City of Watsonville Government News

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.

Watsonville city leaders have started to craft a coordinated effort to fight rising homelessness. 

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.

The Watsonville City Council on Tuesday approved $200,000 for a new homelessness outreach program. Separately, Watsonville police plan to add a new police service specialist to write tickets to illegally parked cars and RVs.

The Watsonville City Council voted to end public comment via Zoom at its meetings, a decision spurred by two racist ‘zoom bomb’ calls on Oct. 24. Capitola had similar experiences around the same time.

More than 100 people spent their Saturday morning in the community room of the Watsonville Civic building, where they joined the City Council and other officials in discussions about Watsonville’s General Plan.

For the third time, protestors attended a Watsonville City Council meeting calling on city leaders to pass a ceasefire resolution.

More than 100 people filled the Santa Cruz City Council chambers to call for a ceasefire resolution in the Israel-Hamas war. The same day, activists also attended a Watsonville City Council meeting and a Santa Cruz County Supervisors meeting.

The Watsonville City Council will stop allowing virtual comments during its public meetings for the rest of the year after it received two anonymous calls filled with racist language and expletives during the Oct. 24 meeting.

The city looks toward the first update to its retail cannabis rules in four years, after complaints that the ordinances are stricter than those imposed by the state.

The City Council considered 16 tweaks to the ordinance; proposed changes include allowing a new establishment and opening more of the city to new businesses.

Watsonville officials envision downtown as a vibrant place where commerce, mixed-use housing and a transit system intermingle and trees line a two-lane Main Street.

Plus: Santa Cruz could require options to tip delivery drivers.

The Watsonville Police Department formally welcomed five new officers at a promotional badge pinning and awards ceremony.

Unsanctioned campers along Corralitos Creek could see a repeat of an El Niño weather pattern that could bring heavy rains and flooding.

Measure R sales tax hike brings in new money.

Count shows uptick of homelessness in Watsonville.

Local high schoolers paint murals for Watsonville City Hall.