The Santa Cruz City Council could advance a comprehensive wildfire plan at its meeting Tuesday. (Stephen Baxter — Santa Cruz Local file)

The city already has several programs in place, but “our community can and must do more to prepare ourselves for wildfires,” wrote Santa Cruz City Councilmember Susie O’Hara. Elected to the city council last year, O’Hara formerly worked in the city’s water department and city manager’s office.

The council is expected to vote on whether to direct city staff to initiate a wildfire preparation and safety program and form an ad hoc committee to work with city staff and residents to develop the program.

“The city must, to the maximum extent possible, prepare its water delivery infrastructure for sustained fire flows, plan for power outages, and make wildfire resilient all critical and life-sustaining public infrastructure,” O’Hara wrote in a city council document. “We must collaborate with regional stakeholders,” give Santa Cruz residents tools to plan for wildfire and create defensible space around their homes, she wrote.

City and UC Santa Cruz evacuation plans also should be integrated to ensure roads on the upper westside remain clear in an emergency, O’Hara wrote.

Some goals of the program include better outreach and engagement with seniors, people with disabilities and Spanish-speaking residents; more CruzAware emergency alerts signups; increased maintenance of open spaces; and more wildfire planning collaboration with the county, land trusts and other groups.

A new program could include:

• A stakeholder group that includes representatives from local Firewise communities, land trusts, UCSC and the city’s fire, public works, parks, water and police departments.
• A city council subcommittee to guide city efforts.
• An annual public report to track the city’s progress.

Budget changes

Separately, the city council on Tuesday is set to consider a budget adjustment for Fiscal Year 2025 with about $9.7 million more revenue and about $13 million more spending expected. 

One of the biggest changes to the budget is an anticipated $5 million federal grant for work to stabilize West Cliff Drive. 

The city is also expecting about $1 million in insurance payouts for the partial collapse of the wharf on Dec. 23.

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