Big week in Santa Cruz County politics: E-bikes, West Cliff, cannabis and coastal property sale

As we glide into the second quarter of 2024, several impactful votes are coming before the people’s chosen decision-makers, from the county board of supervisors to city councils in Santa Cruz and Watsonville. 

Here’s a rundown of what choices are before the county’s political leaders this week. 

Santa Cruz County Board of Supervisors

1. The public gets its first look at the county’s budget 

A series of natural disasters has put the county on uneven financial footing in recent years. The county will need to take out a loan of up to $85 million to keep up operations while it awaits $144 million in disaster reimbursements from the federal government. 

This is only one of several headline items the board of supervisors will discuss while deciding how to spend the county’s money over the next year. Other challenges ahead include: cutting more than 42 full-time positions from the Health Services Agency as pandemic funding dries up; the looming deadline to stand up the state’s Community, Assistance, Recovery and Empowerment (CARE) Act, which will create a new arm of the local justice system that can compel the mentally unstable into state custody; and $161 million in decreased spending between the existing budget and the one proposed for the next fiscal year. 

Tuesday will be the first chance for county residents to weigh in on the county’s financial planning, but it won’t be the last. More public budget hearings are scheduled for May and June ahead of final adoption on June 4. 

2. E-bike restrictions get a final vote 

After advancing a first draft a couple weeks ago, the Santa Cruz County Board of Supervisors is set to make a final decision on new rules that would ban e-bike and e-scooters riders from county sidewalks (in most situations) and parks. 

If approved, the new restrictions would prohibit the electric and motorized bikes and scooters from sidewalks and pedestrian trails unless specifically dedicated as a bike path. However, as I reported last week, there are some gray areas in the rules. E-cyclists can ride on a sidewalk if no pedestrians are present and no adjacent bike path exists. The rule also gives flexibility to designate some county sidewalks and park trails as e-bike- and e-scooter-friendly. 

District 1 Supervisor Manu Koenig, the person behind the proposed new regulation, said since the vehicles involve relatively new technology, he expects the e-bike and e-scooter ordinances to be rules the county will continue to mold as it learns about how riders use these modes of transportation. 

3. County gets into the coastal real estate business

A piece of prime Rio Del Mar real estate is going up for sale Tuesday, as the county readies to part ways with the vacant beach-facing lot at 105 Esplanade. The 3,000-square-foot lot is squeezed between Venus Spirits Cocktails and Kitchen and the old SeaBreeze Tavern, right along Seacliff State Beach. 

The supervisors will vote to open the public auction for the lot during their Tuesday meeting, with a starting bid of $240,000. Its proximity to Aptos Creek puts the property in the 100-year flood plain, but the entire stretch along Seacliff State Beach is the county’s front row for the increasing threat of coastal erosion. The money from the sale will go into the county’s general fund. 

Santa Cruz City Council 

1. A 50-year vision for West Cliff Drive and a decision on an extended one-way pilot 

How will West Cliff Drive fare over the next half-century, and what should the city be doing to prepare for 2074? 

After months of planning and community engagement, the Santa Cruz City Council is slated to vote on whether to adopt the 50-year community vision for West Cliff, a 30,000-foot view of how to adapt the city’s most scenic stretch of road to an increasingly dynamic coastline and climate. 

“The [plan] is not about preserving West Cliff as it exists today, but rather creating a resilient and accessible space that can withstand the impacts of climate change while continuing to serve as a vital hub for our community,” City Manager Matt Huffaker wrote in the preamble to the 77-page document. 

Although the plan sets out the general road map to get the scenic route to 2074, one specific proposal is top of mind for many Santa Cruzans: the plan to convert West Cliff Drive into a one-way, westbound thoroughfare, with a new, two-way bike path between the walking trail and road. If the city council adopts the vision plan Tuesday, it will effectively support moving toward a one-way West Cliff Drive. Tied into Tuesday’s vote is direction to staff to go after a $3.5 million grant to fund the design and implementation of a two-year, one-way pilot program. 

However, even with an approval Tuesday, city spokesperson Amanda Rodriguez said staff will have to go back in front of the city council next spring to approve the final design for the pilot. A significant portion of West Cliff Drive, from Columbia Street to Woodrow Avenue, remains under repair from the January 2023 storms.

2. A moratorium to calm a growing cannabis tempest?

When locally owned retail cannabis business The Hook Outlet purchased the Mission Street lot left vacant by Emily’s Bakery and proposed opening its third Santa Cruz County location, the process was generally smooth, owner Bryce Berryessa said, as the location met all of the city’s code requirements. 

Then, late last year, Santa Cruz City Schools Superintendent Kris Munro caught wind of the plan, and the road to opening has been anything but easy. The location sits 850 feet from Santa Cruz High School and 1,300 feet from Mission Hill Middle School. Munro and district administrators argue that the dispensary’s location is too close to the schools, despite sitting beyond the required 600-foot buffer.

The Hook Outlet received the green light from the city’s planning commission, but the decision was appealed to the city council, which is scheduled to take it up May 14. Or, maybe not. 

Santa Cruz Mayor Fred Keeley has proposed a moratorium of at least 45 days on approving any new cannabis business from opening. Keeley said he wants to convene a working group to examine several facets of the local cannabis law. A 45-day moratorium, he said, will allow the community to step back from the passionate debate over the Hook Outlet issue and, he hopes, approach local cannabis rules “dispassionately.” 

Berryessa, however, doesn’t see the moratorium helping his case. He didn’t say whether he plans to sue if the city council rejects his permits, saying only that he trusts “good governance” will prevail. 

Watsonville City Council

1. Public to weigh in on whether to clear a growing homeless encampment

Last month, the Watsonville City Council voted to declare a large, privately owned and vacant property along Airport Boulevard as a public nuisance that needed to be addressed. 

The property has evolved into a homeless encampment, hosting an estimated 20 to 40 unhoused people and, according to the city, has “accumulated significant amounts of personal property, furniture, trash, and debris, creating a blighting factor” to the area. 

On Tuesday, the city will host a public hearing for residents to weigh in on how to address the encampment and the city’s plans to clear it. Although the city council declared the property a public nuisance two weeks ago, the lawmakers could reject the plan and allow the encampment to continue. 

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