Spruce Street could close to vehicles from the Kaiser arena to Pacific Avenue as part of a proposed Santa Cruz Downtown expansion plan. (Stephen Baxter — Santa Cruz Local file)
SANTA CRUZ >> The Santa Cruz Planning Commission on Thursday voted 4-1 in favor of a downtown expansion plan designed to facilitate the construction of multi-story apartment buildings and a new Warriors arena south of Laurel Street.
The plan, which still requires approval from the Santa Cruz City Council and the California Coastal Commission, would extend the downtown area by 29 acres and aim to develop 1,600 new housing units with at least 20% of them below market rate. City planners want the densest development from Pacific Avenue to the San Lorenzo River, said Santa Cruz Senior Planner Sarah Neuse.
The city council is tentatively set to consider the plan at its May 13 meeting.
Some residents have expressed concern about taller buildings going up downtown, saying they don’t want to see Santa Cruz turn into a mini San Jose or Los Angeles. “Please do not add skyscrapers to Santa Cruz,” Alethea Hasbrouck wrote to the planning commission. “You are killing our beautiful town.”
A 16-year-old high school student and a college student were among those at Thursday’s meeting who spoke in support of the plan. “I really think that building up instead of building out is better for sustainability and for the future of our city and the entire nation,” the student said.
The city is required to permit over 3,700 new housing units by 2031 as part of the state’s Regional Housing Needs Allocation. State density bonus laws also limit the city’s ability to shape development.
Santa Cruz Mayor Fred Keeley and other city officials have attempted to keep maximum building heights below 12 stories and retain some level of local control with a “downtown density bonus,” which they hope will entice developers away from the state density bonuses.
The downtown density bonus awards developers who maintain an 85 foot, or roughly eight story, height limit by removing all “floor area ratio” density restrictions. Those developers who maintain a 145 foot, or roughly 12 story, height limit would get up to 75% more floor area ratio density than existing rules allow.
Santa Cruz Planning Director Lee Butler said the downtown density bonus is more financially competitive than the state’s density bonus. He said the program “limits building heights and provides more affordable housing, both of which are goals we’ve heard from the community.”
A proposed downtown expansion plan would set building height limits in Downtown Santa Cruz, though those height limits could still be exceeded under state density bonus laws. (City of Santa Cruz)
Retired urban planner Frank Barron, representing a citizens’ group called Santa Cruzans for Responsible Development, said it was unnecessary to raise height limits to meet housing goals or to get a new Santa Cruz Warriors basketball arena. He said that, when combined with a new state law providing an additional density bonus, the downtown plan expansion could lead to buildings over 25 stories tall.
“Our main message is don’t let the city make an unforced error,” Barron says. “There’s no need to upzone.” He asked the commission to postpone making a decision, in part because there was “insufficient time” to review a final 371-page environmental impact report released Tuesday.
The commissioners, however, were unconvinced, with chair Michael Polhamus saying the final EIR was not substantially different from the draft EIR.
Santa Cruz Planning Commissioner Pete Kennedy said he was “outraged” by photoshopped images of downtown skyscrapers presented by Santa Cruzans for Responsible Development. “That’s just so wrong to put out that kind of propaganda, in my opinion,” Kennedy said.
“I think people forget what’s in that space now and how underutilized that space is,” Kennedy said of the 29 acres that would be included in the downtown plan extension. “It’s super annoying to hear ‘what’s the rush?’ over and over,” he said. “The rush is people need places to live and we need a better town. And, yup, the buildings are bigger.”
The lone vote against recommending approval of the plan came from Commissioner Rachel Dann, who said that eight-story buildings were too high for the area and that she felt a little rushed. “This is the most monumental project Santa Cruz has had in the last 36 years,” she said.
The Santa Cruz City Council first approved a downtown development plan in 1991 to spur recovery from the 1989 Loma Prieta earthquake. Efforts to expand the downtown south of Laurel Street began in late 2020, and several public hearings have been held since then.
The City Council-approved objectives for the expansion include:
- About 1,600 units of new multi-family housing.
- A 3,200-seat permanent Santa Cruz Warriors arena, which would replace what Neuse called the “glorified tent” they play in now. The new arena could also be used for music and civic events, city officials said.
- A car-free plaza along Spruce Street.
- Bike and pedestrian improvements.
- More seating and landscaping along the Riverwalk on the San Lorenzo River levee.
- Better connections between downtown and the river and beach areas, including a revamped Cliff Street stairs and viewpoint.
- Increased tax revenue for the city and new economic opportunities for local businesses and workers.
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Jesse Greenspan is a freelance journalist who writes about history, science and the environment. His work has appeared in The New York Times, Scientific American, Audubon and other publications.
