Santa Cruz Downtown Expansion Moving Forward
Late on Thursday night, the Santa Cruz Planning Commission approved plans for a downtown expansion project in a 4 - 1 vote. The project will allow for buildings up to 12 stories tall and more affordable housing to be built south of Laurel Street.
The project includes more than 1600 new affordable housing units, along with a new arena for the Santa Cruz Warriors, and a proposal to make part of Spruce Street car free, as part of more developments along The Santa Cruz Riverwalk.
In their presentation on the planning council, project designers recommended new features for the project before sending it off to the city's council, adding a land dedication factor to the project's existing downtown density bonus and adding a policy on pedestrian, bike, and transit enhancements in the downtown area.
People in public comment put an emphasis on the height of the proposed new buildings, while some feel like building up rather than out is better for sustainability while others say that the size of the buildings will feel alienating for people on the ground, especially due to the narrow streets in the city. Some officials and public comment both also mentioned the size of the final environmental impact report was hundreds of pages long, and only released 2 days before this meeting, making it difficult for everyone present to fully understand it before making their decision Thursday night.
The next steps for the proposal come in front of the Santa Cruz City Council, who will be hearing the approved project plans at their May 13th meeting for consideration and possible approval.
