Quick Take
The California Coastal Commission has signed off on Santa Cruz’s Downtown Plan Expansion, clearing the way for taller buildings, up to 1,600 new housing units and a potential new Santa Cruz Warriors arena south of Laurel Street. The changes take effect Aug. 23.
The City of Santa Cruz’s long-sought plan to expand its downtown footprint cleared its final political hurdle on Wednesday, as the California Coastal Commission endorsed the plan to permanently change the look and scale of the city’s core.
The commission, a 12-member panel appointed to oversee major land-use changes along the state’s coastal zone, approved what Santa Cruz calls its Downtown Plan Expansion with little discussion. The Santa Cruz City Council unanimously supported the proposal in May, but it required a final confirmation from the state commission before going into effect.
The land-use changes, which reshape the area south of Laurel Street to allow building heights of up to 85 feet and the potential for 1,600 new housing units, will formally go into effect on Aug. 23, 10 days after the commission’s approval.
Mayor Fred Keeley stopped by the commission’s hearing in Calabasas on Wednesday to thank the commissioners and the state agency for working with the city to push the plan through.
“We think [the expansion] is a quite creative way to achieve an increase in housing, especially affordable housing in the coastal zone,” Keeley said.
The expansion also makes room for the Santa Cruz Warriors to build a new basketball and live events arena, something the team has pursued for years.
“The Downtown Plan Expansion delivers changes Santa Cruz has needed for decades: reinvestment in an underused area, stronger beach-to-downtown connections, new public spaces along the San Lorenzo River, and more housing, including affordable units,” Keeley said in a statement after the vote.
Have something to say? Lookout welcomes letters to the editor, within our policies, from readers. Guidelines here.