City Council

The City Council would let the City Manager sign an option agreement with Citizen Energy LLC giving that company the right to license part of city parking lot 32 at 1111 Soquel Avenue to build and run four direct current fast chargers for electric vehicles. Citizen Energy would apply for state or federal grant and rebate money (such as California's National Electric Vehicle Infrastructure program or CalEVIP) and would own, install and maintain the chargers. The option lasts 24 months and can only be exercised if Citizen Energy gets a 'Notice of Proposed Award' from a grant or rebate program; if that happens, a final license agreement would come back to Council for approval. The Council would also find the action exempt from further environmental review under the California Environmental Quality Act.

The city gets federal Community Development Block Grant money from the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD) and must say each year how it will be spent. Staff want to move up to $100,000 of 2023 grant money away from the Civic Auditorium accessibility (ADA) project, which is finished and came in under budget, and put it into the Market Street Senior Center renovation, which is short of money after the lowest bid came in. A yes vote would amend the 2023 Annual Action Plan, shift the $100,000 in the FY27 budget, and send the amendment to HUD for approval.

Georgiana Bruce Kirby Preparatory School, a nonprofit K–12 college preparatory school at 425 Encinal Street, wants to borrow money through the California Municipal Public Financing Authority by issuing tax-exempt revenue bonds of up to $12,025,000. The money would pay off the school's outstanding 2013 bonds and pay for improvements to its campus. Federal tax law requires the elected body of the city where the buildings sit to hold a public hearing and approve the borrowing before the bonds can be tax-exempt, so the Council would hold that hearing and adopt a resolution of approval. A yes vote is only that federal tax approval: the city would lend nothing, guarantee nothing, and sign none of the financing documents.

City staff are giving the Council a progress report on Resilient Coast Santa Cruz 2.0, a grant-funded planning effort to write Shoreline Adaptation and Management Plans for three stretches of coast: West Cliff, Main/Cowell Beaches, and Seabright/East Cliff. Staff have drafted a proposed 30-year ("medium-term") adaptation strategy for each area made up of 40 specific projects designed for 1.6 feet of sea level rise by 2060, ranging from dune and native plant restoration to shoreline armoring, moving part of West Cliff Drive into Lighthouse Field, and floodproofing buildings along Beach Street and in Beach Flats. A yes vote accepts the update and gives staff feedback; it does not approve any project. Final recommendations are scheduled to come back to Council in 2027, with the next Council touchpoint in February.