 So it's seven o'clock. Welcome everybody Commissioner Maxwell is not here yet. Has anybody heard from him? Is he on his way? He sent an email that he was not feeling Okay, so it'd be up tonight and missed all right Well, then I it would be my honor to call this meeting of the Santa Cruz Planning Commission to order Before we get going it's fun to be in person and I anticipate Technical difficulties and all sorts of dumb questions at least from me So let's all just settle in you know, it feels weird to be here in 3d. So I wanted to acknowledge that As we move into our business tonight Test, would you start us off with a roll call, please? Commissioner Conway here Dawson here Gordon Maxwell Mercedes Miller here all hey miss here Your Kennedy here Thank you So commissioners, are there any statements of disqualification for the agenda items tonight I Don't hear any so we'll move on to oral communications Welcome public. Thank you for coming out particularly in person. I know it's more work than a zoom Now is the time to come address the commission on any item that's not on tonight's agenda So if you have things about these projects There's time for that later but anything not on the agenda come on up We'll put a timeline of two minutes on these comments to keep things moving. Thank you chair I I had a couple pictures to share could you Give me some latitude to just get those up sure take your time May make yourself comfortable Thank you Thank you commission. My name is Eric Rodberg. That's my house at 115 May Avenue. It's a 100 block of May Avenue is a dead end and there's a Project 515 so Cal which is in the pipeline. It's a large Residential project that will it's a flag lot that will come on to May and because The size of the project neighbors are concerned about parking My house doesn't have a curb cut You can see a kind of sort of pseudo curb cut on one side and So this is a very large house. It's a six bedroom house. It's legitimately six bedrooms as you can see It's it's nice and well maintained. It's part of the residential rental inspection program and the So it's going to be a huge problem because the city's parking program only allows for three residential Permits and two guest permits at times. They'll Allow you to get five Residential permits and no guest permits, but this is there's this has been a rental since at least the mid-80s I've owned it since 1994 parking's never been an issue and I've talked to the parking office and they say they're the neighbors are okay with giving my house an exception to issue more residential permits, but the parking office says that there is no Mechanism for that. I'm totally in favor of more housing and I support the 515 soquel project And I understand there'll be impacts, but this is this is unacceptable particularly because in this proposed permit parking program They're saying no parking whatsoever from 6 p.m. To 6 a.m So like I live on the west side on Trescan East Street and we've had permit parking for decades and it's two hours at night There's no restrictions weekends. No restrictions So the residents who live on the street legitimately in a nice house are not going to be able to park unless you guys can get together with Planning and transportation and do something for me the next-door neighbor is a duplex It's in the same situation. Although it's a derelict house, but they also don't have a curb cut or any or any driveway So I if there's a mechanism that you guys can point me to I know you don't normally respond to oral Communications, but I've been trying to go through the normal bureaucracy and Chair I'm allowed to respond. Thank you for your comments. Thanks for being here Eric could her test could you make sure this gentleman has the staff contact for that project and Sir, I just encourage you to work with staff and the developer directly as much as possible Well, the developer has nothing to do with it Really the developer this is an issue. It's a city parking program for the street We have permit parking on my street. I know exactly where you're coming from. There's limits on it But I would encourage you to reach out to the right staff person and they're the person who can help you You can see see me if you want to thank you I did I did send the whole chair commission on email. There's a process going on, but that's a good way to plug into it All right, any other oral communications? Hearing none, we'll move on the next item is the consent agenda We have a minor adjustment the number two in three. We're gonna see next meeting Just the minutes weren't done So is anyone want to pull that first item off the consent agenda or Cindy? I was just wondering if I can move the whole consent agenda to a time Certain the March 16th meeting. I'd like I'd like to do that So both that and and the parking the bicycle changes. That's the motion on the floor Staff asked to continue it All right, we have a roll call vote on that Commissioner Conway hi Dawson hi Gordon. Hi. I'm a CD Miller. Hi all hi mess. Hi Hi All right, so the next item in our agenda is the rail trail item for I'll now open the public hearing for that item And if we could have the presentation, that'd be great. Thank you. Tim. Nice to see you in person Good evening chair Kennedy and members of the planning Commission My name is Tim mayor senior planner with the city this evening's first agenda item is review of the coastal rail trail segments eight and nine project The coastal rail trail segments eight and nine project is one component of a year's long inter-jurisdictional Collaborative effort city of Santa Cruz is a lead agency for the project. Mr. Nathan to win to my right Director of Public Works is the city's lead for the project as mentioned My name is Tim mayor representative of the city's planning and community development department partnering agencies include the county of Santa Cruz represented by Rob Tidmore Santa Cruz County Regional Transportation Commission represented by Grace Blake's Lee the city's design consultant is our design group led by Mike Sherrod and the environmental Consulting is Harrison Associates represented by Kate Elliott. Sure Can people just raise their hands so I can get faces with these names Some of the folks aren't here unfortunately. Yeah, is that is that better? Can you hear me now are the mics working folks? Okay Okay, so I was just introducing the folks involved with the project and I can hear the audio now so the I was mentioning the last person that was Kate Elliott with Harrison Associates who's the environmental consultant for the project and Sabrina Teller is a representative of Rami Musa Manly the city's outside Louisville Council brief background for the project so the Monterey Bay Sanctuary scenic trail or MBS ST is a multi-use bicycle and pedestrian network first envisioned about 20 years ago and Developed collaboratively through years of public engagement and outreach Once complete the MBS ST will comprise a 50 mile long trail Extending from southern San Mateo County in the north northern Monterey County in the south generally paralleling Parallel in state highway one in the Pacific Coast The portion of the trail MBS ST within Santa Cruz County is a 32 mile long coastal rail trail Which will form the spine or primary alignment of the overall Monterey Bay Sanctuary scenic trail network It's kind of checked that my audio is okay audible As a continuous and separated bicycle pedestrian path spanning the length of the Santa Cruz County coast a Development of the MBS ST network and coastal rail trail are both guided by the Monterey Bay Sanctuary scenic trail network master plan an environmental impact report for the master plan was completed in 2013 The trail network master plan divides the coastal rail trail Alignment into 20 segments with logical beginning and end points and each segment has been or will be Constructed upon availability of funding Segment seven and eight and a portion of segment nine fall within the limits of the city of Santa Cruz Santa Cruz County Regional Transportation Commission or RTC is a government agency responsible for overseeing Jurisdictional transportation in Santa Cruz County and the agency which administers the rail trail corridor in 2012 the RTC purchase from Union Pacific Railroad the Santa Cruz branch rail line RSB RL Which is a federally regulated freight railroad line which runs to the rail trail corridor Although the RTC owns the railroad right away a private rail Operator owns a freight easement over the rail tracks and therefore the rail Line remains designated as an active railway in this slide the image to the right-hand side Illustrates the path of the coastal rail trail in blue kind of a pale blue color. You can see over here in In the span of the segments eight and nine project are depicted here in bright green kind of in the middle As part of the overall rail trail the proposed coastal rail trail segments eight and nine project is presented for consideration This evening for entitlement by the planning Commission The project requires approval of several permits including a design permit a slope modification permit or slope variants And a watercourse variance a design permit is required for review of site development proposals and allows for review of project design and aesthetics The slope modification permit is required for consideration of location of structures greater than 10 feet Away from a 30% plus slope and a slope variance is required for review of project components within 10 feet over 30% Or greater slope a watercourse variance must be reviewed for work necessary with within riparian corridors of city waterways And for review of variation from watercourse setbacks or development standards in the citywide Greeks and wetlands management plan Not listed here a coastal per development permit is additionally required for proposed modifications within the coastal zone Including proposed removal of existing trees The coastal permit must be submitted directly to the California Coastal Commission because the railroad corridor Overlaps land across the harbor which is within the original permit jurisdiction of the California Coastal Commission For purposes of efficiency and clarity the city will pursue along with the county a single consolidated coastal development permit submitted to the California Coastal Commission As mentioned trees proposed for removal fall within the coastal zone and are therefore reviewed as part of the coastal development permit Therefore the Commission is not requested the planning Commission is not requested to take action directly on proposed tree removals this evening However, the environmental impacts associated with proposed tree removal is Analyzing the environmental impact report prepared for this project and a number of mitigation measures Are incorporated as project conditions of approval which would reduce to the extent possible the impacts of proposed tree removal As a project under the California Environmental Equality Act with the potential to result in significant environmental impacts The project additionally requires certification of environmental impact report along with adoption of a mitigation monitoring and reporting program and statement of overriding considerations This slide shows the path of road rail trail segments eight and nine Segment eight shown here in orange originates at the Pacific Avenue Beach Street roundabout over here on the left hand side of the slide Also known as the Wharf roundabout It extends about 0.6 mile Long Beach Street terminating at the San Lorenzo River Trestle Bridge Segment nine shown in kind of a teal color Pale green spans a distance of 1.6 miles Continuing from the Murray Street Bridge terminating at the easterly side of 17th Avenue The portion of segment eight that continues along the Santa Lorenzo River Trestle Bridge was completed in 2019 all of segment eight and a portion of segment nine are situated within the limits of the city of Santa Cruz and The extent of segment nine east of the Harbor Bridge occurs entirely outside of city limits and within the jurisdiction of the county of Santa Cruz Which the city has no regulatory authority? improvements to segment eight include enhancement to a replacement of existing infrastructure including both the dedicated cycle track and pedestrian Path in segment nine existing Santa Cruz branch rail line consists of railroad tracks and ties and associated rail infrastructure as Proposed the project would include construction of a new multi-use bicycle and pedestrian trail Which would run parallel to the existing rail line in segment nine two possible strategies or approaches have been considered Including the ultimate trail configuration excuse me The approach recommended by staff which would include in segment eight Improvement of the existing bikeway and sidewalk and again in segment nine construction of a new 12-foot wide Multi-use trail placed on the inland side of the existing railroad tracks Which would switch the coastal side of the tracks near El Dorado Avenue at Simkins Swim Center in the county's jurisdiction and continue along the coastal side for the remaining remainder of its Easter Lake stand an Optional phase approach has been conceptualized for development of segment nine and evaluated in an equal level of detail for environmental analysis as the ultimate trail configuration in the first part or first phase Excuse me part one all or a portion of the trail in segment nine would be constructed in approximately the same location as a railroad tracks The removal of rails and ties In the second phase or part two the interim trail would be removed and the railroad reconstructed and in the third phase The ultimate trail configuration would finally be constructed with a new trail position parallel to the rail line as the ultimate as in the ultimate trail configuration which is the preferred and recommended approach This slide shows an illustration of the proposed nature of improvement as included in segment eight Existing bicycle and pedestrian infrastructure would be replaced and enhanced with new green bicycle lanes included for example and minor improvements Incorporated such as the pedestrian Shelter