Agenda packet — Santa Cruz City Council, March 11, 2025 (part 7 of 7)

Thank you for your interest in the proposed project for 313 Swift Street. Please provide any project related question or comment in the fields provided. Your comment/question will be automatically directed to the City Planner assigned to this project. Please note that questions and/or comments entered here are public information and subject to release in accordance with the Public Records Act.

1. Select what applies:
[×] I have a question(s).

2. Question/Comment:

I dont understand why it has to look like a prison or a county building. what happened to designs that have unique and beautiful features.
thank you.

I dont need a personal response but please consider

3. If you have a question that needs a response, please enter your email address or phone number.

Email: Not answered
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City of Santa Cruz
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From: Timothy Maier
To: [email protected]
Subject: RE: 313 Swift Street Question/Comment Received Date: Thursday, April 25, 2024 10:08:00 PM
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Hello Ms. Swann,
Thanks for your message and for reaching out.

Thus far, the proposed educator workforce housing project has been submitted as a Preapplication, which provides for the applicant (contractor and architects working on behalf of Santa Cruz City Schools) to receive early feedback related to the proposed project.

The site is listed as an environmental cleanup site in the City’s records. Information related to the project has been forwarded to the County Department of Environmental Health, whose staff have reviewed the submittal, have conducted background research on the history/potential for contamination on the site, and are compiling comments related to it.

Based on preliminary information received from the County, minimally, a Phase I Environmental Site Assessment (ESA) will be required to be conducted; information resulting from that investigation, once prepared, will be reviewed by City and County staff.

Recommendations of the Phase I ESA will determine the need for further study and potential remediation, as applicable. If necessary, further studies (i.e. extended Phase I or Phase II ESA) will be conducted and additional recommendations provided. Actions required for remediation, as necessary, will be described through such studies.

I appreciate the background information you have provided. The Phase I ESA will additionally provide a thorough description of the background of the subject site and disclose past activities and likely contamination present. On-site sampling and subsequent testing of soil, groundwater, and the like is expected to take place to identify any contamination, and studies will determine steps needed for remediation as relevant.

You may have seen that a Public Outreach Meeting will be held via remote teleconference (Zoom) on May 6, beginning at 6:30 PM. You are welcome and encouraged to participate to learn more about the proposed project, ask questions, receive clarification, etc.

Feel free to reach out to me with any questions or to provide any further information you may have about the site.

Best regards,
Tim Maier
Timothy Maier
Senior Planner
City of Santa Cruz | Planning and Community Development 809 Center Street, Room 101, Santa Cruz, CA 95060
Main: 831-420-5110 | Direct: 831-420-5129

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Email: [email protected]
Web: www.cityofsantacruz.com
From: [email protected] <[email protected]> Sent: Thursday, April 25, 2024 4:56 PM
To: Timothy Maier <[email protected]>
Subject: 313 Swift Street Question/Comment Received
A new entry to a form/survey has been submitted.

Form Name: 313 Swift Street
Date & Time: 04/25/2024 4:56 PM
Response #: 1
Submitter ID: 109713
IP address: 54.193.9.48
Time to complete: 15 min. , 40 sec.

Survey Details

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1. Select what applies:
[×] I have a question(s).

2. Question/Comment:

Have you thoroughly cleaned and removed the toxic waste tested the ground water and soil at that site? This land used to be federal land, leased to the school district for decades. It was a toxic site where munitions was stored and it's not clear it was ever adequately cleaned up. It was never intended to be built upon. The district used the land for their facilities yard where old vehicles were stored and sometimes services. Undoubtedly more toxic chemicals where spilled and/or dumped there since it was basically an old machinery "storage area" as well as a place vehicles were parked and services on the bare ground.

When Monarch School was moved there (in late 1990s or early 2000s?) to a new triple-wide portable

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classroom on that site adjacent, that facility yard area was fenced in to keep children from wandering to the toxic areas and out of the machinery. It's in the interest of public safety to do soil testing and ground water sampling before building homes on that land.

3. If you have a question that needs a response, please enter your email address or phone number.

Email: [email protected]
Phone: (831) 334-7045
Thank you,
City of Santa Cruz
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From: Timothy Maier
To: [email protected]
Subject: RE: 313 Swift Street Question/Comment Received Date: Thursday, June 6, 2024 7:42:00 PM
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Hello Erin,
Thanks for you question and for reaching out to us.

No change is proposed to the existing buildings related to the proposed educator workforce housing project at 313 Swift St. However, it may be advisable to contact Santa Cruz City School District to inquire about any planned future programming changes.

Timothy Maier
Senior Planner
City of Santa Cruz | Planning and Community Development 809 Center Street, Room 101, Santa Cruz, CA 95060
Main: 831-420-5110 | Direct: 831-420-5129
Email: [email protected]
Web: www.cityofsantacruz.com
From: [email protected] <[email protected]> Sent: Monday, May 6, 2024 6:36 PM
To: Timothy Maier <[email protected]>
Subject: 313 Swift Street Question/Comment Received
A new entry to a form/survey has been submitted.

Form Name: 313 Swift Street
Date & Time: 05/06/2024 6:35 PM
Response #: 4
Submitter ID: 109874
IP address: 2600:1700:87f1:24df:4162:7006:b11a:5a7b
Time to complete: 1 min. , 30 sec.

Survey Details

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Thank you for your interest in the proposed project for 313 Swift Street. Please provide any project

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related question or comment in the fields provided. Your comment/question will be automatically directed to the City Planner assigned to this project. Please note that questions and/or comments entered here are public information and subject to release in accordance with the Public Records Act.

1. Select what applies:
[×] I have a question(s).

2. Question/Comment:

IIs it possible for WPENS preschool to remain in the current building during construction or even move in after construction has completed?

3. If you have a question that needs a response, please enter your email address or phone number.

Email: [email protected]
Phone: (925) 200-9949
Thank you,
City of Santa Cruz
This is an automated message generated by Granicus. Please do not reply directly to this email.

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From: Timothy Maier
To: [email protected]
Subject: RE: 313 Swift Street Question/Comment Received Date: Thursday, May 23, 2024 9:16:00 AM
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Good morning Gill,
Thanks for your message and for reaching out with your feedback related to the proposed redevelopment of 313 Swift St. (CP24-0073).

As a Preapplication, the project proposal remains under review for compliance with applicable regulations. A Traffic Impact Study will be prepared for evaluation of existing and proposed traffic and circulation. Additionally, a Stormwater Management Plan will be required to be prepared for assessment of existing and proposed stormwater runoff. Impact fees relevant to the project application address increased use of City facilities, such as parks.

Your comments have additionally been forwarded to the project application for consideration.

Thanks,
Timothy Maier
Senior Planner
City of Santa Cruz | Planning and Community Development 809 Center Street, Room 101, Santa Cruz, CA 95060
Main: 831-420-5110 | Direct: 831-420-5129
Email: [email protected]
Web: www.cityofsantacruz.com
From: [email protected] <[email protected]> Sent: Wednesday, May 22, 2024 10:21 PM
To: Timothy Maier <[email protected]>
Subject: 313 Swift Street Question/Comment Received
A new entry to a form/survey has been submitted.

Form Name: 313 Swift Street
Date & Time: 05/22/2024 10:21 PM
Response #: 6
Submitter ID: 110111
IP address: 2601:647:cb00:4e0:f4b2:d0e5:56fd:f695

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Time to complete: 29 min. , 33 sec.

Survey Details

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1. Select what applies:
[×] I have a comment(s).

2. Question/Comment:

1. Right-turn-only egress is a BIG problem because Swift and Delaware are far better designed to handle the traffic than the streets to which right turns will direct traffic. Please reconsider.

2. The project will increase surface water run-off to the south (downhill) toward the school playground at a site that gets water-saturated during heavy winter rain. This needs mitigation.

3. The project will increase use of Sgt. Derby Park and that also needs mitigation. The project could pay for some park improvements such as playground facilities for older children. Because most pickleball players come to the park by car and are noisy, the project provides increased reason for the City and University to resolve their differences in order to create a dedicated pickleball facility on Natural Bridges Drive.

Great project in general.

3. If you have a question that needs a response, please enter your email address or phone number.

Email: [email protected]
Phone: (831) 425-3817
Thank you,
City of Santa Cruz
This is an automated message generated by Granicus. Please do not reply directly to this email.

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01/10/2025
City: City of Santa Cruz - Planning and Community Development Department Timothy Maier
809 Center Street, Room 101, Santa Cruz, CA 95060, USA
[email protected]
Construction Site Well Review (CSWR) ID: 1013150
Assessor Parcel Number(s): 00316132
Property Owner(s): Santa Cruz Schools
Project Location Address: 809 Center Street, Room 101 Santa Cruz, California 95060 Project Title: SCH - 2024120753 Santa Cruz City Schools Educator Housing Public Resources Code (PRC) § 3208.1 establishes well reabandonment responsibility when a previously plugged and abandoned well will be impacted by planned property development or construction activities. Local permitting agencies, property owners, and/or developers should be aware of, and fully understand, that significant and potentially dangerous issues may be associated with development near oil, gas, and geothermal wells.

The California Geologic Energy Management Division (CalGEM) has received and reviewed the above referenced project dated 1/8/2025. To assist local permitting agencies, property owners, and developers in making wise land use decisions regarding potential development near oil, gas, or geothermal wells, the Division provides the following well evaluation.

The project is located in Santa Cruz County, within the boundaries of the following fields:

N/A
Our records indicate there are no known oil or gas wells located within the project boundary as identified in the application.

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• Number of wells Not Abandoned to Current Division Requirements as Prescribed by Law and Projected to Be Built Over or Have Future Access Impeded by this project: 0 • Number of wells Not Abandoned to Current Division Requirements as Prescribed by Law and Not Projected to Be Built Over or Have Future Access Impeded by this project: 0 • Number of wells Abandoned to Current Division Requirements as Prescribed by Law and Projected to Be Built Over or Have Future Access Impeded by this project: 0 • Number of wells Abandoned to Current Division Requirements as Prescribed by Law and Not Projected to Be Built Over or Have Future Access Impeded by this project: 0 The Division categorically advises against building over, or in any way impeding access to, oil, gas, or geothermal wells. Impeding access to a well could result in the need to remove any structure or obstacle that prevents or impedes access including, but not limited to, buildings, housing, fencing, landscaping, trees, pools, patios, sidewalks, roadways, and decking. Maintaining sufficient access is considered the ability for a well servicing unit and associated necessary equipment to reach a well from a public street or access way, solely over the parcel on which the well is located. A well servicing unit, and any necessary equipment, should be able to pass unimpeded along and over the route, and should be able to access the well without disturbing the integrity of surrounding infrastructure.

There are no guarantees a well abandoned in compliance with current Division requirements as prescribed by law will not start leaking in the future. It always remains a possibility that any well may start to leak oil, gas, and/or water after abandonment, no matter how thoroughly the well was plugged and abandoned. The Division acknowledges wells plugged and abandoned to the most current Division requirements as prescribed by law have a lower probability of leaking in the future, however there is no guarantees that such abandonments will not leak.

The Division advises that all wells identified on the development parcel prior to, or during, development activities be tested for liquid and gas leakage. Surveyed locations should be provided to the Division in Latitude and Longitude, NAD 83 decimal format. The Division expects any wells found leaking to be reported to it immediately.

Failure to plug and reabandon the well may result in enforcement action, including an order to perform reabandonment well work, pursuant to PRC § 3208.1, and 3224.

PRC § 3208.1 give the Division the authority to order or permit the re-abandonment of any well where it has reason to question the integrity of the previous abandonment, or if the well is not accessible or visible. Responsibility for re-abandonment costs may be affected by the choices made by the local

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permitting agency, property owner, and/or developer in considering the general advice set forth in this letter. The PRC continues to define the person or entity responsible for reabandonment as:

1. The property owner - If the well was plugged and abandoned in conformance with Division requirements at the time of abandonment, and in its current condition does not pose an immediate danger to life, health, and property, but requires additional work solely because the owner of the property on which the well is located proposes construction on the property that would prevent or impede access to the well for purposes of remedying a currently perceived future problem, then the owner of the property on which the well is located shall obtain all rights necessary to reabandon the well and be responsible for the reabandonment.

2. The person or entity causing construction over or near the well - If the well was plugged and abandoned in conformance with Division requirements at the time of plugging and abandonment, and the property owner, developer, or local agency permitting the construction failed either to obtain an opinion from the supervisor or district deputy as to whether the previously abandoned well is required to be reabandoned, or to follow the advice of the supervisor or district deputy not to undertake the construction, then the person or entity causing the construction over or near the well shall obtain all rights necessary to reabandon the well and be responsible for the reabandonment.

3. The party or parties responsible for disturbing the integrity of the abandonment - If the well was plugged and abandoned in conformance with Division requirements at the time of plugging and abandonment, and after that time someone other than the operator or an affiliate of the operator disturbed the integrity of the abandonment in the course of developing the property, then the party or parties responsible for disturbing the integrity of the abandonment shall be responsible for the reabandonment.

No well work may be performed on any oil, gas, or geothermal well without written approval from the Division. Well work requiring approval includes, but is not limited to, mitigating leaking gas or other fluids from abandoned wells, modifications to well casings, and/or any other re-abandonment work. The Division also regulates the top of a plugged and abandoned well's minimum and maximum depth below final grade. CCR §1723.5 states well casings shall be cut off at least 5 feet but no more than 10 feet below grade. If any well needs to be lowered or raised (i.e. casing cut down or casing riser added) to meet this regulation, a permit from the Division is required before work can start.

The Division makes the following additional recommendations to the local permitting agency, property owner, and developer:

1. To ensure that present and future property owners are aware of (a) the existence of all wells located on the property, and (b) potentially significant issues associated with any improvements

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near oil or gas wells, the Division recommends that information regarding the above identified well(s), and any other pertinent information obtained after the issuance of this letter, be communicated to the appropriate county recorder for inclusion in the title information of the subject real property.

2. The Division recommends that any soil containing hydrocarbons be disposed of in accordance with local, state, and federal laws. Please notify the appropriate authorities if soil containing significant amounts of hydrocarbons is discovered during development.

As indicated in PRC § 3106, the Division has statutory authority over the drilling, operation, maintenance, and abandonment of oil, gas, and geothermal wells, and attendant facilities, to prevent, as far as possible, damage to life, health, property, and natural resources; damage to underground oil, gas, and geothermal deposits; and damage to underground and surface waters suitable for irrigation or domestic purposes. In addition to the Division's authority to order work on wells pursuant to PRC §§ 3208.1 and 3224, it has authority to issue civil and criminal penalties under PRC §§ 3236, 3236.5, and 3359 for violations within the Division's jurisdictional authority. The Division does not regulate grading, excavations, or other land use issues.

If during development activities, any wells are encountered that were not part of this review, the property owner is expected to immediately notify the Division's construction site well review engineer in the Northern district office, and file for Division review an amended site plan with well casing diagrams.

The District office will send a follow-up well evaluation letter to the property owner and local permitting agency.

Should you have any questions, please contact me at (916) 203-7734 or via email at [email protected].

Sincerely,
Erwin Sison
Senior Oil and Gas Supervisor
cc: Timothy Maier - Plan Checker

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State of California – Natural Resources Agency GAVIN NEWSOM, Governor DEPARTMENT OF FISH AND WILDLIFE CHARLTON H. BONHAM, Director Bay Delta Region
2825 Cordelia Road, Suite 100
Fairfield, CA 94534
(707) 428-2002
www.wildlife.ca.gov
Conserving California’s Wildlife Since 1870
January 10, 2024
Tim Maier, Senior Planner
City of Santa Cruz, Planning and Community Development Department 809 Center Street, Room 101
Santa Cruz, CA 95060
[email protected]
Subject: Santa Cruz City Schools Educator Housing, Initial Study/Mitigated Negative Declaration, SCH No. 2024120753, City of Santa Cruz, Santa Cruz County Dear Tim Maier:

The California Department of Fish and Wildlife (CDFW) has reviewed the Initial Study/Mitigated Negative Declaration (IS/MND) from the City of Santa Cruz (City) for the Santa Cruz City Schools Educator Housing (Project) pursuant the California Environmental Quality Act (CEQA). 1
Thank you for the opportunity to provide comments and recommendations regarding those activities involved in the Project that may affect California fish and wildlife.

Likewise, we appreciate the opportunity to provide comments regarding those aspects of the Project that CDFW, by law, may be required to carry out or approve through the exercise of its own regulatory authority under the Fish and Game Code.

CDFW ROLE
CDFW is California’s Trustee Agency for fish and wildlife resources and holds those resources in trust by statute for all the people of the State. (Fish & G. Code, §§ 711.7, subd. (a) & 1802; Pub. Resources Code, § 21070; CEQA Guidelines, § 15386, subd. (a).) CDFW, in its trustee capacity, has jurisdiction over the conservation, protection, and management of fish, wildlife, native plants, and habitat necessary for biologically sustainable populations of those species. (Id., § 1802.) Similarly, for purposes of CEQA, CDFW is charged by law to provide, as available, biological expertise during public agency environmental review efforts, focusing specifically on projects and related activities that have the potential to adversely affect fish and wildlife resources.

