After noting many of the changes happening around Santa Cruz this year, especially along Front Street (aerial photo by Kevin Painchaud / Lookout Santa Cruz), I took a break to watch them progress.
In the meantime, let me direct our attention to a very interesting article in Lookout Santa Cruz (in itself a notable recent change in Santa Cruz journalism). Written by Christopher Neely, "A design standards vote turns into a last grasp for local housing control in Santa Cruz" looks at recent changes to the local general plan/zoning process.
Although the article begins by noting an upcoming City Council vote on building design standards (an important subject it itself), the most interesting part of the article to me is a description of how a 2019 state law has changed local development decision-making. The law flipped the previous local pecking order between current zoning rules and the longer-range general plan, essentially accelerating the 2030 General Plan goals into current zoning. Opponents to those goals will likely now have to pivot from opposing individual project re-zoning applications to supporting broader General Plan amendments.