photo opportunity island in the foreground as shown over here As displayed in this slide Associated modifications for enhanced safety and ease of circulation such as horizontal striping shown in the middle here Would provide a visual cue to areas in which pedestrians would potentially clock cross the cycle path improvements in segment eight will be the same for both the ultimate trail configuration or the Trail next to rail approach as recommended by staff and the optional interim trail or the three-part phased approach This slide shows a section of the preferred and recommended approach Called again the trail next to rail line or the ultimate trail configuration Shown here segment nine of the ultimate trail configuration would include a construction of a new 12-foot wide Multi-use trail shown on the right a position adjacent to the existing rail line, which would be retained and an eight inch All curve would be placed between the existing rail Shown over here in the middle and the new track at a distance of eight and a half to ten feet Depending on the curvature of the track from the center line of the existing trail To ensure the safety of trail users wildlife friendly fencing would also be installed as shown on the right hand slide side Guard rails would have no gaps exceeding four inches for fall protection were necessary This slide shows a cross-section of the optional first phase of the three-part phase approach Consider for the project called the optional interim trail as mentioned the first part of the phased approach Would include remit removal of the existing rail line Which is considered an historic resource for the purpose of project review Do it's due to its potential for listing as an historic resource in various listings in the first part Implementation of the interim trail the existing tracks of ties would be removed and a 16-foot wide Multi-use interim trail as shown here Would be installed in the center line of the existing railroad tracks which is illustrated again in the slide in part two Which is not shown in the slide, but which would follow part one The trail would be removed and the rail line would be rebuilt in its former location and In part three of the of the optional interim trail approach a 12-foot wide trail would be constructed parallel to the rebuilt trail line The optional interim trail approach would involve three separate periods of construction with an own unknown period of time between each part or phase This approach would also require more extensive tree removal as an 8-foot wide Trail and a 6-inch curb will be built on both sides of the rail center line Project would involve construction of a various infrastructure including retaining walls waterway crossings improvements to the existing roadway installation of fencing guardrails and lighting placement of trash receptacles bicycle parking and benches and new signage This slide illustrates the proposed rail or excuse me waterway crossings Which are proposed to be achieved through a variety of infrastructure? For instance retaining walls will be placed as an under crossing at the east cliff cliff bridge as shown over here my cursor is As a clear span prefabricated bridge at Pilkington Creek And as a bridge at Woods Lagoon and a viaduct at East Harbor and as viaducts over Leona Creek and live oak in the county At the Pilkington Creek crossing design considerations for the ultimate trail configuration again The approach preferred and recommended by city staff would be constructed including a clear span of brief Excuse me prefabricated bridge Reitering deck likely of steel framing with an abutment on either side supported by drill concrete pilings This slide here shows a rendering of the proposed improvement This slide depicts a visual rendering the same stretch of trail which will be constructed as part one of the optional interim trail approach As shown the existing rail would be removed in the trail built in its place This slide again illustrates the ultimate trail configuration option, which is the preferred and recommended approach And the location in which the trail would switch from the inland side to the coastal side Reversing the train tracks near El Dorado Avenue to provide access to Swimson Swim center within the county's jurisdiction This slide portrays the same extent of trail if constructed as the optional interim trail the first part of the three phase Three-part phased approach at Woods Lagoon or the Harbor Bridge Two potential connections from the proposed rail trail to the harbor shown as seen in this slide Please note in this slide that north is actually the bottom of the slide and south is at the top A connection from the rail trail to the westerly side of the harbor As shown on the right hand side of the slide an informal path is proposed The rail trail has been proposed also to connect to the existing harbor at the east harbor connection At the easterly side again on the left hand side of the slide here Envisioned as a series of switchbacks as shown in yellow The rail trail would traverse Woods Lagoon Santa Cruz Harbor as a viaduct at its westerly side Within a cross section with a cross section shown in the lower right hand side of the next slide Which would connect to a box girder bridge with composite decking at its east side So I just referenced the cross sections of the bridge in the viaduct The proposed harbor bridge would include a composite deck system As shown here in this slide It would be cantilever from the side of the existing precast concrete railroad bridge Similar to the portion of segment eight the San Lorenzo river trestle bridge A section of the proposed viaduct is additionally provided as shown over here on the right hand side of the slide The environmental impacts of the east harbor connection were analyzed as part of the project However, east harbor connection has been excluded from consideration for approval at this time In response to concerns and comments provided by the Santa Cruz port district As included in the final EIR Extensive public outreach has been conducted as required by the California Environmental Quality Act or CEQA And as per the city's public outreach policy Dates of notable community engagement and public outreach events are shown here City determined early that an environmental impact report or EIR would be required To disclose analyze and mitigate the range of potentially significant environmental impacts associated with the proposed project An EIR provides a robust analysis and a public review process consideration of alternatives And mitigation for consideration of potential for significant impacts while providing for maximum legal defensibility At this point, I'd like to hand the presentation over to Kate Elliott The lead consultant with Harrison associates Who prepared the environmental impact report for the project Hi, welcome. You guys hear me okay on this this mic? Okay, great As Tim stated on Kate Elliott with Harrison associates, and I led the Harris team in preparation of the EIR The Harris team also includes ecosystems west for biological resources and with us tonight are Aaron McGinty and Justin DeVillo biologists The team also included rencon consulting for the cultural resources analysis and other topics and with us tonight are Megan Jones And Steve Trevers and Shelby And thank you I'm gonna drive for me right okay great Just as a reminder the purpose of sequel on the EIR process is to identify the environmental impacts So that the lead agency can make an informed decision on the on the project And it's to provide the public and agencies the opportunity to weigh in on the project The state sequel guidelines identify these 20 environmental topics for evaluation Using these guidelines and the associated questions for these topics the draft EIR identified 52 potential impacts Most of these impacts would be less than significant as shown for the topics in green Or reduced to a less than significant level with mitigation measures as shown for the topics in gold The impacts of the project that can't be reduced to a less than significant level with mitigation Are aesthetics and biological resources Next slide please The proposed project with or without the optional interim trail Would result in significant non avoidable impacts to aesthetics And biological resources from substantial tree removal along segment nine between the san lorenzo trestle bridge and 17th avenue For aesthetics spaces from tree removal could improve distant views of the ocean and the mountains But it could degrade local views of scenic resources including dense trees and vegetation along the corridor For biological resources the tree removal could adversely affect monarch butterfly roost habitat By removing trees that serve as a wind buffer to roost sites The trail was modified I'm not sure if you mentioned this part or not But the trail had been modified to the extent feasible to minimize tree removal at these locations For example on both the east and west sides of the harbor The trail was redesigned as a viaduct with the pilings at different intervals And that supported supports the trail and replaced an earlier at-grade design that would have required retaining walls And that would have resulted in a lot more tree removal The tree removal could also interfere with local wildlife movement by reducing cover and foraging opportunities For animals that use the corridor to move between different open spaces such as a rana gulch and twin lake state beach The removed trees would be replaced at ratios and locations determined in coordination with the regulatory agencies However, the impact for aesthetics and biological resources was still determined to be significant and unavoidable Because the exact location of the replacement trees is uncertain at this time And the timing of growth to maturity cannot be predicted with certainty For cultural resources The optional interim trail would result in an additional significant and unavoidable impact Because it would remove the rail line that is eligible for listing in the state and national historical registers The vehicle requires the lead agency to identify and consider project alternatives Chapter five of the draft dir identifies several alternatives considered Including those that were suggested as part of the scoping process It explains why some were dismissed from further consideration And these three that were carried forward and analyzed Analyzed at a lesser level of detail than the project is allowed by CEQA Trail only alternative was suggested during the EIR scoping process And it includes removal of the tracks and ties and construction of a permanent 26 foot wide trail on the rail bed The alternative to the interim trail with reserve rail preservation Was selected for evaluation because it would reduce the significant and unavoidable impact on historic resources Instead of removing the rail a 16 foot wide trail on decking would be would be placed over the tracks and ties And like the optional interim trail it would include later removing the interim trail and constructing the ultimate trail configuration The no project alternative is required by CEQA and it assumes the rail corridor would remain as is with no trail development The draft dir provides a comparative summary of the impacts of the proposed project and the alternatives As expected the no project would have the least environmental impact Overall the impacts of the proposed project with or without the optional interim trail and alternatives one and two would be very similar CEQA requires that an environmentally superior alternative be identified that is not the no project alternative So we need to drill down a little bit on that This slide compares the alternatives to the proposed project or the ultimate trail configuration For biological resources There would be more tree removal An alternative one trail only would extend further south of the rail line Resulting in more impacts to sensitive habitats on the coastal side including twin lake state beach Monarch roost habitat near the San Lorenzo river and bird rookeries near the Santa Cruz harbor For cultural resources There would be more impact to historical resources from removal of the rail line Under the optional interim trail and alternative one For construction related impacts There would be more earth movement and construction related emissions noise and sediment From the two additional construction periods that are required for an interim trail This slide compares tree removal, which was quantified for the proposed project and estimated for alternatives one and two The proposed project without the interim trail would remove 381 trees Including 117 in the city limits The proposed project with the interim trail would remove 404 trees That is 124 for construction of the interim trail and then later another 280 for construction of the ultimate trail Alternative one trail only would remove a similar number of trees With less tree removal on the inland side and substantially substantially more on the coastal side Alternative two interim trail with rail preservation Would remove a similar number of trees as the optional interim trail So in summary the proposed project ultimate trail configuration was identified as the environmentally superior alternative Because full implementation of an interim trail requires three construction periods instead of one And more tree removal overall A substantially wider trail only results in greater impacts to sensitive habitats particularly on the coastal side of the rail And there would be no significant unavoidable impact to historical resources from rail removal So the draft EIR was circulated for a 53 day public review period, which was extended from the 45 day minimum There was a public meeting held on october 19th to share the EIR findings and to take comments A number of commenters provided feedback including four agencies six organizations and 82 members of the public The 82 comment letters or commenters included 292 individual comments There was a wide variety of comments as you can imagine from supporting or opposing the project to commenting on the issues Addressed and the impacts disclosed Responses