Tuesday hearing on battery storage ordinance a crucial green energy test
On Tuesday, the Santa Cruz County Board of Supervisors is set to vote on new rules for battery energy storage systems, a local decision that carries the weight of a state‑level push to transform the energy grid.
The moment arrives with tension. Battery storage is central to California’s clean‑energy strategy, a tool to hold excess wind and solar power and release it when demand surges. The state has added about 17,000 megawatts of battery capacity since 2019, and regulators say California will need to add roughly 52,000 megawatts more to meet its target of 100% renewable energy by 2045. Gov. Gavin Newsom has tied the growth of the technology to his own political ambitions, touting California as the U.S. leader in battery storage capacity at a United Nations climate summit in Brazil last week.
Yet the technology has also upset some local residents, especially after a massive blaze in January at the world’s largest battery storage facility in nearby Moss Landing. Watsonville city officials also raised concerns in a recent letter to the board of supervisors.
The county first proposed its battery storage ordinance before the Moss Landing blaze but recently updated the document with stricter rules in an effort to address some of those concerns.
The ordinance adds new location and safety standards: setbacks of 100 feet from property lines and 1,000 feet from sensitive sites like schools, day care centers and residential care facilities. It also includes limits on batteries that use nickel, manganese and cobalt like those that burned at Moss Landing, along with more requirements for safety planning, environmental testing, emergency response and oversight.
Supporters of the ordinance say the rules strike a balance that allows local battery storage projects to proceed while protecting communities. They argue batteries are essential to reducing reliance on fossil fuels and preventing blackouts, and that local facilities can shore up a vulnerable grid in South County and Mid‑County. They point to advances since the Moss Landing facility first opened in 2020, noting that newer designs use outdoor, separated containers and less‑flammable materials, paired with improved detection and suppression systems.
Opponents contend that the county’s ordinance does not go far enough. They warn that even more modern batteries can burn and release toxic gases. And they want to see the county add even tougher rules, including banning battery facilities from being built on agricultural lands. Some advocacy groups have urged a pause or slowdown on new facilities until safety standards and health research catch up. Last month, neighboring Monterey County, where Moss Landing is located, took the first step toward passing a moratorium on building new battery storage facilities.
Tuesday’s board of supervisors vote has immediate implications for the county. Massachusetts-based New Leaf Energy is proposing a roughly $200 million, 200‑megawatt battery storage project just outside Watsonville at 90 Minto Rd., across from a Pacific Gas & Electric substation. The company has expressed support for the county’s ordinance and said it prefers to follow a local approval process for its project, with public hearings. But company representatives have also said they could pursue a separate permitting path through the state that would limit local control over their project if the county’s proposed rules stall.
Tuesday’s decision will test how county officials balance community concerns with a developer prepared to seek state approvals if necessary — and will signal whether Santa Cruz County becomes a full partner in California’s green‑energy ambitions or a brake on them. — Tamsin McMahon
POINTS FOR PARTICIPATION
Vector control assessment ballots show majority support from property owners: More than 61% of voters supported a fee increase to fund the Santa Cruz County Mosquito & Vector Control district, according to ballot results announced Monday. A total of 23,659 property owners cast ballots.
On Tuesday, the Santa Cruz County Board of Supervisors will consider the results at its regular meeting to decide whether to implement the fee increase — which would cost about $11.99 annually per single-family home starting in the 2026-27 fiscal year.
If approved by the board, the increase will go toward enhancing the district’s services, including eradicating harmful disease-carrying vectors like mosquitos, ticks and rodents across the county.
“This outcome reflects the community’s trust in the district’s work to safeguard public health,” County Agricultural Commissioner David Sanford said in a statement. “These funds will ensure continued monitoring, prevention and education programs that benefit residents countywide.”
For more information about the new fees, click here.
In addition to eliminating the harmful vectors, the district provides inspections, guidance to prevent rodent infestations, tick identification and it also delivers mosquito-eating fish for ponds and troughs, among other services. — Hillary Ojeda
Murray Street Bridge temporary path: The Santa Cruz City Council on Tuesday will discuss providing funding toward a plan to build a temporary pedestrian and bicycle path across the Santa Cruz Craft Harbor to get around long-term construction work on the Murray Street Bridge, after several failed attempts to secure funding for the project.
The city council originally voted in August to pursue the alternative path on a part of the rail line that crosses the harbor. City staff tried to secure money through a number of avenues, including applying for a Santa Cruz County Regional Transportation Commission (RTC) grant in September and sending requests to state Sen. John Laird, Assemblymember Gail Pellerin and U.S. Rep. Jimmy Panetta’s offices. But the RTC did not award funding and the city says it has not yet received responses from state and federal lawmakers.
