had suggestions for Christmas gifting to yourself and to others. Lastly, I failed to include a Happy Holidays wish last week, an omission I correct below.
But first, I’ll introduce two Urban Chat events now scheduled for early 2024. On January 10, KBYG will talk about the possibility of youth-driven tactical urbanism. On January 18, we’ll listen to author Henry Grabar talk about his recent book on parking, about which more information is provided immediately below. Details on these events and more are in Upcoming Meetings further below.
For last-minute gifting to others, I propose the Grabar book “Paved Paradise: How Parking Explains the World”. After a comprehensive history of how parking regulation came to be, followed by a digression into parking lot corruption, Grabar finishes strongly with a review of parking reform ideas, including the theory and the real-world application. Parking guru Donald Shoup recommends the book highly.
December 18, 2023
Calendar notes for the week of December 18, 2023.
As the holidays draw closer, we’re beginning a largely quiet two to three weeks. But there are still meetings of interest.
I’ll specifically note the Planning Commission meeting Tuesday evening. The Commission will conduct a hearing on the Spirit Living project, 106 units of senior living, on Caulfield Lane inside the River Front project.
When Spirit Lake was first brought forth, I was skeptical. I was uncertain that senior living would be sufficient to activate the Caulfield Lane roundabout that was planned as the River Front community core. Activating those community cores is an essential element of 15-minute neighborhoods, which is an Urban Chat focus.
December 11, 2023
Calendar notes for the week of December 11, 2023.
After a decade of providing effective education and advocacy on the land-use practices of Petaluma, last Wednesday, Petaluma Urban Chat moved beyond its casual organization and adopted bylaws. Following that step, Wednesday, January 31 was picked as the date of the first annual meeting. More information about this meeting will be provided as soon as possible.
Also after bylaw adoption, the attendees had a spirited conversation about the many creative and important directions that Urban Chat might go. Anyone who wants to be part of this new momentum should put January 31 on their calendar now.
Turning toward City Hall, this will be a busy pre-holiday week with discussions about a proposed Fairgrounds Overlay, Objective Design Standards, transit bus acquisition, the Blueprint for Carbon Neutrality, and more. See Upcoming Meetings below for more details.