were provided for each of the individual comments Many comments are similar or concern the same issue including those listed on this slide So for these comments, we developed master responses and provided those at the very beginning of the comments and responses document So the final EIR includes three volumes volume one is all the comments and the responses to those comments Volume two is the draft EIR with some minor revisions that were made for clarification since it was distributed for public review And volume three is the EIR appendices And that's it back to you Tim Thank you Thank you, Kate So as Kate mentioned the project and all alternatives considered other than the no project alternative would include potentially significant and unavoidable environmental impacts The ultimate trail configuration or the trail next to rail line approach, which was selected as the preferred and recommended approach Do in part because it has the fewest and the least significant environmental impacts and constitutes the environmentally superior alternative The ultimate trail configuration would involve less extensive tree removal Not require removal the potentially historic rail line And would involve less uncertainty than the optional interim trail option approach As the ultimate trail configuration or the trail next to rail approach Evolves only one period of construction as opposed to three the three-part phase approach of the optional interim trail Which requires three construction periods with undetermined time separating each construction period and more tree removal Due to the need for greater corridor width to accommodate all three parts The benefits of the proposed ultimate trail configuration approach are many And include improvement to aesthetics as shown here on the slide As a project would facilitate public access to scenic vistas allowing for more views and more expansive views of the coast It would enhance enhance air quality and reduce greenhouse gas emissions through reduced numbers of vehicle miles travel Would advance the achievement of city land use planning goals through increased connectivity across the city and among neighborhoods And improve public safety and services by allowing more ready access to parks and recreation facilities for emergency response The project would also foster enhanced transportation options by reducing the number of vehicle miles travel For improved circulation and also for motorist pedestrian and bicyclist enhanced safety For the city's environmental review guidelines because the planning commission is designated as a decision making body Authorized to make a final decision regarding the project entitlements A decision regarding certification of the final eir is Likewise made by the planning commission less appealed or called out by the city council The planning commission is requested to make a decision regarding certification of the final eir An adoption of findings of fact as well as mitigation monitoring and reporting program and statement of overriding considerations Please note that an errata to the final eir has been prepared for minor inconsistencies and corrections or discovered after Release of the final eir Please note that within its authority any member of the city council may also elect to call up the proposed project as a de novo hearing What would be expected to place heavy emphasis on the decision of the planning commission and rendering of its decision Should the project be brought forward for city council review? Good evening commissioners. Nathan win Back to public work. So tonight we're asking for a recommendation From you guys the planning commission to take the following actions So first is to adopt the resolution certifying the final eir As known as attachment a as part of the staff report And then secondly to also adopt the resolution approving the design permits the modification permit water course permit As well as the findings of fact The statement of overriding considerations the mitigation monitoring program The staff report with the conditions approval that are attached as well so And with that it's It's end of our presentation. Thank you. All right. Thank you So how exciting to see this last two legs of the rail trail going through any questions from commissioners for staff Commissioner Dawson Yeah, I just was wondering I I understand that we're not going to be Taking any action on the coastal development permit and that's going to go through a separate process But would there be any reason we wouldn't want to include in this resolution? A recommendation of our support for approval of that Permit that would eventually get transferred to the coastal commission or is that Not recommended Um, I wouldn't see any harm in the commission recommending the approach for the consolidated coastal development permit Okay, thanks, and I just had one No, I think that's it actually thanks Commissioner Paul Hamas Thank you. Yeah, I just had a question about the el dorado crossover Is there any way to pull that back up on the slideshow? I just want to take a second look at that. Is there any active rail service going on right now in that area? Not that i'm aware of Okay, that was my question Because if there was it I can add just briefly that so they're actually um, so it's a designated active Freight line however the only active rail service in place currently is in the watsonville area Okay, great them are all good anyone else don't be shy I had about 400 questions, but I talked to nathan and staff and they've all been resolved so At this point, I'd like to open up the public hearing to hear from the public Thank you for coming. We're genuinely happy that you are here Can I have like just a show of hands to get a rough feel for how many people would like to speak to this item? You can change your mind later. Don't worry. I just like to see if there's 200 people or five, you know, so Come on up. The process is you come up to the left here let's just change test tell me and Line up on the side there and then we'll bring you over and then I Given the hands raised. I think we should do three minutes of public comment each Please respect everybody's time and if somebody has said what you said already, there's no need to say it again. We hear you Come on up. I hope everyone can hear me. Sounds good. Thanks My name is Andrea Ruiz and I'm a happy resident of Santa Cruz I'm also a photographer and I've had the pleasure of talking to a lot of people Especially tourists that you can spot them. So I'd like to talk to them about why they come to Santa Cruz and The main thing that always draws them to Santa Cruz is Its original state like there's a lot of construction that's happening. There's a lot of removal of heritage trees. That's really alarming a lot of us and It's rapidly losing its essence of why people flock here and so a lot of people would like to Know if there's a way to retain more of its natural beauty And also, you know, have space for progressive construction, but also Without the removal of the heritage trees Like there's a Place on front street that you know is said to be demolished And I know this may sound kind of woo-woo to people here, but this is Santa Cruz I am a tree talker very much like horton hears who but it's more like horton hears a tree So the trees there are really sad about having to be destroyed They've been there a very long time and they just like to flourish One thing about trees that people don't know about is like they communicate like we do To each other and to us, but they do it so vibrationally and so One of the things that they've been talking about is that they don't want to die And trees do have feelings And when they are cut down, they feel pain When they see other trees cut down, they feel as much pain as we would In seeing a loved one die in front of us Albeit violently and so I'm here in part to represent the trees Of front street, but also the trees in the area because they're very concerned about the way the city is being Rebuilt and it's losing a lot of its original vibe And it's changing a lot of of the the type of of Things that we could do to flourish like that front street area Personally, I would think it'd be great to have like a plaza there, you know with eateries and Maybe a place for live entertainment picnic tables, you know a gathering place for people because We don't really have that along the San Lorenzo river, you know And a lot of people would gather there, you know, you could bring your kids there. You could have a safe space to also Um, communicate with nature and be more aware of the ecological impacts That humanity has been having across the planet um So in closing, I would just like to say that it would be a boon to You know different businesses if that could be allowed to flourish and also balance out, you know, what we're actually Losing when we destroy parts of Santa Cruz that really naturally can't ever be rebuilt. So Yeah, that's what I'm proposing. Thank you for your comments. Thank you for your time One other little note the the yellow light comes on when there's about 20 seconds left and then when the red light comes on Please just finish your thought and uh, don't feel like you have to stop at that instant, you know, but Hi, my name is Dan Kambitch. I'm an auto public speaker So I had prepared something to read but after reading your present or listening to your presentation Um, and how easily you dismiss the trail only option Of claiming that it needs to be 26 feet wide when the normal figure ultimate trail is only 12 feet wide I don't understand why it has to be over twice the width uh But anyway, I'll just read what I had previously presented Um, I think that the the rtc Is perpetrating an enormous fraud with these claims that the benefits of this trail rail outweigh the environmental degradation caused by its construction Your plan on cutting down over 400 trees in sections eight and nine alone And other vegetation which provides homes and food for countless birds and other animals You cannot demonstrate that there would be any significant reduction in vehicle traffic or congestion the main benefit widely touted There is an existing bus system that serves the same areas as this rail trail Yet the buses are near empty most of the day You cannot demonstrate that a significant number of people would abandon their cars to bike or take a train if this rail trail is completed People would ride a bike to work or shop do so now on existing roads and streets This number isn't going to increase by any significant amount just because the trail exists People are not going to take a train when they refuse to ride a bus Yet this whole project is based on a future rail system being developed You are now embarked on yet another study in hopes of this time finding some way of demonstrating the feasibility of a rail system My previous studies have failed You boast of the desirability of this trail due to the scenery yet you want to cut down much of the vegetation that makes it scenic To accommodate this future possible train Ending up with a corridor lined with retaining walls and fences You never state the total cost of this rail trail system Because if they know that the taxpayers would bulk at the hundreds of millions if not billions required Tax dollars could be better spent elsewhere to achieve an actual reduction in traffic and congestion You downplay the tens of millions of dollars of annual cost required to subsidize the ridership of the train And the maintenance and policing of a rail trail the cost to be borne forever more Another thing you don't mention is the increase in local traffic and congestion due to people from out of the area Coming to use the tourist trail and tourist train Which would offset some of the already insignificant possible benefits of the rail trail You do all this under the auspices of a regional transportation commission If this rail trail has little to do with transportation and mostly to do with recreation This is a recreational trail promoted and championed by the tourist industry and should be described as such Don't pretend this is some green project when you propose to cut down so much greenery to build it It's time to reveal the actual cost of this project in dollars and environmental degradation and ask the taxpayers of this county directly If they want to spend their tax dollars on this boondoggle instead of allowing a transportation commission to decide for them Drop the grandiose plans for the single track passenger rail system that will never be feasible Remove the tracks and scale back this unnecessarily wide inexpensive trail and save our trees Thank you I'm about your sweats and actually We've your speaker pretty much summed everything up that I was going to say But the bottom line that I have is why don't you wait for the feasibility study? Why are you deciding now? It's what a year a year and a half away and to make any of these decisions now seems a lot of based of energy and talking and having meetings And we don't know the outcome. So why even bother? And I really really hope that you will Wait making these final decisions and just you know, it's been going on for years. What's another year? Time flies. You've learned that The one thing that have not written down, but I really have to say this Mr. Paul Hamas I have never met you before but I was truly shocked that you do not know if there is active train whatever on the reels By Simpkins that is something you should know. You can't make decisions here if you don't even know that It's only in Watsonville. That's been going like that for years Just a reminder, let's please be respectful of everybody I'm trying to be respectful And this is really all I wanted to say Plus that Thank you. Good evening chair Kennedy and commissioners My name is matt ferrell and I'm here to speak for friends of the rail trail and the rail trail was formed over 20 years ago with a goal and vision of completing the trail between the north and south county and currently A number of sections through section 12 have been have been Received funding from There's just a mega grant awarded for the project. So The reason this is before you is because