Santa Cruz Changes 151: the "off-site" option

 This week, the City of Santa Cruz Planning Commission will likely approve (it's on the consent agenda) the development permit application for the Neptune Apartments parcels at 407-415 Pacific Avenue (see Changes 147). As noted in the earlier post, ". . .  this development will have 100% "affordable" (below-market-rate-rent) units. That's happening because of a recent city rule that allowed the development proposed for 201 Front Street (see Changes 126) to be 100% market-rate, in return for 100% below-market-rate in another location." The City's notice reads:

The SC City Planning Commission will meet Thursday, April 16 at 7:00 pm at City Council Chambers, 809 Center Street in Santa Cruz. Click HERE for the agenda. Agenda items include:

Consent Public Hearing Agenda

• 407-415 Pacific Avenue – Coastal Permit, Residential Demolition Authorization Permit, Nonresidential Demolition Authorization Permit, Lot Line Adjustment, Design Permit, and Density Bonus request to demolish the existing buildings and construct an 8-story, 102-unit, 100-percent affordable apartment building with ground floor commercial space serving as the off-site affordable housing required for redevelopment of 201 Front Street (CP25-0116) on a parcel located in the CBD/CZ-O/FP-O (Central Business District/Coastal Zone Overlay/Floodplain Overlay) zone district and within the South of Laurel Area of the Downtown Plan. Environmental Review: Statutory Exemption pursuant to Public Resources Code Section 21080.66. This project requires a Coastal Permit which is not appealable to the California Coastal Commission.

Although I haven't had the chance to quiz anyone who knows how this works, I presume that the reason a developer might want to use the "off-site" option for meeting affordability inclusion requirements is that if an entire building is "affordable", then construction costs can be reduced more by reducing amenity levels for a whole building than if it's done on a unit-by-unit basis. 

This is not the first use of the "off-site" rule, and it probably won't be the last.  

Santa Cruz Changes 150: Affordable housing news

Current City of Santa Cruz multifamily development projects come in all shapes and sizes: from the all-market-rate River Row (Changes 9) to the all-below-market-rate Pacific Station North (Changes 22), and various mixes of the two. Now comes news from Santa Cruz Local about significant changes for two projects that have already received all necessary City planning approvals, but have not yet begun construction.

At 136 River Street (Changes 76), a 50-unit all-below-market-rate project on the former Outdoor World site received its building permit in March. Construction is expected to begin this year.

At 130 Center Street (Changes 54), a 233-unit project originally approved as entirely market-rate is now 100% below-market-rate. The site near Depot Park (photo below) was formerly home to several auto-related businesses.

Santa Cruz Changes 149: Openings and zoning changes

One of the images in Changes 148 was a photo I took from the top of the wide steps at River Row, the now-opening mixed-use project on Front Street. The photo at right is from farther back in the courtyard.

This Thursday, March 12, there will be an opening celebration from 11 am to 1 pm. Other openings include five new downtown businesses that have opened since the beginning of 2026. The City of Santa Cruz newsletter for March gave this list:

* Anthropologie – 1134 Pacific Ave.
* Alley Oop [bistro] – 320 Cedar St.
* Switch Bakery – 1016 Cedar St.
* Rock Salt Pilates – 1106 Pacific Ave.
* Palmetto Super Foods – 1335 Pacific Ave. 

One more notable recent opening: the Murray Street bridge over the harbor has reopened to 2-way traffic. For now, traffic will be alternating directions in the one open lane.

In zoning news, Santa Cruz will be considering a zoning overlay for the Coral Street area, in support of the temporary housing services provided by Housing Matters. The city's plan for this move can be found here. 

Out in Capitola, the city is slowly working toward a rezoning of the Capitola Mall that will allow mixed-use development, as described in the linked Sentinel article. More info can be found in Changes 141.

Santa Cruz Changes 148: The View From Here

For many years now, when developers submit proposals for public review, they often include sun studies - renderings of the shadows cast by proposed structures at various hours of the day and times of year. These studies are required because virtually all newly-proposed buildings are now much taller than the existing structures they will replace, and neighbors are rightly concerned about their loss of solar access.

