Dear [firstname],
2023 seems intent on ending the same way it started: stormy! Watching the waves batter our coastline, one can't help but feel like a small part of something greater.
We haven't solved all our problems yet, but we are making great progress. In looking back at the year, I feel a profound sense of optimism that we are rising to the occasion. Here is my list of the top 10 things that our County accomplished in 2023:
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1. Main St Bridge Rebuilt Twice in One Year – and 121 Other Storm Damage Repair Projects Completed
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Photo: Bates Creek washed out Main St in Soquel during the March storms. It was repaired in just over a day.
The 2023 Winter Storms damaged 217 sites across the County. Images like the one above made national news. In response, our Public Works Division went into overdrive. They worked around the clock during the storms to keep roads open and afterward to design the repairs. We repaired 122 of the 217 sites (56%) this year. Sites like Main St at Bates Creek, the only way in or out for 450 homes, were temporarily repaired, and the permanent repair will soon be completed.
Our on-call response team increased its winter response resources this season, and the County will double the available on-call units. Additional emergency dispatchers are trained for response and activation. In the event of, continuous, multi-week storm patterns, we have a 24-hour, around-the-clock emergency response schedule that works in 12-hour shifts.
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2. Pajaro Levee Upgrade Fast-Tracked to Summer '24
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Photo: Preparing for winter on the Pajaro Levee, Dec. 6th. Photo Courtesy of the Community Development and Infrastructure Dept. Follow them here.
After decades of work, a project to bring 100-year flood protection to the Pajaro River Levee was fully funded by State and Federal partners in 2022. However, these projects typically take years to get started. The 2023 flood that displaced the town of Pajaro showed that repairs can't wait. That's why our county worked with representatives to fast track the effort. The $599 million project will be managed by the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers in partnership with the Pajaro Regional Flood Management Agency. It will break ground summer of 2024.
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3. Stop Light at Robertson & Soquel Funded, Major Upgrades Begin on HWY 1 and Soquel Dr
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Photo: Intersection of Soquel Dr and Robertson St. Source Google Maps.
Work to add an auxiliary lane and bus-on-shoulder facility to Highway 1 between the Soquel Dr exit and State Park Dr in Aptos broke ground in 2023.
At our end-of-the-year meeting, my colleagues on the Regional t Regional Transportation Commission and I allocated money to important local projects, including building a stop light at the intersection of Robertson and Soquel. This is the last stop sign on Soquel Dr, and it causes incredible traffic during rush hour. The project to build a light here will go to design next year and most likely start construction in 2025.
Meanwhile, the project to upgrade another 21 existing signals on Soquel Dr has begun. Given that these will become smart lights, you'll likely catch a "wave of greens" more often next year. I'm also happy to share that buffered and protected green bike lanes will also be built between Harbor High and Aptos in the coming year.
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4. Plan Rolls Out to Make the Bus Fast, Frequent and FREE
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Photo: Buses wrapped with local nature photography as part of the One Ride at a Time campaign, courtesy of Santa Cruz METRO. Follow them here.
This year the Youth Cruz Free program started allowing students under 18 to hop on the bus just by showing their school ID. This program has been so successful it's resulted in a 400% increase in youth ridership.
That's why METRO put together a plan to expand free service to everyone in the second half of 2024. This pilot program will run for over two years as we seek funds to make it permanent. This will allow much faster boarding utilizing front and rear doors.
METRO is also increasing the frequency of service to every 15 minutes on critical cross-town routes. These routes have been simplified and straightened to make the entire system easier to use. The first wave of service improvements rolled out on Dec. 21st. The second wave is planned for June 2024.
Best of all, within the next two years, the majority of these buses will be powered by zero-emission hyrdogen. Thanks to winning major state and federal grants METRO placed an order for 57 hydrogen buses. This will be the largest fleet in the nation. Meanwhile, California was awarded $1.2 billion by the Federal Government to build out green hydrogen production.
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5. 100% Affordable Housing Considered for 41st & Soquel
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After two years of work making the largest changes to the General Plan in 25 years, our County has unlocked new housing opportunities. When I took office, the large lot at 41st and Soquel was planned for a car dealership. Now it's under consideration for over 100 units of 100% affordable housing by a non-profit home builder. While the project is far from certain, the fact that this opportunity is possible demonstrates how far we've come in our civic planning.
