Tag: Santa Cruz County
Half-cent sales tax increase on the ballot
Come November, Santa Cruz County will be looking to voters to help fund “critical unmet needs” by way of a half-cent sales tax increase in the unincorporated areas: for a total of 9 percent sales tax. On August 7, the Santa Cruz County Board of Supervisors unanimously directed that a ballot measure for the half cent sales tax increase be included on the November 6 General Election ballot.
Parcel Tax on November ballot, community supporters start ‘Save Our Schools’...
For the second time in eight years, Scotts Valley Unified School District finds itself in a similar position—poised to ask the community to support a tax measure to prevent further cuts to our award-winning schools due to insufficient state funding.
$140 Million Affordable Housing Bond on the November ballot
Last week the Santa Cruz County Board of Supervisors approved a $140 million bond measure for affordable housing to be included on the ballot for the November 6 General Election.
Scotts Village Sells for $15.35 Million
Scotts Village, a prominent neighborhood shopping center in Scotts Valley (Santa Cruz County), California, has sold to a Northern California-based real estate firm for $15.35 million. Anchored by Safeway and CVS, the shopping center comprises 121,296 square feet (sf) of retail improvements including several high-profile pad buildings occupied by Chase Bank, McDonald’s, and Taco Bell. Scotts Village was developed in 1984 on a leasehold interest.
County offers limited amnesty for unpermitted dwellings, if certified as safe
The County Planning Department knows there are hundreds of unpermitted dwellings throughout the unincorporated areas of Santa Cruz County, especially up and down the San Lorenzo Valley. Aimed at insuring a basic level of health and fire safety in these living spaces, the county has rolled out a new “Limited Immunity Amnesty Program,” called the Safe Structures Program, to improve the safety of both residents and neighbors of these “not-entirely-legal” residential spaces, while trying to avoid the dreaded “Red Tag” that puts people out of much needed affordable housing.
Rent caps for Section 8 program successfully challenged
It would seem the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD) would be the last agency that needs convincing rents have risen sharply in Santa Cruz County. Yet that is what the Housing Authority of the County of Santa Cruz needed to do- prove the HUD-imposed rent caps for the Section 8 Housing Choice Voucher Program were simply too low for the program to be successful.
Home prices ‘inflated’ by tech giants
High-paying Silicon Valley employers like Google and Apple helped drive home prices up 16.9 percent in commuter-friendly Scotts Valley over the last 12 months, but new local and federal laws may cool that red-hot pace.
Another try for a new charter middle school
After being denied in March, Nicky Ramos-Beban, executive director of Integrative Leadership Academy, with the support of several parents and teachers, submitted a revised proposal to build a new independent charter middle school as part of the San Lorenzo Valley Unified School District. The SLVUSD board of trustees heard public comments on the petition at a board meeting on June 13.
Superior Court judge race heating up before primary next week
Syda Coglaiti and Zach Schwarzbach, candidates for Superior Court Judge, squared off in a face-to-face community forum on May 17th – answering the same, wide-ranging questions read to them by the moderator Brenda Griffin- responding with often similar but somewhat nuanced answers, but also with answers that differed substantially.
Marijuana growers stepping up to professional business management
Lawyers, accountants and insurance agents were on hand to pitch their services at a meeting for one of the largest and now legal industries in the county growing and selling marijuana. On May 9 at the Freight Building at Depot Park, the county’s premier cannabis industry trade association, Green Trade of Santa Cruz, hosted a meeting for their members to network with the business support professionals needed to be successful.
News Briefs | Published May 23, 2025
SLV Rotary’s food drive supports Valley Churches
San Lorenzo Valley Rotary Club is sponsoring a Spring Feeding Food Drive for Valley Churches United, with the...