there's money and capacity to complete these two segments and I Say as a person Who rides a bicycle that having a safe corridor? or people to ride is a critical component in changing their travel behavior and until we Complete this kind of corridor. There's going to be barriers for people to use bicycles as a means of transportation I think there's been a very open and Diligent process around this environmental review process and I encourage you to support staff The staff recommendation so that We can move forward with completing this trail And eventually building the rail line. Thank you Good evening again commission like to express my support as well for the rail trail. I think the Public's already spoken on this and in a resounding way And I don't think we need any more obstruction. I'd also like to express my unqualified support for commission on pohamas. Thank you Thank you Would anyone else from the public like to speak on this issue? My name is Craig. I'm in I actually wanted to talk about parking, but Given the fact that we're talking about the rail Here's a consideration. I don't know if anybody took this into consideration at all Why not have I mean, do we need tracks? Why not have kind of an electric bus trolley system that doesn't require tracks And that save a lot of effort time money Let's go ahead and pave it over and then have a trolley system We have all the time and money we can save Anyway Thank you. That's it for me. All right. Last call anyone else I'd like to speak With that we'll close public comment at this point I'd like to give staff a quick chance to respond if they'd like to any of the public comments and correct anything If you'd like to All right, so now we'll bring it back to the commission for some more discussion and hopefully a motion and a second Anybody like to get us started Commissioner mccedi miller Thank you chair kennedy I'll respond briefly to some of the comments made by the public This project is one of the most studied projects in this county's history Having been gone going on now for 10 years formally in about 20 years informally This is a game changer and the Demonstrated benefits of this project The benefits of this project have been demonstrated over and over by experts And I won't waste the commission's time repeating all of the benefits that have been Well documented When the chair is ready I'd like to make a motion to In support of the project Was was that a motion because if it was I'll second it I'm ready for motion. Let's do it mark I'd like to make a motion that the planning commission recommend To the council and take the following actions to adopt the draft resolution certifying the environmental impact report attached to the resolution as exhibit a And adopt a resolution approving the design permit slope modification permit slope variance And watercourse variance for the coastal rail trail segments eight and nine project Based on the findings listed below and the conditions of approval and adopting the findings of fact under the california environmental quality act Statement of overriding considerations and mitigation monitoring and reporting program Attached as exhibits a and b to the staff report Commissioner ms cd miller can I just to make a point of clarification um, the commission can actually decide on the project this evening It's it's not a reserve to a recommendation of the council Well, let me amend my um motion to Go ahead and approve the project. Okay. Thank you I'll second that motion Great because I wanted to make a friendly amendment um I had some um, there were some correspondents around um the The murray street connection and um, I would just like to make a friendly amendment And uh, we'll see how this language lands with the maker and the second um, I'd like to make uh A friendly amendment for the conditions of approval Um that prior to installing the permanent pavement markings and accompanying signing the city city Shall monitor Bicycle motor vehicle interactions after the new new dual Bike lane right turn lane on murray street is in use During high use periods to determine the most effective permanent measures to install to permanent, uh, to prevent bicycle motor vehicle conflicts Tess also has this language and I'll try to read it one more time. Um, and not so sudden Prior to the installation of permanent pavement markings and accompanying signing the city shall monitor bicycle motor vehicle interactions After the new Dual bike lane right turn lane on murray street is in use During use high uh during high use periods to determine the most effective permanent measures to install to prevent bicycle motor vehicle conflict and the whole point of that is just that this is a very, um congested area And we I'd just like to see a little bit more special attention to make sure that we use the um most effective measures to mitigate any of the Any of the um interaction that could happen in that area So it's just basically requesting a little bit of extra attention in the final signing and marking in that area Um, so we'll see how that lands with the maker and see if staff um wants to say anything about that as well I'm happy to jump in on that. Um So with regards to striping and final thermoplastic as a part of the normal standard construction process There is cat-tracking essentially layout that gets done prior to final installation. So we definitely will As a part of our standard practice perform Work where we are evaluating the actual line layout before actually laying down the thermo But we can put special attention to that particular intersection to make sure before we lay down our final thermo That would be great. Um, does that is that okay with the maker? Let me ask a question of um Our director public works Is the special attention being asked for in the friendly amendment a burden to public works and will it prevent Or slow down the construction of the project I think the only challenge uh, as I heard rethinking the motion or amendment there is with regards to also the signage portion Portion of it because it is getting approved all at one time And so as we would make a change to that it would have to come back for some type of Approval at the final after final construction so that we are having design immunity with the project Once it's in place with the public I think it would add a little extra level of Process should we have to make a change in that design So my my question thinking about it. I saw this correspondence as well and thinking about this idea presented by um the Person writing the correspondence. My thought was that in order to monitor movement you kind of have to complete the project And to complete the project you have to put in something Otherwise, you don't really you can't really monitor a project without striping and signage um until it's Striped and signed My thought was that the You know the design engineers of for the project would have sufficient experience in working these kinds of problems in other areas to apply their good judgment and that if it were problematic After the project was constructed um That that Design could be amended striping sign could be changed after the fact if it turned out to be problematic Would that be a legitimate approach? Yeah, that's that's a another standard approach that has been taken where an installation is installed that it is evaluated and adjustments remain after the fact Yeah, I'd be more comfortable with that approach. Um, I would hate to see a project be left Without striping and signing while it's being monitored without signing and striping. I think that might be more dangerous than I'm ending it later. So I'll uh deny the friendly amendment. I would just say that The there was purposeful, um intent in putting the word permanent because there's there's temporary striping and signage that could go in and then um, that that was the intended emotion, but Um, it doesn't look like I have a second So there you go So I really support uh, you're in you're in tank commissioner doson and I walked some of these intersections just the other day Oh, it's so Santa Cruz. Everyone's totally weird and unique like from an engineer's perspective. I just feel your pain everybody um, so I really want to Salute that idea of being responsive and I wanted to report that uh me and Nathan had a really good conversation about this and At least for me. He went through all the things. I didn't know about how this works already With signals and for example, there's video cameras that will read bicyclists for the first time So that's a tool that's in this project that you guys can use ongoing to adjust things and I had similar various of my questions and was satisfied with the answers so If there's any additional assurance, uh, the seabright intersection seabright and murray or the seabright intersection particularly as far as the rail trail crossing here Is getting a lot of the special attention and we haven't finalized the signal phasing at that intersection But as a part of the eir itself the combined right turn lane as you if you're looking at the eir It extends It's quite extensive and really the eir is allowing us to have options for as we work towards the final design And so there is a lot of like I was saying additional work that's going into that intersection So I do appreciate the comment and the intent from from you and the Person who emailed in and so we definitely want to make sure that we we get that right All right. Thank you so much Any other friendly amendments or discussion concerns Commissioner Conway, this is is a really just um, I want to thank Staff and the whole team for you know years of work on this. It is an awful lot of scrutiny I'm sympathetic to wanting to protect trees and I appreciate that the extra steps And I also can say that the portion that's been built on the west side is such an incredible enhancement to that area and for getting around and I fully expect having bicycle through this area for many decades This is going to be a great resource and um, it's it's finally here. So Thank you So um, I don't I don't have much to say I think we should go ahead and vote and pass this on as quickly as possible. It's fantastic to have funding This is a meaningful moment. It's incredible to finish this trail I'm thinking of the former planning director juliana who we sat here for many years and she joke like Maybe I'll get out there on my wheelchair one day and we're building this thing So I just wanted to celebrate that for a moment um I really appreciate staff. Thank you for leading me through everything It was a reminder of all the process that had come and all the process to go ahead This is like a 30 design and I'm asking nathan like what color will that thing be and he reminded me This is for sequel purposes And we want to be as flexible as possible Moving into actual design to give these amazing teams here and the people who aren't here The opportunity to adjust make things cost effective make things super cool, you know and santa cruz style. So It's my pleasure to like Request a roll call vote on this unless anyone has anything else to say. Oh, I have one more thing. It is urgent climate change We got kids that are riding on this right now up on bayview. So It's time to stop appealing. Please stop appealing and let's build this thing On the first section, I forget how many trees but like 10 trees died Approximately During the appeal process for getting the permit. So I mean, that's just the most ironic thing in the world for me That's my last comment. Um, let's have the vote Commissioner conway. Hi Dawson. Hi, Gordon. Hi Mercedes Miller. Hi Paul Hemis. Hi Kennedy here. Hi All right, well, let's move on to the next agenda item Thanks, everybody You know It's gonna be every meeting Yeah, thanks Sam pull out that name I feel you No, no, it's on the desk Right there see the paper No, the nameplate. Yeah, just there we go Well good, I'm glad we're ready to go. Welcome Samantha, Cindy. Thank you for the reminder Let's move on to the next agenda item and Hear the staff report on the Long address 530 front street project, please Thank you chair Kennedy members of the planning commission. So my name is Samantha hasher and I am here A pinch hitting for Clara stanger who is the city planner for this project So I have a staff report for you and I will try to answer Your questions as I can Um So this project is located at 530 front street. Um, it's actually located at several addresses But that is the name that it's commonly known by this is a Proposed mixed use building the project entitlements require approval by the city council And they technically do not require any sort of action by the planning commission But the applicant has decided to Present the project to your commission tonight to obtain some feedback and to get a recommendation to the city council So you may have noticed that there was no notice of exemption or environmental document in your packet tonight We are still Evaluating different paths for CEQA compliance. So unfortunately, I don't have a resolution for you right now We would still like to gather your feedback on the project design and other improvements And that will be prepared for the city council meetings that will be provided to them in their packet Also, just wanted to clarify one additional thing I heard from a few folks that the project is not subject to objective standards. So Yes, that's true. The project was Deemed complete prior to the most recently approved objective standards But just to clarify those new objective standards that were approved, those are not applicable in the downtown area Anyway We when we were working on that project We found that the downtown plan already had sufficient objective standards And so when we say objective standards, we're talking about the objective standards that are in the downtown plan in the zoning ordinance Those are also objective, but they're not the objective standards. So just clarification The project site is located in the downtown surrounded by mixed use and commercial uses and is adjacent to the San Lorenzo river The project includes four lots as well as a city-owned lot between those lots and the river walk These lots