General Plan Text Amendments
• Amendments to Action LU 1.1.4
• Allow Agriculture/Grazing land use designation • Preserve overall future housing potential on site• Other minor changes • Agriculture/Grazing land use designation: allow smaller areas to be designated when intended for long-term agricultural use.
24.104
24.105
No Net Loss
Two-Pronged approach:1. Southern 6.3 acres
-Redesignation to Low-Medium Density residential-Would cluster housing on southern side of site-Maintains site housing capacity as required by GP policy LU 1.1.4
2. Downtown Plan Expansion
-Additional housing capacity would cover capacity loss at both this site and Leonard site
24.106
Next Steps
• Today: first reading of rezoning ordinances, resolution for general plan amendments
• May 27th:
• second reading of rezoning ordinances• resolution for LCP certification and amendments• resolution to submit rezoning of northern four acres and LCP amending resolution to Coastal Commission
• July: Anticipated Coastal Commission approval
24.107
RecommendationMotion to: 1) Adopt a resolution amending the general plan land use designation of the site and make related general plan text amendments; 2) Introduce for publication an ordinance amending the
zoning designation of the northern four acres of the subject site; and 3) Introduce for publication an ordinance amending the
zoning designation of the southern approximately 6.3 acres of the subject site.
24.108
City Council
AGENDA REPORT
DATE: 5/8/2025
AGENDA OF: 5/13/2025
DEPARTMENT: Planning & Community Development
SUBJECT: Leonard Street General Plan Land Use Map Amendment. CEQA: General Plan 2030 Environmental Impact Report. Applicant: City of Santa Cruz (PL) LOCATION: District 1
RECOMMENDATION: Motion to adopt a resolution recognizing the environmental determination and approving the proposed amendment to the General Plan Land Use Designations for 111-119 Leonard Street, changing the designation from Mixed-Use Visitor Commercial (MXVC) to Low-Medium Density Multifamily Residential (L-M), as directed by the City Council.
BACKGROUND: On January 24, 2023, the City Council directed staff to pursue the redesignation of three parcels at the northwest corner of Leonard Street and May Avenue.
Because this action will reduce the amount of housing that could be developed on these sites, state law limits this action to occasions when a concurrent increase in housing capacity is processed on another site. The Downtown Plan Expansion will be processed on the same timeline as this item and is proposed to provide the additional housing capacity necessary to allow this housing capacity reduction on Leonard Street. The three subject parcels, addresses 111 through 119 on Leonard Street, are currently designated for Mixed-Use Visitor Commercial (MXVC) in the 2030 General Plan. Prior to the adoption of the General Plan, the parcels were designated for Low-Medium Density Multifamily Residential (L-M). Further detail and background can be found in the Planning Commission Agenda Report of April 17, 2025 (www.cityofsantacruz.com/allmeetings/planningcommission) and the attached City Council Agenda Report from January 24, 2023.
DISCUSSION: The existing MXVC land use designation was approved for these Leonard St. properties as part of the 2030 General Plan process. The 2030 General Plan focused on supporting mixed-use land uses, so future housing and commercial development could be developed at specific nodes and along certain corridors throughout the City. The corridors of Ocean Street (100 feet west of the site) and Water Street (450 feet north of the site) are both designated as major transit corridors, conveying visitors and residents from the freeway to the beach, or from the midtown area toward the downtown.
The intersection of the two corridors is one of the nodes of activity that is envisioned to someday incorporate more intensive housing and commercial uses, so the block from Leonard Street to
25.1 Water Street between May Avenue and Ocean Street was designated MXVC during an early draft of the Land Use Map. As the map was refined, the two parcels at the corner of Leonard and Ocean Street were redesignated to the less intense Mixed-Use Medium Density (MXMD), along with most of the parcels on the east side of Ocean Street south of Water Street, while the parcels closer to the subject intersection remained designated for the more intense MXVC land use.
The site is currently developed with three small apartment buildings and one single-family home.
The proposed land use designation of L-M would be consistent with both the existing zoning district of Multiple Residence, Low-Density District (R-L), and consistent with the level of existing development. There is no Specific Plan that applies to these parcels, the parcels are outside the Coastal Zone, and the existing zoning and current use of those sites are not proposed to change. The only change will be the designation of these parcels on the City’s General Plan Land Use Map.