A less-studied aspect of new development is its effect on view corridors. In the past, this topic mostly came up when residents protested potential loss of their ocean views, but downtown areas also have views. These are often restricted to corridors above streets, narrow canyons between tall buildings on either side. But those narrow corridors can also provide surprisingly-pleasant views, just as a camera focuses attention on a view by restricting the framing of a scene.

Those accidental corridor views, however, are often temporary. The photo above (from Pacific Avenue) shows what's happening to the view on the Lincoln Street corridor as the new central library project goes up. The existing view of historical and picturesque Calvary Episcopal Church (granted, it's the less-interesting rear of the building) is gradually being blocked as the new building rises.

However, view corridors can also be created and/or enhanced. The pedestrian areas of the soon-to-open mixed-use project on Front Street are new connections between downtown and the levee-top Riverwalk. The photo at left, taken from the top of the steps leading down to Front and Cathcart streets, shows the new view from there.

And, at the other end of short Cathcart Street is another of the new paseos that are another part of city planning to increase walkability. See Changes 57, which describes the changes at both ends of Cathcart.

Santa Cruz Changes 147: South of Laurel apartments public presentation

 

A proposed 8-story apartment tower will have a public Zoom presentation on Monday, Jan. 26 (the linked article has meeting info). The image at right is a rendering supplied by the developer.

The building will replace 10-units of 1-story motel-style housing called "Neptune Apartments", and two commercial buildings currently located at 407-413 Pacific Avenue.

The city website has more information about the proposal. One interesting wrinkle is that this development will have 100% below-market-rate-rent units. That's happening because of a recent city rule that allowed the development proposed for 201 Front Street (see Changes 126) to be 100% market-rate, in return for 100% below-market-rate in another location. 

The image at left shows the current appearance of 407-413 Pacific Ave. 

Santa Cruz Changes 146: A New Neighbor for Dominican Oaks

This week, the Santa Cruz County Planning Commission (agenda here) is expected to approve an application to replace a single-family residence at 3500 Paul Sweet Road with a 6-story apartment building. 

There's a link in the agenda to the Planning Dept. Staff report, which includes the developer's plan set.

Three sides of the parcel not fronting on the road are abutted by the Dominican Oaks retirement community. The image above right is a rendering submitted by the developer. Below is a similar view of the property, as seen today from Paul Sweet Road.

Update: The Planning Commission did not approve the application on Jan. 17, as expected, but instead delayed consideration of the application to a future date TDB.

Santa Cruz Changes 145: 2025 retrospective

 As with every other recent year, 2025 has seen a lot of changes in Santa Cruz - despite the slowdown noted in Changes 135. First, some updates to stories from Changes 130, a mid-year report, and other progress:

* The senior housing project at 126 Eucalyptus Avenue is closed in, installing windows and roofing. 
* The new Santa Cruz downtown library construction is underway, and the downtown farmers market  seems to be doing fine at its new location (Changes 127).
* Work continues on the Murray Street bridge seismic retrofit. In November, the city considered but abandoned a proposal to build a temporary rail/trail bypass on the railroad trestle.
* The city ban on gas-powered leaf blowers (Changes 131) has noticeably reduced noise in my Westside neighborhood.
* The Capitola Avenue bridge rebuild over Hwy. 1 is not yet open, but close.
* Work on the  Mar Vista Drive walk/bike bridge over Hwy. 1 in Aptos is underway.
* Work on the mixed-use project at 831 Water Street (Changes 108) is underway, and a similar project in the 900 block received city approval.
* Work continues on the  UCSC "East Meadow" housing (Changes 95).
* The Cabrillo/UCSC student housing collaboration (Changes 139) was scheduled to break ground in September, but I haven't been out there to confirm that. 
* Two downtown mixed-use projects are nearing completion: Pacific Station North (which includes the Transit Center replacement), and "River Row" on Front Street.
* Repairs of 2023 storm damage to West Cliff Drive were completed, and the road entirely reopened.

