Bar residents of some low-parking new housing from citywide parking permits

In plain English

The Council would give first approval ("introduce for publication") to a change in the city's residential parking permit rules. New homes or the housing part of mixed-use projects that get their first certificate of occupancy on or after November 27, 2026, and that build fewer off-street parking spaces than Santa Cruz Municipal Code section 24.12.240 would otherwise require — because state law lets them — would be labeled "ineligible properties." Residents, guests and non-resident owners at those properties could not get resident, guest, daily, border resident, specialty or non-resident owner parking permits, and the curb directly in front of the building would be taken out of the permit program. Landlords and sellers would have to give prospective tenants and buyers a signed written notice stating that residents and guests cannot get city parking permits and may be cited or fined. A yes vote advances the ordinance; final adoption is scheduled for October 2026.

Future tenants and buyers in new reduced-parking buildings near transit would be shut out of neighborhood permit parking and would have to rely on unrestricted, time-limited, metered or garage parking, while neighbors in existing homes would face less competition for permit spaces on their blocks.

Key facts

Applies to residential and mixed-use projects whose first certificate of occupancy or temporary certificate of occupancy is issued on or after November 27, 2026.
State law Assembly Bill 2097 bars cities from imposing minimum automobile parking requirements on projects within one-half mile of specified public transit (Gov. Code § 65863.2(a)).
The curb frontage directly in front of an ineligible property is removed from the permit program by a ministerial master-list change, with no petition, notice or public review, and cannot rejoin while the property stays ineligible.
Required notice language: "PARKING NOTICE: Residents of this property and their guests are not eligible to receive residential parking permits from the City of Santa Cruz. Parking in a residential permit area without a permit may result in citations and fines."
Accessory dwelling units and junior accessory dwelling units are exempted, and disabled placard or plate privileges under state law are unaffected. Staff expect no General Fund impact but "a minor reduction in parking permit revenue."
The ordinance would take effect 30 days after final adoption; Council directed staff to draft this language on May 12, 2026, after direction on August 26, 2025.

Reasons to support

Staff say community members have repeatedly raised concerns about parking availability in already crowded neighborhoods, spillover parking, and access for seniors and people with mobility limitations near new development, and this is a tool the city can still use.
The ordinance does not change how many off-street spaces any project must build under section 24.12.240 and does not alter any entitlement or building permit — permits are annual and never guarantee a specific space, so staff argue the city is acting within California Vehicle Code section 22507.
Staff argue that offering permit on-street parking to buildings that used state law to build less parking would undercut the state's own goals of promoting transit use and reducing car dependence.

Reasons to oppose or change it

Households in the new buildings — including people who did not choose the reduced parking — would be permanently barred from resident, guest and daily permits, and their visitors could be cited or fined for parking in the surrounding permit area.
Removing the frontage in front of an ineligible property from the permit program is ministerial, with no petition, notice or public review, so nearby residents get no say in that change and the curb may become unrestricted parking open to anyone.
Two identical new buildings could be treated differently based only on whether they used a state parking reduction, and the rule applies even if the prior building on the same address had permits; staff also acknowledge the city would collect somewhat less permit revenue.

Official wording

Amendment to Santa Cruz Municipal Code Chapter 10.41 Pertaining to Eligibility for Citywide Permit Parking (PW) LOCATION: Citywide Motion to: 1) Introduce for publication an ordinance to amend Santa Cruz Municipal Code (SCMC) Chapter 10.41 – Citywide Permit Parking to restrict preferential permit parking program participation for certain residential development projects that use state law to provide fewer off-street parking spaces than would otherwise be required by the City. (2) Adopt a CEQA finding of exemption pursuant to CEQA Guidelines section 15061(b)(3) (the “common sense” exemption) and section 15301(c) (existing facilities categorical exemption).

Official agenda

Summary written by claude-opus-5 from the agenda and the Staff report (agenda packet, pages 395-424). It can contain mistakes. The official documents govern.