Planning Commission Public Hearing: The City Planning Commission held a duly-noticed public hearing on April 17, 2025. The item was heard as part of the Consent Agenda, and the Planning Commission recommended that the City Council approve the proposed amendments.
One person from the neighborhood spoke in support of the amendment, and a few pieces of correspondence were submitted in advance. The correspondence shows a range of understanding of the project, with some commenters assuming the action would increase potential for development and that a new development was proposed. Correspondence that reflected an accurate understanding of the proposed action was supportive of the staff recommendation and subsequent Planning Commission recommendation.
Community Outreach: This item has been discussed at several City Council public hearings– first when the rezonings for the objective standards for multi-family housing were considered and as a stand-alone item in January of 2023. Staff met with a group of interested neighbors who have stayed engaged with staff and elected officials since the issue was initially discussed during the objective standards process.
Next Steps: This project is dependent on the upzoning action in the Downtown Plan Expansion area. Any delay to the Downtown Plan Expansion project would require a similar delay in the timing of this project. General Plan Amendments do not require a second reading and take effect immediately upon action by the City Council. As such, this item will take effect upon final action by the City Council on the General Plan Amendments associated with the Downtown Plan Expansion project, currently scheduled for the same May 13, 2025 hearing. The City’s online version of the General Plan Land Use Map would also be updated to reflect the changes, which may take up to two weeks following the date of City Council action. No other action is required.
CALIFORNIA ENVIRONMENTAL QUALITY ACT (CEQA) DETERMINATION: This project represents a reduction in the level of development studied for these sites as part of the Environmental Impact Report adopted for the 2030 General Plan in June 2012. The increased development potential in the Downtown Plan Expansion has been addressed through the creation of a separate CEQA document to consider that project.
25.2 HEALTH IN ALL POLICIES (HiAP): City Municipal Code Section 6.02.020 states that “Health in All Policies” means a collaborative approach to improving the well-being of all people by incorporating health, sustainability, and equity considerations into decision-making across sectors and policy areas. The redesignation of parcels on Leonard Street reflects consideration of neighborhood concerns by decision makers. While downzoning may reduce the potential positive effects on sustainability and equity that could be realized in this central location within the City, the concurrent upzoning in the downtown area will, taken together with this action, result in an overall positive impact to sustainability, health, and equity when both projects are considered.
FISCAL IMPACT:
1. The recommendation in this report impacts the General Fund: Yes
2. This recommendation requires a budget adjustment: No
3. The recommendation creates an on-going expenditure commitment: No FISCAL IMPACT DESCRIPTION: This project created indirect fiscal impacts due to staff time expended on the item, including meetings and preparation of the materials and maps. This item will have direct, long-term fiscal impacts by reducing potential for increased property tax income from future redevelopment and from loss of development capacity.
Prepared By:
Sarah Neuse
Senior Planner
Matthew VanHua
Principal Planner
Submitted By:
Lee Butler
Planning and Community
Development Director
Approved By:
Matt Huffaker
City Manager
ATTACHMENTS:
1. RESOLUTION AMENDING GENERAL PLAN LAND USE DESIGNATIONS.DOCX
2. JANUARY 24, 2023 CITY COUNCIL MEETING AGENDA REPORT.PDF
25.3 RESOLUTION NO. NS-30,XXX
RESOLUTION OF THE CITY COUNCIL OF THE CITY OF SANTA CRUZ AMENDING THE CITY’S GENERAL PLAN 2030 BY AMENDING THE LAND USE MAP WHEREAS, the City adopted the General Plan 2030 by Resolution No. NS-28,527 on June 26, 2012; and
WHEREAS, the General Plan Land Use Designations for 111-119 Leonard Street (three parcels) were adopted as Mixed-Use Visitor Commercial (MXVC) with the adoption of the General Plan in June 2012; and
WHEREAS, following neighborhood outreach and Council direction, it was recommended that the General Plan Land Use Designation for the three 111-119 Leonard Street parcels be amended from MXVC to Low-Medium Density Multifamily Residential (L-M); and WHEREAS, consistent with state law, the concurrent increase in housing development capacity within the proposed Downtown Plan Expansion provides equivalent or greater housing development capacity than that potential capacity that is reduced by this amendment to the General Plan Land Use Designation on the subject parcels; and
WHEREAS, the City Planning Commission held a public meeting on April 17, 2025 and recommended that the City Council approve the proposed amendment to the General Plan; and WHEREAS, the City Council conducted a public hearing on May 13, 2025, and now finds:
1. The proposed amendment is deemed to be in the public interest.
2. The proposed amendment to the Land Use Map is consistent and compatible with the rest of the adopted 2030 General Plan and any implementation programs that may be affected. The map amendment will be consistent with the Land Use Element as the proposed designation will be the same as adjacent parcels to the south, east, and southeast.
