Parking permit price increase, parking and street code rewrite, and new Vision Zero targets

In plain English

The Public Works Department is asking the City Council to take four related actions on transportation and parking rules citywide. The first is a first reading ("introduce for publication") of an ordinance that would amend Municipal Code Chapters 10.41, 10.52, 15.12, 15.15 and 15.20 and add a new Chapter 15.14, covering residential permit parking, authority to set parking meter rates, crosswalks, parking, plan lines (the lines that set where future street widths or rights-of-way will go), multimodal transportation, and accessibility requirements. The second raises the price of annual resident and guest parking permits in the Residential Permit Parking program, and the third sets formal Vision Zero targets to cut traffic deaths and serious injuries on city streets by 30% by 2030 and 65% by 2040, reaching zero by 2050. The fourth finds the package exempt from environmental review under the California Environmental Quality Act.

Households in neighborhoods with residential parking permits would pay more each year for resident and guest permits, and the code changes affect how parking, crosswalks, accessibility and street plan lines are regulated across the whole city.

Key facts

Amends Santa Cruz Municipal Code Chapters 10.41, 10.52, 15.12, 15.15 and 15.20, and adds a new Chapter 15.14
Resolution would increase the cost of annual resident and guest parking permits under the Residential Permit Parking program
Vision Zero goals: reduce deaths and serious injuries 30% by 2030, 65% by 2040, and eliminate them on City streets by 2050
Environmental review finding relies on CEQA Guidelines Section 15061(b)(3), the "common sense" exemption, and Section 15301(c), the existing facilities categorical exemption
Item is a first reading ("introduce for publication"), so the ordinance would return for a second vote before taking effect

Reasons to support

Staff write that recent state housing laws have reduced or eliminated parking requirements for new development "by right," and that the City has limited local control to regulate parking as a result.
Staff report consistent community concerns raised during development permit review, including spillover parking straining neighborhoods and concerns from seniors and people with mobility limitations.
Setting dated Vision Zero targets (30% by 2030, 65% by 2040, zero by 2050) creates measurable benchmarks for reducing traffic deaths and serious injuries rather than a general goal.

Reasons to oppose or change it

Residents in permit parking areas would pay higher annual fees for both their own permits and guest permits, a direct cost increase on those households.
The ordinance changes authority over parking meter rates, which residents may want spelled out before the first reading, since it affects how future meter price changes are approved.
Treating the package as exempt from the California Environmental Quality Act under the "common sense" and existing facilities exemptions means no environmental study of the parking and street changes will be prepared.

Official wording

Municipal Code Amendments for Transportation, Parking, Accessibility, and Plan Lines; Resolutions on Residential Permit Parking Cost and Updated Vision Zero Policy (PW) LOCATION: Citywide Motion to: 1) Introduce for publication an ordinance amending Chapters 10.41, 10.52, 15.12, 15.15, and 15.20 of the Santa Cruz Municipal Code and adding Chapter 15.14 to update residential permit parking, parking meter rate authority, crosswalk, parking, plan line, multimodal transportation, and accessibility requirements; 2) Adopt a resolution increasing the cost of annual resident and guest parking permits as part of the Residential Permit Parking program; 3) Adopt a resolution formally updating the City’s Vision Zero Policy to include the following goals for reducing deaths and serious injuries on City roadways: 30% by 2030, 65% by 2040, and the elimination of traffic deaths and serious injuries on City streets by 2050; and 4) 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, page 154). It can contain mistakes. The official documents govern.