Don’t let the city in the city center of Santa Cruz make a huge, informal mistake

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Do you remember the insolent 16-story clock tower center cloud scratch that a development company called Workbench proposed last year? This 192-foot building was approved in a 50-foot limit of the state due to the new 100% density law (Assembly Bill 1287), which enables developers to build much larger than local zoning normally allows. This skyscraper project has been put on hold for the time being because it goes through the city process, but it could still be revived.

Now Santa Cruz City Leaders want to increase the boundaries of the height in the south of the Laurel Street (Sola), although they do not have to increase them in order to achieve state housing destinations or to build the proposed New Warriors. They are about to make a big mistake.

By increasing the zone height boundaries to 85 feet, as suggested, developers can be two or three times as large that skyscrapers build. We are talking about 20, 25 or possibly even 30-story buildings, and the city cannot stop it thanks to new state laws such as from 1287, which will override local control. The city does not have to increase the altitude limits. If this is the case, it will be an unnecessary, self -inflicted (and irreversible) wound that will change the Santa Cruz, which we know.

This is all part of the proposed project to expand the city center (DPE). It is probably the largest and most effective development proposal in the history of the city.

It is proposed to significantly improve 29 ACRES in Sola, so that 1,600 to 1,800 new residential units in a number of more than 12-story buildings. The city can argue that it is working on motivating buildings that do not increase over 12 stories. But the city cannot force a developer to accept the incentive. With the new from 1287 -densbonus from 1287, developers would probably be more incentive to decide this instead of urban incentive. Due to the plan, by increasing the height restrictions to 85 feet, developers can build more than 25 stories if they want-and the city cannot stop it.

The unintended consequence will be that buildings are permitted twice as large (or more) by the new law on state density bonus. The draft of Environmental Impact Report (EIR) was published a few weeks ago, with Friday, February 21, a commentary period for the statement.

This draft of EIR has many defects, but the worst is that it is not analyzed (or even recognized) the worst that it does not analyze the effects of new “stackable” density regulations in from 1287 in combination with the proposed upzonation.

This is a great deal.

Eirs should be “complete disclosure” documents in which the direct and secondary effects of large projects such as this are evaluated. The new provisions of the state sealing bonus in from 1287 are one of these secondary effects that the EIR should evaluate, but not. The proposed upzoning could not only lead too much larger buildings than expected, but also far more residential units than the planned 1,600-1,800 units.

This would increase all environmental impacts. The EIR must be rewritten in order to completely evaluate these effects.

The most sensible approach is that the project is reduced to keep the altitude limits where they are now – 35 to 48 feet -, which still leads to buildings when the density bonus is used. The building heights will be large enough to achieve the project goals of 1,600 new housing units and finance a new Warriors Arena.

Please spend some time to check the DPE design EIR and comment on it until Friday. A hard copy is also available in the main library in the city center. Also contact the mayor and the city council members and let them know how to feel.

The city doesn’t have to build that way.

We can reach the development goals for Sola without increasing the altitude limits. Tell your chosen guide. Participate. Do not allow them to make this huge, irreversible mistake that Santa Cruz will change forever.

Frank Barron has lived in the county since 1969 and in the city of Santa Cruz since 1980. He is a retired city planner with 30 years of experience in the Monterey Bay region. He has a master’s degree in urban planning from San Jose State University (1992) and a Bachelor’s degree in environmental studies by UC Santa Cruz (1985).