Dozens of attendees at Thursday’s Capitola City Council meeting wear blue stickers to show their city residency. (Tyler Maldonado – Santa Cruz Local)

CAPITOLA >> In a contentious, standing-room only meeting of more than four hours, the Capitola City Council on Thursday night denied a proposed bike path on Park Avenue as part of the countywide rail trail project. 

The council voted 5-0 to uphold a strict definition of Measure L, a 2018 city ballot initiative that forbids city money to be spent on rail trail paths that are not in the rail corridor. The proposal to build part of a bike path along Park Avenue was intended to save money, representatives of the Santa Cruz County Regional Transportation Commission have said.

“The RTC cannot build a trail on the city property or right of way, and the city can construct and maintain the streets, sidewalks and bike paths as the city council sees fit, period,” said Capitola City Councilmember Gerry Jensen, in a motion.

“We’re not here to rewrite the rules. We are here to uphold them. Capitola deserves nothing less,” Jensen said. 

From left, Capitola Mayor Joe Clarke and Councilmembers Melinda Orbach and Gerry Jensen attend Thursday’s meeting.  (Tyler Maldonado – Santa Cruz Local)

Two options for a bike path were proposed on Park Avenue. (RRM Design Group)

Many residents said they wanted the rail trail on the rail corridor rather than on Park Avenue in Capitola. (Stephen Baxter — Santa Cruz Local file)

Capitola voters in 2018 approved Measure L to prevent the city council from using city money toward the construction or maintenance of a trail on city streets such as Park Avenue, as regional transportation staff have proposed.

Though no court has yet ruled on the validity of Measure L, a pre-election challenge to the law was denied in court. Capitola City Attorney Samantha Zutler said at the outset of the meeting that “Measure L has been codified in the city code,” and that the council must enforce it or challenge it.

At a February council meeting, Councilmember Melinda Orbach said she supported the Park Avenue path and cast the sole vote against postponing the decision. Since then, she said she endured “threats and intimidation” from people who opposed the bike path on Park Avenue, including some who showed up to her work and home. 

“You are engaging in physically threatening behavior that extends past politics to our homes and our families,” Orbach said at the meeting. “Showing up to someone’s work and trying to get them fired is also crossing the line,” she said. “You’re threatening someone’s livelihood and their ability to support their families.”

Though she voted for Jensen’s motion against the bike path, she said Measure L placed the council in the position of “potentially blocking an important regional project.” She said she preferred an interpretation that would allow for the Park Avenue path, which prompted some chants of “recall” from people in the audience.

“I think it’s terrible that this project is now in jeopardy, and I’m extremely disheartened,” Orbach said.

Rail trail money

To fulfill the requirements of a state Active Transportation Plan grant, the Capitola portion of the rail trail must begin construction by April 2027. But with the cost-saving Park Avenue path shot down, it’s unclear where the funding will come from to build a trail along the corridor. 

With recent federal funding changes, plans for passenger rail on the corridor may also be in jeopardy. It’s unclear what the RTC will do next. 

Sarah Christensen, executive director of the Santa Cruz County Regional Transportation Commission, said at the meeting that the Park Avenue bike path was proposed after previous plans to route the trail along the rail corridor were expensive and underfunded. 

The transportation commission has committed to funding the trail for Segments 10 and 11, but staff still projects at least a $18.3 million funding gap. That gap could increase by another $8.3 million due to federal funding freezes. If the county misses its deadline for construction and isn’t granted an extension, the state could rescind part or all of the $67.6 million grant.

Coastal Rail Trail Segment 11 runs through Capitola. (Santa Cruz County Regional Transportation Commission)

A line forms to speak at a Capitola City Council special meeting Thursday. (Tyler Maldonado – Santa Cruz Local)

Residents react

Many audience members wore blue stickers at the meeting to show they were residents of the city. 

“These are the people you should be listening to. These are your constituents,” said Chris Amsden, pointing to the upraised hands of self-identified Capitola residents.

Mary Beth Cahalen, a Capitola resident who has run some events in the village, said “If we didn’t want Measure L passed, we would have voted it down as a community.”

Daniel Castagnola said, “It’s a matter of you guys holding your head up high when you walk down the streets or putting your head down.”

Other Capitola residents said that people who came to the meeting weren’t necessarily representative of the city as a whole.

“I just need y’all to think about the other people who live here who may not be able to attend meetings because of volunteer bias,” said Brenda Garcia, who grew up in Capitola.

One woman who supported the Park Avenue path said “I just feel like a small segment of Capitola residents are pushing you around, and we’re not supporting our entire community.”

Capitola-raised Brenda Garcia said the audience at Thursday’s City Council meeting was not necessarily representative of Capitola residents. (Tyler Maldonado – Santa Cruz Local)

Some people who showed up to support the Park Avenue bike path expressed concern that Measure L and the council’s decision would further jeopardize the rail trail project’s completion.

“I think anything that’s on the books here that prohibits Capitola council and staff from engaging in regional partnership, it’s highly disappointing,” said Scott Rohlf. He also warned about the conclusions that future funding organizations could draw from the vote. “Funders can certainly look in our area and go, Yeah, let’s avoid the city of Capitola now.”

Read more

• Santa Cruz Local’s rail trail map and updates page
• Rail trail, highway projects could sap Santa Cruz County transportation money for 20 years — April 4, 2025
• Explainer: Upcoming decisions on the rail trail in Capitola — Feb. 28, 2025
• Trump funding changes could delay Santa Cruz County passenger rail planning for years — Feb. 28, 2025
• Capitola council delays decision on Park Avenue rail trail options — Feb. 14, 2025

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