Board of Supervisors

County staff are giving the Board a six-month progress report on "Streamline Santa Cruz County," the plan to simplify building and development permits that the Board approved on June 24, 2025. Of the 12 projects in the plan, seven are now in a "check and adjust" phase or folded into regular staff duties, two are moving ahead, two are on hold for lack of money and staff, and one is close to the check-and-adjust stage. A yes vote would accept and file the report and direct staff to come back with another update no later than April 2027.

The county's civil grand jury (a group of citizen volunteers that investigates local government) released a report on June 25, 2026 called "Election Integrity – An Indispensable System Working Well." The report requires written answers from the County Clerk and the Board of Supervisors. A yes vote approves the Board's written responses to Finding 3 (about the space the Elections Department needs to keep election records as long as the law requires) and Recommendation 2 (that the Board review the Elections Department's space needs each year and work with the department to make sure there is enough room for records management and retention), and directs the Board Chair to send those responses to the Presiding Judge of the Superior Court, with a copy to the Grand Jury.

The county is asking to add $286,005 to its existing contract (19C4335) with Bogard Construction, which provides construction management help on two Juvenile Hall building projects: a Multi-Use Recreation and Program Facility (gym) and a Renovation and Upgrades project. Construction started in May 2025 and was supposed to take 365 calendar days, but delays with heating and air conditioning (HVAC) equipment and unforeseen conditions pushed projected completion to March 2027. A yes vote pays Bogard for roughly 10 more months of oversight work and lets the Director of General Services sign the amendment.

The General Services Department is reporting on progress toward possibly building mixed-use housing on part of the County's North County Government Center at 701 Ocean Street and a portion of the property at 265 Water Street in Santa Cruz. The County hired real estate consultant Cushman & Wakefield, U.S. Inc. to study zoning, parking, access, existing County and court uses, relocation needs, market conditions and whether any development scenario would pencil out financially. A yes vote would accept the update and direct staff to keep drafting a Request for Qualifications — an invitation for development firms to submit their qualifications and a vision for the site — and bring it back to the Board for approval before it goes out to developers.

County staff reviewed how the first year of Measure Q competitive grants went and are asking the Board to accept the report. Measure Q is a voter-approved parcel tax raising about $7 million a year for safe drinking water, clean beaches, wildfire risk reduction and wildlife protection, with 40 percent of that going to grants. In the first cycle, 54 applications asked for $8.9 million and the Board awarded 18 grants totaling $2.74 million on June 9, 2026. A yes vote accepts the review and directs staff to come back by November 10, 2026 with updated grant rules for the 2026-27 cycle.

The County's Health Services Agency asks the Board to approve three agreements with Central California Alliance for Health, the main Medi-Cal managed care plan in the county. Two are written agreements (Memoranda of Understanding) spelling out how the Alliance and the County's Behavioral Health Division will coordinate care — one for the County's Specialty Mental Health Plan and one for its Drug Medi-Cal Organized Delivery System, which covers substance use treatment. The third, Contract No. 27R0513, is a cost-sharing deal expected to bring the County about $415,000 a year by billing the Alliance for certain physical health costs the County pays up front. A yes vote approves all three and lets the Health Services Agency Director or a designee sign them and any related amendments.

County planning staff want permission to apply for a state grant of up to $350,000 from Caltrans' Sustainable Transportation Planning Grants Program. The money would pay staff time and consultants to write a "Mobility Hub and Transit-Oriented Development Strategic Plan" for the unincorporated parts of Santa Cruz County — a plan that would pick priority spots for transit hubs, denser housing near transit, and affordable housing, working with the Santa Cruz Metropolitan Transit District (METRO) and local cities. A yes vote authorizes the grant application, due October 9, 2026, and commits a local match of 11.47%, or $40,145.00, covered by existing staff salaries. The plan could lead to later General Plan or Zoning Code amendments that allow more development around transportation infrastructure.