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6. 24/7/365 Alternative Crises Response Rolling Out
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Photo: A team from Crises Assistance Helping Out on the Streets (CAHOOTS) responds to a call. Courtesy of White Bird Clinic.
For most law enforcement officer, incidents involving a mental health crisis can consume upwards of half of their calls-for-service. It's not their specialty and sometimes makes the situation worse. That's why it's so exciting that Santa Cruz County is rolling out the Crises Now program in 2024. It is a 24/7/365 alternative crises response system, similar to CAHOOTS from Eugene, OR, designed to handle noncriminal, nonemergency police and medical calls.
$4.5 million over 3 years will fund increased staff for dispatch and training as well as technology and robust monitoring to fine tune the system. The Family Services Agency will staff the mobile crises response teams. The program will utilize a "no wrong door" approach and be accessible through 911. You can read more about this program via Item 43 and Item 49 from our recent Board of Supervisors agenda.
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7. Homelessness Declines 22% to Lowest Level Since Counting Began
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Photo of apartments where people have used Emergency Housing Vouchers to get off the streets. Courtesy of KION, watch their coverage here.
2023's Point in Time Count of homelessness was the lowest since counting began in 2011. Counters tallied 1,804 people experiencing homelessness, a 22% decrease from 2,299 people in 2022. This was accomplished thanks to the terrific work of the County's Housing for Health Division and the Housing Authority of Santa Cruz County who distributed over 600 emergency housing vouchers to house 911 people. Santa Cruz County has been so successful that it made the Federal Government's shortlist to receive more vouchers from other regions that aren't putting theirs to use. The decline was also aided by state money secured by State Senator John Laird and the City of Santa Cruz's consistent efforts to deter large encampments from reforming.
With the acquisition of the Sea Berg Metal property on Coral St and funding for more housing resources there's reason for optimism in 2024. You can review the County's Housing for Health Dashboard here.
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8. Park Improvements at Chanticleer and Floral Funded with Revenue from Short Term Rentals
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Photo: The newly constructed shade structure at Chanticleer Park. You can reserve it for your next party here.
With the voter approved increase in Transient Occupancy Taxes (TOT) on short-term rentals (like AirBnB) in 2022, we've started directing funds to neighborhood projects. This year we funded the construction of a shade structure in Chanticleer Park and helped complete funding for a renovation of the Floral Park Playground by adding $100K to $300K raised by the community through County Park Friends. The new Floral Park playground will open in 2024.
Funding from the TOT increase has also been used to hire a dedicated code enforcement officer for short term rentals.
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9. 72hr Back-Up Power Installed for Over Half of Communications Infrastructure
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Photo: Cell tower and cable boxes
This year's storms made the weaknesses in our communications infrastructure abundantly clear. That's why I worked with providers like Verizon and Comcast to make sure that they install the 72hr backup power they're required to under local and state law. This year saw backup power installed at 14 of 16 sites in District 1, with the other two in process. Countywide 66 of 115 sites installed backup power.
The County also launched CruzAware, an improved emergency alert platform. You can sign up for customized alerts here.
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10. Third-party Plancheck Option Launched
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Photo: people reviewing architectural plans
In 2023 Santa Cruz was named the most expensive rental market in the country, relative to local incomes. The cost of living here impacts the County's ability to hire, including in the Planning Division, where short staffing leads to long permit processing times. That's why I worked with Supervisor McPherson to propose a Third-Party Plancheck service. When applying for a remodel or new home build, you can skip the line at the planning counter and hire your plan checker. This program is modeled on ones from Sonoma and Marin counties. In Marin, they estimate 1/3 of permit applicants take advantage of this option.
The form to request this process is available here.
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Legislative Accomplishments
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In addition to the big picture highlights (above), I've shared here a chronological list of the specific agenda items I authored and co-authored this year: - Jan 31st - Extending the Streamlined Disaster Rebuild Process to 2023 Storm Victims. Co-authored with Supervisor Friend. After the CZU Fires, the County hired 4Leaf Inc. to create a streamlined rebuild process for people who lost their homes. This allowed people rebuilding after the 2023 Winter Storms to utilize the same process.
- Apr 25th - Supporting AB 585, Progress Reports for Clean Infrastructure Buildout. Co-authored with Supervisor Cummings.