CDFW is also submitting these comments as a Responsible Agency under CEQA. (Pub. Resources Code, § 21069; CEQA Guidelines, § 15381.) CDFW expects that it may need to exercise regulatory authority over the Project pursuant to the Fish and Game Code. As proposed, for example, the Project may be subject to CDFW’s Lake 1 CEQA is codified in the California Public Resources Code in section 21000 et seq. The “CEQA Guidelines” are found in Title 14 of the California Code of Regulations, commencing with section 15000.

Docusign Envelope ID: 52FDE3B3-7E84-4530-AAD1-E2681268E306

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Tim Maier
Santa Cruz City Schools
January 10, 2025

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and Streambed Alteration (LSA) regulatory authority. (Fish & G. Code, § 1600 et seq.) Likewise, to the extent the Project may result in “take,” as defined by State law, of any species protected under the California Endangered Species Act (CESA) (Fish & G.

Code, § 2050 et seq.), related authorization as provided by the Fish and Game Code will be required.

REGULATORY REQUIREMENTS
California Endangered Species Act
Please be advised that a CESA permit must be obtained if the Project has the potential to result in “take” of plants or animals listed under CESA, either during construction or over the life of the Project. Issuance of a CESA permit is subject to CEQA documentation; the CEQA document must specify impacts, mitigation measures, and a mitigation monitoring and reporting program. If the Project will impact CESA listed species, early consultation is encouraged, as significant modification to the Project and mitigation measures may be required in order to obtain a CESA permit.

Lake and Streambed Alteration
CDFW requires an LSA Notification, pursuant to Fish and Game Code section 1600 et seq., for any Project activities that will substantially divert or obstruct the natural flow; change or use material from the bed, channel, or bank including associated riparian or wetland resources; or deposit or dispose of material where it may pass into a river, lake, or stream. Work within ephemeral streams, washes, watercourses with a subsurface flow, and floodplains are generally subject to notification requirements. CDFW, as a Responsible Agency under CEQA, would consider the CEQA document for the Project.

CDFW may not execute a final LSA Agreement until it has complied with CEQA (Pub.

Resources Code § 21000 et seq.) as the Responsible Agency.

Raptors and Other Nesting Birds
CDFW has authority over actions that may result in the disturbance or destruction of active nest sites or the unauthorized take of birds. Fish and Game Code sections protecting birds, their eggs, and nests include §§ 3503 (regarding unlawful take, possession or needless destruction of the nests or eggs of any bird), 3503.5 (regarding the take, possession or destruction of any birds-of-prey or their nests or eggs), and 3513 (regarding unlawful take of any migratory nongame bird). Migratory birds are also protected under the federal Migratory Bird Treaty Act.

PROJECT DESCRIPTION SUMMARY
Proponent: Trevor Miller, Santa Cruz City Schools (Applicant) Docusign Envelope ID: 52FDE3B3-7E84-4530-AAD1-E2681268E306

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Tim Maier
Santa Cruz City Schools
January 10, 2025

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Description and Location: The Project site is located at 313 Swift Street, in the City of Santa Cruz, in Santa Cruz County; APN: 003-16-132.

The proposed Project is located on a 4.08-acre site that will demolish two existing single-story office buildings and two portable, modular classroom buildings. A new fourstory, approximately 120,604 square-foot multifamily educator workforce housing project, encompassing approximately 100 residential units, approximately 119 parking spaces, new landscaping, and associated site modifications will be constructed.

Additionally, the Project will remove twelve trees, including five heritage trees.

SPECIES POTENTIAL
Threatened, endangered, and other special-status species that are known to occur, or have the potential to occur in or near the Project site, include, but are not limited to the species listed below and in Table 1:
• Monarch butterfly (Danaus plexippus); FC
• Nesting birds
FC = Federal Candidate

COMMENTS AND RECOMMENDATIONS
CDFW offers the below comments and recommendations to assist the City in adequately identifying and/or mitigating the project’s significant, or potentially significant, direct and indirect impacts on fish and wildlife (biological) resources.

COMMENT 1: Nesting Bird Surveys
Issue: Proposed nesting bird “standard condition of approval,” would not adequately reduce impacts to nesting birds to a less-than-significant level, as the proposed survey details are not adequately described to ensure detection of all nesting birds which may be impacted by Project activities.

Recommendation: CDFW recommends the nesting bird “standard condition of approval” in the Project MND be updated to the recommended mitigation measure below to mitigate impacts to less-than-significant levels.

Recommended Nesting Bird Mitigation Measure: If project grading or construction is scheduled to take place between February 1 – September 15, a preconstruction survey of the project vicinity for nesting birds shall be conducted by a qualified biologist experienced with the nesting behavior of bird species of the region. The survey shall determine if active nests are present within the planned area of disturbance or within Docusign Envelope ID: 52FDE3B3-7E84-4530-AAD1-E2681268E306

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Tim Maier
Santa Cruz City Schools
January 10, 2025

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250 feet for non-raptors and 1,000 feet for raptors. The survey shall be performed no more than 14 days prior to the commencement of construction activities, and a second focused survey shall be conducted within 48 hours prior to construction activities that would occur during the nesting/breeding season. If ground disturbance activities are delayed following a survey, then an additional preconstruction survey shall be conducted such that no more than two weeks will have elapsed between the last survey and the commencement of ground disturbance activities. If a lapse of Project-related activities of seven days or longer occurs, another focused survey will be conducted before Project activities can be reinitiated.

If an active bird nest is found within the survey radii, species-specific measures shall be prepared by a qualified biologist and implemented to prevent abandonment of the active nest. A protective buffer distance shall be established by a qualified biologist based on the site conditions such as whether the nest is in a line of sight of the construction and the sensitivity of the birds nesting. Typical protective buffers are as follows: 1) 1,000 feet for large raptors such as buteos, 2) 500 feet for smaller raptors such as accipiters, and 3) 250 feet for passerines. No Project personnel or equipment shall be allowed to enter the protective buffer until the Qualified Biologist determines that the young have fully fledged and will no longer be adversely affected by the Project.

A Qualified Biologist shall observe any identified active nests prior to the start of any construction-related activities to establish a behavioral baseline of the adults and any nestlings, and the nest site(s) shall be monitored by the biologist periodically to see if the birds are stressed by the construction activities and if the protective buffer needs to be increased. The perimeter of the nest setback zone shall be fenced or adequately demarcated with stakes and flagging at 20-foot intervals, and construction personnel and activities restricted from the area. A survey report by a qualified biologist verifying that no active nests are present, or that the young have fledged, shall be submitted prior to initiation of grading in the nest-setback zone. The qualified biologist shall serve as a biological monitor during those periods when construction activities occur near active nest areas to ensure that no inadvertent impacts on these nests occur. All buffers shall be shown on all sets of construction drawings.

COMMENT 2:Monarch Butterfly Overwintering
Issue: Although the Project site is primarily developed, the Project IS/MND does not identify if removal of 5 heritage trees could cause impacts to over-wintering Monarch butterflies or their habitat. Loss of Monarch roosting trees used for over-wintering should be considered a significant impact to the species.

Evidence: The Project site is located approximately 0.5 miles from Natural Bridges State Beach, a known overwintering site for monarch butterflies (Danaus plexippus), which rely on the coastal environment, including eucalyptus, cypress, pine trees for Docusign Envelope ID: 52FDE3B3-7E84-4530-AAD1-E2681268E306

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Tim Maier
Santa Cruz City Schools
January 10, 2025

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shelter during the migratory season and native milkweed. The western monarch population has declined by 95 percent (Crone et al. 2019, Schultz et al. 2017) and has dropped an additional less than one percent of their historic size (Pelton et al. 2019).

Milkweed is a commonly known nectar plant for their role as larval food plants for monarch butterflies. The loss of milkweed and overwintering habitat have caused the monarch populations to severely decline (Fallon et al. 2015). Pesticides, such as insecticides and herbicides, are contributing factors to the decline of monarch butterflies and other butterfly species in California and the United States (Pelton 2020).

Recommendation: CDFW recommends the Project avoid impacts to known and potential monarch roost habitat including buffer trees and nectar resources. Trees selected for removal shall be evaluated by a qualified biologist for potential impacts to monarch roost habitat. Alternatives to tree removal such as tree limbing should be considered prior to tree removal to minimize potential impacts. Where tree removal cannot be avoided, CDFW recommends a Monarch Roost Site Mitigation Plan is developed and included as part of the final MND.

ENVIRONMENTAL DATA
CEQA requires that information developed in environmental impact reports and negative declarations be incorporated into a database which may be used to make subsequent or supplemental environmental determinations. (Pub. Resources Code, § 21003, subd. (e)). Accordingly, please report any special-status species and natural communities detected during Project surveys to the CNDDB. The CNDDB field survey form can be found at the following link: https://wildlife.ca.gov/Data/CNDDB/SubmittingData#44524420-pdf-field-survey-form. The completed form can be mailed electronically to CNDDB at the following email address: [email protected]. The types of information reported to CNDDB can be found at the following link:
https://wildlife.ca.gov/Data/CNDDB/Plants-and-Animals.

FILING FEES
The Project, as proposed, would have an impact on fish and/or wildlife, and assessment of filing fees is necessary. Fees are payable upon filing of the Notice of Determination by the Lead Agency and serve to help defray the cost of environmental review by CDFW. Payment of the fee is required in order for the underlying Project approval to be operative, vested, and final. (Cal. Code Regs., tit. 14, § 753.5; Fish & G. Code, § 711.4; Pub. Resources Code, § 21089).

CONCLUSION
CDFW appreciates the opportunity to comment on the IS/MND to assist the City in identifying and mitigating Project impacts on biological resources.

Docusign Envelope ID: 52FDE3B3-7E84-4530-AAD1-E2681268E306

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Tim Maier
Santa Cruz City Schools
January 10, 2025

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Questions and coordination pertaining to this letter should be directed to Alexis Harrison, Environmental Scientist, at (707) 815-2779 or [email protected]; or Wes Stokes, Senior Environmental Scientist (Supervisory), at (707) 339-6066 or [email protected].

Sincerely,
Erin Chappell
Regional Manager
Bay Delta Region
ec: Office of Planning and Research, State Clearinghouse (SCH No. 2024120753) Craig Weightman; CDFW Bay Delta Region - [email protected]

REFERENCES
Crone, E. E., Pelton, E. M., Brown, L. M., Thomas, C. C., & Schultz, C. B. 2019. Why are monarch butterflies declining in the West? Understanding the importance of multiple correlated drivers. Ecological Applications, 29(7), 1–13. https://www.jstor.org/stable/26797133
Fallon, C., Borders, B., Lee-Mäder, E., Black, S. H., Xerces Society, U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service, Monarch Joint Venture, USDA’s Natural Resources Conservation Service, Alice C. Tyler Perpetual Trust, The Bay and Paul Foundations, Endangered Species Chocolate, LLC, Turner Foundation, Inc., & Xerces Society members. (2015). Milkweeds and monarchs in the west.https://xerces.org/sites/default/files/2019-10/MonarchsandMilkweedwebsec_May29.pdf Pelton, E. M, Schultz, C. B., Jepsen, S. J., Black, S. H. and Crone, E. E., Pinheiro, J. 2019. Western Monarch Population Plummets: Status, Probable Causes, and Recommended Conservation Actions. Frontiers in Ecology and Evolution 7:258 https://doi.org/10.3389/fevo.2019.00258
Schultz, C. B., L. M. Brown, E. Pelton, and E. E. Crone. 2017. Citizen science monitoring demonstrates dramatic declines of monarch butterflies in western North America. Biological Conservation 214:343–346.
[USFWS] U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service. 2023. Western Monarch Butterfly Conservation Recommendations.

Docusign Envelope ID: 52FDE3B3-7E84-4530-AAD1-E2681268E306

22.1698
Tim Maier
Santa Cruz City Schools
January 10, 2025

Page 7 ends

Xerces Society. 2020. Western Monarch Butterfly Population Still at Critical Level. https://xerces.org/press/western-monarch-butterfly-population-still-at-criticallevel. Accessed December 31, 2024 Xerces Society Website 2023. https://xerces.org/western-monarch-call-to-action.

Accessed December 30, 2024
Xerces Society Western Monarch Thanksgiving Count. 2019. Western Monarch Thanksgiving Count Data from 1997–2018. Available online at:
www.westernmonarchcount.org
Docusign Envelope ID: 52FDE3B3-7E84-4530-AAD1-E2681268E306

22.1699
404 Modesto Avenue
Santa Cruz, California 95060
January 15, 2025
Timothy Maier, Senior Planner
City of Santa Cruz Planning and Community Development Department City of Santa Cruz
Re: 313 Swift Street Project - Santa Cruz City Schools (SCCS) Educator Housing ISMND Thank you for the opportunity to review and comment on the ISMND for the Santa Cruz City Schools (SCCS) Educator Housing project. I have lived in the lower Westside neighborhood for many years, and I have some observations and recommendations for off-site improvements that I believe would improve the quality and acceptability of the project. The recommendations will be presented as mitigation ideas, to dovetail into the CEQA process which provides our platform here.

First, I want to complement the report writers for a thorough job. I appreciate the objective of this project - to provide deed-restricted housing opportunities for our public education providers.

The design of the project is generally appealing as well, and the formalization of the public access through the site to Derby Park is to be commended.

I am going to focus my comments on two CEQA topic areas: aesthetics and transportation.

Aesthetics: I understand that the removal of trees, including 5 heritage trees, is stated to be mitigated by the planting of numerous new trees - far exceeding the required number. My observation is that the trees present do not provide any important habitat for fauna that cannot be replicated by new trees. However, from an aesthetic perspective, the mature cypress do currently provide an important visual feature, both from Swift Street itself and from Derby Park.

In particular, the mature cypress trees identify the site as part of the Monterey Bay area bioregion. I did not notice mention of tree species to be planted for the project, but it would be helpful - and advantageous for the site and neighborhood - if species native to our region were planted. Specifically, Monterey Cypress, Coast Redwood, and Coast LIve Oak. These species are not only beautiful and grow to impressive sizes (perhaps in the case of the Redwoods possibly exceeding, eventually, the four story height of the structures), but they strengthen the sense of place and region.

Such a planting palate would tend to relate and enhance nearby Derby Park - to which the project will provide improved pedestrian access from Swift Street. Several years ago, Derby Park was the recipient of 50 young redwood trees as part of a state grant program related to addressing carbon emissions. These trees are for the most part now established, and bring a place-making, place-confirming aesthetic to the park. The use of these tree species as a component of the project mitigation planting would then connect to Derby, and also relate to the

22.1700
iconic Natural Bridges State Beach and the Antonelli Pond land trust preserve, a few blocks west on Delaware.

A second part of the recommendation for the trees is to employ them in part to enhance other parts of the larger SCCS property - the Gateway School campus and playfields. There are two parts of the campus public-realm interface that could benefit greatly from tree plantings to better buffer the school parking lot and security lighting from the adjacent Swift Street and Merced Street residential neighborhoods. One is a turf lawn area on the Gateway campus just west of the southeast building extension. This area could easily accommodate eight or more redwoods, cypress, or oaks. The second is the landscaped buffer just south of the school parking lot, abutting single family homes that front Swift and Merced streets. Again, four of five trees there would make a very positive neighborhood impact. Please consider these planting areas in the mitigation scheme, as they would assist in buffering intrusive light and glare from current uses.

Consider them valuable ‘off-site improvements’ that would build good will in the neighborhood for the school district. The fact is, such a planting plan would and really benefit all residents and visitors who use the Swift Street corridor.

Transportation. There are a number of issues concerning this analysis, primarily related to the lack of analysis of impacts to active transportation modes and facilities, and the lack of any cumulative analysis. Hundreds of dwelling units are being built within a mile of this site, including on parcels further north on Swift, and on Almar near Mission.

Regarding active transportation, the bias toward vehicle use is embedded in the project description itself, which focuses on vehicular access to the site and the number of parking spaces to be provided onsite (119). There is no mention of facilities accommodating cyclists.

Pedestrian activity is acknowledged twice: improved through-project access to Derby Park, and a mention of improving a sidewalk on Delaware.

It is worth mentioning that the ISMND appears to have missed an important planning document that would inform design of this site and its environs. Missing from Section V. References and Data Source list, section 2, Adopted City of Santa Cruz Adopted Plans and Studies, is a master plan document prepared for the City of Santa Cruz Public Works Department: The 2015 Santa Cruz City Schools Complete Streets Master Plan. This 255-page document is a community-based transportation plan that was funded in 2013 by Caltrans, and provides prescriptive steps for improvements and redesign of the street system for each of the 10 Santa Cruz City Schools within the city to enable safe and efficient access for pedestrians, bicyclists, motorists, and transit riders. These recommendations were made in response to conditions 10-years ago, and did not foresee large new automobile trip generators - such as the proposed project - being added to the mix.

The report included 10 recommendations associated with the Gateway School, and by proximity, the project site. These include:

22.1701

1. Convert Alta Avenue/Chase Street to a bicycle boulevard, with traffic calming, sharrows, and enhanced crossings at major streets

2. Install curb extensions at all corners of Swift Street and Chase Street. Install advance stop line on all three legs. Add a crosswalk to the south leg.

