ARTICLE
A Modern Vision for Downtown Santa Cruz - Time for Thinking Outside of the Box In our small coastal town there are a few folks who reside here longing for the past — thinking back to the 1970s. These residents have been called out as the leaders of progressive politics. I think with the opposite view; we should keep moving forward and not get stuck in the past. But even while moving forward we can still learn from our past and benefit from those experiences, something that the Santa Cruz County Chamber has down for 130 years. In the last 40 years, Santa Cruz has changed with the times — adapting to natural disasters, earthquakes, floods and fires, financial meltdowns, climate change and, yes, political insecurity. Economic activity is critically important to the vibrancy of our community. Ask any business leader what drives their company, retail shop, store or restaurant to profitability and the response will be: Customer accessibility to their business, responsive customer service, reasonable and equitable cost of product or services and the ability to meet the changing business climate. Yes, change is inevitable. We can either embrace it or resist it. The Santa Cruz County Chamber embraces change. Today, we stand at the crossroads of change. Downtown Forward was formed as a community movement that advocates for initiatives and projects that will make life in Downtown Santa Cruz better for residents, workers and visitors by bringing new housing, jobs, amenities and infrastructure that embrace technology along with a commitment to fight climate change and a strong sense of community. Priorities include a mixed-use project that features a 21st-century library, affordable housing, parking and transportation adapted to “green” best practices, and a permanent home for the Farmers’ Market. Here is the story: On February 11, 2016, the Santa Cruz Public Library (SCPL) Facilities Financing Authority placed a $67 million bond measure (later designated Measure S) on the 2016 June ballot. With 70% approval, Measure S passed with overwhelming support. Measure S set in motion for each community library — Aptos, Boulder Creek, Branciforte, Downtown, Felton, Garfield Park, La Selva Beach, Live Oak and Scotts Valley to utilize Measure S funds to produce the most cost effective option for each community library. This link provides background and updates on improvements planned for all 10 branches of the Santa Cruz Public Library (SCPL) system, using funds from the 2016 Library Bond Measure S. In 2017, the City Council appointed a 10-member Downtown Library Advisory Committee (DLAC). Here is the full report presented to the Council in September 2018, which includes a summary of their research, community outreach, options considered, and final recommendation. View it here! The summary of the DLAC report stated that the backbone of the Countywide Library System — the Santa Cruz Downtown Library — is currently housed in a building that passed its prime year and has major infrastructure deficiencies. DLAC came to the conclusion, after an inclusive open and transparent process with thorough public participation over a year, by recommending that a new modernized Library was a better more economically and environmental solution than to close the circa 1966 Downtown Library for up to two years and remodel the decaying building. Driven by the need to be innovative and partner with others to help secure project funding is a top reason for a new downtown library. The question was where and with whom to partner? In December 2016, the City Council directed the formation of the Downtown Library Advisory Committee to identify future library needs, define scope of library services and evaluate remodeling the current site, building new on the current site and participating in a multi-use facility on Lot 4. DLAC completed its report in January 2018; in September 2018, the City Council endorsed the DLAC report including option B which relocates the Downtown branch to a multi-use facility on Lot 4. Like other cities in the face of creating a vibrant downtown, Chicago found ways to be innovative both in the design and funding of three new city-owned facilities that serve as both libraries and public housing. Chicago Library and Co-location Chicago had been exploring co-located libraries for several years, previously having opened a library co-located with a high school complex. But this is the first time the city has co-located a library with public housing, and they are among the first such urban facilities in the country, following in the footsteps of cities like Los Angeles. Yet, in our ‘bubble world’ perception on the central coast, and specifically in the City of Santa Cruz, we face many challenges to meet and address our future. The community wants and supports a modern new Library. The businesses in downtown want their customers to have better access to their business with adequate parking. Downtown employees yearn for the day when there is affordable rental housing in downtown to remove the long commute to work and the return to home. There has been misinformation provided to the general public on what constitutes a mixed use building. Where is the location? And what are the parameters for a project? All those questions can be addressed efficiently with the design, creation and development of a mixed use project as outlined on the Downtown Forward website: click here! One of my favorite poems is Robert Frost’s “The Road Not Taken.” Robert Frost wrote this poem to highlight a trait of, and poke fun at, his friend Edward Thomas, an English-Welsh poet, who, when out walking with Frost in England would often regret not having taken a different path. Thomas would sigh over what they might have seen and done, and Frost thought this quaintly romantic. In other words, Frost's friend regretted not taking the road that might have offered the best opportunities, despite it being an unknown. The City of Santa Cruz is at a fork in the road — we can take the path less chosen by building a modern 21st Century mixed use project which decides our future, our destination.
