Measure Q – Santa Cruz County Water and Wildfire parcel tax
To help reduce risks of wildfires, floods and other catastrophes fueled by climate change, Santa Cruz County voters on Nov. 5 will consider an $87 annual parcel tax that would fund land and water management, cleanup and conservation.
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What is Measure Q?
Measure Q, the Santa Cruz County Water and Wildfire Protection Initiative, would raise about $7.5 million annually for land management, cleanup and conservation projects in forests, streams, beaches and other open spaces. It’s not yet clear which areas of the county would have projects.
- The money would be split between nonprofit groups, the County of Santa Cruz and the cities of Santa Cruz, Scotts Valley, Capitola and Watsonville.
- Landowners in Santa Cruz County would pay an $87 annual parcel tax indefinitely unless ended by voters.
- Some fire chiefs in Santa Cruz County have pushed back on the measure, saying it should directly fund fire department projects to reduce wildfire risk.
A group called Santa Cruz County Residents for Clean Water, Fire Safety and Climate Resilience collected more than 10,000 signatures needed to place the measure on the ballot. The nonprofit groups Land Trust of Santa Cruz County, Peninsula Open Space Trust and Sempervirens Fund are the measure’s top campaign funders, according to the ballot measure supporters’ website.
The measure requires more than 50% of the vote to pass.
What would Measure Q do?
The tax would raise an estimated $7.5 million annually for projects that manage open space, protect water sources and reduce fire risk in Santa Cruz County. The money could go to many types of land cleanup, management, recreation and restoration projects, including:
- Prescribed burns and fuel removal in forests.
- Removing brush around homes to create defensible space.
- New public trails.
- Wetland restoration.
- Wildlife road crossings.
- Water conservation and groundwater recharge.
- Trash removal on public lands or beaches.
The measure states that 60% of the money would be split between the Resource Conservation District of Santa Cruz County, the four city governments in Santa Cruz County and the county’s Department of Parks, Open Space, and Cultural Services.
- 20% to the Resource Conservation District of Santa Cruz County and a nonprofit partner selected by an oversight board for projects on privately owned land. The partner must be a Santa Cruz County-based nonprofit that has operated for at least 10 years and owns and manages private open space. The Land Trust of Santa Cruz County meets those criteria, but Newkirk said she’s unsure if any other nonprofits do.
- 20% of funds, about $1.5 million annually, to cities within Santa Cruz County, split proportionally by population.
- 20% to the county Department of Parks, Open Space, and Cultural Services and the county Office of Response, Recovery and Resilience for projects outside of cities.
The remaining $3 million annually — 40% of the money — would fund county-administered grants to nonprofits or public agencies. The grant program would favor projects that support resilience to climate change, have matching funds or serve disadvantaged communities.
- At least $600,000 of the grant money would go to San Vicente Redwoods, an 8,900-acre privately owned forest managed by the Land Trust of Santa Cruz County, Peninsula Open Land Trust, the Sempervirens Fund and Save the Redwoods League. Trails on the property opened to the public in 2022. San Vicente Redwoods is “the property protected by the largest conservation easement in the county” in the ballot measure language.
- At least another $600,000 of the grant money would fund projects near South County rivers, streams and wetlands.
Some of these projects can have direct impacts on the intensity of natural disasters like floods and fires, Newkirk said. For example, a “shaded fuel break,” or strip of land cleared of underbrush, reduced fire damage in the San Vicente Redwoods during the 2020 CZU Lightning Complex Fire. Creating more shaded fuel breaks could make the next fire less disastrous, Newkirk said. Similarly, restored floodplains on the Pajaro River could reduce catastrophic flooding downstream, she said. The Pajaro River levee breached during storms in March 2023 and flooded dozens of homes, displacing about 3,000 people.
Who would oversee spending of Measure Q money?
A nine-person citizen oversight advisory board would:
- Create a five-year plan for spending.
- Hold public meetings to receive public input on spending.
- Receive spending reports from the county, the cities and the Resource Conservation District.
- Select the nonprofit partner to receive direct funding. The measure does not prohibit nonprofit employees from sitting on the advisory board.