3. Install curb bulb outs at Swift Street/Wanzer/Modesto

4. Install curb extension at Mission/King to improve visibility Other features that would enhance the active mobility design in the impact area include:

1. Contribute to a roundabout installation at Swift Street and Delaware Avenue

2. Provide protected bike lanes along Delaware

3. Install curb bulb outs at all corners of Swift Street and Delaware Avenue The introduction of 100 dwelling units and 119 vehicle parking spaces will certainly affect the traffic movement and safety patterns at the Swift/Delaware intersection and other nearby local streets. Since these streets were originally designed solely with automobiles in mind, they are not currently safe or inviting for active transportation use (as the 2015 Master Plan acknowledges). Accordingly, the School District should follow its own plan from 2015, and implement safety features for the benefit of everyone.

Prior to the adoption of this ISMND, some corrections appear to be warranted. And in the nomenclature of CEQA, a few additional mitigation measures are warranted. In fact, these are offsite improvements that would enable the project to contribute to the improvement of the surrounding neighborhood system, rather than further impact it. Thank you again for the opportunity to provide input on this important project.

Sincerely,
Stephen Svete

22.1702
Brittany Inclan
From: Casey Beyer <[email protected]>
Sent: Monday, February 24, 2025 12:18 PM
To: Fred Keeley; Shebreh Kalantari-Johnson; Renee Golder; Sonja Brunner; Scott Newsome; Susie O'Hara; Gabriela Trigueiro
Cc: City Council; Bonnie Bush
Subject: #16 City Council Agenda" 313 Swift Street Education Workforce Housing Project 2/25/25
Attachments: # 16 City Council Agenda 313 Swift Street Workforce Housing Project 22525.docx Dear Mayor Keeley, Vice Mayor Kalantari-Johnson, and Council members Brunner, Golder, Newsome, O’Hara and Trigueiro:

I am writing in support of the 313 Swift Street Education Workforce Housing Project, Item #16 on the February 25, 2025 City Council Agenda. Attached please find my letter of support of this project. Thank you for considering my views on this project.

Casey Beyer
[email protected]

22.1703
February 24, 2025
Santa Cruz City Council
City Hal, 810 Center Street
Santa Cruz, CA 95060
RE: # 16 City Council Agenda: 313 Swift Street Education Workforce Housing Project 2/25/25
Dear Mayor Keeley, Vice Mayor Kalantari-Johnson, and Councilmembers Brunner, Golder, Newsome, O’Hara and Trigueiro:

I am writing as a private citizen and former resident in Santa Cruz County to support the 313 Swift Street Workforce Housing Project. During my tenure as a representative of the Santa Cruz Chamber of Commerce, we followed this project from initial concept to the current proposed project.

At a time when access to housing, and especially affordable housing, has been a deterrent to keep local professionals in our community, a workforce housing project dedicated toward Santa Cruz City School District employees is critical to ensure that teachers and faculty have a place to call home.

As with any local land use decision, there are numerous permits required in the process (acceptance of a Mitigated Negative Declaration, a Monitoring and Reporting program, an approved Planned Unite development permit, a Coastal Permit, Design Permit and Heritage Tree Removal Permit — the project should meet those standards to allow construction of a new, four-story, approximately 120,604 square-foot multifamily educator workforce housing project encompassing approximately 100 residential units.

During the Santa Cruz City Planning Commission meeting, a friendly motion was added to the conditions of approval:
• Applicant shall enter into a contract with Santa Cruz Metropolitan Transit District (Santa Cruz Metro) to provide unlimited local transit passes for all residents.
• For multi-family rental projects with common laundry rooms, all washing machines provided for common use among tenants shall be equipped with micro-plastic filters to reduce plastic pollution.

These additional conditions of approval appear to be well intended and environmentally appropriate. However, the costs for setting aside a contract with METRO for unlimited local transit passes for all residents and inclusion of washing machines equipped with micro-plastic filters to reduce plastic pollution were not factored into the project’s financial analysis. These costs will unduly

22.1704
burden the applicant and most likely be included in the monthly rental cost to each resident.

This posses two questions: Has the Planning Commission or City Council required these two specific additional conditions to any affordable housing project? Was a financial analysis conducted to include those costs in the preparation of a proposed project?
i encourage the City Council to look at this project with a wholistic approach to supporting and approving an affordable multifamily education workforce project that has been the subject of discussion at the school district dating back many years. Let’s not place an additional burden with upfront cost to this project.

Respectfully submitted.

Casey Beyer

22.1705
Brittany Inclan
From: Carol Polhamus <[email protected]>
Sent: Monday, February 24, 2025 3:59 PM
To: City Council
Subject: Item 16, 313 Swift Street, Educator Workforce Housing Dear Mayor Keeley, Vice Mayor Kalantari-Johnson, and Council Members Brunner, Golder, Newsome, O'Hara and Trigueiro:

I am writing in strong support of the proposed educator housing project at 313 Swift Street. As a former teacher and school administrator, I understand the significant barrier that affordable housing presents to recruiting and retaining excellent teachers and school staff to serve in positions in our local schools. I believe we need to do all we can to support our community's teachers and school staff, and that any upfront investment will result in many long term benefits to our children and our community.

I watched the Planning Commission meeting where city staff and the developer presented the plans. I was impressed at the setback of the project from Swift Street, the preservation of the existing buildings, and the addition of the exit onto Delaware, all of which will minimize visual and traffic impacts to the local neighborhood. This project is thoughtfully designed.

I do have one concern. My understanding is that an additional condition was added to the Conditions of Approval requiring the school district to provide unlimited Metro bus passes to all residents. Although I support the intention of this condition, I am concerned that the additional annual cost to the district of these bus passes will make the housing more expensive, which is at cross purposes to the goal of making this housing as affordable as possible. Is it possible to reconsider this idea, or to make it contingent on a request by the tenant rather than provided for all? Just a thought.

Thank you for considering my input, and thank you for your service to our city.

Yours,
Carol Polhamus

22.1706
Brittany Inclan
From: eyvye <[email protected]>
Sent: Sunday, March 2, 2025 10:11 PM
To: City Council
Subject: 313 Swift Street
Please support 313 Swift street. This workforce housing project provides much needed housing for our local teachers. This is exactly the type of project our city needs more of.

Thank you,
Felix Vayssieres

22.1707
Brittany Inclan
From: Judi Grunstra <[email protected]>
Sent: Sunday, March 9, 2025 6:21 PM
To: City Council
Subject: Agenda Item 22
Dear Mayor and Council:

Regarding the 313 Swift St project for school employee housing, please consider requiring the developer to include a child care facility as part of this project. The need for child care facilities is frequently mentioned, and this seems like an appropriate location for one. In fact, all large proposed housing projects in the city that include 2- and 3-bedroom units should have room for a child care facility.

Thank you.

Judi Grunstra

22.1708
313 Swift Street
(CP24-0104)
Planning and Community Development

22.1709
Project Site
Project Site

22.1710
Project Scope
Floor Plan – 1st floor
Floor Plan – 2nd floor Floor Plan – 3rd floor Floor Plan – 4th floor

22.1711
Public Outreach Meeting
• May 6, 2024
• 43 attendees
• Feedback
• Loss of on-street parking
• Worsened traffic
• Affordable housing
• Tenant selection criteria
• Moderate concern to
outright support

22.1712
State Laws Invoked
• Senate Bill (SB) 330
• Teacher Housing Act of 2016

22.1713
California Environmental Quality Act
• Initial Study prepared
• Mitigated Negative Declaration
(MND) prepared
• Mitigation Monitoring and Reporting
Program included

22.1714
Recommendation
• Staff recommend approval with
included conditions of
approval
• Staff and applicant available to
answer questions and provide
information
• Thank you!

22.1715
City Council

AGENDA REPORT
DATE: 02/20/2025
AGENDA OF: 03/11/2025
DEPARTMENT: City Manager
SUBJECT: 2025-2030 City of Santa Cruz Local Hazard Mitigation Plan and Climate Adaptation Plan (CM)
LOCATION: Citywide
RECOMMENDATION: Motion to adopt a resolution approving and adopting the 2025-2030 City of Santa Cruz Local Hazard Mitigation Plan and Climate Adaptation Plan and directing and authorizing the appropriate City representatives to transmit a certified copy of this resolution to the Federal Emergency Management Agency.

BACKGROUND: Hazard mitigation planning is a process that helps communities reduce the impacts of disasters on people and places before a disaster occurs. It involves identifying hazards, understanding vulnerabilities, and developing long-term risk-reduction strategies. For nearly 25 years, hazard mitigation planning has been driven by a federal law, known as the Disaster Mitigation Act of 2000 (DMA 2000), which emphasizes the need for state, tribal, and local entities to closely coordinate hazard mitigation planning and implementation efforts. It also provides the legal basis for the Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA) to require state, tribal, and local entities to develop hazard mitigation plans to receive certain types of federal disaster assistance.

Similar to hazard mitigation planning, climate adaptation planning is also an approach used to identify hazards and threats that may impact a community and develop and implement various strategies to reduce them. Unlike hazard mitigation planning, climate adaptation planning focuses solely on climate-related hazards. Its planning process also includes adjusting to future conditions and building resilience to withstand those changes through adaptation pathways.

Climate adaptation planning is also different from hazard mitigation planning in that there are no state or federal laws that drive this process. Rather, climate adaptation planning follows state and federal guidance.

The City prepared separate updates to its Local Hazard Mitigation Plans (LHMP) and Climate Adaptation Plans for the time periods of 2012 to 2017 and 2018 to 2023 to address hazard mitigation and climate adaptation. The LHMPs for both time periods were approved by California Office of Emergency Services and FEMA, meeting the requirements of the DMA 2000. Together, these planning documents guided the City’s efforts in mitigating the impacts of both natural and climate- related hazards.

23.1 DISCUSSION: Because climate adaptation and hazard mitigation share a common goal of reducing impacts from natural and climate-related hazards, which are expected to increase in frequency and intensity due to climate change, the City used the current plan update as an opportunity to update and integrate hazard mitigation and climate adaptation into one document.

This new document is called the 2025–2030 City of Santa Cruz Local Hazard Mitigation Plan – Climate Adaptation Plan (herein referred to as the 2025–2030 LHMP – CAP) and can be found here: https://www.cityofsantacruz.com/government/city-departments/city-manager/climateaction-program/climate-adaptation-planning. The Final Draft of the 2025-2030 LHMP – CAP was deemed approvable by FEMA Region IX on February 10, 2025 upon adoption by City Council. It is the first combined LHMP – CAP to be deemed approvable in California (and likely the United States).

Like previous versions of LHMP and CAP, only natural and climate-related hazards are addressed in the 2025-2030 LHMP – CAP and is drafted to and include coastal erosion, dam failure, drought, earthquake, extreme heat, flood (riverine flood, flash flood, and coastal flood, caused by intense or prolonged rainfall, high tide, storm surge, and localized wave action), landslide, tsunami, sea level rise, and wildfire. Secondary hazards, which are hazards that occur because of primary hazard and can have domino effects, are discussed in the 2025-2030 LHMP – CAP within the context of the primary hazard. Multiple hazards, also known as multi-hazards, are when two or more hazards can occur simultaneously in a series or over time. Multi-hazards will be addressed as a separate annex to the 2025-2030 LHMP – CAP at a later date. In addition, potential emerging hazards such as cybersecurity threats, disease outbreaks, and extreme winds, that are not included in this plan update, may be addressed in other City plans and as well as future LHMP – CAP updates.

The 2025-2030 LHMP – CAP includes over two dozen mitigation actions and climate adaptation strategies that will help the City tackle the impacts from, and increase resilience to, natural and climate-related hazards. The actions and strategies identified in the plan were developed by members of the LHMP – CAP planning team comprised of representatives from each department and informed by community outreach, or were previously identified in other City plans, programs, and studies, or have been highlighted as success stories and best management practices elsewhere.

To ensure that these mitigation actions and climate adaptation strategies are implemented, and that the overall 2025-2030 LHMP – CAP remains relevant, the City will administer a system to track disasters that have occurred; community assets that have been damaged; public outreach that has been conducted; mitigation actions and climate adaptation strategies that have been implemented; new and/or updated studies, reports, and maps that have been published; and changes that have been made and/or that need to be made to the current or future LHMP – CAP.

This process, along with a multi-department approach to planning integration and ongoing community engagement, will enable the City to effectively implement priority mitigation actions and climate adaptation strategies that will improve Santa Cruz’s resilience as well as the safety, equity, and vibrancy of the City.

Upon adoption of the 2025-2030 LHMP – CAP by City Council, staff will submit the adopted 2025-2030 LHMP – CAP and documentation of formal adoption to FEMA Region 9 and FEMA will approve the 2025-2030 LHMP – CAP upon receipt of these documents.

23.2 CALIFORNIA ENVIRONMENTAL QUALITY ACT (CEQA) DETERMINATION: The adoption of the 2025-2030 City of Santa Cruz LHMP – CAP is not a project, as defined by the Public Resources Code section 20165 and CEQA Guidelines sections 15060 and 15378, because it does not result in a direct or reasonably foreseeable indirect physical change in the environment and is therefore not subject to CEQA review.

HEALTH IN ALL POLICIES (HiAP): The 2025-2030 LHMP – CAP considers all three pillars of Health in All Policies. First, the projects support the City’s sustainability and resiliency goals and plans by updating and enhancing adaptation strategies to improve resilience. Second, the 2025-2030 LHMP – CAP will contribute to improvement in public health by reducing the potential for injury and loss of life, property, and quality of life resulting from natural and climate hazards. Last, the 2025-2030 LHMP – CAP and its projects consider equity by highlighting the impact of hazards on frontline communities that have unique access and function needs, are most vulnerable to climate change, and suffer disproportionately because of historical injustice and disinvestment.

FISCAL IMPACT:

1. The recommendation in this report impacts the General Fund: No

2. This recommendation requires a budget adjustment: No

3. The recommendation creates an on-going expenditure commitment: No FISCAL IMPACT DESCRIPTION: There is no fiscal impact associated with this action.

However, implementation of the 2025-2030 LHMP – CAP will require a combination of General and Enterprise Funds in addition to external funding sources. Importantly, timely approval and adoption of this plan ensures the City remains eligible for certain types of FEMA hazard mitigation funding.

Prepared By:

Tiffany Wise-West
Sustainability and Resiliency
Officer
Submitted By:

Michelle Templeton
Assistant City Manager
Approved By:

Matt Huffaker
City Manager
ATTACHMENTS:

1. RESOLUTION.DOCX
The 2025–2030 City of Santa Cruz Local Hazard Mitigation Plan – Climate Adaptation Plan can be found here: https://www.cityofsantacruz.com/government/city-departments/citymanager/climate-action-program/climate-adaptation-planning.

23.3 RESOLUTION NO. NS----

A RESOLUTION OF THE CITY COUNCIL OF THE CITY OF SANTA CRUZ ADOPTING THE 2025-2030 CITY OF SANTA CRUZ LOCAL HAZARD MITIGATION PLAN –

CLIMATE ADAPTATION PLAN
WHEREAS the City of Santa Cruz recognizes the threat that natural and climate-related hazards pose to the community of the City of Santa Cruz; and WHEREAS the City of Santa Cruz has previously prepared for the threat that natural and climate-related hazards pose to the community through the adoption of separate Local Hazard Mitigation Plans and Climate Adaptation Plans for the time periods of 2012 to 2017 and 2018 to 2023; and
WHEREAS the City of Santa Cruz has updated its hazard mitigation plan and climate adaptation plan, hereby known as the 2025-2030 City of Santa Cruz Local Hazard Mitigation Plan – Climate Adaptation Plan, in accordance with federal laws, including the Robert T. Stafford Disaster Relief and Emergency Assistance Act, as amended; the National Flood Insurance Act of 1968, as amended; and the National Dam Safety Program Act, as amended; and WHEREAS the 2025-2030 City of Santa Cruz Local Hazard Mitigation Plan – Climate Adaptation Plan identifies mitigation actions and climate adaptation strategies to reduce or eliminate long-term risk to people and places in the City of Santa Cruz from the impacts of future natural and climate hazards and disasters; and
WHEREAS adoption of the 2025-2030 City of Santa Cruz Local Hazard Mitigation Plan – Climate Adaptation Plan by the City of Santa Cruz City Council demonstrates its commitment to hazard mitigation and climate adaptation and achieving the goals outlined in the 2025-2030 City of Santa Cruz Local Hazard Mitigation Plan – Climate Adaptation Plan.

NOW, THEREFORE, BE IT RESOLVED by the City of Santa Cruz City Council that the City of Santa Cruz City Council adopts the 2025-2030 City of Santa Cruz Local Hazard Mitigation Plan – Climate Adaptation Plan. While content related to the City of Santa Cruz may require revisions to meet the plan approval requirements, changes occurring after adoption will not require the City of Santa Cruz City Council to re-adopt any further iterations of the plan. Subsequent plan updates following the approval period for this plan will require separate adoption resolutions.

BE IT FURTHER RESOLVED that the City Manager, or his/her designee, is hereby directed and authorized to transmit a certified copy of this resolution to the Federal Emergency Management Agency; and
PASSED AND ADOPTED this 11th day of March, 2025 by the following vote:

AYES:

NOES:

23.4 RESOLUTION NO. NS-_______
2 ABSENT:

DISQUALIFIED:

APPROVED: ______________________________
Fred Keeley, Mayor
ATTEST: _________________________________
Bonnie Bush, City Clerk Administrator

23.5 2025-2030 City of Santa Cruz
Local Hazard Mitigation Plan
– Climate Adaptation Plan
City of Santa Cruz
City Council Meeting
March 11, 2025 23.6
2 City of Santa Cruz City Council Meeting March 11, 2025 What is a Hazard Mitigation Plan?
• Identifies potential hazards, vulnerabilities,
and impacts to a community.
• Outlines long-term strategies to reduce
them before a disaster occurs.
• Must be updated, approved and adopted
every 5 years for communities to receive
certain types of FEMA funding.