have a general plan designation of regional visitor commercial downtown And their zoned central business district This designation supports mixed use developments and other uses as allowed by the downtown plan The city-owned land has a general plan designation of natural area and a zoning of flood plain Which accommodates undeveloped land including land designated for public recreation The proposal is to construct a mixed use building with 6,865 square feet of commercial space and 276 residential apartments. I'm going to go through the permit requirements real quick for you It requires a non-residential demolition authorization permit to demolish a building on the site That is older than 50 years A heritage tree removal permit to remove eight heritage trees A lot line adjustment to consolidate the four parcels into one A special use permit to allow more than 50 residential units and to allow a public recreation use in the flood plain zoned area It requires a design permit which is required for any new development in the downtown And for developing the outdoor extension area adjacent to the river walk And then also associated with the design permit is An additional height request to allow the building to achieve a 70 foot 70 foot height in the additional height zone b So that's processed as part of the design permit Project also requires a density Includes a density bonus request to increase the number of units by 50 percent and to allow for several waivers to development standards And a reduced parking requirement It requires a revocable license for an outdoor extension area at the river walk And the project is also proposing several design variations to downtown plan development, which is another process That's allowed in the downtown plan And then outside of the city's permitting process the project also requires approval of a section 408 permit From the us army corps of engineers. That's to allow for the placement of fill between the levy and the building Um, we have included a condition of approval that requires the permitting to be completed prior to building permit issuance Um, so nearly all all of the trees in the project area will be removed except for one street tree along the site frontage um In this diagram here the tree on the left Um has already been removed that one Um, I think it fell down and so the tree on the right is the the one street tree that will be retained Um, the site has eight heritage trees all of which need to be removed either because of poor condition or because they conflict with the project footprint or both Um, these trees are shown um as the stars in this picture Their project is required to fulfill replacement planting requirements for the trees that are required to be removed solely because they're within the project footprint Um, and so I also wanted to note that condition of approval number 20 Um references the replacement of four heritage trees. That should be seven and so that would be corrected in the um conditions of approval that are sent to the city council Um, as I mentioned the project requires a non-residential demolition authorization permit for one of the buildings Um, this is the building. It is more than 50 years old. It requires. Um, I'm sorry It is located at 514 and 518 front street and was constructed in 1926 So this building was originally considered eligible for listing in volume three of the city's historic building survey But the owner chose to opt out of the listing and so um opting out doesn't mean that the project that the building is not historic It just means that the project is any projects to the site are not subject to our historic alteration permit process or our historic demolition building requirements So it could still be considered a significant historical resource under sequa and it still could be considered eligible for listing on a local building survey Um, the historic evaluation the original one Um that found the building eligible stated that it represented The emerging auto industry of the 1920s and it retained sufficient integrity to convey its significance However, the historic report that was completed for this project did not find the building was eligible for listing Um, the evaluation was completed by evans and dishozzo And it concluded that the emerging auto industry is not a significant theme identified in the city's historical context documents Um, and is therefore not considered to be locally, um historic The evaluation also found that the original report the 2013 report was internally inconsistent in its discussion of Integrity and that its analysis showed that the building actually did not have significant a significant level of integrity Um, so because the more recent evans and dishozzo report provided a different conclusion than what the original 2013 report provided um planning staff requested a peer review To provide an independent third party opinion That peer review was completed by due deck and um, it confirmed the evans and dishozzo conclusion That the building is not eligible for listing at the local state or federal level Therefore a demolition of the building is consistent with the findings for the non-residential demolition authorization permit and is also Not considered to be a historic impact under sequa Um, so here is a rendering of the building the proposed building is eight stories and is 92 and a half feet tall at its highest point But the majority of the roof line is 89 feet The ground floor along front street in soquel has commercial uses a residential lobby and Internal parking garage and then floors two through eight have the 276 residential units and those range from studios to two bedroom units The project has been designed to meet the design standards of the front riverfront area of the downtown plan The downtown plan calls for the part of the building at the soquel front intersection. So that's this part down here Um to be treated as a gateway to the downtown The proposal does this with the pedestrian plaza at the street intersection an articulated building wall and outdoor dining patios along the soquel street frontage Um, so then variations to these downtown plan standards are allowed with a recommendation by the planning director and approval by the city council This chair is slowly like sinking down so if all of a sudden i'm invisible that's why explode I'm gonna go back up. Okay Okay, so variations to these standards are allowed with a recommendation by the planning director and approval by the city council and Those are permitted when the variations result in a project that better implements the objectives of the downtown plan and the community So one of the variations requested requires the development to be set back from the soquel avenue sidewalk by at least 10 feet And that's to allow for generous gateway landscaping Um, so the applicant is proposed to have the main building wall the taller building wall there set back at least 10 feet But the external staircase shown at the corner That leads up to the second floor restaurant and that takes up most of that 10 foot setback area However, this design does implement general plan and downtown plan downtown plan policies Which call for enhanced pedestrian activity and connectivity to the river Here is just another view of the building from the south on front street And you can see that there's a consistent and articulated design that wraps around the building And then this is a view of the east side of the building facing the river walk and the north side facing soquel So there's ground floor commercial and active residential amenity uses on the river walk as well as upper floor residential And then there's the public plaza extension area that connects to the river walk So variation to the downtown plan development standards Includes that the front street riverfront development standards require that at least 75 percent of the river facing building wall Must step back from the wall below at a height of 50 feet as measured from the front street grade so this was intended to ensure that The development is articulated when it's allowed to be built right up to the property line so In this development It's set back from the property line already It's very well articulated and it has the appearance of three buildings with those large recesses rather than one Large mass facing the river. So even without that step step back, it still meets the intent of the It still meets the intent of the standard and perhaps even more so than a building entirely constructed at the property line And then the triangular area down in the corner here That has been identified by the public works department as the location of a future pump station The stormwater drain pipe That runs along the toe of the building May need to be improved in the future and a pump station is Is needed to alleviate the flow and the pipe and help solve other flooding issues in the area Um, so while upgrading the pipe would generally be an applicant's responsibility in this case The pipe would need to be upgraded along several property frontages Um to function properly presenting a cost prohibitive burden on this project alone The city has applied for a FEMA brick grant to improve downtown pump station Infrastructure that if awarded would cover the cost of the stormwater pump station as well as other improvements to the existing stormwater infrastructure The new pump station is in the conceptual stage Um, but staff anticipated will take up a substantial portion of that triangular Area where the project proposes to include the outdoor dining patio accessible pathways linking Soquel avenue in the riverwalk and the outdoor extension area plaza and a substantial amount of landscape landscaping The applicant also proposes to use a portion of this area to fulfill stormwater infiltration requirements for the project So, um staff is recommending a condition of approval that requires the applicant to obtain a minor modification permit Once the size and design of the pump station are better known in order to ensure that the outdoor improvements and the corner here is um consistent with the downtown plan and other development standards and to clarify a minor modification is a staff level review So it would not come back to a public hearing Is it possible to like kind of Point where that is it's only those orange umbrellas there and that landscape triangle I think yeah, it's this area here and it and it does um The conceptual plan does run into the outdoor dining area slightly as well But it basically takes up this whole area isn't there always a big pump station wrecking your landscaping Okay, this would be above ground kind of a big thing or portions above ground and portions below ground as well Although it has not been designed yet Sorry to interrupt. Can I follow up? It's exactly that question. So, um Because the pump station is going to be there obviously those bike paths and pedestrian paths are going to be changing So, um, we'll be able to see where It would be nice to know. How is that access going to work? Once once you have the new bike path from the pump stations there Yes, agreed any other questions But what i'm hearing you say is that it's a minor modification and although we do want to see that we won't right I just want to be clear. That's what's being recommended is a minor modification All right, thank you. Um, okay, so, um So the other exception to the downtown plan standards that's needed is On this side of the project is to allow a greater than two foot elevation change between the river walk and the top of the outdoor extension area So you can see here that it steps the elevation steps upward and that's why they're providing stairs Okay, so in this Um, so we're still talking here about the change in elevation between the river walk and the building So in this case the site is physically constrained in that the difference between the front street ground elevation and the river walk Elevation does not allow the project to easily meet this development standard When applying the required 15 foot first story height along front street The second level on this side of the building starts at 32 feet above sea level Which is six to seven feet above the river walk elevation. So the proposed steps to the second story down to 30 feet the proposal steps down to Steps the second story down to 30 feet at the commercial uses facing the river walk So this minimizes the vertical distance between the adjacent public plaza and the river walk While still retaining parking spaces in the parking level below The proposed extension area plaza includes stairways paths a terraced amphitheater Seating and that creates open and welcome welcoming connections between the river walk and the plaza above Therefore the proposal continues to achieve the objective of connecting the river walk with the adjacent development While more fully achieving downtown plan objectives Then a building with a substandard uninviting first floor height for the commercial and residential lobby uses along front street Or a building that provides substantially fewer parking spaces And then finally a very variation to downtown plan standards is needed to allow for the stacked puzzle parking configuration The downtown plan requires projects to meet the parking standards That are in the zoning ordinance And the project provides 171 of the total 181 parking spaces with puzzle stackers And this is an arrangement that varies from those uh the parking design standards in the zoning ordinance Each proposed three tier stacker provides nearly three times the number of parking spaces as compared to a standard parking design With the within the same area and this allows the project to provide parking demanded by residents and commercial uses while devoting more physical space to commercial and public uses residential dwellings and residential amenities These are uses that the downtown plan emphasizes for this location And then here we have a picture of the base density plans The site is located in the additional height zone b which allows height above the standard 50 feet up to 70 feet Additional height is allowed with a recommendation from the planning director and city