The board would include one appointee from each of the five county districts and the four cities. Members cannot be elected officials, and must have expertise in a relevant field, such as natural resources, wildlife, or environmental justice.
Proponents and opponents of Measure Q
“As our climate is changing and bringing along with it more frequent and intense droughts, more powerful storm events, as well as more frequent and catastrophic wildfires, we need to do more to protect and manage our land base,” said Sarah Newkirk, executive director of the nonprofit Land Trust of Santa Cruz County.
The Fire Safe Council of Santa Cruz County, Regeneración – Pajaro Valley Climate Action, and other environmental nonprofits have endorsed the measure. The Santa Cruz County Board of Supervisors, the Santa Cruz City Council, and the Capitola City Council have also voted to endorse the proposed tax.
“This plan really does have a lot to offer, and I think it’s going to bolster our natural resources,” said Santa Cruz County Supervisor Bruce McPherson, at a June 4 county supervisors meeting.
Zayante Fire Chief Jeff Maxwell has expressed some concerns with Measure Q. Aside from the $600,000 earmarked for San Vicente Redwoods, none of the money is required to be spent on fire risk reduction efforts. That doesn’t sit well with Maxwell.
“I just think that they need to cut a third of the name off of the measure,” he said. “Rename it the land and water protection” act, Maxwell said. Maxwell said he was speaking as a citizen, not on behalf of Zayante Fire.
Newkirk said some detractors have said the measure would compete with bond measures to support fire departments. All of those measures should be supported, she said.
“There are at least two important features in fire safety: one is fire response, and that’s what the fire departments do really well,” said Newkirk. “The other is fire resilience, and that really is keeping the fuel loads down and fire risk low in the surrounding environment. And that’s work that can be done using funds under this measure. I don’t think that it should be competitive at all, because we need both response and resilience.”
Maxwell said fire departments can helm the fire resilience projects, but they aren’t guaranteed money to do so.
“The fire districts in the San Lorenzo Valley that were confronted with the CZU [Lightning Complex Fire] get $0 for any type of fuel reduction,” Maxwell said.
Fire districts could apply for grant money for fire risk reduction projects, but Maxwell said his department is too small to dedicate time to grant writing.
Alison Breeze, a San Lorenzo Valley resident and leader of a neighborhood Firewise wildfire preparedness group, said she was concerned groups like hers wouldn’t be able to find nonprofits to partner with them, and wouldn’t receive any grant funding.
“I love the goals that this [measure] has, but I have concerns about whether it can practically achieve what it’s promising,” she said.
Endorsements, impartial analysis and full text of Measure Q
Measure Q key endorsements, according to the Yes on Measure Q website and official ballot arguments:
- U.S. Rep. Jimmy Panetta.
- State Assemblymember Gail Pellerin.
- State Sen. John Laird.
- Santa Cruz County Supervisor Zach Friend
- Santa Cruz County Supervisor Justin Cummings.
- Joe Christy, founding member and former president of the Fire Safe Council of Santa Cruz County.
- Barb Satink Wolfson, fire advisor of the Central Coast Prescribed Burn Association. Satink Wolfson’s stance does not necessarily represent all members of the association.
Measure Q key opponents, according to the official ballot argument against Measure Q:
- Mark Bingham, Boulder Creek Fire chief and president of the Santa Cruz County Fire Chiefs Association.
- Stacie Brownlee, Ben Lomond Fire chief and treasurer of the Santa Cruz County Fire Chiefs Association.
- Rob Oatey, Santa Cruz Fire chief and secretary of the Santa Cruz County Fire Chiefs Association.
- Jason Nee, Central Fire chief and vice president of the Santa Cruz County Fire Chiefs Association.
Full text, impartial analysis, ballot arguments and endorsements of Measure Q
More from Santa Cruz Local
- Improved access planned for Santa Cruz County’s North Coast — Jan. 12, 2024
- Agencies aim to increase controlled burns in Santa Cruz County — May 18, 2023
- San Vicente Redwoods trails to open Dec. 3 — Nov. 10, 2022
- Summit, Soquel residents band together to manage forests — June 24, 2022
—Jesse Kathan