23.7 3 City of Santa Cruz City Council Meeting March 11, 2025 What is a Climate Adaption Plan?
• Identify current and future climate
hazards that may impact a
community.
• Outlines various strategies to
reduce the risks climate hazards
present.
• Considers natural and climate
hazards in combination

23.8 4 City of Santa Cruz City Council Meeting March 11, 2025 City’s work on natural + climate hazards

23.9 5 City of Santa Cruz City Council Meeting March 11, 2025 Why the 2025-2030 LHMP-CAP?
• LHMPs + CAPs share common goal of reducing
vulnerabilities and impacts from natural and climaterelated hazards • Streamlines 2 separate, parallel processes into one.
• Importantly, integrates planning and implementation
of hazard reduction both now and future facing
• Approved by Cal OES on January 24, 2025, and by
FEMA Region IX on February 10, 2025.

23.10 6 City of Santa Cruz City Council Meeting March 11, 2025 Natural + Climate Hazards Profiled
• coastal erosion,
• dam failure,
• drought,
• earthquake,
• extreme heat,
• flood,
• landslide,
• tsunami,
• sea level rise,
• and wildfire.

23.11 7 City of Santa Cruz City Council Meeting March 11, 2025 • 2025-2030 LHMP-CAP: City critical facilities
2025-2030 LHMP-CAP:

City Critical Facilities and Infrastructure
Type Number
City Hall Campus 11 City Hall Campus buildings
City Manager 9 facilities, including shelters and safe parking programs Fire Department 6 facilities, including fire stations, lifeguard headquarters, and the Emergency Operations Center
Parks and Recreation
Department
57 parks, trails, beaches, open spaces, greenways, and
facilities, including DeLaveaga Golf Course, Harvey West Pool, London Nelson Community Center, Santa Cruz Civic
Auditorium, Santa Cruz Teen Center, Santa Cruz Wharf,
Surfing Museum, Market St. Senior Center, Santa Cruz
Natural History Museum, Harvey West Parks Yard, Santa
Cruz Shakespeare, and Nueva Vista Community Center
Police Department 1 police station
Public Works
Department*
124 parking lots and structures, corporation yard, resource recovery facility, and stormwater and wastewater system facilities and infrastructure (pumps, tanks, generators, and a treatment facility)
Water Department*
97 water system facilities and infrastructure including a reservoir, interties, diversion facilities, treatment facilities, tanks, pumps, and wells

19.12 linear miles of raw water pipelines
262.87 miles of treated water distribution system
Levees 2.93 linear miles of levees
Future The Public Works Department and Water Department each have 1 critical facility to be constructed over the next 5 years

23.12 8 City of Santa Cruz City Council Meeting March 11, 2025

23.13 9 City of Santa Cruz City Council Meeting March 11, 2025

23.14 10 City of Santa Cruz City Council Meeting March 11, 2025

23.15 11 City of Santa Cruz City Council Meeting March 11, 2025

23.16 12 City of Santa Cruz City Council Meeting March 11, 2025 Mitigation Actions per Hazard • coastal erosion (7) • dam failure (2) • drought, (5) • Earthquake (8) • extreme heat (2) • flood (13) • landslide (3) • Tsunami (2) • sea level rise (9) • and wildfire (10)

23.17 13 City of Santa Cruz City Council Meeting March 11, 2025 27 Finalized Mitigation Actions and Climate Adaptation Strategies • Graham Hill Water Treatment Plant Facilities Improvement Project • Murray Street Bridge Seismic Retrofit
• Union / Locust Admin Building Back-up Generator
• City Critical Facility and Infrastructure Backup Power Systems • Community Resilience Centers & Climate Resilience Awareness • Frontline Neighborhood Tree Planting
• Downtown / Sea Level Rise Drainage Assessment and Pump Station Upgrades
• Coast Pump Station Rehabilitation/Replacement
• Tait Diversion Retrofit
• TsunamiReady Program
• Fuel Reduction Assessments and Wildfire Resilience Strategies for City Critical Facilities and Infrastructure
• Roadside Fuel Reduction and Fuel Breaks
• Hazard Mitigation Database
• Main and Cowell Beaches Shoreline Adaptation Blueprint • East Cliff / Seabright State Beach Shoreline Adaptation Blueprint • West Cliff 5-Year Roadmap Implementation & Shoreline Adaptation Blueprint
• San Lorenzo River Climate Adaptation Strategy
• Wharf Resilience Improvements Project
• Coastal Change Monitoring Network
• Newell Creek Dam Enhanced Monitoring Project
• Utility Customer Assistance Program
• Aquifer Storage and Recovery
• Water Supply Augmentation Program
• Drinking Source Water Protection and Forest Health
• Newell Creek Pipeline Replacement
• Retrofit Grant Program
• Critical Facility and Infrastructure Rapid Visual Screening, Engineering Evaluation and Seismic Retrofit

23.18 14 City of Santa Cruz City Council Meeting March 11, 2025 Next Steps • File with FEMA for final approval • Complete multi hazard analysis • Pursue funding for mitigation • Implement mitigation actions • Pump Station 1 • Shoreline Adaptation Blueprints • Wharf Resilience • Murray St Bridge • Tree Planting • Water Dept. projects • Plan maintenance + monitoring

23.19 Thank you
Q & A

23.20 City Council

AGENDA REPORT
DATE: 02/21/2025
AGENDA OF: 03/11/2025
DEPARTMENT: City Manager
SUBJECT: Consideration of the Proposed 5-year Roadmap for West Cliff to Advance the Community’s 50-year Vision for West Cliff (CM/PW)
LOCATION: Districts 3 and 6
RECOMMENDATION: Receive comments on and adopt the 5-year Roadmap for West Cliff.

BACKGROUND: During the January 2023 storms, West Cliff Drive between Columbia Street and David Way was severely damaged by large swells, causing portions of the roadway and path to fail, impacting public access points, utility infrastructure, and the surrounding neighborhood.

At the May 23, 2023 City Council meeting, Council directed staff to prepare a 50-year Vision for West Cliff (Vision). This Vision, which built upon extensive work already completed, and was further co-created with the community, would bring to life aspirations and future uses for West Cliff, considering long-term resource allocations and building disaster resilience.

Development of 50-year Vision for West Cliff - Over a period of eight months, the City developed the Vision by engaging with the community through approximately 2,160 touch points, including both in person and virtual meetings (540 touch points), surveys (500 touch points), and public opinion research that collected responses from 1,120 individuals. The City worked with an extended team of stakeholders including consulting and engineering partners, regulatory agencies, funders, the community, and community groups. The City Council approved the Vision on April 9, 2024.

Development of proposed 5-year Roadmap for West Cliff - In August 2024, the City began work towards advancing the community’s Vision for West Cliff by developing a 5-year Roadmap for West Cliff (5-year Roadmap) with the goal of using this 5-year Roadmap to identify and prioritize projects aligned with the Vision. This work included months of community engagement, public meetings and community feedback that informed how projects were prioritized for inclusion in the proposed 5-year Roadmap. The City also established the West Cliff Implementation Committee (WCIC) which provided feedback and guidance throughout the 5-year Roadmap development process through six WCIC meetings. After early community conversations on project prioritization criteria and discussions with the WCIC, the City adjusted the prioritization criteria.

24.1 On October 21, 2024, the City held a community conversation presenting the eight proposed 5- year Roadmap projects to the community, along with updated prioritization criteria for members of the community to evaluate the proposed projects. The prioritization feedback, collected both in person and online for a week after the community workshop, was compiled and provided to the WCIC for discussion along with staff feedback on each of the projects.

This community and WCIC guided process led to the proposed five projects which were presented back to the community for final feedback through an online community survey open between December 16, 2024 and January 26, 2025. The City received 75 responses to the survey and incorporated all actionable comments into the proposed 5-year Roadmap to clarify key concepts, include requested formatting changes, and better emphasize where the City collaborated to develop the content of the 5-year Roadmap. A description of the process used to develop the projects being proposed to City Council is detailed in the 5-year Roadmap (attached).

In total, the City met with the WCIC six times, held three community meetings (two virtual, one in-person), and hosted two online comment periods and surveys to provide feedback on the 5- year Roadmap.

DISCUSSION: By identifying projects consistent with the Vision, the City is able to move projects forward for analysis and consideration. It is critical that the City proactively identify and prioritize key projects for consideration as many of these projects can take significant time to fund and require multiple years to complete. While the 5-year Roadmap identifies five priority projects for the City to consider for potential implementation, it is important to note the unpredictability of the dynamic Santa Cruz coastline may impact the City’s ability to advance these projects or may require the City to reassess priorities.

With guidance from the WCIC and the community, and preliminary discussions with regulatory agencies, the City considered the capacity of each department to begin and complete projects within the 5-year Roadmap timeframe. This resulted in the following five projects that represent the community priorities for West Cliff over the next five years and the start of the Vision implementation.

1. Revetment Repair Project (Mid 2025 – 2030)

2. Lighthouse Field Roadway Relocation (Mid 2025 – 2027)

3. Santa Cruz Coastal Change Monitoring Network (Mid 2025 – ongoing)

4. West Cliff Infrastructure Financing Feasibility Study (2027 –2028)

5. Corridor-wide Master Signage Plan and Design Standards (2025 –2028) The City has had preliminary conversations with regulatory and resource agencies regarding the permitting feasibility of, and process for, some project concepts along West Cliff. However, it is important to note that while these agencies are open to hybrid approaches (e.g., grey/green solutions), the City does not have assurance that a project will be permitted by these agencies until they have had the opportunity to review a fully formed project proposal resulting from a robust alternatives analysis.

24.2 In addition to the five proposed projects identified in the 5-year Roadmap, the City included the following existing projects in the 5-year Roadmap Appendices to provide an update to the community on projects already in progress:

1. West Cliff - Bethany Curve Culvert Project (2024 – 2025)

2. West Cliff Storm Damages & Infrastructure Repairs (2024 – 2025)

3. West Cliff Multi-Use Path Rehabilitation Project (2024 –2026)

4. Lighthouse Point Hazard and Engineering Analysis, Permitting, and Implementation (2024 - 2030)

5. Living shorelines, Nature-Based Solutions, and Sand management Feasibility Study (2024 –2025)

6. Local Hazard Mitigation Plan and Climate Adaptation Plan Integration & Update (2024 - 2025)

7. Local Coastal Program (LCP) Update (2024 –2025)

8. West Cliff, East Cliff and Main/Cowell Beaches Shoreline Adaptation Implementation Blueprints (2025 – 2026)
Detailed descriptions of each project, including costs, timelines, and their associated alignment with the Vision are included in the 5-year Roadmap (attached).

The City currently has approximately $30 million worth of projects underway along West Cliff, with approximately $17 million more needed to advance the prioritized projects in the 5-year Roadmap. This does not include ongoing funds required for maintenance needs, which are estimated to be approximately $500 thousand per year. As the City continues to integrate the forecasted impacts of climate change along West Cliff into planning and project implementation efforts, the City anticipates needing additional funding to recover from any future impacts of climate change and build resilience along West Cliff, and the entire Santa Cruz coastline.

Long-term sustainable funding for prioritized projects over the lifetime of the Vision continues to be a City goal. While federal and state disaster recovery funds have been critical to support recovery and resiliency efforts along the coast, they still require a local match. Proactive projects may occur concurrently with disaster recovery efforts. However, the City must identify, develop, and implement disaster recovery projects quickly in order to receive emergency funding and obtain emergency permits. This creates a situation where disaster recovery projects take precedent over proactive projects due to the availability of project funding and streamlined permitting. With the City taking a more proactive stance on addressing risk and resilience in advance of disasters, previous funding sources the City relied upon will not cover the cost of projects intended to mitigate risks. Changes in federal and state priorities increase the need to create a comprehensive funding and financing approach which includes a blend of federal, state, regional, and local revenue and financing options.

The City’s General Fund budget, which supports the implementation of the Capital Investment Program (CIP), will likely only cover a few West Cliff projects or seed funding to support projects. The City can prioritize these projects over others when pursuing grants and specialized funding sources specifically built for compliance or specific types of infrastructure may be used to fund phases of projects. Larger resilience projects tend to require funding stacks, which are multiple sources of funding and financing required for complex multi-benefit projects.

24.3 To further align City planning documents, the next update to the Vision will occur concurrently with the City’s next update of the Local Coastal Program. The City will use the CIP process to develop prioritized projects specific to West Cliff. As with all City projects, there will be additional opportunities for the community to engage in these efforts as the City works to advance the five prioritized proposed projects.

CALIFORNIA ENVIRONMENTAL QUALITY ACT (CEQA) DETERMINATION: The proposed Council action is not a “project” under CEQA. “Project” is defined by CEQA as: “an activity which may cause either a direct physical change in the environment, or a reasonably foreseeable indirect physical change in the environment, and which is any of the following: (a) An activity directly undertaken by any public agency. (b) An activity undertaken by a person which is supported, in whole or in part, through contracts, grants, subsidies, loans, or other forms of assistance from one or more public agencies. (c) An activity that involves the issuance to a person of a lease, permit, license, certificate, or other entitlement for use by one or more public agencies.” (Pub. Resources Code, § 21065.)
The proposed adoption of the 5-year Roadmap is not a “project” under CEQA because it does not have the potential to cause a physical change in the environment directly or indirectly. Any action taken regarding specific projects included in the 5-year Roadmap, if considered a “project” under CEQA, would follow regulations required by CEQA.

HEALTH IN ALL POLICIES (HiAP): The 5-year Roadmap is consistent with two of the three pillars of HiAP. Specifically, the Roadmap’s implementation is a mitigation action specified in the draft final Local Hazard Mitigation and Climate Adaptation Plan (January 2025) set for adoption on March 11, 2025, addressing the sustainability pillar. It also has a nexus with public health in that the 5-year Roadmap will help the City with recovery efforts along West Cliff Drive. Recovery efforts in this area will ensure continued emergency access, reduce risks to life safety from coastal hazards, and ensure accessible and safe biking and pedestrian access for future public use and enjoyment. In terms of the equity pillar, the prioritization of the 5-Year Roadmap’s implementation will need to be weighed against other priorities the City has such as addressing homelessness, infrastructure needs in neighborhoods throughout the City, and other service efforts citywide.

FISCAL IMPACT:

1. The recommendation in this report impacts the General Fund: No

2. This recommendation requires a budget adjustment: No

3. The recommendation creates an on-going expenditure commitment: No FISCAL IMPACT DESCRIPTION: There is no impact to the General Fund by adoption of the 5-year Roadmap. If adopted, the proposed projects in the 5-year Roadmap would each have associated costs which would be detailed based on further assessment of project scope and identification of grant funding, General Capital Investment Program (CIP) fund revenues, or other identified funding sources.

24.4 Prepared By:

Michelle Templeton
Assistant City Manager
Submitted By:

Nathan Nguyen
P.E. Director of Public Works
Michelle Templeton
Assistant City Manager
Approved By:

Matt Huffaker
City Manager
ATTACHMENTS:

1. 5-YEAR ROADMAP FOR WEST CLIFF.PDF

2. QUICK GUIDE TO THE 5-YEAR ROADMAP FOR WEST CLIFF.PDF

24.5 5-year Roadmap for
West Cliff
M a r c h 2 0 2 5
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24.6 Table of Contents
Introduction by the City Manager
02 5-Year Roadmap - Purpose and Context
03 Anatomy of a Project
07 5-year Roadmap - Prioritized Projects
09 Timeline for 5-year Roadmap
20 Funding for City Projects
21 Next Steps
23 Appendices
25 Relationship Between the 50-year Vision
for West Cliff and the 5-year Roadmap
05 24.7
Santa Cruz is known for its natural beauty, vibrant community, and deep-rooted connection to our dynamic coast. West Cliff uniquely stands as a place where coastal beauty, our commitment to environmental stewardship, and our focus on community converge.

To connect our approach to coastal management with the community’s aspirations for West Cliff, we worked with the community to develop the 50-year Community Vision for West Cliff (Vision). Through this process it was reaffirmed that West Cliff is a wellloved community resource and that preserving access to this area for both residents and visitors is a strong community value. This process brought diverse and varying voices together and led to deeper collaboration and engagement around the future of West Cliff. We channeled this momentum into the next step of the visioning process - implementation.

To implement the Vision, we’ve developed this 5-year Roadmap for West Cliff which defines new projects, identified in collaboration with our community, that the City will work towards over the next five years. Throughout this process, the City worked closely with our community, leaning into difficult conversations around project prioritization, and confronted the very real constraints of funding availability, City staff capacity, coastal regulatory uncertainty, jurisdictional authority, and unknown future environmental conditions to narrow the list of projects the City is able to implement.

Over the next five years, we intend to take the first steps to realize the 50-year Community Vision for West Cliff. We are focused on restoring West Cliff to its prestorm conditions, which includes the original two-way traffic patterns that were in place before the storms. Of course, we cannot control nature, and recognize that if conditions change, we will have to adjust our efforts to address those conditions.

