If you watched last week’s Santa Cruz City Council meeting you may have unknowingly seen a perfect example of everything that is wrong with housing politics in Santa Cruz. For just a brief moment, you saw elected leaders literally say one thing, and then in the exact same set of remarks, admit that it wouldn’t […]
190 West Cliff: 5 Biggest Takeaways
Last week the Santa Cruz City Council took an important step in our community’s housing future by approving 190 West Cliff, a density bonus project that will provide 79 new condos, 10 deeply affordable units, and a local market–combined with public open space–on what used to be an inefficient surface lot. The Business Council has been working […]
Leadership as Deference
About two weeks ago a member of my Board alerted me about an item that was coming up before the Santa Cruz City Council related to overnight parking on community college campuses. “That’s peculiar” I thought, because the City of Santa Cruz doesn’t have a community college. I was already attending the meeting for a […]
Watsonville is Open for Business, and Beer.
If you aren’t a stranger to Santa Cruz County politics then you would realize how interesting and unique a sight it was to behold last Tuesday during the evening session of the Watsonville City Council. The chambers were crowded, with a broad spectrum of people of all ages and cultural backgrounds in attendance, but unlike […]
Santa Cruz City Council Votes Down Councilmember Glover’s Homelessness Package
Late Tuesday night (or early Wednesday morning) the Santa Cruz City Council voted down a series of proposals introduced by Councilmember Drew Glover regarding homelessness, and in particular, the unsanctioned encampment that exists at Highway 1 and 9. The proposals that failed included having the City of Santa Cruz enter into a “state of emergency” […]
SCCBC Endorses Senate Bill 50
The Santa Cruz County Business Council Board of Directors voted unanimously last Thursday to formally adopt a “support” position on Senate Bill 50 – Planning and Zoning, Housing Development: Equitable Communities Incentive. For those of you who are unfamiliar with the legislation, SB50 is this year’s iteration of Scott Weiner’s failed SB827, which would have […]
Governor Newsom’s Approach to Housing and Other Budget Highlights
Last week newly elected Governor Gavin Newsom rolled out his proposed budget in charismatic fashion with a daring and engaging 2 hour long press conference. Not only is the Governor proposing a close to an $8 Billion increase over the year before, and his predecessor Jerry Brown, but the core of his new spending will […]
SCCBC Formal Position on Unified Corridor Study
To: The Santa Cruz County Regional Transportation Commission From: Santa Cruz County Business Council Board of Directors RE: SCCBC Formal Position on Unified Corridor Study _______________________________________________________________________ Overview and Process: The Santa Cruz County Business Council Board of Directors has been conducting our own analysis of the preliminary results of the Unified Corridors Study (UCS), including […]