3. The potential impacts of the map amendment have been assessed and have been determined to not to be detrimental to public health, safety or welfare.
4. In accordance with the California Environmental Quality Act (CEQA), the proposed change to the Land Use Map is covered by the analysis conducted as part of the initial General Plan 2030 Environmental Impact Report adopted June 26, 2012 and all addenda thereto.
NOW THEREFORE, BE IT RESOLVED by the City Council of the City of Santa Cruz that with respect to the environmental review of the amendment to the Land Use Map that there is no substantial evidence that the amendment will have a significant effect upon the environment; and
25.4 NOW THEREFORE, BE IT FURTHER RESOLVED by the City Council of the City of Santa Cruz, that it hereby adopts the amendment to the Land Use Map for the three parcels at the northwest corner of the intersection of Leonard Street and May Avenue, as shown in Exhibit A attached hereto and incorporated herein by reference.
PASSED AND ADOPTED this 13th day of May, 2025, by the following votes:
AYES: .
NOES:
ABSENT:
DISQUALIFIED:
APPROVED: ______________________________
Fred Keeley, Mayor
ATTEST: _________________________________
Bonnie Bush, City Clerk Administrator
25.5 25.6
25.7 CITY COUNCIL
AGENDA REPORT
DATE: 12/22/2022
AGENDA OF: 1/24/2023
DEPARTMENT: Planning
SUBJECT: Schedule for General Plan Map Amendments for 111-119 Leonard Street (PL)
RECOMMENDATION: Motion to accept the report regarding the schedule for the proposed General Plan Map amendments.
BACKGROUND: During the discussion of the Objective Standards project and accompanying rezonings in August 2022, residents of the Central Park Neighborhood raised issue with three parcels on Leonard Street (111-119) that had been designated Mixed Use-Visitor Commercial (MXVC) as part of the 2030 General Plan adoption in 2012. These neighbors were concerned that, should the conforming rezonings as part of the Objective Standards take place as recommended by staff, these three parcels could be developed in a more intense manner than the existing land uses. Another concern of the neighbors was that the existing residential use of the land could be developed as commercial development (as allowed under the proposed Mixed Use Visitor High Density (MU-VH) zone district). The neighbors brought these concerns to the City’s Planning staff and to the sitting City Council seeking a remedy that would preserve the existing residential uses at the same land use density as the rest of the neighborhood on the surrounding blocks of Leonard Street, May Avenue, and Dakota Avenue. Ultimately, City Council passed the following motion on November 15, 2022, as part of approving the Objective Standards project:
1) Remove 111, 113, 115, and 119 Leonard Street from zoning map amendments. 2) Direct staff to initiate a planning process through the Ocean Street Area Plan, Housing Element update, and Downtown Expansion Plan, to study 111, 113, 115 and 119 Leonard Street parcels, with the goal of designating the parcels as low-medium residential density and eliminating commercial use for those three parcels, and accommodate the lost residential density in another area, as required by state law.” 3) Direct staff to return to Council at the January 24, 2023 meeting with a project schedule for the planning process for the planning outcomes. Within one year of initiation, provide a report on the project schedule and return to Council for potential direction to pursue the option of a General Plan amendment if the 3-part planning process described in #2 has begun to experience an extended timeline unforeseen by staff.
25.8 This Council item is the requested report back to detail the intended project schedule.
DISCUSSION: The direction from City Council identifies three upcoming planning processes that could potentially incorporate the desired land use redesignation of the Leonard Street parcels. Each one will be described briefly, along with the accompanying project schedule. In order to accomplish the redesignation of these three parcels, the City must identify sites that can receive an equivalent or greater amount of net residential capacity that will be removed from Leonard Street. The Housing Crisis Act requires that the City maintain the existing residential development capacity within its borders and stipulates that there can be “no net loss” of residential development capacity. This means that in order to reduce the allowed residential development potential on these three sites, the City must increase development potential, by an equal or greater amount, on other land within the City limits in a simultaneous action. Each of the projects below provide an opportunity to execute such a density transfer.