We will continue to work together as a community and with the State of California to support adaptive management along West Cliff’s dynamic coastline. We are grateful to our community members, the City’s West Cliff team, the West Cliff Implementation Committee, and the Mayor and City Council who have all engaged with developing the 5-year Roadmap. Together, we will shape the next chapter of West Cliff and honor the legacy of our coast with foresight, dedication, and collective action. Each step will bring us closer to a future where West Cliff continues to inspire, connect, and serve our community today and for generations to come. We recognize this is only the beginning and look forward to moving this Vision forward together.

Introduction by the City Manager
Matt Huffaker
City Manager

24.8 After approving the 50-year Community Vision for West Cliff (Vision) in April 2024, the Santa Cruz City Council directed City staff to prepare a roadmap as a tool to initiate implementation of the Vision. The City developed the 5-year Roadmap for West Cliff (5-year Roadmap) through a collective prioritization process shaped by input from community members, the City’s West Cliff team, the West Cliff Implementation Committee (WCIC), and the City Council.

The 5-year Roadmap outlines the top five priority projects (described on page 9, “5-year Roadmap - Prioritized Projects”) identified by the City and community for potential implementation between March 2025 and December 2030. The City recognizes that these projects may require review and permit approval under the City's Local Coastal Program, which is currently being updated to reflect both the City's Vision and the 5-year Roadmap. While the purpose of the 5-year Roadmap is to advance decisions made in the Vision, it also supports City implementation of adaptive coastal management and alignment of projects across City planning documents (e.g. the Local Coastal Program Amendment, Local Hazard Mitigation Plan, and others). By identifying projects consistent with the Vision, the City is able to allocate resources to those projects and move them forward for analysis and consideration.

The 5-year Roadmap will position the City to successfully achieve the Vision for West Cliff while balancing existing projects, unplanned projects related to disaster recovery, erosion, or other impacts of climate change. While this effort aims to develop a strategic approach to projects along West Cliff, the City acknowledges that emergency projects following a disaster may supersede this list of priorities.

Both the Vision and 5-year Roadmap are initial steps to accommodating a dynamic coast while implementing the community’s priorities along West Cliff. 5- year Roadmap - Purpose and Context
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24.9 Figure 1. Jurisdictional bounds consider whether the City has the authority in a certain area. For example, any activities below the high tide line or overlapping with neighboring cities, the County of Santa Cruz, or the State of California would require engagement with, and possible approval from, these jurisdictions and could limit the feasibility of certain projects. Regulatory considerations include legal requirements imposed on the City (such as the California Environmental Quality Act), permit authorities, and whether the City needs to work with regulators such as the California Coastal Commission (CCC).

Environmental bounds acknowledge that ongoing sea level rise and forecasted increases in extreme storm event frequency and duration are projected to significantly increase future erosion rates, which could limit the applicability of certain projects. These will have both long and short-term impacts along the coastline. Financial considerations recognize that federal and State funding landscapes are likely to be more competitive with reduced funding as climate change related disasters become more common. The City's is also constrained by its capacity to develop and implement projects which can limit the number of additional projects the City can advance.

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From these many activities emerges a need for an inclusive community that comes together to build trust, solve problems, and fashion a collective future together for West Cliff that recognizes these many uses and the cherished landscape and community that exists. (Vision, page 14)
Over the next 50 years, the community pictures a resilient and accessible West Cliff for all – celebrating the beauty and awe of the coast, while balancing the varied uses of residents and visitors and keeping the community safe. (Vision, page 14)

PRIORITIZING PEDESTRIAN AND BICYCLE ACCESS
The community requested the City prioritize pedestrian and bicycle access by converting one lane of traffic along West Cliff to separated pedestrian and bicycle lanes....Going forward, the City will preserve separated pedestrian and bicycle access as a priority when making decisions surrounding management of West Cliff. (Vision, page 15)
Relationship Between the 50-year Vision for West Cliff
and the 5-year Roadmap
In response to the January 2023 storms, the City initiated a process to develop a 50- year Community Vision for West Cliff approved by the Santa Cruz City Council in April 2024. The Vision, and its pillars below, represent the community’s aspirations for what West Cliff will look like and how it will be used in 50 years. This allows the City to move projects forward for analysis and consideration which may take many years to plan, fund, and complete, while also building disaster resilience along West Cliff to protect the community from the impacts of future extreme storms and other climate change stressors. The 5-year Roadmap contains a suite of prioritized City projects to advance the Vision. Each of the following Vision pillars is accompanied by an icon. These icons are referenced in the 5-year Roadmap proposed projects to identify how these projects tie back to the Vision.

BALANCING CHANGE AND A COLLECTIVE FUTURE

BEAUTY, RESILIENCE, AND CONTINUED USES

ONE-WAY VEHICLE ACCESS AND ADDITIONAL TRAFFIC

CONTROL
To create the space required to prioritize separated pedestrian and bicycle access, the City may consider a pilot program to explore a transition from twoway vehicle traffic along West Cliff Drive to one-way westbound vehicle traffic. (Vision, page 15)

24.11 LIMITED HARD ARMORING
Since armoring will be limited to those areas with critical infrastructure and to maintain pedestrian and bicycle access to West Cliff, the City can conserve the natural cliff-ocean interface which allows for some sand from natural erosion to replenish beaches. (Vision, page 16)

EXPLORING NATURE-BASED SOLUTIONS AND

ENGINEERED NATURAL FEATURE RESTORATION
To buffer against the impacts to beaches caused by hard armoring in some areas and to improve West Cliff’s resilience, the City will explore naturebased solutions and engineered natural feature restoration management strategies. (Vision, page 16)

PARK SPACE AS RECREATION AREA AND
BUFFER
Ensuring park and coastal access while minimizing built infrastructure in park space is a way to work with nature to preserve a natural coastline. (Vision, page 17)

PLANNED RELOCATION
In those areas where space is no longer available to support access by the community, the City will explore partnerships to develop a program to provide opportunities for private and public landowners to engage in optional buyout and/or lease back programs. (Vision, page 17)

COLLABORATION
Collaboration with the community, public partners, research institutions, non-profit, and private partners to identify effective pathways forward to advance the 50-year Community Vision is essential. (Vision, page 17)

CONSIDER THE SAFETY AND QUALITY OF LIFE

OF THE NEIGHBORHOODS ABUTTING WEST

CLIFF DRIVE
The City recognizes the importance of engaging with residents in the neighborhoods abutting West Cliff Drive to hear their feedback on the impacts of climate change and the City’s efforts to implement the 50-year Community Vision, including addressing any traffic and safety concerns. (Vision, page 18)
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24.12 Developing, designing, and implementing a project requires a significant amount of City staff time, planning, and effort to bring a project from concept to completion.

To address this commitment of City resources, the City often delivers projects in phases (i.e. planning, design, permitting, construction). Depending on a project’s complexity and scale, the sum of these phases can take over five years to complete. This process takes even longer if the project is located along the coast due to additional regulations and resource protection requirements governing coastal projects. Throughout each step, City staff follow regulations and respond to community concerns while keeping projects on schedule and within the allowable budget. To learn more about the details of how a project is managed from start to finish, see Appendix A - Detailed Project Process.

Anatomy of a Project
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ANALYSIS AND

PERMITTING
(3 months to 3+ years)
Environmental Review
Regulatory Permitting
Property Permissions

IMPLEMENTATION
(1 to 5+ years)
Project Construction

DEVELOPMENT
(1 to 3+ years)
Project Description
Secure Funding
Evaluate Capacity
Design Project

MITIGATION AND

MONITORING
(1 to 5+ years)
Monitoring
Mitigation

24.13 The permitting process is important for ensuring that new development is consistent with the policies of the Local Coastal Program (LCP) and the California Coastal Act. However, during emergencies, there is often not enough time to address permitting requirements before action must be taken. The emergency permitting process for City projects can move quickly, as opposed to the longer time needed for a regular permit. Depending on the complexity of a project, it can take several years to secure non-emergency permits, and sometimes longer. After the 2023 storm damage on West Cliff, the City was able to take quick action to obtain emergency permits, stabilize the road, and secure funding due to the emergency nature of the damages.

What is an Emergency Coastal Development Permit:

The California Coastal Act requires a permit for all new development in the coastal zone to meet statewide policies to protects public access and recreation, sensitive habitats, and other important coastal resources. It also requires that local governments develop Local Coastal Programs (LCPs) (consisting of Land Use Plans and Implementing ordinances) to carry out policies of the California Coastal Act at the local level. Once approved by the Coastal Commission, responsibility for issuing coastal permits for development above the mean high tide is with local governments. The Coastal Commission retains permitting authority below the mean high tide. The Coastal Commission also keeps an appeal authority over certain locally-approved development, such as along the immediate shoreline or adjacent to wetlands and streams.

When there is an emergency along the coast (such as the one experienced on West Cliff in January 2023), a local government may be eligible for an Emergency Coastal Development Permit. This streamlined permitting process allows for the speedy authorization of some emergency-related coastal development activities. However, some emergency actions must still be authorized by a standard Coastal Development Permit within a certain timeframe after the emergency.

Additional Regulatory Permits:

In addition to the Coastal Commission, the City works with many agencies to secure both emergency and non-emergency permits. These agencies include, but are not limited to: the California Department of Fish and Wildlife, California State Water Resources Control Board, U.S. Army Corps of Engineers, and U.S.

Fish and Wildlife Service.

Permitting Requirements for Coastal Projects
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24.14 5-year Roadmap - Prioritized Projects
To develop an initial list of projects, staff reviewed existing City planning documents for activities and projects proposed for West Cliff (see Appendix A for additional process details). With guidance from the WCIC, the City refined and condensed this list to eight projects that were presented during the October 21, 2024 Community Conversation for the community to consider for inclusion in the 5-year Roadmap. After this interactive meeting, the City and the WCIC reviewed the community’s feedback and project ranking and considered the capacity of each department to begin additional projects. This consideration resulted in a list of five projects that represent the community priorities for West Cliff over the next five years, and the start of implementing the Vision. A list of existing projects underway can be found in Appendix B - Existing Projects Underway Outside of 5- year Roadmap.

It is important to note that while regulatory agencies are open to hybrid approaches (e.g., grey/green solutions), the City does not have a guarantee that a project will be permitted by the agencies until the agencies have reviewed a full project proposal that includes detailed alternatives analysis. After review, regulators may approve the project, approve the project with mitigation requirements to offset the project impacts to the environment, or deny the project.

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24.15 Department Location Project Cost Emergency
Status Duration
Public Works
Department
West Cliff
coastline
Estimated cost:
$15,000,000/ Annual
maintenance funding:
$500,000/year
Not an
emergency
project
2025-2030
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BACKGROUND
The City has installed numerous revetments
along West Cliff Drive. Each revetment
includes armoring that acts as the primary
buffer against erosion, typically in the form
of large, loose rocks called riprap. Due to
their constant exposure to harsh conditions,
revetments require regular maintenance to
Prioritized 5-year Roadmap Project

REVETMENT REPAIR PROJECT

SUMMARY
This project aims to enhance recreational uses and maintain the existing path while repurposing existing riprap if possible and minimizing the addition of new riprap.

What is a revetment?
Revetments are sloping structures
placed on shorelines or along the
base of cliffs to reduce coastal
erosion.
keep rocks and other armoring materials in position. It is crucial that design activities related to revetments are coordinated with other priorities, such as transportation, habitat restoration, and overlook improvements. This holistic approach minimizes the impacts of construction activities related to revetment armoring on coastal access and neighborhoods during operations.

PROJECT UPDATE
The City’s previous assessments have identified the following components of an armoring maintenance program: (1) implement new and replacement armoring projects zone by zone, (2) design and implementation phases, and (3) develop criteria for maintenance repairs corridor-wide. The City’s Public Works Department performs an annual inspection and assessment of all armoring movements.

Connection to 50-year Vision Pillars:

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PROPOSED PROJECT ELEMENTS
City staff propose addressing revetments in the “Failed/Needs Repair” and “<10 Years of Existing Life” categories. These include Rip Rap Sites #3, #6, #25, #28, #33, and #48.

City staff propose retrieving and restacking escaped rocks where feasible (i.e., riprap that has moved out of place but could be reconstructed), restacking or repair of existing structures (which could include new rock) to minimize toe scour, maintaining revetment design profiles (when feasible) to reduce the footprint on the beach, and general maintenance to reduce the need for emergency repairs.

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Prioritized 5-year Roadmap Project

REVETMENT REPAIR PROJECT

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BACKGROUND
During the late December 2023 high surf event, and due in part to deferred maintenance, Santa Cruz experienced significant impacts from large waves and coastal flooding, including evacuations, area closures, and damage to beaches and infrastructure, and notably erosion of the recreational path near 800 West Cliff Drive across from Lighthouse Field State Park. The State Disaster Declaration (CDAA 2024-01), declared in response to the high surf event, provided access to funding and resources for immediate emergency response and long-term recovery efforts.

PROJECT UPDATE
After confirming emergency funding, City staff evaluated repair options and identified road relocation as the best solution. This approach aligns with local and State policies, ensuring regulatory compliance, and uses available space to move the pathway inland without encroaching on private property. Supported by State Parks staff, relocation offers a durable, resilient, and financially viable solution, avoiding the need for additional coastal armoring while supporting long-term sustainability.

Prioritized 5-year Roadmap Project

LIGHTHOUSE FIELD ROADWAY

RELOCATION

SUMMARY
The proposed project would involve the design and construction of a 400-footlong section of two-way West Cliff Drive roadway and recreational path, shifted approximately 50 feet inland. Doing this would move the roadway and recreation path out of the projected erosion zone.

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PROPOSED PROJECT ELEMENTS
Project Scope: The scope for this project would include all necessary services to deliver the project, including engineering design, surveying, geotechnical engineering, right-of-way (ROW) negotiations, environmental review and permitting, and engineering and environmental monitoring services during construction.

Mitigation: This project is being proposed in part to address anticipated mitigation for the City’s infill walls approved under emergency authorizations.

The nature and extent of required mitigation will be considered during the regular permit review process with the Coastal Commission.

Next Steps: The City needs to secure emergency funding for this project, as well as assemble an engineering and design team to develop plans, conduct and consider any required environmental review, obtain permits and right-ofway permissions. After this the City can proceed with bidding and construction.

Prioritized 5-year Roadmap Project

LIGHTHOUSE FIELD ROADWAY

RELOCATION
What is mitigation?
In the context of coastal development, the California Coastal Commission defines mitigation as measures designed to offset or compensate for adverse environmental impacts caused by developments, including seawalls or other armoring structures. These measures often aim to address the loss of public access, sand supply, and natural habitats that are affected by coastal armoring.

For example, mitigation for seawalls or other coastal armoring can include:

Sand Supply Impact Fees: Developers may be required to pay fees to compensate for sand loss caused by armoring
Habitat Restoration: Mitigation might involve funding or conducting habitat restoration projects to counteract damages to habitat caused by armoring.

Access Preservation: Mitigation may involve developing alternative public access routes if armoring impacts shoreline access.

The Coastal Commission generally prefers the following: 1) avoidance of new armoring; 2) imposition of strict conditions if armoring is deemed necessary to mitigate the environmental impacts of armoring; and 3) evaluation of armoring on a case-by-case basis.

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BACKGROUND
The Santa Cruz Coastal Change Monitoring Network is a decision support tool for coastal management by facilitating monitoring, analyzing and reporting of critical coastal conditions, such as cliff erosion, beach width, and sea level rise, as well as the condition of coastal assets (e.g., seawalls, stairways, etc.). Community science components can engage the community and visitors in coastal management efforts, fostering participation in science and environmental stewardship. Coastal monitoring is also required by the City’s Local Coastal Program.

PROJECT UPDATE
Previously, the City worked with thirteen local, State, and federal agencies, and nonprofits to design the network, which has been continuously refined through subsequent grant efforts.

Prioritized 5-year Roadmap Project

SANTA CRUZ COASTAL CHANGE

MONITORING NETWORK

SUMMARY
The Santa Cruz Coastal Change Monitoring Network is designed to track and analyze coastal changes to provide updated data that can inform the City’s coastal management decisions. This project is critical for the long-term management of the coastline, including preparation for sea-level rise and storm impacts.

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PROPOSED PROJECT ELEMENTS
Project Scope: The project includes data collection through a tidal gauge, drone imagery, and camera stations, as well as a coastal asset management tool and dashboard to access and analyze data collected. These tools will allow real time analytics and tracking of beach erosion, flooding, wave overtopping, and other coastal conditions.

Community Science: Residents and visitors may participate in coastal monitoring via CoastSnap stations, where they can capture photos to contribute to beach and erosion data.

Data Integration: All data will be collected in a centralized decision support tool, enabling City officials to track and analyze coastal conditions and manage coastal assets through a comprehensive digital dashboard.

Prioritized 5-year Roadmap Project

SANTA CRUZ COASTAL CHANGE

MONITORING NETWORK

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BACKGROUND
There are a variety of funding and financing mechanisms the City could explore to generate funding for infrastructure along West Cliff that builds climate resilience.

One example of a potential mechanism is State Bill 852 which created specific climate resilience districts. These allow city, county, special districts or a combination of agencies to form a Climate Resilience District to fund projects to mitigate the impacts of climate change. However, the City needs additional information about this potential opportunity, and others, to determine the most appropriate method to generate revenue to fund infrastructure along West Cliff.

