Surviving All the Progress

I recently addressed the impact of increasing governmental involvement around point-of-sale requirements and ongoing rental housing compliance, where the regulations tend to be focused on improving infrastructure and quality of conditions for individual properties on an incremental basis. 

Other policy decisions made by the government have more to do with the long-range growth and the shape of the greater community for years to come. Some of these efforts seek to balance the needs of current residents against the need to create housing, while others seek to preserve the well-being of our residents and our business community during the disruption that change often brings with it.

A current example of the struggle for balance between density and quality of life is the 55 unit proposed development at 830 Capitola Rd, where neighbors are appealing the recent approval of the project that was rubber stamped by the County based on state mandates.

In the case of Santa Cruz, with much of our downtown growing to 6-8 stories, efforts are being taken to maintain vibrancy for the merchants and restaurants in the midst of all the construction and multiple vacancies. Initial ideas such as charging a vacancy fee on non-occupied commercial spaces met with widespread disapproval to impose on property owners who are already suffering loss of rents, but other efforts have been more positively received, such as a resolution passed this week allowing use permits to be transferred when a business is sold. 

The resolution also automatically extends all commercial use permits that were valid at any time between 2019 and 2026 until January 1, 2030, and businesses seeking to take over a previously approved use within this window may now proceed with a simple Zoning Clearance instead of a new Use Permit application.  This reduces administrative time by approximately three months and offers a cost savings of around $4,000 per business by avoiding the full use permit process.

Growing pains are also being felt down at the Harbor, where the 3-year-long bridge project is disrupting businesses on both sides of the bridge. Efforts have been made to try and shore up activity in the area by providing free water taxi service, while it has been suggested that it would be better to pause the multiple pedestrian bridge projects underway elsewhere and converge all the crews at the harbor to just get it over with.

Capitola is signaling similar aspirations for expansion with plans for the Capitola Mall pointing in the range of between 10 to 15 stories and over 5500 units. I also recently heard the city called for a 4-story, 43 unit project to be expanded to 8 stories and 88 units, so we can expect more growing pains in the immediate future for Capitola residents as well. And I won’t even start the topic of the rail trail or the widening of Highway 1, for fear that my inbox will blow up.

The hope is that these projects create a future that is better than what we have today. And until then, that we all survive the inconveniences of the present.