Ocean Street Area Plan
Updates are necessary to the Ocean Street Area Plan (OSAP) to complete the implementation of the City’s 2030 General Plan under the current state law provisions that require full build-out of the development allowed under the General Plan. Bringing the OSAP into full conformance with the General Plan will require adjusting the allowed heights on 15 parcels where the General Plan Land Use designation allows for up to 2.75 Floor Area Ratio (FAR). The OSAP limits heights to a maximum of three stories on these parcels, and accounting for setbacks, stepbacks, open space, and parking, the allowed FAR and height maximum are incompatible. Because the General Plan governs development allowances under the Housing Crisis Act, the height in the OSAP and the existing zoning must be adjusted to accommodate the 2.75 FAR. This was the same reasoning behind the rezonings as part of the Objective Standards project, but those rezonings did not require separately amending an approved area plan.
Staff anticipates initiating work on the OSAP in the spring of 2023. Community engagement work will occupy the first few months of the project timeline, and then staff will prepare the required amendments to the OSAP maps and text through the summer and into the fall. This process will help determine if the excess development capacity from the three Leonard Street parcels can be relocated onto other parcels within the boundaries of the OSAP. If so, the redesignation of those three parcels could happen concurrently with action on the amendments to the OSAP. The final plan amendments are anticipated to be ready for public hearings with the Planning Commission and City Council in late 2023. However, depending on the scope of the land use changes, requisite reviews under the California Environmental Quality Act (CEQA) could extend that timeline.
Housing Element Update
Work on the City’s Housing Element Update has been underway for several months and is anticipated to continue through the calendar year of 2023. The City and its consultant team are aiming to submit multiple drafts of the Housing Element to the California Department of Housing and Community Development (HCD) before the required deadline of December 31, 2023. The Housing Element will include a program calling for additional land to be identified for increased housing production in the amount necessary to meet the City’s housing obligations under the Regional Housing Need Allocation (RHNA) and possibly an additional number of units to help ensure that the required housing can be built and to satisfy HCD reviewers. At the time of the writing of this report, the exact number of housing units that will need to be accommodated through rezoning and amendments to the General Plan is not yet known, though
25.9 preliminary indications from the City’s consultants on the project are that additional residential capacity will need to be added in the City.
The Housing Element Update will be complete by the end of 2023, but the General Plan amendments and associated rezonings to accommodate new housing development would likely be completed over the following 12-18 months after certification of the Housing Element document by HCD. This time will allow the City to conduct the appropriate community outreach process around the sites that are identified for upzoning and allow for any CEQA review that might be necessary for a change in land use designations. If the redesignation of the Leonard Street parcels is included in this process, the final General Plan amendments and rezoning could happen around late 2024 to mid-2025.
Downtown Plan Expansion
City Planning staff and a consultant team are currently working on a project to expand the boundaries of the Downtown Plan to incorporate the neighborhood south of Laurel Street. This project will allow the City to add somewhere between 100 and 900 new housing units, depending on the development standards ultimately approved in the plan. At the time of drafting this report, Council has directed staff to study a minimum of 1,600 housing units for this area in the Environmental Impact Report (EIR) that will be prepared for the project. The existing development capacity in this neighborhood is approximately 930 dwelling units, based on average unit size data and the 3.5 FAR allowed throughout most of the project area. The contemplated residential capacity increases in the downtown expansion area would provide sufficient capacity to incorporate the development potential proposed to be removed from the three parcels on Leonard Street.
The current project schedule for the Downtown Plan Expansion project includes a community engagement event focusing on design, public spaces, and land uses in early 2023, and the schedule anticipates a draft of the plan and the Draft EIR by summer 2023. The plan could be finalized as soon as the end of 2023, depending on the extent and complexity of comments received on the Draft EIR that require responses from the project team. The City Council will hold a hearing to consider the proposed Downtown Plan Amendments and all other necessary regulatory amendments, as well as certification of the EIR sometime between November 2023 and March 2024. The Leonard Street rezoning and General Plan Land Use Designation amendment could take place in that same action.