New Changes in the second half of the year.

* A developer proposes to replace the building housing The Catalyst music venue with a new mixed-use structure similar to others in the area (Changes 142).
* A new proposal aims to replace the Neptune Apartments on lower Pacific Avenue with another tall mixed-use building.  
* The developer of the big mixed-use project at 908 Ocean Street has backed out.
* In November, the city considered but abandoned a proposal to build a temporary rail/trail bypass on the railroad trestle.
* New openings: the "Whale Bridge", a new New Leaf, a new La Bahia.

 

 

Santa Cruz Changes 144: Changes in Scotts Valley

Compared to Santa Cruz, Scotts Valley changes have come at a much slower pace in the last few years. For example, it wasn't until September of this year that the city's first "affordable" housing project broke ground, near City Hall on Scotts Valley Drive.

The other main road in the L-shaped city is Mt. Hermon Road. A major change there has been the redevelopment of the old Skypark airport, which closed in 1983. The land is now mostly a city park.

Nextdoor to Skypark on Mt. Hermon Road is the King's Village shopping center. The city's Town Center plan, which has been kicking around since 2008, is a modest re-imagining of the shopping center area that includes adding housing. A more-ambitious example of this kind of effort might be the transformation of Aptos Village that has been underway for many years.

The Scotts Valley website has a page devoted to the Town Center plan. 

Santa Cruz Changes 143: Rail Trail changes strategy

The Santa Cruz County Rail Trail inches toward completion in the city of Santa Cruz, while trying to cope with route problems and rising construction estimates for later segments.

Back in 2022, I noted the start of construction on the segment from California Street to Pacific Avenue. That segment opened this year, and you can now ride or walk next to the railroad tracks from the western city limits to the Boardwalk. Once you cross the San Lorenzo River, however, things get more complicated. 

Narrow rights-of-way, narrow/outdated bridges, and mobile home encroachments in Live Oak have ballooned cost estimates, causing the Santa Cruz County Transportation Commission (SCCTC) to rethink its previous commitment to the "ultimate" trail design used in the segments completed so far - which calls for a trail separate from and adjacent to untouched railroad tracks. 

At its most recent meeting, the SCCTC narrowly voted to switch to the "interim" trail design favored by staff. The intention is to find a middle way between the expensive "ultimate" design and the "rail banking" alternative favored by supervisor Koenig. We'll see how this turns out - stay tuned!

Santa Cruz Changes 142: The Once and Future Catalyst

As iconic (and still existing) Santa Cruz institutions go, it would be hard to top The Catalyst. In 1974, Randall Kane converted the former bowling alley into a music venue that became the premier popular music venue in Santa Cruz. 

Way back in 2021, I noted in this blog that a building permit had been issued for a condo-conversion rebuild of the narrow L-shaped building that abuts The Catalyst on the north, but construction never began. Several events since then have changed the picture. The death of Catalyst owner Randall Kane left his heirs with both the property and the business. They leased the business to a third party, then put the property up for sale in July of this year. 

What happened next is unclear, but now a new development proposal has been submitted. It combines and expands the previous condo project with replacing the building currently housing The Catalyst. At this point, the plans propose to continue the music venue business in a ground-floor space about the same size and shape as now. 

The rendering at right above is from the developers plan set, and shows the corner of Pacific and Cathcart. The 1-story building on the corner is Old School Shoes, with its familiar mural extending along Cathcart to the right. That property is not included in the redevelopment proposal.

Here's the City webpage info. No public meeting has yet been scheduled:

Project Description

Project Size: Large Development Project 

City of Santa Cruz Project Number: CP25-0133

Addresses: 1009, 1011, 1015 Pacific Avenue

SB330 and Preapplication Review to demolish nonresidential buildings, combine three lots into one, and construct a 7-story mixed-use building located in the CBD (Central Business District) zone district and in the Pacific Avenue Retail District and Cedar Street Village Corridor of the Downtown Plan.