Land Use & Development Image

Santa Cruz County Land Use & Development Articles



Santa Cruz Local logo LOCAL NEWS
Four-story Apartment Buildings Proposed at 1800 Soquel Ave. in Santa Cruz

Plans for a four-story, 84-unit apartment complex at 1800 Soquel Ave. were presented to residents in an online meeting Thursday. Neighbors express concerns about height, parking.

Santa Cruz Local logo LOCAL NEWS
Watsonville residents’ input wanted on housing plans

May 3 public workshop on city’s General Plan update.

Santa Cruz Local logo LOCAL NEWS
Eight-Story Apartment Complex Approved on Front Street in Santa Cruz

The Santa Cruz City Council approved a seven- and eight-story, 276-unit apartment complex at Front Street and Soquel Avenue in Downtown Santa Cruz.

Image caption: New housing construction in the Crocker Village neighborhood in Sacramento on Feb. 10, 2022.
CEQA Must be Changed

By almost any measure, the balance between advancing projects critical to California's future and environmental protection under the California Environmental Quality Act has been lost. The failure to reform CEQA is not for a lack of knowing what the solutions …

Santa Cruz Local logo LOCAL NEWS
Food Bin owners explain Santa Cruz housing proposal

Neighbors weigh parking, traffic and grocer’s future.

The Pajaronian logo LOCAL NEWS
New warehouse approved for Manabe-Ow property

WATSONVILLE—The Watsonville City Council on Tuesday unanimously approved the construction of a two-story industrial warehouse on the Manabe-Ow property that will allow an existing beer and restaurant supply company to move to a new location. Reyes Holdings, a national wholesaler, …

Santa Cruz Local logo LOCAL NEWS
Downtown Santa Cruz library project approved by city council

Plus: Bike lane to be added to Laurel Street, some parking removed.

Image caption: Caltrans has received $680,000 in federal funding to explore alternatives for reconnecting communities along the I-980 in Oakland.
Rerouting Past Wrongs

California lawmakers are exploring ways to reconnect urban neighborhoods torn asunder during the interstate highway construction boom of the 1950s and ’60s.

Image caption: The future of malls looks like one where the rich get richer while lower-end malls simply die out.
Mall Culture and the American Dream

Shopping malls revolutionized how Americans shopped, socialized, and lived. Now, malls face an uncertain future. How did the dream of a new town square go so wrong?

Santa Cruz Local logo LOCAL NEWS
Downtown Santa Cruz library project advances

City council to weigh potential parking changes.

The Pajaronian logo LOCAL NEWS
Neighbors challenge Pajaro housing project

PAJARO—A group of Pajaro neighbors has filed a lawsuit against a developer, the County of Monterey and its Board of Supervisors, challenging an agricultural workforce housing project in Pajaro that would place 45 units on Susan Street, a dead-end road …

Santa Cruz Local logo LOCAL NEWS
Ocean Street apartment plans revised in Santa Cruz

Developers of one of the largest recent housing proposals in Santa Cruz have revised plans and will share new details at a Feb. 9 meeting.

Santa Cruz Local logo LOCAL NEWS
Santa Cruz Downtown expansion plan scaled back

Building height limits reduced, affordability boosted.

Santa Cruz Local logo LOCAL NEWS
Studios proposed on Water Street in Santa Cruz

Shops included in four-story, 105-unit complex.

Santa Cruz Local logo LOCAL NEWS
Housing, shops approved on Mount Hermon Road in Scotts Valley

Mount Hermon Road project was stalled since 2008.

Santa Cruz Local logo LOCAL NEWS
Objective design standards approved by Santa Cruz City Council

New rules expedite housing development, provide bus passes.

The Pajaronian logo LOCAL NEWS
Watsonville’s urban growth limit extension leads countermeasure

More Watsonville voters have elected to extend the city’s urban growth boundaries for the next 18 years rather than head back to the drawing board and determine a new growth plan, according to initial election results released Tuesday night. As …

Good Times logo LOCAL NEWS
What the Election Means for South County’s Future

Proponents of competing urban growth measures say they have the key to building a better community

Good Times logo LOCAL NEWS
Rio Del Mar Walkway Battle Continues

County says it will appeal recent ruling that allowed homeowners to block walkway

Featured

Lighthouse Field in Santa Cruz, which might be a huge resort if not for the Coastal Commission.
The Public Shore Protectors
Born amid controversy, this public agency is responsible for managing some of the most precious real estate in the world.
Zoning laws tell you what you can and can't build on the property you own. How does government get away with that?
How Zoning Laws Shape California and Society
Zoning is everywhere, but is it a way to regulate development or a tool for social engineering?
How California reclamation districts turned millions of acres of wetlands into fertile agricultural land, starting in the earliest days of the Gold Rush.
Reclamation Districts: Turning ‘Swamps’ Into Farmland
From its earliest days as a state, California has been trying to turn marshes into productive land.
Since 1972, the California Coastal Commission has ruled over the state’s shoreline.
California Coastal Commission: Where It Comes From, What It Does
How a nuclear plant, a real estate development and an oil spill led to a landmark law.
The Baldwin Hills area in South Los Angeles is one region where a state conservancy would keep open land accessible to the public.
California’s 10 State Conservancies: How They Protect Parks and Open Land
Starting in 1976, the legislature began creating agencies to buy up open land, and keep it open.
Does California’s signature environmental law protect the state’s scenic beauty, or cause more problems than it solves?
CEQA: The Surprising Story of CA’s Key Environmental Law
54-year-old environmental law is often blamed for causing the state’s housing crisis. Is it getting a bad rap?
The 1965 law known as the Williamson Act has been responsible for keeping about half of California's farmland out of the hands of developers.
The Williamson Act: How the Law That Protects California’s Farmland Works
More than half of California farmland is under contracts that prevent its development.