On Monday night, February 2nd, the City of Santa Cruz Water Commission heard a limited presentation about the potential for a Water Demand Offset (WDO) program within the department’s service area. The motivation for the “informational” discussion was partly a result of the current work being done by the Council appointed Water Supply Advisory Committee…
Last week saw the culmination of months of hard work with the official launch of the Monterey Bay Economic Partnership (MBEP), at their first ever regional economic summit for the tri-county Monterey Bay area. Entitled “Invent Your Future”, the event brought together hundreds of regional elected officials, business owners and community leaders to highlight the…
Cruzio Internet’s Peggy Dolgenos will continue as Chair, while Gary Merrill will serve as interim Executive Director. January 7th— The Santa Cruz County Business Council will begin the New Year under the continuing leadership of Board Chair Peggy Dolgenos, cofounder and President of Cruzio Internet. Current Executive Director Joe Foster will be leaving in mid…
Last Thursday Supervisor Bruce McPherson and his Chief of Staff Gine Johnson visited with the Business Council Board about his agenda for 2015. Of key importance were the recent passage of both the Economic Vitality Study and Sustainable Santa Cruz County Plan, both of which will serve as valuable policy frameworks for future projects and…
SCCBC had the pleasure of attending the Coastal Commission’s public hearing to determine whether or not there was “substantial issue” with the Santa Cruz City Council approved La Bahia project (referenced in earlier SCCBC news posts). By a 10-1 vote, the Coastal Commission found that the “substantial issue” appeal did not have merit, therefore, the…
The final public hearing to approve changes to the County’s affordable housing guidelines has been moved to mid-January to give staff more time to prepare. For those of you who haven’t been following this issue, the County has been considering some of the most substantial changes to housing policy within the past decade in the…
An appeal to the Santa Cruz City Council’s approval of the La Bahia project will be heard before the CA Coastal Commission on Thursday, December 11th in Monterey shortly after 9 AM. Additional information on the Coastal Commission appeal can be found here: La Bahia CC agenda item – December 11, 2014 SCCBC strongly voiced…
At their October meeting, the SCCBC Board of Directors approved the organization joining the newly formed Monterey Bay Economic Partnership (MBEP). According to their website, “MBEP consists of public, private and civic entities located throughout the counties of Monterey, San Benito and Santa Cruz. Our mission is to create a thriving region with good jobs, excellent…
After over a year of crafting and refinement, the County Board of Supervisors formally approved the Economic Vitality Study and Economic Development Vision & Strategy at their November 18th meeting. What initially began as a single “strategy” document, evolved into what is now being termed as a Study, along with a companion piece, the Vision…
SCCBC been closely following the County’s actions related to a reimagining of their affordable housing policies. While the key principal of a 15% affordable housing mandate will not change (1978’s Measure J makes sure of that), there are a handful of tweaks that could fuel an uptick in the number of both affordable and market-rate…