July 3, 2023
Greetings & Thoughts
Downtown Overlay forum, Better Cities Film Festival, Urban Chat mixer
Good news. We’ve found someone to be Dan Lyke’s understudy so the ability of Know Before You Grow to conduct forums won’t be constrained when Dan is unavailable.
Better news. We have a plan in place for the July 12 KBYG forum on the proposed Downtown Overlay. The current speaker list is Community Development Director Brian Oh and Planning Manager Andrew Trippel, with the possibility of additional speakers being added.
There will be multiple opportunities for the public to ask questions of the speakers, including facilitated breakout groups.
Also, we have a great venue. The Petaluma Woman’s Club has graciously agreed to host the forum in their hall at 518 B Street.
We’re thrilled to be able to bring this important conversation forward.
Continuing with good news, planning for the Petaluma Urban Chat/Better Cities Film Festival is officially underway. I think I’m allowed to share that the downtown showing will be Wednesday, September 20, with the possibility of a second showing at a different venue the following week. More information, lots more information, will be provided in the coming weeks. But please put the date on your calendar now.
All these activities are great, but they show the need for building more connections between Urban Chat members. To address this need, we’re going to try something new.
On Friday, July 14, I’ll host a small, casual Urban Chat mixer in my backyard, starting at 5:00. Everyone who attends should bring an appetizer to share. I’ll provide chips, dip, and beverages. (My wife and I have a refrigerator full of beer and wine after a recent party.)
If you’d like to attend, let me know quickly. I’ll limit the gathering to the first sixteen people as long as eight of them are people I don’t know as well as I might wish.
Respond to this email if you’re interested in attending. I’ll let you know if you’re within the first sixteen. If not, I’ll keep a list for my tentative plan to have a second, similar gathering on Friday, July 28.
I’m looking forward to meeting new people and having longer conversations with old friends.
As a final note, I’ll be traveling again this coming week. Sharon Kirk has graciously agreed to edit this email next week for which I thank her.
Once again, I failed to tell stories from my recent attendance at the StrongTowns and CNU annual conferences. Oh well, maybe someday.
Questions or comments? Dave will be back later this week. Feel free to reach out to either of us, Sharon Kirk, @ 707-775-5727 or Dave Alden @ 707-338-8388.
P.S. New folks can sign up for this email through the Urban Chat website.
Upcoming Meetings
All events are open to the public. Everyone is encouraged to participate in person or on-line. The link to the Urban Chat calendar, as frequently referenced below, is here.
Wednesday, July 5 – Petaluma Pedestrian Bicycle Advisory Committee
Among other items on the agenda, PBAC will receive a tutorial on the interactive feedback option for the draft active transportation plan map.
The meeting will convene at 6:30. Other information, including a link to the agenda, is provided on the Urban Chat calendar, link above.
Monday, July 10 – Petaluma City Council
Among other items on the tentative agenda, the Council will receive a report on the configuration of N. McDowell Boulevard. This roadway is currently under reconstruction. Many folks in the community, including Urban Chat members, pushed for a configuration that would be more welcoming to bicyclists and pedestrians. As a condition of approving the reconstruction contract, the Council required further information on configuration alternatives.
Removed from the agenda is initial consideration of the General Plan amendments and other changes to City documents that would be required for the Oyster Cove project. Oyster Cove expects to return to the agenda in September.
The public portion of the Council meeting will convene at 6:30. Other information, including links to the agenda and Zoom, will be provided on the Urban Chat calendar when published by the City.
Wednesday, July 12 – Know Before You Grow
As described above in Greetings and Thoughts, KBYG will present a forum on the proposed Downtown Overlay, a proposal brought forth by Petaluma Planning to increase the allowed height, lot coverage, and floor area ratio in 14 blocks including the downtown historic district.
The KBYG team met with Planning during the week to discuss the conduct of the forum. We’ll continue to coordinate with them.
Also, we secured the Petaluma Woman’s Club as the venue. The downtown location and good capacity will be appropriate for the proximity to Overlay District and to accommodate the broad community interest in the topic. The hosting by the Woman’s Club is appreciated.
The forum will convene at 7:00pm. Further information is on the Urban Chat calendar, link above.
Thursday, July 20 – Petaluma General Plan Advisory Committee
Planning has tentatively designated the subject of this meeting as sea level rise/flooding risk. The topic likely won’t be finalized until closer to the meeting date. Also, it was previously proposed that this meeting be moved to a Saturday and be conducted in a hybrid format to allow greater community participation. It’s not known if this alternative remains under consideration.
If the meeting remains on July 20, it would convene at 6:30pm, presumably on Zoom. When updates are provided by the City, they’ll be noted on the Urban Chat calendar, link above.
Saturday, July 22 (possible) – Petaluma General Plan Advisory Committee
As noted above, the GPAC meeting currently scheduled for Thursday, July 20 may be moved to this date. Please check the Urban Chat calendar, link above, for information regarding this possible rescheduling, including a meeting time.
Wednesday, July 26 – Know Before You Grow
KBYG will continue to explore the 15-minute neighborhood concept that was the subject of the June 14 forum. During that forum, we noted that 15-minute neighborhoods have multiple aspects to examine in future forums. We’ve invited a retail consultant who formerly lived in Petaluma to talk about establishing neighborhood walkable/bikeable retail. In case that speaker is unavailable, we’re also pursuing other options for this date and further forums.
The forum will convene at 7:00pm. More information, including venue, will be provided on the Urban Chat calendar, link above, as soon as available.
Thursday, July 27 – Petaluma Urban Chat
The monthly meeting of Urban Chat is almost always agenda-free, allowing an enjoyable and enlightening conversation to wander freely over the urbanist landscape.
The exchange of ideas will commence at noon. Other information including location is provided on the Urban Chat calendar, link above.