The RTC and Progressive Rail, the Santa Cruz Branch Rail Line’s freight operator, have both expressed concerns with safety and liability issues that come with the plan, as well as repurposing the rail bridge for pedestrians and bicycles. On Oct. 27, Progressive Rail sent a letter to the city opposing the plan, according to a staff report. The city has also unsuccessfully sought to get an insurance policy for the path.
Staff estimate that a temporary path would cost about $1.15 million to build and $550,000 to remove in 2028. The city could move to reallocate money from a number of other projects, including maintenance to stairs along West Cliff Drive, a geological study of Lighthouse Point, neighborhood traffic calming and city hall renovations. It could also use some of the general fund emergency reserves.
The city council meeting begins at 9:30 a.m. on Tuesday. — Max Chun
Opposition to offshore drilling: Also Tuesday, the Santa Cruz City Council is slated to vote to approve an agreement with the county to jointly contribute $29,000 to help revive a statewide coalition to block the Trump administration’s offshore drilling plans. The city council will also vote to authorize a services agreement with environmental organization Save our Shores. — Tania Ortiz
Expanding tenant relocation assistance rules: For over 30 years, Santa Cruz has had a law on its books that tenants displaced for hazardous, substandard or structurally unfit housing conditions receive relocation benefits from their landlords to help with the cost of getting temporary or permanent replacement housing. But because in most cases tenants are displaced for only two months or less — less time than the four months current rules typically cover — the city council is considering proposed amendments that would expand the rules and allow for assistance for short-term displacement. — Max Chun
Amendments to Watsonville’s PLA ordinance: The Watsonville City Council will vote on approving small changes to a local law that had established rules for pay, benefits and work hours for construction of city projects. The changes include increasing the project budget threshold to $1.5 million from $600,000, but it does not include a proposal by the city for a new agreement with local trade unions — after elected officials voted to scrap the city’s existing project labor agreement earlier this month. That meeting will start at 5:45 p.m. on Tuesday. — Tania Ortiz
Capitola Mall redevelopment, wharf master plan and more back in focus: In a kind of catch-all town hall at New Brighton Middle School on Thursday at 6 p.m., Capitola city staff will give presentations on a number of topics, including some high-profile projects such as the Capitola Mall redevelopment, the plan to add new features and amenities to the rebuilt Capitola Wharf, efforts to fortify Cliff Drive against storms and sea-level rise, the redevelopment of the land at Rispin Mansion, upcoming street and pavement management projects, and more. — Max Chun
Scotts Valley Planning Commission to hold study session on draft Town Center plan, environmental report: On Thursday, the Scotts Valley Planning Commission will hear public comment on the draft update to the city’s Town Center plan and its environmental report.
The Scotts Valley City Council adopted the Town Center plan in 2008 as part of its long-held goal to develop a downtown hub on the vacant land formerly occupied by the Skypark airport. Due to several challenges, like not having a developer agree to take on the job, the city hasn’t yet built the Town Center. However, several significant policy changes, including the city’s updated 2023 general plan and state mandates to build a significant amount of new housing, require that the city update the Town Center plan. In December 2023, the city set a deadline to update the plan by next month.
The Town Center would act as a downtown area for Scotts Valley, with retail areas, residential developments, community gathering spaces and new streets. The Town Center plan covers a 58-acre area with boundary limits set by Mount Hermon Road, Skypark Drive, Blue Bonnet Lane and includes the commercial region east of Kings Village Road. The plan acts as a guiding vision for land use and development for 20 years, or through 2045, for that area.
After Thursday’s study session – set for 6 p.m. at the city council chambers and livestreamed on Zoom – the planning commission will provide a recommendation on the Town Center plan and environmental report at its next meeting on Dec. 4, per the agenda report. The city council will then consider whether to adopt the plan and environmental report at its Dec. 17 meeting. — Hillary Ojeda
OF NOTE
Live Oak project appeal: Residents living near the site of a proposed 57-unit apartment complex in Live Oak are appealing the county planning commission’s recent decision to greenlight the project, arguing the building’s developers shouldn’t be allowed to use state laws to get around local control.
Housing Matters lifeline: Having your mail delivered each day seems like a routine service — until it suddenly goes away. Max Chun takes a look inside the tiny mail room at Santa Cruz nonprofit Housing Matters, which more than 1,700 local residents use as a permanent address for everything from Social Security checks to letters from family. Some clients who use the service told Chun that receiving mail was a critical step in climbing out of homelessness. The mail room is set to close in March as part of broader changes at the nonprofit’s Coral Street campus.
Dominican CEO retiring: CommonSpirit, the Chicago-based health care company that owns Dominican Hospital, is conducting a national search for a new chief executive after longtime CEO Nanette Mickiewicz retires early next year.