council approval The downtown plan describes specific criteria and development standards that must be met Um, so they must meet overarching city objectives Which the additional height does by providing additional house housing and inclusionary housing Utilizing a form that has the appearance of a grouping of buildings rather than one monolithic building The project has uh the project financially contributes fair share to pedestrian connections between front street and the river walk And a well-developed public plaza extension area adjacent to the river walk Um, the development standards for this project include that the top floor maximum 60 percent The top floor area maximum 60 is a maximum of 60 of the area of the floor below The top floor frontage along front street is a maximum of 60 of the building length as measured along front street And the upper building wall is stepped back from 50 foot base height for at least 50 of the front street frontage and 75 of the frontage facing the river Um, the project including the additional height of 70 feet Um constitutes the base density project which has 184 dwelling units so, um Those two things are included in your approval today an approval of the A recommendation for approval of the additional height And then following that a recommendation for approval of the base density of the density bonus Okay, here is a rendering of the density bonus project Um Just real quick the project is subject to a 20 inclusionary requirement And so that is required On the units that are provided in the base base density plan, which is the fully conforming project That assumes the an approval of the additional height So that would be 20 of 184 units that equals 37 units that are being provided as inclusionary Um, and then 15 of those units, which is 28 units will be provided at the very low income level Um, so since this project is providing 15 of the base density units at the very low income level The project is eligible for a 50 density bonus This increases the total number of units from 184 to 276 In order to accommodate the density bonus units The project is requesting several waivers from the development standards that would otherwise physically preclude the project with the density bonus units These include a waiver to allow floor area ratio To allow a floor area ratio of 5.2, which is greater than the maximum of 5.0 allowed in the Uh cbd i'm sorry in the regional visitor commercial downtown santa cruz general plan designation Um, a waiver to allow a building height of 92 feet six inches Which is in excess of the maximum of 70 A waiver to allow eight stories instead of the maximum of six allowed in the additional height zone b A waiver to increase the base height from which additional floors must step back From 50 feet and four floors to 63 feet four inches and six floors The waiver provides for This waiver that I just said provides for an upper level step back from front street at 63 feet four inches of height instead of 50 feet And an upper level step back from the river facing side at 73 feet instead of 50 feet So just increase the height of that step back requirement Um, it also includes a waiver to increase the allowed top floor area for a maximum of 60 percent of the area of the floor below to 74 of the area of the floor below And a waiver to increase the allowed Top floor frontage along front street from a maximum of 60 of the building length as measured along front street to 62 of the building length The project is also requesting a parking reduction to provide residential parking at a ratio of 0.5 spaces per unit And that's consistent with density bonus law Um, this is a quick Map of the downtown area just to give you an idea of how the height of this building compares with other projects that are either Entitled or in the pipeline This project is located at the north And the as I mentioned the majority of the roof line is at 89 feet although there are portions that exceed that height Um, the project directly to the south is the front riverfront project That one achieves a height of 85 feet and then to the south also along the river is A project that is in the pipeline, which is a hotel project that is currently proposed at 70 feet in height um The project at the corner of pacific laurel and front street is currently under construction that is at 85 feet Project to the north of that is the pacific south project 100 affordable project That's at 80 feet and directly north of that is pat Pack north that one is 88 feet Um, and we're also pointing out the 1010 pacific project, which is 68 feet in height And then further to the west is the um library project, which is also not yet approved but that achieves a height of 84 feet and then the um Cedar center street project, which is currently under construction is 46 feet And that concludes my presentation our recommendation would be to um for the planning commission To provide a recommendation to the city council approving the project and acknowledging the environmental termination, which you don't know yet Thank you. Thank you The commissioners have questions for staff commissioner conway Yeah, I have uh just a couple of kind of operational questions. Um And first of all, there's a lot to like in this project and um nice job on pinch hitting there on the staff report um So first I have a couple of questions, which is I'm just wondering how the developer and this is you know Maybe considered premature But I wonder I'm really glad to see that they came in with the rental project as opposed to a map On the one hand, but I'm wondering how they manage access to the um affordable units Um, we always know how that happens with a nonprofit But um, we don't necessarily and this is a fair number of affordable units Um, so I'm just wondering how they are subject to fair housing rules, but that tends to not be as rigorously enforced. So Um, I just like to put that question out there um, also, um I would be interested in more information about We there was a lot of talk when when these standards were developed about the community benefits that were going to happen And a lot of the community benefits are right along just activating that The bike the levy is is huge But i'm also interested in fleshing out a little bit more on how what those were you kind of Gave us a brief description of what they are and also Is there an intention at all to unify the design and management of you know, what the look of the new buildings are going to be along the levy Which is you know, just a tremendous asset um to the city So those are my questions my other big question um, and You know, I appreciate you putting is are about height um, and I uh We'll talk more after um, we hear from the public, but um, I do have to say they um the project without Both the um additional height bonus and the density bonus Really looked a lot more like what um, I expected to see when the project came in So what my question is is um I wonder if we are um, and I think that we would be better off Um when these projects are presented Without assuming that the um bonus height Is included in the base density and then we calculate the density bonus That that that they should be separated Because I think what we see in this case Is you know might be that if we were presented with both Here's the base density without the bonus height And here's the base density if if we're going to make that including the extra height Because we are going to have a density bonus on top of it and make sense to have it But layering it on top of it I don't know that it makes a better project, but I think that it would be a better process If we could if we could say yes, we're going to get an additional we're going to go from You know, what is it 31 affordable units without the height bonus to 37? Maybe that's worth it. Maybe that's worth having the additional floor or possibly two But I feel like we'd be in way better shape both with the public And also just in terms of getting the buildings that we that we want in these are important buildings Obviously that they are changing how our community looks And I think doing that with as much information and being as public and conscious about it Is important Thank you commissioner Dawson Thank you for those comments commissioner conway. I had similar things to say so I would just agree with everything you said I think it would be much more transparent if we kind of had the base height of 50 But I do have a question for staff just for my own edification because I am you know, fairly new to this so In the height zone that this project is located in it's at the planning Directors discretion to make a recommendation to for that additional 70 feet, right? And then that needs to be approved by council Is is it the normal flow of events that we would do something before that was approved? I'm not I'm not sure how to respond to like it being a normal flow of events, but I think we're used to You know seeing a recommendation from the planning commission before it goes to a city council Um decision, but in the downtown plan it does it does specify that you wouldn't require the planning commission I think to follow up on that it really depends on the entitlements that are being requested. So, um Many of the projects we see downtown have condominium maps And under the subdivision ordinance that requires a recommendation from the planning commission to council This is a rental project. Um, there's no special use permits involved So there really isn't a trigger that's in the code that requires a review Okay, thank you I'm new at this too. So I'm wondering if now At time where we would get involved in the level of details like that. I emailed you Samantha or If we're waiting until after public comment I think you should go through any that are just question based and just steer clear of discussion and political thoughts That's for later um And don't be shy find details appreciated um So I am coming for more of a design background. So I just have questions um You know about I mean the pump station was one of them, you know, that seems like in the staff report it stated that there was going to be significant impact and I understand The importance of also having a being a minor modification process So I guess I'm just curious though because there is a very large impact to circulation It is really a gateway as you said to the city and The pump station is a significant addition to what we're seeing in these renderings and so um, I guess I just wonder what What does that look like? What does that process look like if there's going to be significant change from what we're seeing and approving or recommending here and So that's a specific question about that And then Samantha if you want to address them one by one or gather them up, that's fine. Sure um, if you wanted to if your commission wanted to Recommend that that came back to your commission to review. You can certainly do that I think our thought behind it being a minor modification is that we know where it could possibly be located. That's already been identified as a location in that triangle area And so what we're anticipating seeing is possibly the removal of vegetation pulling back that Deck area at the riverwalk or possibly eliminating that deck area at the riverwalk Um, and so those are design features that we could review with staff and see if they can add any additional vegetation elsewhere on that side um, but um Like I said, if you wanted to propose to have that come back to your commission And just just to follow up on that um, you asked about the process so um The applicant would file an application and we would review it for consistency with the downtown plan and um From time to time we agree to disagree with applicants And um, there are provisions in the code that allows for staff to refer Uh projects to the commission even though they might be approval at the staff level So, um, you know, we we can and we have done that in the past. So You know if there are a policy issue involved or uh inconsistency we we could send it to your commission for review Okay, I mean obviously I assume that I not assume. I know that we're all on Trying to get to the same place, which is that it's a gateway and we want it to look nice. So I just was curious though just Um, if I may yep, Nathan director of public works It's a great question with regards to the the pump station being added adjacent to the project here Um, so I just wanted to make make it clear that the access to the riverwalk into the levee right there Will still be maintained. We still want to make sure that there is bike and protection and access along this um along this corridor right here, uh the Grant that uh, Samantha mentioned earlier the fuma brick grant that we're applying for also requires us to have look for some nature-based solutions or try to make the the structure itself as Um, amenable and we want to make it look as aesthetically pleasing to this surrounding area I think um commissioner in conway you also made a great question about some of it's going to be or maybe you asked If it was going to be underground or above ground and it's going to be a little bit of both And so we are looking at actually potentially even trying to source the energy place the generator may be in a different location But the pumps themselves and the pipes still have to be right at that location So as sam mentioned earlier, it's conceptual at this point We know that that is the point we need to tie in to you know, protect the rest of the downtown But um, we do consider it a you know modification a minor modification Thank you. Okay. So my next thing is um, it's really difficult when we're looking at these To just talk about materials and materiality from an image on a pdf and so Um, I think it would be really beneficial for a project of this scale to be able to Actually see those materials and how they go together And be able to comment on that again. I'm not interested in bogging down this process But um, there's going to be a lot of these coming our way and I don't think that that process is a very Thorough one for the public or you know for the city so One comment on that and then also I'd love to