Ferndale City Council tomorrow evening

Tomorrow is an important night to attend the Ferndale City Council meeting. A portion of the meeting will focus on the 2019-2027 Housing Element Update. The purpose of this general plan update is to “guide the City of Ferndale, stakeholders, and residents toward the preservation, improvement and development of housing for all economic levels.” A Public Involvement Discussion will be held as part of the regular City Council Meeting.

Date: Wednesday, August 21

Time: 7 to 9 pm

Location: Ferndale Town Hall

View the meeting agenda here.

The public is being asked to participate and offer input as part of this meeting. Have your voice heard by attending and joining in the discussion. The city of Ferndale also posted a meeting notice on LatinoNet (in Spanish) to encourage members of our Latinx community to attend and comment.

For more information on the Ferndale Housing Element, you can view the following documents:

Ferndale Demographics

Indivisible Ferndale held a Bias and Racism workshop for the Ferndale community in May of this year. The entire city council, city manager, FUSD superintendent and principal, school board members and County Supervisor, Rex Bohn attended the workshop. During the training, we discussed both structural and institutional racism. This discussion lead us to the topic of “red-lining” and how that has divided our society and our communities. Red-lining began in the 1930s denying various services to residents of specific, often racially associated, neighborhoods or communities, either directly or through the selective raising of prices. The effects of red-lining are still felt today in the demographic and wealth patterns of American communities.

I am not suggesting that the practice of red-lining is being implemented here in the Humboldt Nation, but I do believe that we must be ever vigilant when it comes to developing housing within our communities.

I believe giving input and feedback to our city council and staff during the review process for the housing element may help Ferndale become a more diverse and welcoming community for all.

Click on this graphic to view a larger version.

This graphic entitled “Ferndale Demographics” was developed by Connie Stewart’s HSU team at the California Center for Rural Policy and is included in this council meeting packet.