Today we celebrate Veterans Day, on the 104th anniversary of the Armistice ending World War I, on the 11th hour of the 11th day of the 11th month.
This week we saw peaceful elections across our country, while war continues to rage in Ukraine and other parts of the world. It is a reminder for us to be thankful for our democracy, a democracy which has taken the courage and selflessness of so many veterans of our armed forces to protect. Veterans, we remember you and we thank you.
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Highlights on Next Tuesday's Board of Supervisors Agenda
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This will be the Board of Supervisors second review of a Tiny Homes Ordinance. It currently allows a tiny house on wheels to function as a primary unit or an accessory dwelling unit. It would also limit the number of tiny homes to one per parcel.
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Every three years, the State of California adopts a new set of State building codes. The County can adopt amendments to the state code if it chooses. This year, the Board of Supervisors proposed to amend the energy code to require all-electric construction for newly constructed residential developments. This includes residential mixed-use projects, multifamily, single-family and accessory dwelling units that are located within the Urban Services Line, beginning January 1, 2023.
The use of gas in buildings for heating and cooking makes up approximately 25% of our local carbon emissions. This will be an important first step in changing that.
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This significant change to the County General Plan and County Code is reaching the conclusion of a year long process. The Sustainability Update would facilitate more housing construction in the urban area of the County, particularly Live Oak, Soquel and Aptos. It's goals include reducing vehicle trips and creating 15 minute walkable neighborhoods, where shopping, schools, parks and other services are all a short walk from home.
At this meeting the Board will consider several proposed re-zonings for housing along Portola Dr as well as for the large vacant lot at the corner of Thurber Ln and Soquel Dr.
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Assisted Living and Memory Care Coming to Former Inner Light Ministries Site on Soquel
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You may have noticed some site work starting at 5630 Soquel Dr, the former Inner Light Ministries site. An 80 unit assisted living and memory care center is planned here. They've received their demolition and rough grading permit and are expected to complete the rest of the permitting process soon. The project will be run by Calson Management.
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Community Meeting on Kaiser Medical Building Coming Soon
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Many of you have inquired about the status of the Kaiser Medial building proposal for Live Oak. A community meeting will be scheduled within the next month to review the project and proposed transportation improvements for the area. It is expected the project will be reviewed by the Planning Commission and Board of Supervisors in the first quarter of 2023. I will send a notice as soon as more information is available.
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Citizen Assembly Planned for Housing Element
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During the last Board of Supervisors meeting on October 25th we reviewed the 6th Cycle Housing Element Update.
Every eight years the state requires local communities to update the Housing Element part of their General Plan. This assures that enough housing can be built to meet community needs.
This time the State is requiring Santa Cruz County to plan for an additional 4,634 units to be built in the unincorporated area. This new number represents a 353% increase from the last cycle and will require a significant effort from the County to identify areas that can be rezoned.
Knowing that this will be an important issue for our community, I moved for a Citizens Assembly to be a part of the County's update to the Hosing Element. The whole Board agreed and staff has begun the planning process.
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A Citizens Assembly is a deliberative body formed of members of the public selected at random (similar to the process for jury selection). This is important because it ensures that people of all ages and income levels can participate. Renters have historically been under-represented on county commissions. By activating a Citizens Assembly, the public will become an integral part of the decision-making process as Santa Cruz County continues to grow and evolve. Most of the work to update the Housing Element will take place in 2023.
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First Soquel Demonstration Forest Prescribed Burn Completed
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On Friday, November 4 my office attended Cal Fire's first ever prescribed burn at the Soquel Demonstration Forest.
This burn was conducted as part of the California Vegetation Treatment Program and was intended to benefit the Coast Redwood ecosystem, prevent encroachment of non-native plant species, regenerate native species, restore and enhance wildlife habitat, and increase public safety.
Prescribed vegetation treatment burns are carefully planned controlled burns that must meet a predefined set of conditions (prescription) in order to achieve ideal fire behavior. No burning takes place if weather and fuel conditions are not within prescription. This one took place between the last two rain storms.