see an opportunity with pump stations and with the improvements of the pathway To really integrate art. I've been having conversations with the arts commission and Economic development and although we love the arts master plan on the rail trail and and integrated on to the You know riverfront that there's actually no funding for that But we do know that if we can get ahead of it and talk have these conversations that when construction is actually happening All it takes is actually just identifying it and integrating it into the process versus Tacking it on after and trying to find the money so that That's all So maybe the question is like how does that process I have this question too like how does the process go with the art? We see some pictures. It's historically like drastically underfunded Generally speaking so do people raise money from private sources or can you just Kind of lead us through how that would normally go without us meddling with it We could probably direct the question about funding sources to the applicant but what we did notice when Commissioner Gordon raises question is that we did not have a condition of approval on this project that regulated when the mural would be required to be Completed and the selection process for who would do you know who would be Painting the mural and so we do have a condition that we used for the front riverfront project I have that language drafted up We could add that to this project If you like it basically says that there will be a subcommittee that includes a member of the arts commission the economic development director and a member of the downtown commission I can pull that language up in a minute And that they would work together with the applicant to select the artist And then the condition of approval that it be completed prior to the issuance of occupancy permits Thanks. Thanks for saving me for the fact that wasn't an official question We'll work on this I wasn't at the first approval of this one too, so I might be repeating myself a little bit Just if I see mr. Mr. Miller just one more follow-on question that committee would be established at the council level Because it's like all the commissions You do are you asking who would appoint those? Yeah, would that be established by council? Like we'd request it and then they'd do it Um, that's a good question. I don't think that that is included in that condition But we could Let's look at the condition later. That's fine Yeah, I was just gonna say if if that condition were Imposed We would go to the downtown commission and say hey, this is we have this condition of approval on this project We need a volunteer to serve on this committee and it would just happen through you know that advisory body Okay, so similar to that climate thing. We set up a couple meetings right with like one person from each commission Thank you Commissioner cd. Miller questions for staff. Thank you chair. I have a couple questions Thank you for the Excellent presentation. You're a great pinch hitter. Thank you for stepping up to the bat I'm looking at the The approved downtown plan document that was adopted by the city a few years ago And it identifies this project as being in additional height zone b As you pointed out earlier Which allows up to 70 feet under specific conditions and I'm wondering if you could Describe what specific conditions were identified That allowed the base height of the project to be 70 feet And I remember this project I was on the planning commission at the time this project. I mean the downtown plan was amended and it was a as I recall many year process and I think the intent of the downtown plan was that Building heights would step up from the river Towards the core of downtown represented by pacific avenue And when that when you showed the heights earlier, I I could see that the That's not happening. You know, it's like the heights of the buildings along the river are actually equal to or in some cases exceeding the heights of Buildings along the core of our downtown in pacific and I'm wondering How that happens to be How we find that to be consistent with the intent the downtown plan has amended Those are my questions So the specific conditions that the downtown plan references are detailed in the additional height section additional height zone b has criteria for project approval As well as performance criteria And other standards that must be met. And so when we're evaluating it for consistency, we go through those criteria and determine if the project meets everything and In this case, there were some areas that it did not meet the criteria and that's where they are looking for variations So I hope that answers that question in terms of the intent Unfortunately, I'm not sure how the I don't know if Eric you want to speak to how the intent was included in the downtown plan document But I'm not sure that there is criteria that says that the building has to step, you know up from the river to the downtown core But I'm happy to keep looking in the in the downtown plan to see if there's any language to that extent And the staff report does go into a bit of detail on page nine as to what each of those conditions are that Are required in order to go from the 50 to the 70 foot height limit and then it also provides an explanation as to how staff believes So each of those conditions are being met and I can I can summarize them if you'd like me to No, I remember reading that I'm just um Thank you for the reminder. I'll take a second second look at that shortly You know, the other thing too is as sam mentioned we have the The variations that are embedded in the plan and so we're looking at you know, whether it meets the intent or not and then When density bonus enters the equation Some of that gets legally thrown out the window unless we can make a finding that there's a significant public health and safety impact associated with it so It's a bit discretionary Right. I recognize that on at least the downtown variations I recognize that thank you and the variations that you're referring to is that the waivers that are being requested? Is that what you mean by variations? The waivers are density bonus There's also Variations that are allowed as part of the downtown plan that are separate from density bonus. Thank you for clarifying that No more questions. Thank you chair Anybody have more questions for staff or Samantha? Do you want to answer any at this time? We could also do public comment and give you a little more time to study up over there. Sure. Um Commissioner Conway had asked about the community benefits of the project and um um, I think that the we found that the Important community benefits here were the activation of the riverwalk which is consistent with several general plan policies as well as the San Lorenzo urban river plan And then the location of density in the downtown area, you know in a transit priority area. That's close to public transit recreation businesses And not located in, you know, neighborhoods And I think those were those are probably the community benefits that are Achieved the greatest by this plan Can I just clarify that question? There was also, um, I believe there's a contribution that's being made to the You know, what there's something expected to go on at the end of cathart street And is this project also is is there a contribution being made? um, to those eventual Community benefits, we haven't seen what they are yet, but we looked at a lot of possibilities When the plan was being developed Yeah, I'm not Yeah, um This particular parcel doesn't have a An access from front Up to the levy path. So, um, they would pay a fee To fund their fair share portion of the cost of the various Paseos that are gonna make those connections on other parcels So I I have one more question while we're we're there Can you put up the the one with the blue outlines with the heights again, please At the overhead view with the different heights on the diagram the comparative Heights Thank you, there we go. Yeah, so From the interest of everybody here Us the applicant the people living in this building People who don't have houses in this town literally everybody we want this river walk to be awesome and very functional And so I think it's fair and appropriate that these projects kind of like contribute to the grand stairway and those other big You know, um things that would otherwise have to be paid for entirely by that other project So i'm really comfortable with that I wanted to follow on with the the missing teeth as I call them And just uh hear from you How that will be addressed. I mean it just is what it is with property But are we is this project are all the projects all going to work together to make that as least weird as possible? And unfortunately that is not a requirement of the applicant. Um, and also, um The city um has looked at those properties To to purchase or to help fund and and there's um no interest by the city in acquiring those properties um I'm looking at some feedback that we have. Um, it it just it has limited value. It's too small to develop any like meaningful housing And it's quite expensive to my understanding and so what what has been proposed for this project is a fence or a wall that's gonna Block off that portion From this project site But at this point, yes, it's It's just that especially the one that's to the south of this project is just going to continue to be that person Thank you. That's helpful. I'm thinking of that old kid's book with like the two skyscrapers and little All right, I think that's all the questions Good. Well, thank you all public for staying telegenic item two and uh, could I just get a show of hands for Who'd like to speak to this item just to get a rough count? All right, that looks good. Let's do uh Three minutes of comment again And following those same procedures. Oh, excuse me. We need to hear from the applicant before we do that Thank you. I'll I'll get back in the swing of it here eventually Good evening My name is Jesse Bristow. It's Swanson Boulders. Oh, I'm sorry. It's been a while. I'm used I'm used to zoom so And to be clear, you don't have a time limit Okay, well, I'll I'll be quick. Samantha did a great job. So good evening chair Kennedy and planning commission So first off, I just really like to start off by by thanking planning staff and public works and the respective departments It's been a really long journey excuse me for this for this project and um Samantha covered a lot. So actually I think um, I'll just try to highlight the best things I can and then We can stop on anything if you have any questions, but um, it's a little redundant I apologize And but first I'd like to to start with the timeline a little bit. So if you could go the next slide, thank you so, um, originally we we prepared a Pre-application for this project in all throughout well majority of 2019 And we submitted a pre-application of 170 units at the beginning of 2020 receive feedback from staff I actually think we held a community meeting for that one and Took took the feedback reorganized and we submitted a full application of 170 units later in that year of 2020 early 2020 I might add so Obviously, you know, everyone was impacted by by the pandemic, you know, we continued to work with city staff to try to achieve the goal of this riverwalk and levy plan the overall vision and as time went on um california state density bonus went from 35 percent and was increased to to 50 percent so when it was originally 35 percent generally makes sense for us to try to reorganize and And apply for that for that bonus so But with the new law the 50 percent is attractive and it allows us to provide more affordable units in a lower income category and so in 2022 we submitted a Conforming model that had 184 units and a density bonus model that had 200 excuse me and 276 units And then at the end of after a lot of different submittals and in coordination with with planning and the respective departments We were deemed complete at the end of 2022 You can go the next slide So this was our first rendering and it was very rough and So I think with our team and the feedback that we got from the community and planning staff We have a much better design. So next slide, please So here here's kind of the first iteration of our 2022 Application and it's evolved a little bit and one thing I will highlight is right now at the beginning of this photo You see that bare triangle We were actually approached by planning staff and parks department to incorporate that to create that riverwalk gateway and then further achieve that that vision so We we've modified it quite a bit and you can see the trail Does not exist right now where we've actually added more And we'll I'll highlight that later in the presentation. So next slide, please So under the the 2022 application There were further comments and we were modifying it to Again try to accomplish the goals of the downtown vision and this riverwalk. So here you can see the the two south towers If you go to the next slide Samantha, you can see how we stepped those in So that was you could probably toggle back and forth if you like so and we incorporated the riverwalk access with with the The led lights the signage Really trying to accomplish that goal to draw people from You know if you were on front street and so cal further into downtown coming from pacific avenue Walking this way you would be able to see the corner of the restaurant piece that that blue building with the blue tile and really draw the eye of the user and so it would be inviting to To you know come to to the project on front street or the curiosity of the user to come up to to the The riverwalk and then leading further down to The riverfront apartments and potentially in the future to the cruise hotel And then maybe the downtown expansion plan and maybe a new arena. Who knows but again, you know Our intent is is to make it an active space for everyone in the community Next slide, please So, uh, Samantha went over this very thoroughly So let's see Of 184 units six commercial spaces including a restaurant I will note the commercial spaces are conditioned to accommodate a food use if that