Scotts Valley
(Courtesy City of Scotts Valley)
Pandemic Life

Scotts Valley extends outdoor dining, fitness classes through end of May as pandemic drags on

Scotts Valley businesses can continue larger-than-usual outdoor operations under an extension of COVID-19 permissions the City Council approved Wednesday night.

As Santa Cruz County inches out of the pandemic, Lookout is chronicling the changes in our lives and the accomplishments of everyday people. “People in the Pandemic” is one of eight Lookout initiatives documenting all aspects of life amid COVID. For more, go to our COVID 2021 section, and sign up for COVID Text Alerts and our COVID PM newsletter here.

Given the ongoing pandemic, council members extended until May 31 business-friendly rules that were set to expire at the end of this month. That means outdoor dining can continue over the winter, and the city will keep issuing expedited permits for existing businesses to operate outdoors.

The vote also allows for the continued use of city parks for open-air fitness classes.

Wednesday’s action came as the possibility of another shelter-in-place order looms for many California counties. Cases of COVID-19 in the state and county are at the highest levels they’ve ever been, and Santa Cruz County remains in the most-restrictive purple tier.