- May 9th - Requesting that the California Geological Survey create a State Seismic Hazard Map for Santa Cruz County. Co-authored with Supervisor McPherson. California State legislature passed the Seismic Hazards Mapping Act of 1990 following the 1989 Loma Prieta earthquake. This Act directs CGS to identify and map areas prone to earthquake hazards, yet more than thirty years later, Santa Cruz County, the epicenter for the earthquake that inspired the Act, remains unmapped. It's time the State acted.
- May 16th - Supporting the Federal F-AIR Act and its provisions calling for the FAA to consider "the minimization of the impact of aviation noise, and other health impacts on residents and communities, and other impacts of the use of airspace on the environment." This proposal ultimately failed to pass a Board vote 2-3, demonstrating how divisive the jet path issue is even locally. However, Supervisor Friend and I wrote our own letter of support to our representatives in Congress as well as the SFO Roundtable asking them to support this act.
- May 16th - Resolution recognizing tobacco waste as a public health and environmental threat. Co-authored with Supervisor Cummings. Cigarette butts remain the most prevalent form of plastic pollution in our environment. They contain lead, arsenic, and other toxic chemicals. This resolution also directed the formation of a subcommittee to draft a policy to eliminate plastic cigarette butt waste.
- Jun 27th - Approving a fee waiver and the temporary use of the Ben Lomond Transfer Station as a collection depot for the alternative 6-month Santa Cruz County Container-Based Sanitation Pilot Project. Co-authored with Supervisor Hernandez. Santa Cruz's Composting Toilet Pilot Project shifted gears to be located at the Watsonville Wastewater Treatment Plant. After the 2023 floods almost took out South County's sanitation facility, interest has grown in emergency sanitation methods.
- Jun 27th - Directing the creation of a Third-party Plan Check Program. Co-authored with Supervisor McPherson. As described above, this program will give applicants for a remodel or new home construction an alternative way to get their plans checked for permits.
- Aug 8th - Expanding the definition of Qualified Experts for Special Rent Adjustments in Mobile Home Parks. Co-authored with Supervisor Friend. This allowed legal experts with a background in mobile home park disputes to serve as the "Expert" who reviews Special Rent adjustments during an arbitration process created by the Board of Supervisors.
- Sep 12th. Supporting a Carbon Fee and Dividend Program and AB 858. Co-authored with Supervisor Hernandez. Taxing carbon and returning the proceeds to citizens in the form of a monthly stipend is regarded by many leading economists as the best way to encourage a transition to sustainable energy use. This letter encourages our state legislature to create such a program through the passage of AB 858 and the modification of Cap and Trade.
- Oct 17th. Understanding obstacles to rebuilding and determining interest in a Transfer of Development Rights Program. Co-authored with Supervisor McPherson. Most homes destroyed in the CZU Fire have not been issued permits to rebuild. Moreover, a system is needed to allow people to rebuild in areas that are safe from fires and floods. This item outlines such a program and seeks feedback from people who lost their homes.
- Oct 17th. Resolution in Support of Property Tax Apportionment Reform. Co-authored with Supervisor Zach Friend. Santa Cruz County receives 13.5% of the property taxes you pay. The average for counties statewide is 20%. The difference is due to a state funding formula that is 45 years old. This resolution requests our state legislators work to change it.
- Nov 14th. Allowing Cannabis Farm Tours and Retail Consumption Lounges. Co-authored with Supervisor Hernandez. Tourism and agriculture are the twin engines of Santa Cruz County's economy. This proposal would allow social uses of cannabis and enable guided tours by industry experts. The item was deferred and will return to the board in 2024 once more public input is collected.
- Dec 12th. Reviewing how bidding contractors are deemed "non-responsible" and assessing opportunities for Project Labor Agreements. Co-authored with Supervisor Hernandez. The County accepts the lowest, responsible bid by contractors to perform work. With recent work-stoppages on projects like the Live Oak Library Annex, the Board asked for a review of how contractors are assessed on the responsible component of this requirement.
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Government Transparency and Public Engagement
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Photo at a recent Summit Town Hall at Loma Prieta School.
I work for you. That's why I take transparency and engagement seriously. This year, I held monthly office hours at the Sheriff's Center, published 42 newsletters, hosted 13 town hall meetings, and posted over 470 times on social media.
If there is something you'd like me to work on in 2024, please let me know. You can reply to this email or, for more developed suggestions, submit a proposal on my county webpage here.
I wish you and your family a Happy New Year and look forward to working with you in 2024. Together, we'll accomplish great things.
Sincerely yours,
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Manu Koenig First District Supevisor Santa Cruz County |
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