A master plan for the Capitola Wharf is due in the fall. (Stephen Baxter — Santa Cruz Local)
Capitola City Council meeting
- 4:30 p.m. Thursday, June 26 at Capitola City Council chambers, 420 Capitola Ave., Capitola.
- Join in person, on Zoom or by phone, meeting ID 833 2817 3113.
- To comment ahead of the meeting, email [email protected].
CAPITOLA >> People want a fishing shop and restaurant back on the Capitola Wharf, as well as a permanent lifeguard station and other amenities, according to a recent poll of 1,067 Santa Cruz County residents and public meeting attendees.
Thursday, the Capitola City Council is expected to guide city staff toward a Wharf Master Plan due in the fall. New buildings on the wharf would require private investors for construction — as they have on the Santa Cruz Municipal Wharf — and costs could top $5.5 million.
“Seven options were created to provide starting points for public discussion and feedback, with the understanding that the final master plan may be a hybrid of the options and new ideas,” wrote Katie Herlihy, Capitola community development director.
In May, Capitola city staff floated seven potential ways to upgrade the wharf, ranging from a $600,000 plan for a new bathroom to a $6.2 million plan with a new restaurant, lifeguard station, stage and boat storage.
- About 42% of respondents said they wanted permanent buildings such as a restaurant and a fishing shop.
- About 21% of respondents wanted a fishing shop and “flexible market space,” according to the survey.
- About 13% said they wanted open space and mobile vendors.
- About 13% wanted a fishing shop and mobile vendors.
- About 5% wanted the current fishing shop and boat rental.
- About 4% said they wanted open space on the wharf.
- About 3% said they wanted a new fishing concession.
Option 6 includes a market mezzanine. (Fuse Architects)
The most amenities and highest costs are in Option 7. (Fuse Architects)
The online survey “included a great representation of all age groups except under 18,” Herlihy wrote. About 500 respondents lived in Capitola and about 420 lived in Santa Cruz County.
Many people wanted to keep the boat hoist and add a lifeguard station for jet skis, Herlihy wrote.
“There was a mix of opinions related to the stage, planters, and enclosed boat area. The stage location was frequently commented on related to the location,” because it might interfere with fishing and take up open space,” Herlihy wrote.
Options 6 and 7 would likely require a public-private partnership, where an investor pays for a building’s construction and the city leases the building to a business. The other options with lower costs could be paid through grants or the city’s General Fund.
Some city leaders and Capitola residents have questioned the financial feasibility of maintaining the wharf given recent severe weather.
Heavy winter storms in January 2023 uprooted pilings and ripped off part of the wharf’s deck. Another storm in December 2023 partially collapsed a bait shop and restaurant, and both buildings were demolished in February 2024. The wharf reopened with a wider deck and new pilings in September 2024.
Option 1 adds a public bathroom, stage, benches and picnic tables to the wharf. (Fuse Architects)
Option 2 includes mobile vendors. (Fuse Architects)
The fewest amenities and lowest costs are in Option 3. It adds a bathroom. (Fuse Architects)
Option 4 includes a lifeguard station and larger fishing and boat business. (Fuse Architects)
Option 5 includes permanent buildings and mobile vendors. (Fuse Architects)
Read more
- Input wanted on future of Capitola Wharf – May 22, 2025
- Pension debt looms in Capitola budget — May 28, 2025
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Ruby Lee Schembari is a student at Cabrillo College and editor in chief of The Cabrillo Voice.