PROJECT UPDATE
The project would involve evaluating funding and financing mechanisms to fund infrastructure projects along West Cliff to build climate resilience. The goal of this project is to provide a report with recommendations on potential options for the City to consider. Reliable, ongoing sources of revenue will be critical to ensuring the City can continue to adapt to the impacts of climate change.

Prioritized 5-year Roadmap Project

WEST CLIFF INFRASTRUCTURE

FINANCING FEASIBILITY STUDY

SUMMARY
The West Cliff Infrastructure Financing Feasibility Study project would involve evaluating all available funding and financing mechanisms to make recommendations on how the City could fund infrastructure projects along West Cliff. This project could include evaluating bonds, locally authorized financing mechanisms (tax increment financing, special tax district) or other mechanisms to determine the best options to fund infrastructure projects.

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PROPOSED PROJECT ELEMENTS
Scope, Request for Proposals (RFP): Prepare scope of work, and conduct an RFP process to hire a consultant to evaluate funding and financing mechanisms.

Evaluate Financing Options: Work with the consultant to analyze funding and financing mechanisms based on geographic scale, governance, revenue potential, community support, and administrative requirements.

Engagement: Engage governing bodies, community members, leadership, and adjacent agencies for feedback on recommendations for funding and financing mechanisms.

Prioritized 5-year Roadmap Project

WEST CLIFF INFRASTRUCTURE

FINANCING FEASIBILITY STUDY

24.23 BACKGROUND
A number of areas exist where the City needs to improve landscaping, amenities, way-finding, and overlooks. Developing signage and design standards will create consistency in elements installed along West Cliff and will improve the visitor experience. The City will integrate consistent design standards into future infrastructure projects, making these projects easier to implement.

PROJECT UPDATE
The Parks and Recreation Department intends to lead a West Cliff Drive standards project to specify design standards for landscaping, overlooks, railings, park signs, interpretive signs, and minor retaining walls. The City will consider incorporating habitat and landscaping improvements into these efforts. The recreation elements also include features such as bike racks, guide signs, and way-finding.
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Prioritized 5-year Roadmap Project

CORRIDOR-WIDE MASTER SIGNAGE

PLAN AND DESIGN STANDARDS

SUMMARY
The City’s Parks and Recreation Department would lead a West Cliff Drive standards project to specify design standards for landscaping, overlooks, railings, park signs, interpretive signs, and minor retaining walls. Consistent design standards will streamline City projects by making them quicker to implement as certain design decisions will already be made.

Department Location Project Cost Emergency
Status Duration
Department
of Parks and
Recreation
Along the
entirety of West
Cliff
Estimated cost:
$100,000
Annual maintenance
funding: N/A
Not an
emergency
project
18 months
Connection to 50-year Vision Pillars:

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PROPOSED PROJECT ELEMENTS
The elements considered for design standards may include: Way-finding (direction) signs for vehicular, pedestrian, and bicycle access, recreational signage (i.e. stay off the cliff), interpretive and education signage, bench selections, bike racks, retaining walls and fences, color palettes, and planting palettes.

Project Steps: To advance this project, the City will need to hire a consultant/landscape architect, identify features for the design standards, host public working groups, conduct constructability and maintenance reviews, perform any required environmental analysis, and go through a permitting and public review process.

Prioritized 5-year Roadmap Project

CORRIDOR-WIDE MASTER SIGNAGE

PLAN AND DESIGN STANDARDS

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Corridor-wide Master Signage Plan and Design
Standards
West Cliff - Bethany
Curve Culvert Project
Local Hazard Mitigation Plan
and Climate Adaptation Plan
Integration and Update
Living shorelines,
Nature-Based
Solutions, and Sand
management
Feasibility Study
Lighthouse Field Roadway Relocation
West Cliff, East Cliff and
Main/Cowell Beaches
Shoreline Adaptation
Implementation Blueprints
Revetment Repair Project
Santa Cruz Coastal Change Monitoring Network
West Cliff Infrastructure
Financing Feasibility Study
Lighthouse Point Hazard and Engineering Analysis, Permitting and Implementation West Cliff Storm
Damages &
Infrastructure Repairs
West Cliff Multi-Use Path
Rehabilitation Project
Local Coastal
Program
Update
2024 2025 2026 2027 2028 2029 2030
Timeline for 5-year Roadmap
Figure 2. The 5-year Roadmap timeline shows the duration of existing projects (white) and new projects (light green). For the new projects, these timelines are estimates which may change due to new natural disasters, changes in conditions, review and approval by California Coastal Commission, or other factors.

24.26 Funding for City Projects
The City currently has approximately $30 million worth of projects underway along West Cliff, with approximately $17 million more needed to advance the prioritized projects in the 5-year Roadmap. This does not include ongoing funds required for maintenance needs, which are estimated to be approximately $500,000 per year.

As the City continues to integrate the forecasted impacts of climate change along West Cliff into planning and project implementation efforts, the City anticipates needing additional funding to recover from any future impacts of climate change and build resilience along West Cliff, and the entire Santa Cruz coastline.

Long-term sustainable funding for prioritized projects over the lifetime of the Vision continues to be a City goal. While federal and State disaster recovery funds have been critical to support recovery and resiliency efforts along the coast, they still require a local match. Proactive projects may occur concurrently with disaster recovery efforts. However, the City must identify, develop, and implement disaster recovery projects quickly in order to receive emergency funding and obtain emergency permits. This creates a situation where disaster recovery projects take precedent over proactive projects due to the availability of project funding and streamlined permitting. With the City taking a more proactive stance on addressing risk and resilience in advance of disasters, previous funding sources the City relied upon will not cover the cost of projects intended to mitigate risks.

Changes in federal and State priorities increase the need to create a comprehensive funding and financing approach which includes a blend of federal, State, regional, and local revenue and financing options. 5 - y e a r R o a d m a p P a g e 2 1
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The City’s General Fund budget, which supports the implementation of the Capital Investment Program (CIP), will likely only cover a few West Cliff projects or seed funding to support projects. The City can prioritize these projects over others when pursuing grants, and specialized funding sources specifically built for compliance or specific types of infrastructure may be used to fund phases of projects. Larger resilience projects tend to require funding stacks, which are multiple sources of funding and financing required for complex multi-benefit projects.

24.28 Next Steps
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With a variety of current projects already underway along West Cliff, the 5-year Roadmap serves as a tool to establish prioritized projects that align with the Vision. In the next five years, the City will make progress on existing and prioritized projects, while also responding to maintenance issues, ongoing disaster recovery, impacts of erosion, and other unplanned events that may occur along West Cliff. While all of the proposed projects in the 5-year Roadmap have been identified as priorities for implementing the Vision, it is important to note that the City is responsible for existing and directed projects across the entire community and priorities can change with City Council direction, changing conditions or other emergencies.
50-year
Community Vision
for West Cliff
Local Coastal
Program
Capital
Investment
Program
5-year
Roadmap for
West Cliff
Figure 3. The Local Coastal Program (LCP) is a planning and regulatory document the City is required to prepare by the Coastal Commission. This LCP directs all development activities in the coastal zone. Projects or activities in the City’s other planning documents must be consistent with the LCP. The City is incorporating elements of the Vision into the LCP. The Capital Investment Program (CIP) outlines a multi-year schedule of projects with cost estimates and potential funding sources.

Going forward, the prioritization of projects along West Cliff to guide the City to achieve the Vision will occur in this document. The Vision is not a regulatory document, but it does influence the projects included in the CIP and what is included in the LCP. Future updates to the Vision are intended to occur concurrently with the update to the LCP, thereby streamlining project prioritization and consideration through these three critical documents. The Vision informed the 5-year Roadmap, and is guided by the LCP and the CIP. The Vision provides opportunities for accessible public influence over the long-term vision for West Cliff, while the LCP provides the regulatory framework for Citywide activities, and the CIP provides the prioritized list of citywide capital projects for City investment.

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The 5-year Roadmap is the first step toward realizing the long-term Vision for West Cliff. Going forward, the City intends to integrate identification of the next set of priority projects along West Cliff into the City’s Capital Investment Program (CIP), leveraging the pillars of the Vision and the updated LCP. The City’s CIP is a multi-year schedule of projects with cost estimates and potential funding sources.

The CIP outlines and prioritizes major infrastructure projects like road improvements, sewer upgrades, storm drains, and other public facilities, detailing their funding and timeline for construction and maintenance across the City.

Integrating these processes will streamline and align the City’s efforts to advance the Vision along West Cliff by integrating the Vision into the fabric of the City’s prioritization process for projects. To further align City planning documents, the next update to the Vision will occur concurrently with the City’s next update on the Local Coastal Program. Following adoption of the next Vision update and LCP, the City will use the CIP process to develop prioritized projects specific to West Cliff.

As with all City projects, there will be additional opportunities to engage as the City works to advance the five prioritized projects. Each project would be subject to its own environmental analysis as part of delivering the project. By focusing the next five years of work with projects aligned with the Vision, the City is setting itself up to proactively meet the challenges presented by our dynamic coast with intention.

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PROJECT DEVELOPMENT
Project Description: The City begins by defining the goal of the project, timeline, location, and how the project will address community needs. The City also identifies whether the City has capacity to advance the project or whether they need to hire consultants to support the project.

Secure Funding: Next, the City must identify potential funding sources, and either apply for grants or allocate funding for the project from the City’s budget, if such funding is available. If the City pursues grant funding, staff will need to identify grant funds, prepare an application, and be selected for funding. This process can often take upwards of two years from the time the City submits an application to when funding is received, if awarded the grant. If unsuccessful in securing grant funding, the City will need to identify other funding opportunities or apply for new grants.

Evaluate Capacity: If the City determines there is a need to hire consultants to support staff on a project or to provide specific technical expertise, the City begins a formal process to procure consultants. This includes drafting and releasing a public document requesting qualified consultants to submit applications to be considered to support the project. At this phase, the City may look to hire consultants for design and engineering and may hire consultants for community engagement and construction later in the project process. This process can take between three months to up to a year.

Design Project: City staff or the project team (City staff and consultants) work to design the project. This can include developing drawings or a project workplan.

ANALYSIS AND PERMITTING
Environmental Review: Under the California Environmental Quality Act (CEQA), some level of environmental analysis is needed for most projects that will result in a change to the environment. Some City projects that are not likely to have adverse environmental impacts can take advantage of CEQA exemptions. If no exemption applies, other CEQA clearance routes may include completing an Initial Study (IS) followed by a Negative Declaration (ND), Mitigated Negative Declaration (MND), or an Environmental Impact Report (EIR). Complying with CEQA ensures Appendix A - Detailed Project Process

24.31 that a project’s environmental impacts are considered before the City approves and implements a project.

Regulatory Permitting: The City will determine what permits are necessary to complete the project. The City works with the relevant agencies, such as the California Department of Transportation (Caltrans), the California Department of Parks and Recreation, the California Coastal Commission (CCC), and/or the California Department of Fish and Wildlife to obtain the permits. Depending on the findings of the environmental review, this process can take multiple years.

Property Permissions: If the project involves accessing private or limited access properties, the City will need to acquire right of way permissions. As needed, the City may need to secure permission from private landowners to access a property as part of the project.

IMPLEMENTATION
Project Construction: Once the City has designed the project, completed appropriate environmental review, and secured permits, the City can begin construction either with City staff or using a contractor. Depending on how large and complex the project is, it could take upwards of five years to complete construction.

MONITORING AND MITIGATION
Project Monitoring: After project construction, the City will monitor the project for compliance with environmental regulations and to confirm it is operating successfully.

Decision Support Monitoring: Collecting and analyzing data to directly inform and align with decision-making frameworks to result in effective actions.

Mitigation: If the project requires mitigation - for example, rebuilding a wetland in a different location, if wetland was damaged in the project- then the City will monitor these mitigation areas.

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24.32 With Santa Cruz being located along such a dynamic coast, the City is constantly working to maintain continuous access and public amenities along West Cliff for the community, while responding to coastal changes. The City has completed hundreds of projects along West Cliff over the past decades and is currently working to restore West Cliff to pre-storm conditions. With so many projects, it can be difficult to track the City’s progress toward completing projects or understand what projects the City already has underway. In 2024, there were multiple projects along West Cliff actively underway, including a number of projects with committed funding that were initiated under emergency approvals and funding, scheduled to begin prior to development of the 5-year Roadmap.

These existing and funded projects are scheduled to move forward and are therefore, not part of the prioritized list of projects in the 5-year Roadmap.

Including information on these existing projects provides an update to the community on the City’s progress on projects along West Cliff as of December 2024. With these projects underway, some available City staff resources are already committed. This limits the number of additional projects the City can begin along West Cliff, unless the City acquires additional funding to study projects, construct projects, and build staff capacity. Furthermore, building staff capacity requires ongoing funding which one-time grant opportunities cannot provide.

Appendix B - Existing Projects
Underway Outside of the 5-year
Roadmap
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24.33 Department Location Project Cost Timeframe Status Public Works 1000 block of
West Cliff Drive $10,000,000 Summer 2023 -2027
Near completion.

Emergency
permits needed.

Existing Project Underway

WEST CLIFF BETHANY CURVE

CULVERT PROJECT

PROJECT SCOPE
This project involves replacing roadway sections and drainage structures and installing new culvert headwalls, elevating the road surface, and install new concrete guardrails to protect against wave overtopping.

Connection to 50-year Vision Pillars:
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24.34 PROJECT SCOPE
To address storm damages and infrastructure repairs, this project includes constructing infill walls, repairing sinkholes, fixing pipe connections, and restoring pathways along sections of West Cliff.

Existing Project Underway

WEST CLIFF - STORM DAMAGES

AND INFRASTRUCTURE REPAIRS
Department Location Project Cost Timeframe Status
Public Works
900, 1000,
1100, 2100
blocks of
West Cliff
Drive
$18,000,000 Winter 2022 -
Spring 2025
Under construction.

Two-way vehicle traffic
restoration anticipated
Spring 2025.

Emergency permits
needed.

Connection to 50-year Vision Pillars:
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Existing Project Underway

WEST CLIFF - STORM DAMAGES

AND INFRASTRUCTURE REPAIRS
P a g e 3 0

24.36 PROJECT SCOPE
The City is refinishing the West Cliff path’s asphalt surface from Natural Bridges State Beach to David Way to enhance safety and accessibility for all users, as well as enhancing crossings at multiple intersections between Swanton Boulevard and David Way.

Department Location Project
Cost Timeframe Status
Public Works
Swanton
Boulevard
to David
Way
$500,000
-
$700,00
Winter
2023 -
Summer
2025
2024 bid exceeded budget.

Cost reduction value
engineering underway. Rebid
early 2025, construction
planned for summer.

Existing Project Underway

WEST CLIFF MULTI-USE PATH

REHABILITATION
Connection to 50-year Vision Pillars:
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24.37 PROJECT SCOPE
The City will study the condition of existing caves and rock formations surrounding Lighthouse Point and recommend options to protect, restore, and/or relocate infrastructure along Lighthouse Point, consistent with the City’s Local Coastal Program, as part of the City’s balanced approach to coastal management.

This project will inform the City’s next steps, which could include a capital investment project for Lighthouse Point once the study is complete.

Existing Project Underway

LIGHTHOUSE POINT HAZARD

AND ENGINEERING ANALYSIS
Department Location Project Cost Timeframe Status
Public Works Lighthouse
Point
$150,000 - $350,000
for the study
Winter 2024 -
2030
Procuring
consultant
team
Connection to 50-year Vision Pillars:
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24.38 PROJECT SCOPE
The City is assessing the feasibility of using living shorelines, sand management techniques, and other nature-based solutions to address coastal hazards. The project will make recommendations for future nature-based solutions projects and prepare 30% of designs for up to three projects and identify ecological markers and monitoring methods for tracking coastal change.

Existing Project Underway

LIVING SHORELINES, NATURE-BASED

SOLUTIONS, AND SAND MANAGEMENT

FEASIBILITY STUDY
Department Location Project Cost Timeframe Status
City Manager’s
Office
City of Santa
Cruz Coastline $550,000 June 2024 -March 2025 Ongoing
What is a nature-based solution?
According to the California Coastal Commission, a nature-based solution is a coastal adaptation and/or erosion control method comprised of natural elements, which contributes to the persistence and enhancement of coastal processes and ecological benefits while also offering protection services to inshore areas.

Nature-based Adaptation strategies include both “soft solutions”, which avoid fixing the shoreline with hard structures and instead rely on the use of dynamic systems to attenuate coastal hazards, such as dune or wetland restoration, or sand replenishment and “hybrid armoring”. Hybrid armoring refers to stabilizing the shoreline using a combination of hard armoring or protection devices, such as a buried revetment, as well as nature-based solutions like dune restoration. This approach provides both structural stability and ecological benefits.

Connection to 50-year Vision Pillars:
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24.39 PROJECT SCOPE
Through this update, the City will inventory potential hazards and risks, and assess risks to the City’s residents, buildings and critical facilities. From this, the City will develop mitigation and adaptation strategies to implement over five years. Outreach for this project included community surveys and discussion at community meetings and events.

