City of Watsonville Government News and Articles

Over the next two decades, the city of Watsonville plans to add thousands of trees to its landscape, create a plan to take care of them and train crews of young people to aid in that effort.

The City of Watsonville has sent out a call to local artists to help create a mural for the new nature center coming to Ramsay Park.

Construction will begin in June on a 34-unit community of small temporary dwellings based at Westview Presbyterian Church in Watsonville, after the Monterey County Board of Supervisors unanimously approved agreements to build and manage the facility.

In a weed-strewn, vacant lot on Airport Boulevard Tuesday, Bryan Hilgeman was busy around his makeshift tarp dwelling where he lives, along with about 40 people in the unsanctioned homeless camp.

A special joint council meeting Saturday brought together Watsonville City Council, City Manager Rene Mendez, other city and county leaders and the public for a discussion of the swelling homeless problem.  

In a little more than a year, Ramsay Park in Watsonville will boast a new dog park, a new multi-use synthetic sports field, a new state-of-the-art nature center and new lights for its pathways, parking lots and athletic fields.

Andres Sandoval, 56, has worked as a plumber. He lived in his vehicle in Watsonville in early 2022 and said he wanted a more stable situation. (Stephen Baxter — Santa Cruz Local file)
WATSONVILLE >> Watsonville city leaders have started …

The Watsonville City Council on Tuesday voted to close the crosswind runway at the airport, a move city officials say will open up more of the city for development of housing and commercial space.

On both sides of Watsonville Municipal Airport’s two runways lay so-called airport safety zones, where development is either limited or restricted.

Watsonville City Manager Rene Mendez has been named as the new City Manager for the City of Salinas, just two years after starting his position.

When Vanessa Quiroz-Carter and Maria Orozco were sworn in late last year as Watsonville’s Mayor and Vice-Mayor, it was only the second time in the city’s history two women have held the roles.

Watsonville Police Chief Jorge Zamora, in a gray suit, speaks during a Watsonville City Council meeting on Tuesday. (Jesse Kathan — Santa Cruz Local)
WATSONVILLE >> The Watsonville City Council on Tuesday approved $200,000 for a new homelessness outreach program. 

Supporters of a Gaza ceasefire resolution spoke for about four hours at a Santa Cruz City Council meeting Tuesday. (Jana Silverman – Contributed)
SANTA CRUZ >> More than 100 people filled the Santa Cruz City Council chambers Tuesday to call …

The city of Watsonville is looking to make its first update to its retail cannabis business ordinance in four years, after complaints from business owners who say the ordinances are more strict than those imposed by the state of California— …

The City of Watsonville is looking to make its first update to its retail cannabis business ordinance in four years. On Oct. 10, the City Council considered 16 tweaks to the ordinance. Proposed changes include allowing a new establishment, opening …

In a future envisioned by Watsonville officials, the city’s downtown will be a vibrant and bustling place where commerce, mixed-use housing and a redesigned transit system intermingle and trees line a narrowed, two-lane Main Street. The Downtown Specific Plan, approved …