Santa Cruz County Land Use & Development Digest

The Los Angeles Neighborhood Land Trust recently paid almost $10 million for a 1.86-acre site formerly used for oil drilling. It could be converted into a community center, park and affordable housing.

A group called Affordable Housing Advocates Santa Cruz has emerged to counter the ballot measure known as the Housing for People Citizen Initiative, which qualified at the end of November to be placed on the city of Santa Cruz March 2024 ballot.

California energy regulators are considering requiring homeowners to replace broken air-conditioning systems with heat pumps or HVAC systems that are more energy efficient. The change would go into effect in 2026.

The Fort Independence Indian Community is getting the Mount Whitney Fish Hatchery from the California Department of Fish and Wildlife at no cost in 2024. Native Americans had lived on this land for centuries before the hatchery’s construction.

The proposed “Peace Village” project—a 40-unit apartment building on the campus of Peace United Church of Christ at 900 High St. in Santa Cruz—will move forward after the Santa Cruz Planning Commission denied an appeal of the project.

The Santa Cruz County Regional Transportation Commission will host an open house Dec. 5 in Aptos to gather input on aesthetic design elements for a major transportation project along Highway 1 to effectively blend elements such as retaining walls, bicycle and pedestrian fencing, and landscaping with the character of the town of Aptos.

A 2021 state law has radically changed the housing equation in San Diego. Advocates, developers, and policymakers are split on whether it should be exported to other jurisdictions.

Beyond the whirring of power tools and sprawling construction of Old Kresge, new residence halls and academic centers stand among the redwoods. These are the buildings that have sprouted out of the first phase of the Kresge Renewal project.

A shrubby Palmer oak tree in Riverside County is around 13,000 years old, making it California’s oldest tree and one of the longest-lived organisms on earth. Some people are concerned that a proposed development could threaten the tree.

Massive ocean wind farms off Morro Bay and Santa Barbara County—which could transform these quiet coastal towns and affect marine life—face a turbulent path.

“The second phase of the Aptos Village will complete a long-promised project for local residents,” wrote 2nd District Supervisor Zach Friend, who represents the Aptos region.

The Watsonville City Council and Planning Commission both deal with land-use matters, and they will be joining forces to discuss one of the biggest land-use matters: how to allocate and construct 2,053 housing units over the next eight years.

Work on a new annex, visitors center and underground parking garage can legally begin after the state issued a final, court-ordered review of the project. Plans have been on hold since early 2021.

The irrigation bill, which aims to force businesses and institutions to remove their lawns, now goes to the governor.

Planning commissioners unanimously approved city staff's recommendation for the council to adopt the Downtown Watsonville Specific Plan.

A June budget deal required community colleges to raise their own money to build affordable student housing. Some campuses said that plan prevented them from building the dorms, even with help from the state to pay the debt.

Assemblymember Buffy Wicks proposed legislation to help get around a court's rejection of a UC Berkeley housing plan. But even if the law is approved, its fate is in the hands of the state Supreme Court.

Some 7,000 square miles of ocean on California’s Central Coast could soon become the largest national marine sanctuary in the continental U.S. It could also make history as one of the first federal sanctuaries to be spearheaded by a Native American tribe.

“This pump track would be the only resource of its kind in the San Lorenzo Valley,” said Rebecca Hurley, deputy director of the Santa Cruz County Parks Department.

The city of Capitola’s effort to update its housing element before the end of the year has brought into focus one of its most critical assets both in terms of economic output and housing goals—the Capitola Mall.

An appeal was denied by the California Coastal Commission concerning a proposed, mixed-use building, with commercial on the ground level and 89 units above, at the intersection of West Cliff Drive and Bay Street in Santa Cruz.

Ariel Marshall, a senior official from the U.S. Department of Energy visited Santa Cruz city leaders to learn about progress made on all-electric housing and other developments. Marshall’s message was clear: there’s federal money for the city’s climate-friendly projects.

Environmentalists and project proponents agree: Infrastructure bills crafted by legislators and Newsom are a good compromise to streamline development. The package aims to speed up lawsuits for solar farms, reservoirs and other infrastructure, and relax protection of some species.

Rana Creek Ranch is half the size of the city of San Francisco, with “the grandeur of many of California’s state parks.”

Early this year, a cross-county working group developed a plan to provide shelter for those living along the Pajaro River's bed.

Bill Shopoff and his company controls four California retail properties that could one day could be new housing.

The city’s attorney analyzed the ruling and it was determined that there was no way to avoid applicability in Santa Cruz.

California Gov. Gavin Newsom has signed Assembly Bill 341 into law, reinstating a moratorium on the expansion of cardrooms in the state.

More than six years after Cotoni-Coast Dairies on Santa Cruz County’s northern coast became a California Coastal National Monument, a dispute over parking has pushed back the opening date.

After losing a community garden on the property of All Saints/Cristo Rey Episcopal Church when the church ended the contract, Tierras Milperas is searching for a space and speaking out against what members call an "unjust" termination.

Santa Cruz city staff and consultants gave an update on the state of West Cliff Drive at the Santa Cruz City Council meeting Tuesday afternoon.

More than 4,000 people a day hike the Mist Trail on summer weekends; the park is looking to improve safety and education.