Existing Project Underway

LOCAL HAZARD MITIGATION PLAN AND

CLIMATE ADAPTATION PLAN

INTEGRATION AND UPDATE
Department Location Project Cost Timeframe Status
City Manager’s
Office Citywide $210,000 2024-2026 Ongoing
The LHMP can be found on the City Website by going to
www.cityofsantacruz.com, selecting “City Manager”, and then “Climate Adaptation Planning”. or click HERE to access.

Connection to 50-year Vision Pillars:
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24.40 PROJECT SCOPE
The Local Coastal Program (LCP) Update spans the entirety of the City’s coastline.

The City will assess its Coastal Change Monitoring Systems by evaluating existing geophysical triggers and monitoring technology, evaluating community science data collection sources and geophysical data systems. The City will integrate triggers with the Local Coastal Program Policy and implementation framework to understand when the City needs to make certain coastal management decisions.

The City will develop a locally adopted Beaches and Bluffs Chapter of the LCP and Land Use Plan.

The LCP can be found on the City Website: www.cityofsantacruz.com, selecting “Long Range and Policy Planning”, and then “Ordinance and Policy Updates”.

Existing Project Underway

LOCAL COASTAL PROGRAM UPDATE
Department Location Project Cost Timeframe Status
Planning and
Community
Development
Citywide $227,100 2024-2025 Ongoing
Connection to 50-year Vision Pillars:
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24.41 PROJECT SCOPE
The goal of the project is to develop and deliver accessible, communitysupported, Shoreline Adaptation Blueprints for three subareas of the City’s coastline - West Cliff, East Cliff and Main/Cowell Beaches. Shoreline Adaptation Blueprints provide both planning and implementation outlines for the sites considered to accelerate investment in implementing coastal resilience visions and projects and comply with State Bill 272.

Department Location Project Cost Timeframe Status
City Manager’s
Office
City of Santa
Cruz
Coastline
$550,000 January 2025 –
December 2027
Contracting with
the California State
Ocean Protection
Council - grant
funded
Existing Project Underway

WEST CLIFF, EAST CLIFF AND

MAIN/COWELL BEACHES SHORELINE

ADAPTATION IMPLEMENTATION

BLUEPRINTS
What is included in a Shoreline Adaptation Blueprint?
The Shoreline Adaptation Blueprints will provide detailed implementation plans for three coastal subareas—West Cliff, the Main and Cowell Beaches, and East Cliff—integrating adaptation pathways with policy, planning guidance, and community engagement. These blueprints will build on prior studies, technical and equity advisory input, and innovative engagement to document prioritized projects, funding strategies, and recommended Local Coastal Program (LCP) policies. Designed to be accessible and visually compelling, they will serve as fundable, community-supported roadmaps for coastal resilience and implementation.

Connection to 50-year Vision Pillars:
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PROJECT LIST DEVELOPMENT
To collect data on the City’s projects, the City developed a project factsheet, based on the City’s previous Capital Investment Program form, to compile all projects potentially relevant to the 50-year Community Vision for West Cliff and highlight key information. Activity information was gathered through existing activity files as well as interviews with City staff to address information gaps. The initial data collection resulted in a list of approximately 155 potential activities previously identified in the following City documents:

West Cliff Drive Adaptation and Management Plan;
City of Santa Cruz Climate Emergency Resolution;
City of Santa Cruz 2030 Parks Master Plan;
City of Santa Cruz Local Coastal Program Land Use Plan - 2021 Amendment Public Review Draft;
City of Santa Cruz Active Transportation Plan;
City of Santa Cruz Arts Master Plan;
City-wide Creeks and Wetlands Management Plan;
City of Santa Cruz Beach Vulnerability and Adaptation Strategy; City of Santa Cruz 2030 Climate Action Plan;
Santa Cruz, California Street Tree Master Plan;
Resilient Coast Santa Cruz - City of Santa Cruz - Synthesis Summary of Outreach and Engagement;
Urban Climate Adaptation Policy Implication and Response Strategy Technical Report;
Santa Cruz Mid-County Groundwater Basin Groundwater Sustainability Plan; City of Santa Cruz Homeless Response Action Plan;
Resilient Coast Santa Cruz Progress Report;
Storm Water Management Plan Guidance Document; and
Capital Investment Program 2024-2025.

The City removed activities located outside of the West Cliff corridor, projects the City already completed, and duplicate projects which refined the list to approximately 82.

The City further refined the list of potential activities for inclusion in the 5-year Roadmap to approximately 41 by removing projects already underway in the City.

Appendix C - Data Collection Process
and Project Evaluation

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A project that is already underway is defined as a project with secured funding. To demonstrate the breadth of projects underway along West Cliff, these projects are highlighted in Appendix B - Existing Projects Underway Outside of the 5-year Roadmap.

The City then condensed activities that were actually components of a larger project (i.e. transportation and signage striping in Zone 1, and Transportation signage in Zone 3 are components of a larger project - Corridor-wide Master Signage Plan and Design Standards). The condensed list of about 16 projects was then reviewed by City staff, considering project urgency, need, and if the activity was consistent with a balanced approach to coastal management. This resulted in the list of eight projects.

REFINE
City removed
activities not
located along West
Cliff, duplicate, and
completed
activities.
82 41

CONDENSE
City combined
smaller efforts into
larger projects, and
removed projects
underway.

City brought projects
forward based on
urgency, need, and a
balanced approach
to coastal
management.

CONSIDER
16 PRESENT

INITIAL LIST

OF ACTIVITIES
Activities collected
from existing City
plans and documents.
155
8 FINALIZE
5 Presented projects
to the community
to help prioritize
for inclusion in
Roadmap.

Community feedback
and staff assessment
of projects brought to
the WCIC to finalize
top priority projects
for proposed
Roadmap.

Figure C1. The City developed a project list to present to the community by first reviewing an initial project list, then refining, and condensing the list by removing projects not located along West Cliff, removing duplicated and completed projects, and by condensing small activities into larger projects. The City brought a shortened project list to the community by considering urgency, need, and a balanced approach to coastal management. This updated project list was provided to the community for review during the October 21, 2024 Community Conversation.

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a balanced approach to coastal management. This public and city review resulted in the list of eight projects. Then, these projects were brought to the public and ECIC for review and prioritization. This final step brough the project list to five projects.

PROJECT EVALUATION
After collecting project data using the City’s project factsheet, the City developed prioritization criteria to score the projects. Prioritization criteria were developed through many iterations by City Staff and the community, originating from the 10 pillars of the Vision for West Cliff. The initial criteria were found to be overly complicated and too lengthy. Through several iterations with community feedback, the City refined and simplified prioritization criteria to increase clarity. The finalized and streamlined criteria are designed to assess projects on their ability to address emergencies, minimize impacts to access and habitat, prepare West Cliff for coastal changes, and align with the Vision, while preserving recreation opportunities, safety and public health. Projects were evaluated by the community at a community conversation held October 21, 2024. Participants submitted their evaluations in both paper and virtual form.

Once community evaluation of the projects was complete, the City reviewed results to better understand where communication around different projects or priorities reflected in the criteria could be strengthened and to better understand how the community views the potential impact of different projects. The following list highlights a few key findings.

Projects which received the most votes for “unsure / need more information” were the Lighthouse Field Roadway Relocation (162 ”unsure”), Santa Cruz Coastal Change Monitoring Network (120 “unsure”), West Cliff Sea Cave Stabilization (119 ”unsure”) and West Cliff Infrastructure Financing Feasibility Study (119 “unsure”). The City will increase communication with the community about these projects which are included in the 5-year Roadmap by providing additional community updates to improve understanding.

The City also noted that of the evaluation criteria, the most frequently marked section for “unsure / need more information” was “Does this project align with the Vision for West Cliff?” The City will renew communication efforts around the 50-year Community Vision for West Cliff to ensure the community feels clear on the principles of the Vision, providing further clarification at the November 19, 2024 meeting,
The City also learned that clearer communication regarding what constitutes an emergency project may be needed.

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Beyond the scope of this work, the City is also gaining insights into what the community considers to be projects that add to the safety and enjoyment of West Cliff. The West Cliff Stormwater Outfall Rehabilitation, Corridor-wide Master Signage Plan and Design Standards, and West Cliff Parking Management plan all scored highly across criteria evaluating the project’s potential to improve safety and enjoyment on the coast.

The City will use this community feedback to inform communication strategies and future project work in the West Cliff neighborhood.

PROJECT RANKING
In addition to evaluation of each proposed project, the community was also asked to rank the list of eight projects from lowest to highest priority. Votes for ranking of projects were taken at the same community meeting as the evaluation on October 21, 2024, and participants were able to submit responses either virtually or in person. The final rankings of projects were determined by calculating the average of ranking assigned to each project. The results show that the community appears to prioritize infrastructure projects needed to minimize erosion and improve or relocate the roadway and placed less priority on less physical projects or those with less immediate protection benefits. These results indicate that the community is understandably ready for immediate action on West Cliff. The project evaluation results also help contextualize the rankings, showing that some of the highest ranking projects, such as the Lighthouse Field Roadway Relocation and the Sea Cave Stabilization still left participants with questions, as these projects also had some of the highest “unsure / need more information” votes. On the other end of the rankings, the evaluations show that even though many participants ranked projects like the West Cliff Parking Management Plan lower, they still had a high amount of “yes” votes in the evaluation, showing support for these projects despite them being ranked at a lower priority (Table B1 below).

24.46 Table C1. Results of community vote ranking West Cliff projects - the following table shows the final results of the community’s votes on October 21, 2024 to rank projects from highest priority one (1) to lowest priority eight (8).

The City incorporated this feedback to inform which projects will be prioritized for implementation, while also considering the timing and staff capacity within City departments needed to advance projects. Using these two input streams, the City then adjusted the project timeline accordingly. This process resulted in a condensed list of five prioritized projects: Revetment Repair Project, Lighthouse Field Roadway Relocation, Santa Cruz Coastal Change Monitoring Network, West Cliff Infrastructure Financing Feasibility Study, and Corridor-wide Master Signage Plan and Design Standards.

Ranking Project Name
1 Revetment Repair Project
2 Lighthouse Field Roadway Relocation
3 West Cliff Drive Sea Cave Stabilization
4 West Cliff Stormwater Outfall Rehabilitation
5 Santa Cruz Coastal Change Monitoring Network
6 West Cliff Parking Management Plan
7 West Cliff Infrastructure Financing Feasibility Study 8 Corridor-wide Master Signage Plan and Design Standards 5 - y e a r R o a d m a p P a g e 4 1
C i t y o f S a n t a C r u z

24.47 5 - y e a r R o a d m a p P a g e 4 2
C i t y o f S a n t a C r u z
The City convened community meetings and utilized the West Cliff Implementation Committee (WCIC) to seek feedback on the 5-year Roadmap. City staff also met internally across City departments to inform the development of the 5-year Roadmap. The City also used surveys to collect community feedback. The City used community feedback to identify where to improve communication efforts and to better understand the community's preferences.

September 16 West Cliff Implementation Committee Meeting Topics: Introduction to Farallon Strategies (consultants) and the 5-year Roadmap During the first WCIC meeting, participants introduced themselves, and the City established ground rules for the group, reiterated the purpose of the WCIC is to “review and advise on implementation priorities, plans (and associated outreach), and funding capacity for the City’s West Cliff area for the next 3-5 years as guided by the Vision. Discussions and advice will also be informed by the City’s other climate and resilience work”, and shared the purpose of the first meeting. WCIC members shared about their backgrounds and connections to Santa Cruz. The City provided background to the WCIC on the current 5-year Roadmap project to identify priority projects along West Cliff for the next five years. The WCIC received an update from the City on progress for updating the Local Coastal Program (LCP), and the next steps in the process.

September 26 Community Conversation
Topics: Kick off for the 5-year Roadmap Project
In the first Community Conversation for the 5-year Roadmap Project, participants were introduced to the 5-year Roadmap Project. The City provided an overview of what led the City to developing a 5-year Roadmap, including the Resilient Coast Santa Cruz work, and the 50-year Community Vision for West Cliff. The 5-year Roadmap will include a prioritized list of near-term projects to implement along West Cliff over the next five years, which are aligned with the Vision. The City sought feedback from the participants on the draft project prioritization criteria to inform how to prioritize projects for the 5-year Roadmap. Participants provided feedback on the draft prioritization criteria and they also shared feedback on the meeting itself. Going forward the City committed to using less technical jargon during meetings, reducing the use of technology, and providing materials in advance, when possible.

Appendix D - Community Engagement

24.48 5 - y e a r R o a d m a p P a g e 4 3
C i t y o f S a n t a C r u z
October 7 West Cliff Implementation Committee Meeting
Topics: Presentation by the California Coastal Commission (Commission) and review of revised criteria for the 5-year Roadmap
During the second WCIC meeting, members received a presentation from the Commission about coastal issues facing communities along the California coast due to erosion and sea level rise, and the role of the Commission. The Commission shared they want to see communities become proactive when addressing coastal issues, and develop specific, and implementable projects. The Commission’s presentation ended with a question and answer session with the WCIC. For the remainder of the meeting, participants reviewed revised criteria for the 5-year Roadmap process. The WCIC reviewed an example project fact sheet and then used the revised criteria to score the example project. The City asked the WCIC to provide feedback on whether the revised criteria were missing anything, and if the City was providing sufficient information in the example project for the WCIC to use the criteria. After receiving comments from the WCIC, the City updated the criteria by adding an option for community members to select “unsure/need more information” when evaluating projects during the upcoming October 21 Community Conversation.

October 21 Community Conversation
Topics: Reviewed potential projects for inclusion in the 5-year Roadmap During the second Community Conversation for the 5-year Roadmap Project, the City shared eight potential projects for the community to consider for inclusion into the 5-year Roadmap in a town-hall style presentation. The City had posters for each project: Santa Cruz Coastal Change Monitoring Network, Revetment Repair Project, Corridor-wide Master Signage Plan and Design Standards, West Cliff Sea Cave Stabilization, West Cliff Stormwater Outfall Rehabilitation, 800 Roadway Relocation (later renamed Lighthouse Field Roadway Relocation), West Cliff Financing District (later renamed West Cliff Infrastructure Financing Feasibility Study), and the West Cliff Parking Management Plan. The City provided participants with prioritization questions, and a ranking table. Participants were asked to review each project, complete the questions and rank each project. The City also opened an online survey with the same information and questions as those presented during the in-person community conversation. The online survey was open between October 21 to October 28. The City collected 91 responses from the in-person and online surveys.

24.49 5 - y e a r R o a d m a p P a g e 4 4
C i t y o f S a n t a C r u z
During the October 21, 2024 community conversation, the City also collected general comments from the community for topics and category areas not covered in the proposed projects, which are summarized listed below.

Pedestrian/Bike Pathway
Separate paths for pedestrians and bikes on West Cliff (+9 additional comments on this topic)
Additional striping, scramble (all way crossings) at key intersections, sharrows (speed humps), signage to share the path, keep right, and flashing pedestrian crossing signs (+4 additional comments on this topic)
Pedestrian route on Pelton (+3 additional comments on this topic) Fix sidewalks and add sidewalks where missing (+2 additional comments on this topic)
Elevated bike lane
Wider multi-use path for safety and access
Improve maintenance
Prioritize bike/pedestrian access
West Cliff is not safe for pedestrians and electric bicycles Add one-way bicycle lanes and larger pedestrian paths as part of the Lighthouse Field Roadway Relocation Project
Cars/Roadway
Bring back the one-way pilot to make more space for people Study circulation of West Cliff
Less cars and pollution along West Cliff
No paid parking
Two-way access for West Cliff
Reducing the speed limit
Install a roundabout at the State Park parking lot or at Columbia Other
Native landscaping
Incorporating nature-based solutions
People should be able to access West Cliff
Involve non-surfers more in the process

OTHER COMMENTS FROM
OCTOBER 21, 2024

24.50 5 - y e a r R o a d m a p P a g e 4 5
C i t y o f S a n t a C r u z
October 28 West Cliff Implementation Committee Meeting
Topics: Debrief and update from 10/21 Community Conversation During the third WCIC meeting, the City shared the results of the October 21 Community Conversation, and the subsequent online survey. The City also shared a draft project ranking using the average of the responses by project (see Appendix C). The WCIC discussed the project ranking, project evaluation tables, and comments received during the public meeting. The WCIC noted that none of the selected projects had a nexus with bicycle or pedestrian infrastructure and commented on the lack of nature-based solution projects. The City reminded the WCIC that the City is evaluating potential nature-based solutions along the City’s coastline as part of the Living Shorelines Project. Since the Living Shorelines Project was already underway, it was not eligible to be included in the 5-year Roadmap. The City also shared an updated timeline and next steps for development of the Roadmap, including bringing the Roadmap to Council in March 2025 instead of January 2025 to allow for an extended community comment period on the draft Roadmap, and additional review by the Committee.

November 18 West Cliff Implementation Committee Meeting Topics: Feedback on the November 19 Webinar and 5-year Roadmap During the fourth WCIC meeting, the City sought feedback on the presentation planned for the November 19 Community Webinar. This included an update to the community about existing projects along West Cliff, and the five projects prioritized for inclusion in the 5-year Roadmap based on community feedback received during the October 21 meeting and survey. With many prioritized projects falling under Public Works Department, the WCIC and City staff discussed and concluded that due to limited staff capacity, the Public Works Department would only be able to undertake two additional projects, unless more staff could be hired. The WCIC suggested elevating the Corridor-wide Master Signage Plan, led by the Department of Parks and Recreation, to the prioritized project list to be able to move another project forward without overburdening the Public Works Department. The WCIC provided guidance on a clear outline for the public detailing the process needed to bring a project from idea to implementation, and describe the City's constraints for implementing projects. The WCIC also shared feedback on the draft purpose of the 5-year Roadmap.