When optimal conditions are met, trained wildland firefighters manage the burn while monitoring the weather, smoke dispersal, and fire behavior. Additional support for this burn was provided by Cal Poly San Luis Obispo with University research as well as the Fuels Management Training Program to provide public outreach and education about how to build a more sustainable and fire resilient landscape for California.
In this time when wildfires are more frequent, prescribed burns reduce the intensity of forest fires and increase forest resilience. So if/when a forest fire would hit the region, the fire would burn with much less intensity, be less destructive to the natural environment, and less likely to spread at a fast rate.
This prescribed burn was thoughtfully planned for 1.5 years and prior to the burn, several crews of 15 for 12 weeks prepped the land for the event.
Information and links to past training webinars including a webinar about the burn at the Soquel Demonstration State Forest are available at https://spranch.calpoly.edu/fuels
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Call to Artists for Heart of Soquel Parkway Project
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The Santa Cruz County Parks Dept. is seeking proposals for a site-specific public art component for Heart of Soquel multi-use parkway.
The existing Heart of Soquel Plaza County Park is now connected via a walking and biking trail (completed in 2020) to Porter Street, Main Street at Soquel Lyons Park, and to Soquel Elementary, along the top of the bank of Soquel Creek. The final addition to the parkway is the public art component.
The budget for the public artwork, which includes all costs associated with but not limited to design, materials, travel, insurance, fabrication, installation, and documentation of the artwork, is $27,000.
A “Call to Artists,” which includes detailed information about the RFP process as well as the site plan and other materials, is available on the County Parks website.
The deadline for submitting a proposal is December 16, 2022.
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A pioneering group of Pleasure Pt residents have teamed up with County Park Friends to raise nearly $300,000 for a renovation of Floral Park. Now, the County Parks Department has started to plan the renovation of the existing playground. The project will include replacement of the old play structure with modern equipment (the swing structure will remain but will be repainted and fitted with new chains and seats). The sand play surfacing will be replaced with accessible rubber surfacing. The project will also include minor repairs to the playground edge and drainage system.
Please provide your feedback on the designs with this online survey by November 17th.
The fundraising campaign is not over yet. The more money raised, the larger the new play structure will be. Donate here.
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The Santa Cruz County Sanitation District has announced that Rodriguez Street will be closed to through traffic between Koopmans Avenue and Jose Avenue between the hours of 8:30 am and 4:30 pm on November 14 to 16, 2022, weather permitting.
This road closure is necessary for sanitary sewer and water main improvements. The Santa Cruz County Sanitation District would like the motoring public to be prepared for delays and detours during these times.
Questions may be directed to Ryuun Ernst at (408) 435-5106.
For up-to-date information on County maintained roads in Santa Cruz County, please visit: http://www.sccroadclosure.org/
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Opening on the Santa Cruz County Women's Commission
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The First District has an opening on the Santa Cruz County Women's Commission.
The Santa Cruz County Women's Commission is a non-partisan advisory board that serves to advance the causes of all women, expand possibilities for women and girls and advocate for empowerment and equality.
If you are looking for an opportunity to get involved in your community, please apply
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Tuesday, November 15th - Board of Supervisors Meeting. Starting at 9:00 AM. Agenda. Via Zoom, telephone, and in person at: 701 Ocean St, Santa Cruz, CA 95062
Tuesday, December 6th - Board of Supervisors Meeting. Starting at 9:00 AM. Via Zoom, telephone, and in person at: 701 Ocean St, Santa Cruz, CA 95062
Thursday, December 8th, 2022 - Happy Valley Town Hall. From 6:00 - 7:30 PM
Hybrid Meeting: Happy Valley Elementary, 3125 Branciforte Drive, Santa Cruz, CA 95065 and on Zoom: https://zoom.us/j/96708318897
Visit the First District Webpage for information on Town Halls and upcoming events.
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