The Santa Cruz County Board of Supervisors recently gave direction to Planning staff to once again amend the County’s Affordable Housing Program (second time in 3 years), despite the process and economic concerns laid out by representatives the Business and Development Community. The proposed amendments appear to be staff driven, and include the elimination of […]
Summary of Cannabis Cultivation EIR Recommendations
As many of you may be aware the County of Santa Cruz recently completed the first draft of an Environmental Impact Report on cannabis cultivation for the unincorporated areas of the County. This document, which is only the 3rd County-level EIR to be completed within the State, and of them is surely the most comprehensive, […]
CLV Recap
During the last week of August the Santa Cruz Area Chamber of Commerce hosted what’s called a “Community Leadership Visit” or CLV for short. This was a 3 day/2 night trip all across the Bay Area to study how different communities are addressing issues like housing, transportation and transit, economic development, and even homelessness. Our […]
SB 35 and Local Control
It’s no secret that California is in the midst of a housing crisis, and has been for some time. According to the State Legislative Analyst Office, the non-partisan research center that determines the cost of legislation (similar to the Congressional Budget Office or CBO at the Federal level), California needs to build 180,000 units of […]
Downtown Streets Team Presentation to SCCBC Committees
The following is the slideshow presentation that was given to the Government Affairs and Infrastructure & Transportation Committees of the Santa Cruz County Business Council on June 14th by Greg Pensinger and Chris Richardson of the Downtown Streets Team. The program is essentially a workforce development program aimed at addressing those experiencing homelessness within individual […]
Cabrillo College to Host Community Forum in Watsonville (1/18)
Cabrillo College President Laurel Jones is reaching out to the Watsonville community for input on the continuing mission of Cabrillo in its service to the south County. The Business Council would like to encourage our member companies and other south County residents to attend these workshops as the input provided will have a direct impact […]
Local Measures on the November 8th, 2016 Ballot
You can download a PDF version of this document by clicking here. The following is an overview of all 19 local measures that will be decided on the November ballot in some jurisdiction in Santa Cruz County. This is not light reading, but it is important reading. The Business Council will first be hearing recommendations […]
Monterey Bay Economic Partnership Votes to Unanimously Support Transportation Tax Measures on November Ballot
Marina, CA (August 10, 2016) The Board of Directors of the Monterey Bay Economic Partnership (MBEP) has voted unanimously to support two transportation tax measures that will be on the November 2016 ballot. Improving our region’s transportation routes and services aligns with MBEP’s mission to creating a thriving region and a high quality of life […]