24.51 5 - y e a r R o a d m a p P a g e 4 6
C i t y o f S a n t a C r u z
November 19 Webinar
Topics: Update on existing projects along West Cliff and the 5-year Roadmap Process
During the November 19 Webinar the City provided an update to the community about existing projects along West Cliff including West Cliff 2023-2024 Storm Damages and Infrastructure Updates, West Cliff - Bethany Curve Culvert, West Cliff Multi-Use Path Rehabilitation, Lighthouse Point Hazard and Engineering Analysis, Living Shorelines, Nature-Based Solutions, and Sand Management Feasibility Study, Local Hazard Mitigation Plan and Climate Adaptation Plan Integration and Update, Local Coastal Program Update, West Cliff, East Cliff and Main/Cowell Beaches Shoreline Adaptation Blueprints, and the Active Transportation Plan Update. The City clarified that the Active Transportation Plan, and the West Cliff, East Cliff and Main/Cowell Beaches Shoreline Adaptation Implementation Blueprints, cover the entire City, not just West Cliff. The City also shared the list of five prioritized projects the City intends to include in the 5-year Roadmap: Revetment Repair Project, Lighthouse Field Roadway Relocation Project, Santa Cruz Coastal Change Monitoring Program, West Cliff Infrastructure Financing Feasibility Study, Corridor-wide Master Signage Plan and Design Standards, while acknowledging that an emergency could change the City’s ability to complete the prioritized projects. The City shared the results of the October 21 Community Conversation and survey, as well as the capacity concerns which limit how many additional projects along West Cliff the City’s departments can begin.

During the webinar, the City answered questions from the community including questions about existing projects, as well as questions about the 5-year Roadmap process itself. The City shared an updated timeline for the 5-year Roadmap and asked the community to stay engaged in the process, as the City will be sharing the draft 5-year Roadmap for the community to review in December.

24.52 5 - y e a r R o a d m a p P a g e 4 7
C i t y o f S a n t a C r u z
December 9 West Cliff Implementation Committee
Topics: Final draft review and discuss + next steps for the Roadmap work During the December 9 WCIC meeting, the City shared the preliminary draft 5-year Roadmap for the WCIC to review. The Committee shared their overall impression of the document, including specific feedback on the structure, edits to the timeline, and restructuring the project section. The WCIC also guided additional updates to the draft 5-year Roadmap including adding definitions of key terms within the text, rather than at the end.

The City released the draft 5-year Roadmap along with a survey to collect public feedback from December 16, 2024 to January 26, 2024. The survey included opportunities to provide feedback on each section of the 5-year Roadmap. The City reviewed all survey responses and sorted them into actionable items, and made edits to the 5-year Roadmap accordingly. The results of the feedback survey were synthesized under the following most common themes, in order of frequency of public responses.

Prioritize pedestrian and bicycle access and safety
Expressions of approval of the 5-year Roadmap and/or the 5-year Roadmap development process
Support for making West Cliff Drive one-way
Concerns about the feasibility of trying to control natural forces Requests to de-prioritize cars on West Cliff Drive
Frustration with the 5-year Roadmap and/or the 5-year Roadmap development process
Concern over traffic issues
5-YEAR ROADMAP FEEDBACK
February 10 West Cliff Implementation Committee
During the February 10 WCIC meeting, the City shared high-level themes from the survey to collect feedback on the draft 5-year Roadmap, and edits made to address feedback. The City also shared next steps for the 5-year Roadmap process including the upcoming City Council meeting.

24.53 5 - y e a r R o a d m a p P a g e 4 8
C i t y o f S a n t a C r u z
Appendix E - Quick Reference Table for
Projects and the Vision
Existing Projects and their Connection to the 50-year Vision 1 West Cliff - Bethany Curve Culvert Project
Replaces roadway sections and drainage
structures and installing new culvert headwalls,
elevating the road surface, and install new
concrete guardrails to protect against wave
overtopping
2 West Cliff Storm Damages and Infrastructure
Repairs
Addresses storm damages and infrastructure
repairs
Includes constructing infill walls, repairing
sinkholes, fixing pipe connections, and restoring
pathways along sections of West Cliff
3 West Cliff Multi-Use Path Rehabilitation Project
Refinishes the West Cliff path’s asphalt surface
from Natural Bridges State Beach to David Way to
enhance safety and accessibility for all users, as
well as enhancing crossings at multiple
intersections between Swanton Boulevard and
David Way
4 Lighthouse Point Hazard and Engineering Analysis
Study to understand the existing conditions of
caves and rock formations surrounding
Lighthouse Point and recommend options to
protect, restore, and/or relocate infrastructure
along Lighthouse Point

24.54 5 - y e a r R o a d m a p P a g e 4 9
C i t y o f S a n t a C r u z
5 Living Shorelines, Nature-Based Solutions, and
Sand management Feasibility Study
Assessment of the feasibility of using living
shorelines, sand management techniques, and
other nature-based solutions to address
coastal hazards
Includes recommendations and 30% designs
for future projects
6 Local Hazard Mitigation Plan and Climate
Adaptation Plan Integration & Update
Inventory and assessment of potential hazards
and risks to the City’s residents, buildings and
critical facilities, and develop mitigation and
adaptation strategies to implement over five
years
7 Local Coastal Program (LCP) Update
Required by the California Coastal Commission
Assess City’s Coastal Change Monitoring
Systems by evaluating existing triggers,
monitoring technology, and community science
data collection sources and geophysical data
systems
Triggers will be integrated with the LCP Policy
and implementation framework to understand
when certain coastal management decisions
need to be made.
8 West Cliff, East Cliff and Main/Cowell Beaches
Shoreline Adaptation Implementation Blueprints
Develop and deliver accessible, communitysupported, Shoreline Adaptation Blueprints for three subareas of the City’s coastline
Shoreline Adaptation Blueprints provide both
planning and implementation outlines for the
sites considered to accelerate investment in
implementing coastal resilience

24.55 5 - y e a r R o a d m a p P a g e 5 0
C i t y o f S a n t a C r u z
Prioritized 5-Year Roadmap Projects and their Connection to the 50- year Vision
1 Revetment Repair Project
Involves the design and construction of a
400-foot-long section of two-way West Cliff
Drive roadway and recreational path, shifted
out of the projected erosion zone
2 Lighthouse Field Roadway Relocation
Involves the design and construction of a
400-foot-long section of two-way West Cliff
Drive roadway and recreational path, shifted
out of the projected erosion zone
3 Santa Cruz Coastal Monitoring Network
Designed to track and analyze coastal
changes to provide updated data that can
inform the long-term management decisions
on the City’s coastline
4 West Cliff Infrastructure Financing Feasibility
Study
Involves evaluating all available funding and
financing mechanisms to make
recommendations on how the City could fund
infrastructure projects along West Cliff.
5 Corridor-wide Master Signage Plan and
Design Standards
Specify design standards for landscaping,
overlooks, railings, park signs, interpretive
signs, and minor retaining walls.

24.56 5-year Roadmap for
West Cliff
C i t y o f S a n t a C r u z
Quick Guide to the 5-year Roadmap for West
Cliff

PURPOSE
The 5-year Roadmap development process serves as a tool for advancing decisions made in the 50-year Vision for West Cliff, while maintaining accountability for the City to implement adaptive coastal management along the dynamic coast of West Cliff and align projects across City planning documents.

CONTEXT
By identifying projects consistent with the 50-year Vision, the City is able to allocate resources to those projects and move them forward for analysis and consideration in the next five years.

The City will achieve the 50-year Vision while balancing existing projects, unplanned projects related to disaster recovery, erosion, or other impacts of climate change.

Going forward, the City intends to integrate identification of the next set of priority projects along West Cliff into the City’s Capital Investment Program (CIP), leveraging the pillars of the 50-year Vision and the updated Local Coastal Program (LCP).

PROJECT PROCESS
After the 2023 storm damage on West
Cliff, the City was able to take quick
action and secure expedited permits
and funding due to the emergency
nature of the damages.

Developing, designing, and
implementing a project requires a
significant amount of City staff time,
planning, and effort to bring a project
from concept to completion.

It can take the City between two and
five years to complete a project,
depending on the project’s
complexity, and scale.

Throughout each step, City staff
follow regulations and respond to
community concerns while keeping
projects on schedule and within the
allowable budget. The graphic to the
right outlines the project process.

ANALYSIS AND

PERMITTING
(3 months to 3+ years)
Environment Review
Regulatory Permitting
Property Permissions

IMPLEMENTATION
(1 to 5+ years)
Project Construction

DEVELOPMENT
(1 to 3+ years)
Project Description
Secure Funding
Evaluate Capacity
Design Project

MITIGATION AND

MONITORING
(1 to 5+ years)
Monitoring
Mitigation

24.57 Existing Projects Underway Outside of the 5-year
Roadmap
5-year Roadmap Prioritized Projects
West Cliff Bethany Curve Culvert Project
West Cliff - Storm Damages and Infrastructure Repairs
West Cliff Multi-Use Path Rehabilitation
Lighthouse Point Hazard and Engineering Analysis
Living Shorelines, Nature-Based Solutions, and Sand Management Feasibility Study Local Hazard Mitigation Plan and Climate Adaptation Plan Integration and Update Local Coastal Program Update
West Cliff, East Cliff and Main/Cowell Beaches Shoreline Adaptation Implementation Blueprints
Revetment Repair Project
Lighthouse Field Roadway Relocation
Santa Cruz Coastal Change Monitoring Network
West Cliff Infrastructure Financing Feasibility Study
Corridor-wide Master Signage Plan and Design Standards
C i t y o f S a n t a C r u z
To read the entire 5-year Roadmap scan the QR code to the left or visit: www.cityofsantacruz.com/westcliff

24.58 5-year Roadmap
for West Cliff
Santa Cruz City Council
March 11, 2025
1 24.59
• Background on 5-year Roadmap
• 5-year Roadmap Development Process
• Community Engagement and Feedback
• 5-year Roadmap Proposed Project
• Existing West Cliff Projects Underway
• Next Steps + Questions
Agenda
2 24.60
Background on 5-year Roadmap
3 24.61
50-year Community Vision for West Cliff
• Adopted by Council in April 2024
"Over the next 50 years, the community
envisions a resilient and accessible West
Cliff for all - celebrating the beauty and
awe of the coast, while balancing the
varied uses of residents and visitors, and
keeping the community safe."
www.cityofsantacruz.com/westcliff
4 24.62
50-year Vision Pillars in 5-year Roadmap
Balancing Change and a Collective
Future
Beauty, Resilience, and
Continued Uses
Prioritizing Pedestrian and Bicycle
Access
One-way Vehicle Access and
Additional Traffic Control
Limited Hard Armoring
Exploring Nature-based Solutions
and Engineered Natural Feature
Restoration
Park Space as Recreation Area
and Buffer
Planned Relocation
Collaboration
Consider the Safety and Quality of
Life of the Neighborhoods
Abutting West Cliff Drive
5 24.63
5-year Roadmap
Purpose and Context
5-Year Roadmap:
• Serves as a tool to thoughtfully and comprehensively kickoff the implementation of the 50-year Community Vision • Identifies priority projects for analysis and consideration to advance the 50-year Community Vision between March
2025 and December 2030
• Supports City implementation of adaptive coastal
management and alignment of projects across City planning documents
6 24.64
5-year Roadmap Development Process
7 24.65
Roadmap Development
8 24.66
Community Engagement and Feedback
9 24.67
Community Conversations
and Information Sharing
Community Conversation - September 26
-Community refinement of project prioritization
Community Conversation - October 21
-Community feedback collected during in-person meeting
and online survey with community project ranking used to develop ranked list of projects
Community Information Sharing Webinar - November 19
-Reported back on community project ranking and Q & A
Draft Roadmap Public Comment - December 18 - January 26 -Public comment on Draft Roadmap
77% of respondents found
Roadmap purpose clear

24.68 10
5-year Roadmap Proposed Projects
11 24.69
Roadmap Final Proposed Project List
Project Department 50 Yr Vision
Revetment Repair Project Public Works
Lighthouse Field Roadway Relocation Project Public Works Santa Cruz Coastal Change Monitoring Program City Manager’s Office West Cliff Infrastructure Financing Feasibility
Study
City Manager’s Office
Corridor-wide Master Signage Plan and Design
Standards
Parks and Recreation
12 24.70
5-year Roadmap Progress Updates
• Individual 5-year Roadmap projects
brought before City Council
• City Newsletter updates on
Roadmap projects
• Email subscription lists and social
media posts highlighting updates
• Media releases regarding project
milestones
13 24.71
Existing West Cliff Projects Underway
14 24.72
Project Department 50 Yr Vision
West Cliff – Bethany Curve Culvert Project Public Works West Cliff Storm Damages and Infrastructure Repair Public Works West Cliff Multi-Use Path Rehabilitation Project City Manager’s Office Lighthouse Pt Hazard and Engineering Analysis City Manager’s Office Existing West Cliff Projects Underway
15 24.73
Existing West Cliff Projects Continued
Project Department 50 Yr Vision
Living Shorelines , Nature-Based Solutions, and
Sand Managment Feasibility Study
Public Works
Local Hazard Mitigation Plan and Climate Adaptation
Plan Integration & Update
Public Works
Local Coastal Program (LCP) Update City Manager’s Office West Cliff, East Cliff and Main/Cowell Beaches
Shoreline Adaptation Implementation Blueprints
City Manager’s Office
16 24.74
Next Steps
17 24.75
Next Steps
• Council considers adoption of 5-year Roadmap establishing prioritized projects aligned with Vision
• City advances existing and prioritized projects along West Cliff • Integrate priority West Cliff projects into citywide Capital Investment Program (CIP)
• Update the Vision concurrently with the City’s next LCP update • Continue to engage with Community, stakeholders, and regulators 18 24.76
Receive comments on
and adopt the 5-year
Roadmap for West Cliff
Recommendation
19 24.77
Questions
20 24.78
Supplemental
Slides
21 24.79
Department Location Project Cost Emergency Status Duration Public Works
Department
West Cliff
coastline
Estimated cost: $15,000,000/
Annual maintenance funding:
$500,000/year
Not an emergency
project 2025-2030
Summary
This project aims to enhance recreational uses and maintain the existing path while repurposing existing riprap if possible and minimizing the addition of new riprap.

Connection to 50-Year Vision Pillars:

Revetment Repair Project
Connection
to Vision:
22 24.80
Summary
The proposed project would involve the design and construction of a 400-foot-long section of two-way West Cliff Drive roadway and recreational path, shifted approximately 50 feet inland. Doing this would move the roadway and recreation path out of the projected erosion zone.

Lighthouse Field Roadway Relocation
Connection
to Vision:

Department Location Project Cost Emergency Status Duration Public Works
Department
800 Block of West
Cliff Drive
Estimated cost:
$2,000,000 Annual
maintenance
funding: N/A
Is an emergency
project
2025 - design 2027
- roadway
acquisition and
construction
23 24.81
Summary
The Santa Cruz Coastal Change Monitoring Network is designed to track and analyze coastal changes to provide updated data that can inform the long-term management decisions on the City’s coastline. This project is critical for the longterm management of the coastline, including preparation for sea-level rise and storm impacts.

Santa Cruz Coastal Change
Monitoring Network
Connection
to Vision:

Department Location Project Cost Emergency Status Duration City Manager’s Office
and Public Works
Department
Entire City
Coastline
Estimated cost:
$350,000 Annual
maintenance funding:
$20,000
Not an emergency
project 5 years
24 24.82
Summary
The West Cliff Infrastructure Financing Feasibility Study project would involve evaluating all available funding and financing mechanisms to make recommendations on how the City could fund infrastructure projects along West Cliff. This project could include evaluating bonds, locally authorized financing mechanisms (tax increment financing, special tax district) or other mechanisms to determine the best options to fund infrastructure projects.

West Cliff Infrastructure
Financing Feasibility Study
Connection
to Vision:

Department Location Project Cost Emergency Status Duration City Manager’s
Office Not Applicable
Estimated cost: $400,000
Annual maintenance
funding: N/A
Not an emergency
project 16 months
25 24.83
Summary
The Parks and Recreation Department would lead a West Cliff Drive standards project to specify design standards for landscaping, overlooks, railings, park signs, interpretive signs, and minor retaining walls. Consistent design standards will streamline City projects by making them quicker to implement as certain design decisions will already be made.

Corridor-wide Master Signage Plan
and Design Standards
Connection
to Vision:

Department Location Project Cost Emergency Status Duration Department of
Parks and
Recreation
Along the entirety
of West Cliff
Estimated cost:
$100,000 Annual
maintenance funding:

N/A
Not an emergency
project 18 months
26 24.84
Remaining Projects
Project Department
West Cliff Drive Sea Cave Stabilization Public Works
West Cliff Stormwater Outfall Rehabilitation Public Works West Cliff Parking Management Plan Public Works
27 24.85

25.1

Santa Cruz City CouncilMarch 11, 2025

Santa Cruz City Council
March 11, 2025