A Modern Vision for Downtown Santa Cruz - Time for Thinking Outside of the Box In our small coastal town there are a few folks who reside here longing for the past — thinking back to the 1970s. These residents have been called out as the leaders of progressive politics. I think with the opposite view; we should keep moving forward and not get stuck in the past. But even while moving forward we can still learn from our past and benefit from those experiences, something that the Santa Cruz County Chamber has down for 130 years. In the last 40 years, Santa Cruz has changed with the times — adapting to natural disasters, earthquakes, floods and fires, financial meltdowns, climate change and, yes, political insecurity.
Economic activity is critically important to the vibrancy of our community. Ask any business leader what drives their company, retail shop, store or restaurant to profitability and the response will be: Customer accessibility to their business, responsive customer service, reasonable and equitable cost of product or services and the ability to meet the changing business climate. Yes, change is inevitable. We can either embrace it or resist it. The Santa Cruz County Chamber embraces change.
Today, we stand at the crossroads of change. Downtown Forward was formed as a community movement that advocates for initiatives and projects that will make life in Downtown Santa Cruz better for residents, workers and visitors by bringing new housing, jobs, amenities and infrastructure that embrace technology along with a commitment to fight climate change and a strong sense of community. Priorities include a mixed-use project that features a 21st-century library, affordable housing, parking and transportation adapted to “green” best practices, and a permanent home for the Farmers’ Market.
Here is the story: On February 11, 2016, the Santa Cruz Public Library (SCPL) Facilities Financing Authority placed a $67 million bond measure (later designated Measure S) on the 2016 June ballot. With 70% approval, Measure S passed with overwhelming support. Measure S set in motion for each community library — Aptos, Boulder Creek, Branciforte, Downtown, Felton, Garfield Park, La Selva Beach, Live Oak and Scotts Valley to utilize Measure S funds to produce the most cost effective option for each community library. This link provides background and updates on improvements planned for all 10 branches of the Santa Cruz Public Library (SCPL) system, using funds from the 2016 Library Bond Measure S.
In 2017, the City Council appointed a 10-member Downtown Library Advisory Committee (DLAC). Here is the full report presented to the Council in September 2018, which includes a summary of their research, community outreach, options considered, and final recommendation. View it here! The summary of the DLAC report stated that the backbone of the Countywide Library System — the Santa Cruz Downtown Library — is currently housed in a building that passed its prime year and has major infrastructure deficiencies. DLAC came to the conclusion, after an inclusive open and transparent process with thorough public participation over a year, by recommending that a new modernized Library was a better more economically and environmental solution than to close the circa 1966 Downtown Library for up to two years and remodel the decaying building.
Driven by the need to be innovative and partner with others to help secure project funding is a top reason for a new downtown library. The question was where and with whom to partner?
In December 2016, the City Council directed the formation of the Downtown Library Advisory Committee to identify future library needs, define scope of library services and evaluate remodeling the current site, building new on the current site and participating in a multi-use facility on Lot 4. DLAC completed its report in January 2018; in September 2018, the City Council endorsed the DLAC report including option B which relocates the Downtown branch to a multi-use facility on Lot 4.
Like other cities in the face of creating a vibrant downtown, Chicago found ways to be innovative both in the design and funding of three new city-owned facilities that serve as both libraries and public housing. Chicago Library and Co-location Chicago had been exploring co-located libraries for several years, previously having opened a library co-located with a high school complex. But this is the first time the city has co-located a library with public housing, and they are among the first such urban facilities in the country, following in the footsteps of cities like Los Angeles.
Yet, in our ‘bubble world’ perception on the central coast, and specifically in the City of Santa Cruz, we face many challenges to meet and address our future. The community wants and supports a modern new Library. The businesses in downtown want their customers to have better access to their business with adequate parking. Downtown employees yearn for the day when there is affordable rental housing in downtown to remove the long commute to work and the return to home.
There has been misinformation provided to the general public on what constitutes a mixed use building. Where is the location? And what are the parameters for a project? All those questions can be addressed efficiently with the design, creation and development of a mixed use project as outlined on the Downtown Forward website: click here!
One of my favorite poems is Robert Frost’s “The Road Not Taken.” Robert Frost wrote this poem to highlight a trait of, and poke fun at, his friend Edward Thomas, an English-Welsh poet, who, when out walking with Frost in England would often regret not having taken a different path. Thomas would sigh over what they might have seen and done, and Frost thought this quaintly romantic. In other words, Frost's friend regretted not taking the road that might have offered the best opportunities, despite it being an unknown. The City of Santa Cruz is at a fork in the road — we can take the path less chosen by building a modern 21st Century mixed use project which decides our future, our destination.