Santa Cruz Changes 130: mid-year updates

Updates on a number of Santa Cruz County development projects that have been the subjects of previous posts in this blog:

* The senior housing project at 126 Eucalyptus Avenue (photo shows the former school building in the foreground, and the St. Joseph Shrine beyond) has broken ground (Changes 56: Feb. 11, 2023).

* The Santa Cruz City Council meeting agenda for June 24 includes hearing an appeal of the multi-use project approved at 530 Ocean Street (Changes 91: May 19, 2024)

* The "Clocktower Plaza" project (Changes 94: June 22, 2024) has been approved for construction (in its 8-story iteration), subject to resolution of a dispute about projecting balconies.

* The downtown Santa Cruz farmers market has completed its relocation to the parking lot next to the downtown library (Changes 127: May 10, 2025). Toadal Fitness has found a new home on Ocean Street. The gym's former home on Walnut Avenue, and the parking lots formerly used by the farmers' market, will be demolished to make way for the new library/housing/garage development (Changes 58: Feb. 25, 2023).

* Finally open (only 2 years late) is the segment of the Coastal Rail Trail from California Street to Pacific Avenue, where it connects to the existing segment that runs past the Boardwalk to the eastern bank of the San Lorenzo River (Changes 49: Feb. 19, 2022), crossing the river on the widened bike/pedestrian bridge completed in 2019 (Changes 33: Oct, 2, 2021). The rail trail is now complete from the river to the western city limit (and on to Wilder Ranch if you don't mind a dirt trail). 

* Also: work has begun on the Murray Street bridge seismic retrofit, which will be snarling traffic through the harbor area for the next two years or more. The bridge will be closed entirely for the next 7 months.

Santa Cruz Changes 129: San Lorenzo Park Redesign Final [concept] Report

As noted in the email copied below, at its meeting on Monday, June 9, the Santa Cruz Parks and Recreation Commission will be asked to approve the San Lorenzo Park Redesign Final Report. The redesign recommendations are still at the "concept" stage, so approval doesn't commit the city to any specific element (yet). Some of the report inclusions were expected (e.g. preservation of mature trees, lawn bowling, and Lorenzo), while others may come as a surprise, including: 

• The duck pond is gone entirely, with no alternative plan for attracting and viewing water birds (although such a feature is mentioned as possibly included in "Riverlands" restoration design).
• Replacing the duck pond are two new paved paths described as components of a "multi-use lawn".
• A basketball court and four pickleball courts (all noisy) will surround the existing (quiet) lawn bowling green, making that end of the park a noisy area - especially for lawn bowlers and County offices with windows on the west side of the CGC.
• The existing direct path from the park to the CGC parking lot is gone. Restrooms there are replaced by a new larger multi-use building. New restrooms are proposed elsewhere.
• An installed slackline
• Several new memorial installations, but no recommendation to retain the existing "Bull and Bear Fights" plaque 
• Indefinite deferment of restoration planning for the "Riverlands" (aka lower terrace)  

The Parks and Recreation Department has completed the San Lorenzo Park Redesign Final Report which includes the vision, guiding principles, design goals, and design concepts. Staff will be requesting that the Parks and Recreation Commission recommend approval of the report on June 9, 2025. The San Lorenzo Park Redesign Final Report can be found here: https://www.cityofsantacruz.com/government/city-departments/parks-recreation/significant-projects/san-lorenzo-park-redesign-project.

The staff report for the June 9, 2025 Parks and Recreation Commission Meeting will be uploaded to the Parks and Recreation Commission webpage on Thursday, June 5, 2025: https://ecm.cityofsantacruz.com/OnBaseAgendaOnline/Meetings/Search?dropid=4&mtids=118