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The long-awaited plan for a new downtown library with affordable housing above and an adjacent parking garage was approved on Tuesday night with a 4-2 vote by the Santa Cruz City Council. The project, which calls for a one-story library, a minimum 50 affordable housing units and a maximum 400 parking spaces, will be built on a Cedar Street parking lot 4. The project is set to include market-rate housing as a possible option among other options that will be part of future public vetting on the design of the library, the affordable housing component and the parking structure. As described by City Manager, Martin Bernal to a question from one of the council members, Bernal noted: “Tonight’s action is to approve the conceptual design of the three elements of the project — a library, an affordable housing project and the parking structure.” The project that was approved Tuesday night is nearly the same project design to the one approved by the City Council in 2018. The 2018 project approval followed a yearlong public vetting process lead by the Downtown Library Advisory Committee (DLAC). But when a new council was installed in late 2018, after the November 2018 election, that new council majority put a pause on the project essentially delaying the will of the voters who overwhelming support Measure S on the June 2016 ballot. As part of the plan approved Tuesday, city leaders will resume discussions to move the farmers market to a parking lot at Front and Cathcart streets. City leaders also will begin a public process to consider options for the existing library on Church Street with a variety of options “including affordable housing, a community park, child care and other public uses,” according to a motion made by Vice Mayor Donna Meyers. Mayor Justin Cummings, Vice Mayor Meyers and Councilmembers Martine Watkins and Renee Golder voted for the project. Council members Katherine Beiers and Sandy Brown voted against it. Councilmember Cynthia Mathews recused herself because she owns rental property near the site. As expected, but somewhat disappointing, was Council member Brown voting like a pancake flip. She was on the subcommittee that worked for over a year to come up with a unanimous recommendation of a new library, affordable housing and a parking structure that was presented to the full city council on Tuesday night. Over the course of four hours of conversation and deliberation that started at 6:30 pm and went well into the evening with the final vote coming after 10:00 pm, she contorted like a spinning wheel to say she was for affordable housing and then couldn’t muster the courage to vote for the project. What does this mean for the city and the county-wide library system? Par for the course with our City Council is the add-ons that were not a part of the initial recommendation from the subcommittee but came through the council’s deliberative approach which included several requirements: - City leaders will pursue the most housing affordability. - The building height will not exceed the five-story adjacent University Town Center, or if that is not possible then the height should not exceed the six-story apartments at 1010 Pacific Avenue. - This project’s affordable housing and the housing at the planned Pacific Station project at the downtown Metro station will be the priorities of the city’s affordable housing trust fund. - To the extent feasible, downtown employees should be given preference for the affordable housing units. Four years ago, in June 2016, the voters stated loudly that they supported a modernized countywide library system where each community would design and develop a library that meet the specific needs of their community. The central hub of the system was and is the downtown library. The 4-2 vote by this City Council was the right decision for our city’s future.
The long-awaited plan for a new downtown library with affordable housing above and an adjacent parking garage was approved on Tuesday night with a 4-2 vote by the Santa Cruz City Council.
The project, which calls for a one-story library, a minimum 50 affordable housing units and a maximum 400 parking spaces, will be built on a Cedar Street parking lot 4. The project is set to include market-rate housing as a possible option among other options that will be part of future public vetting on the design of the library, the affordable housing component and the parking structure. As described by City Manager, Martin Bernal to a question from one of the council members, Bernal noted: “Tonight’s action is to approve the conceptual design of the three elements of the project — a library, an affordable housing project and the parking structure.”
The project that was approved Tuesday night is nearly the same project design to the one approved by the City Council in 2018. The 2018 project approval followed a yearlong public vetting process lead by the Downtown Library Advisory Committee (DLAC). But when a new council was installed in late 2018, after the November 2018 election, that new council majority put a pause on the project essentially delaying the will of the voters who overwhelming support Measure S on the June 2016 ballot.
As part of the plan approved Tuesday, city leaders will resume discussions to move the farmers market to a parking lot at Front and Cathcart streets. City leaders also will begin a public process to consider options for the existing library on Church Street with a variety of options “including affordable housing, a community park, child care and other public uses,” according to a motion made by Vice Mayor Donna Meyers.
Mayor Justin Cummings, Vice Mayor Meyers and Councilmembers Martine Watkins and Renee Golder voted for the project. Council members Katherine Beiers and Sandy Brown voted against it. Councilmember Cynthia Mathews recused herself because she owns rental property near the site.
As expected, but somewhat disappointing, was Council member Brown voting like a pancake flip. She was on the subcommittee that worked for over a year to come up with a unanimous recommendation of a new library, affordable housing and a parking structure that was presented to the full city council on Tuesday night. Over the course of four hours of conversation and deliberation that started at 6:30 pm and went well into the evening with the final vote coming after 10:00 pm, she contorted like a spinning wheel to say she was for affordable housing and then couldn’t muster the courage to vote for the project.
What does this mean for the city and the county-wide library system? Par for the course with our City Council is the add-ons that were not a part of the initial recommendation from the subcommittee but came through the council’s deliberative approach which included several requirements:
- City leaders will pursue the most housing affordability. - The building height will not exceed the five-story adjacent University Town Center, or if that is not possible then the height should not exceed the six-story apartments at 1010 Pacific Avenue. - This project’s affordable housing and the housing at the planned Pacific Station project at the downtown Metro station will be the priorities of the city’s affordable housing trust fund. - To the extent feasible, downtown employees should be given preference for the affordable housing units.
Four years ago, in June 2016, the voters stated loudly that they supported a modernized countywide library system where each community would design and develop a library that meet the specific needs of their community. The central hub of the system was and is the downtown library. The 4-2 vote by this City Council was the right decision for our city’s future.