Leonard Street Process. Based on the various timelines for the above projects, the OSAP updates would currently bring the general plan amendments and rezonings for the three Leonard Street parcels to the Council the soonest. If appropriate land can be identified within that project area as receiving sites for the excess development capacity, all the required policy amendments could potentially take place as early as the Fall of 2023.
If appropriate sites are not identified with in the OSAP boundary or if CEQA analyses associated with residential capacity shifts would delay that project, the next opportunity to include the parcels in a General Plan amendment action will be with the approval of the Downtown Plan Expansion in late 2023 or early 2024. In this scenario, staff would continue to engage with the Leonard Street neighbors as part of the OSAP update process, but the final action to change the General Plan Land Use Designation from MXVC (Mixed Use – Visitor Commercial) to LM (Residential – Low-Medium Density) would take place at the same hearing as action on the Downtown Plan Expansion. Both processes are expected to take place far in advance of potential
25.10 rezonings and General Plan amendments related to the Housing Element update, but both will be informed by the analysis determining the shortfall in appropriately zoned parcels to meet the RHNA. In short, staff will assess which of the three processes will most expeditiously bring the Leonard Street General Plan amendments and rezonings to the Council, and staff will pair the Leonard Street actions with the most expeditious process.
HEALTH IN ALL POLICIES: City Municipal Code Section 6.02.020 states that “Health in All Policies” means a collaborative approach to improving the well-being of all people by incorporating health, sustainability, and equity considerations into decision-making across sectors and policy areas. The redesignation of parcels on Leonard Street reflects consideration of neighborhood concerns by decision makers and will likely have a neutral impact on sustainability, health, and equity, though the net of the implications will be unknown until the sites that receive the transferred residential capacity are identified and evaluated.
ENVIRONMENTAL REVIEW: This information update does not constitute a project under CEQA. At such time the rezonings and General Plan amendments are proposed, the necessary environmental review under CEQA will be required.
FISCAL IMPACT: By integrating the Leonard Street parcels into one of the scheduled planning processes, the fiscal impact of this work is minimal. Additional staff time has been and will be spent on direct engagement with the neighbors and owners of Leonard Street properties above and beyond the broader community engagement activities, but this represents a small part of the overall proposed project scopes and schedules.
Prepared by:
Sarah Neuse
Senior Planner
Matt VanHua, AICP
Principal Planner
Submitted by:
Lee Butler, AICP LEED AP
Director of Planning and
Community Development
Approved by:
Matt Huffaker
City Manager
ATTACHMENTS:
None.
25.11 Brittany Inclan
From: Deborah Marks <[email protected]>
Sent: Monday, May 12, 2025 3:28 PM
To: City Council
Subject: 5/13/25 City Council Meeting Agenda Item 25
To: Santa Cruz City Council
From: Central Park Neighborhood
Re: May 13, 2025, City Council Meeting Agenda Item 25: Leonard St General Plan Land Use Map Amendment.
Dear City Council Members,
The Central Park Neighborhood would like to express our thanks and appreciation for the support and time we have gotten from City Council and Planning Department on the Amendment to move density from 111 to 119 Leonard St to the downtown area.
In the Fall of 2022 every Council Member and Sarah Neuse visited our neighborhood and agreed that MXVC zoning in the middle of our neighborhood was a mistake that needed to be changed.
On 11/15/22 City Council unanimously supported L-M residential zoning on these lots. Council and Planning agreed the logical place to relocate the density was to the Downtown Area.
On April 17, 2025 Planning Commission recommended that the City Council approve the proposed amendment to the General Plan.
We respectfully request City Council adopt this resolution:
Leonard Street General Plan Land Use Map Amendment. CEQA: General Plan 2030 Environmental Impact Report. Applicant: City of Santa Cruz (PL) LOCATION: District 1 Thank You,
Deborah Marks
Representing the Central Park Neighborhood
25.12 Leonard Street General Plan Amendment
General Plan Study Session
February 2012
City Council Hearing 5/13/2025
25.13 Leonard Street General Plan Amendment
Existing General Plan Land Use Map Proposed General Plan Land Use Map City Council Hearing 5/13/2025
25.14 26.1
27.1 27.2
27.3