City of Santa Cruz Government News

A 232-room hotel that is expected for Front and Laurel streets in Downtown Santa Cruz could include rooms for low-income visitors, according to a California Coastal Commission staff report.

Have ideas to improve Santa Cruz County? Residents can now apply to have a direct line to Santa Cruz city and county leaders — and get paid a small sum for the privilege. 

The City and County of Santa Cruz sued the UC Regents in 2022, alleging that the environmental analysis portion of UCSC’s 2021 Long Range Development Plan was insufficient. Santa Cruz County Superior Judge Timothy Schmal’s ruling in the city and county’s favor essentially invalidates the 2021 LRDP, though university attorneys are expected to appeal the ruling.

For years Santa Cruz city and county leaders have tried to get UC Santa Cruz officials to tie enrollment growth to new campus housing. Although UCSC houses half of its about 20,000 students on campus, students living off campus have helped exacerbate a decades-long housing crunch in the city.

Days after Gov. Gavin Newsom issued an executive order directing jurisdictions throughout the state to address the homeless encampments within their borders—and about one month after the U.S. Supreme Court ruled that laws banning sleeping in public do not constitute cruel and unusual punishment—unsanctioned camps throughout the state have been cleared, and the residents moved to shelters, or to other illicit sites.

Days after Gov. Gavin Newsom issued an executive order directing jurisdictions throughout the state to address the homeless camps within their borders—and about one month after the U.S. Supreme Court ruled that laws banning sleeping in public do not constitute cruel and unusual punishment—unsanctioned camps throughout the state have been cleared, and the residents moved to shelters, or to other illicit sites.

Santa Cruz city voters in November will decide whether to tax the distributors of soda and other sugar-sweetened beverages to discourage consumption and potentially raise $1.3 million annually for city services.

A report raises questions about whether the City of Santa Cruz is properly tracking who lives in “inclusionary units”—those set aside as affordable housing—within the city to make sure preference is given to Santa Cruz residents.

A bustling neighborhood and a new 3,200-seat arena for the Santa Cruz Warriors are part of a plan to transform Downtown Santa Cruz in the coming years.