tenant was to come in We just have one large restaurant space that's designated. So we'll work the tenants as they come along Um 181 parking spaces. We have a mix of two bedrooms one bedrooms with dens Um, just one bedrooms and and quite a few studios And we have a community workout room, uh, that can accommodate a potential personal trainer use from a commercial standpoint We have a community game room. We have the public posit deck that is accessible Uh, two private courtyards private rooftop deck and public space all along the levy Next slide, please So, uh, this is that that same rendering and um That's yeah, it's fine. You're doing great. Um, so so, uh, Samantha already went over this But I just wanted to highlight the the conforming model and and I like to segue how we got to our density bonus model So, uh, next slide, please And, uh, I just like to highlight how this has changed. We have a staircase and kind of a minimal path to the restaurant There is a botchy ball court I don't know if that was mentioned and we've been conditioned to allow like have a the management team on that building to be accessible So if you do want to program and use it, you know, it's possible for the public. Um So that uh, just pause there. So those are Built by you guys paid for by you guys and kind of maintain that the public can access those spaces Like certain times a day within certain limits. Yes, but it's very much. Um, I want to say like the mall but A little bit not because it's it's the mall is structured a little bit differently But as long as those business hours are open, um, the public can utilize that deck and and then Where the building breaks there are private courtyards for for the residents But it is it is intended to be like, hey, you can just go there and sit You know, hopefully it's it's positive activity and and you know, there's retail and commercial activity Um, but if you just want to sit on the amphitheater and look at the river You can like there's not you're not going to get in trouble or anything like that But we did incorporate the amphitheater It was brought to our attention that there was an amphitheater in the San Lorenzo urban Urban plan, but it actually doesn't or it can't happen because of the protected area To the best of my knowledge. So we we tried to accommodate it. It does serve a utility purpose to where people can use it as a passive staircase But there's a little area that I believe we are conditioned that to allow it for programming for You know, maybe it's an arts club. Who knows there is also a turnout for a utility vehicle so it has multiple uses and This was our first kind of This is one of many variations, but it's not final yet and you'll see the final We've just seen the the final variation of it But it has continued to evolve at the direction of staff and us really trying to achieve this concept Next slide, please so as Samantha went went over the the density bonus requirement is is 20 percent and We are of that 20 percent 15 percent are going to be low income five percent I'm sorry 50 percent are going to be very low income and five percent will be low income To the best of my knowledge. I think we we left out the the five percent low income and the Sam's presentation. So I just want to be honest about it. Um, so that that grants us a 50 percent Increase which brings us to 276 units Next slide So overall our project, um that we're discussing today has 276 units the same amount of commercial spaces same amount of parking The mix has changed a little bit, but it's still the same type of units. We haven't added any different Types and we have 37 below market rate units Next slide Additionally, um, it was mentioned that this is a hundred percent rental. It's also a hundred percent electric Except for the food use the food uses the kitchen commercial kitchen Under city ordinance is allowed to have a gas connection, but this is a hundred percent electric By california green building standards by the time if we're able to proceed with building permits What would be required to have? PV solar on the roof We currently have 22 electric vehicle charging stations and we have 372 class 1 bike spaces and we have 12 class 2 bike spaces Next slide. Thank you Samantha already went over these waivers by we would just like to highlight that Instead of waving these conditions entirely we move them to the density bonus floor So we were Meeting the conditions on the fifth and the sixth floor of the conforming model But we we essentially doubled the third and fourth floor So the building got fatter and then the fifth and sixth floor became the seventh and eighth floor So, um, we we felt it was important to continue and try to achieve the downtown design guidelines as possible We're really just asking for these waivers so we can accommodate the the extra units So, um, we we did feel it was important to to stick with the character of the downtown Next slide, please Samantha already went over this. I will highlight that there are two transformer rooms So as projects move forward, especially of this size, I would just prepare You yourselves as my community that when it's something's a hundred percent electric you're gonna have twice twice the equipment Next slide, please And this is our second floor floor layout where you can see The various trails that lead to the deck the staircase the two staircases and then the amphitheater leads up to the deck as well so pretty much everything on the exterior of the the Yellow colored spaces that would all be publicly accessible those two courtyards in the interior would be for for private residents So, um, we've yes, I don't mean to break your flow one more question if that's all right while we're here So the deck is Would it be accessible? Or are the steps we're talking about like could you get to it in a wheelchair? Yes, actually, that's not an elevator is my question. Yeah, so at the corner of front in Soquel There's actually an elevator that brings you up to the if that is the front entrance of the restaurant You can use that but if you're accessing off of Soquel in the levy We do have a pathway that ramps up that is ad accessible Although there was discussion about the minor modification We are gonna do everything we can to To cooperate with with public works and their design if that you know, that does move forward Again, we want to attain this vision Whether it gets modified or not. So it's hard to achieve at the grades out there if I remember, right? So yeah, that's That's why we have that length and and again that variation About how the building steps where it's fifth whether Samantha mentioned where Our floor plate on the front The height of the first floor on front street is that 15 feet if you if you go directly back to the levy You're relatively high and the challenge is is that it's higher on Soquel and if you go towards the music shop It's it slopes and unfortunately the river walk plan doesn't really take that into consideration It's very black and white that says like hey, this is 100 flat. So do what we will so We we appreciate you know being accommodated that design variation. So Next slide, please. Thanks And and this is the the top floor Again, uh, we we are requesting that waiver to have the top floor a little bit fatter If not, we would have to go another floor to accommodate the density bonus units And that's very costly. We feel that it's just a little more appropriate to widen the the top floor And I think we're at was that 72% same I can't remember but um Sounds right. Yeah, and we do have a rooftop garden Which was a nice amenity. It also acts as a as a water capture and filtration for for storm water So um has a multiple function there as well next slide and here are our perspectives and um This is again, you know as if you're standing at the parking garage above Oswald Next slide, and yeah, I just really would like to highlight You know from Oswald's to here You know, we really we really try to make the end cap of the building attractive and bring people Up to the levy and and really activate it so, uh, you know with the commercial spaces the restaurant space we really do hope that You know that it functions well and and it's an attractive space that you know really helps not just people utilize our project But you know future projects that are coming along and and the riverfront project as well next slide And this is uh just kind of as if you're at the gateway of the riverwalk And I think that's it Oh, that's from the south end and one more I think There you go And I'm here for any questions or clarifications. Thank you Anybody have uh questions for that plant now we can ask further questions later We can hear from the public first this question can probably wait either way is fine. I'll be here all night Okay, thank you All right now is the time to hear from the public Thanks for your comments. We appreciate them and we'll do three minutes on the timer Yeah, I should mention you are not required to but if you'd like to introduce yourself. I was I was like that Justin de Villa Wasn't here to speak about this project and I live in Aptos full disclosure But I'm downtown a lot lifelong community resident and I'm really of two minds Of a project like this on one hand. I'm really excited for this sort of residential rental dense project downtown on the other hand the densification going upward Is really a cumulative impact Especially when you look at the densities that are being designed along Front street where a lot of those buildings are 80 foot plus. I'm sure the missing teeth are going to be 80 foot plus I'm not going to get carried away and call it wall street But I will say that a darker downtown is a less attractive downtown a darker downtown typically Gives a different feel than the downtown that many of us are accustomed to and many of us are looking to enjoy not with Not just with our families, but you know, whenever it is that we're spending time You know within the greater 80 feet straight up is a it's a big ask And we've already got a couple buildings going up and quite a few more and when you get those all together it is going to feel much much different and My suggestion would be to really look at what happens above 50 feet Look at step backs. Look at green roofing more than even is designed look at, you know architecturally really important aesthetic things that remind us of sanikers that actually is attractive And also look at structural heterogeneity One of the biggest problems I see not only in this community, but in others is a sameness of architecture Whether it's a whole area being built all at once or whether it's every new building that goes in looks similar to the other ones When you lack a structural heterogeneity What you lack is a feeling of an organic community that came together naturally Instead you feel as if something's been imposed upon you And and if you if you look at the designs it doesn't take much Right, it could be the addition of brick. It could be the addition of interesting woodwork or the art that we're speaking about But when you get steep similar buildings and you condense them all into one area You can't really take the genie out of the bottle. Nobody is going to Turn back the you know the hands of time and be like, you know, we got this wrong We need to tear this building down and make it look like this That's not going to happen. And so, you know, we need to look not we but not The planning commission but also us as a community need to look into the future at what these areas are going to look like When they're completed. So not just what this building is going to be but this building in the context of all of the other buildings So that we still have an attractive downtown that provides, you know, an ample, you know, number of new residential units We're all very well aware of the housing crisis But I will say this If density was the only way to solve housing crisis and Increase affordability then tokyo would be affordable Manhattan would be affordable. Hong Kong would be affordable. So it's not just about more Right, we do need to think about in context what we're building and not just why we're building Thank you Good evening. My name is Henry Hooker and I speak as a representative of Santa Cruz Yimbi We sent you a letter so I won't spend a lot of time Blowing through that basically we think that this is a great project that this provides a lot of needed homes And it provides the density that we really need to have In order to accomplish our housing goals how and into the future Because Santa Cruz needs to grow Santa Cruz needs to grow so that it can have better transportation and that it can be more sustainable as a place to work And a place to live The other one thing that's not in the letter that I would like to note is that We have more parking here than Are actually required And there are plenty of plenty of studies now available That show that when you provide more parking residential projects You also encourage more automobile ownership And so I would suggest that You consider either suggesting to the council or that you take it upon yourselves to recommend that the Density that the amount of parking in this project be limited To the amount that's actually required in the city codes Thank you for your time. I hope that you will push this project forward. Thank you Yes, if you'd like to and uh, I forgot to mention if you can sign in ahead of time it'll just speed us up slightly Thanks for asking My name's aretha bright. Um, I'm completely against it. I think it's I'm going to talk about the parking situation As someone who lives downtown There's nowhere for us to park. We have to park 15 minutes away from our house and Walk our groceries back up to our apartments. There's not even like a loading place to unload groceries. It's Really inconvenient Really expensive There's no downtown permits except for the parking garages that are really far away So if you're going to build a bunch of more housing For people where you have to have a car if you're going to live in Santa Cruz Um, this just isn't going to work It's not going to work um Thank you Thank you Can you hear me? You sound fine My name is devin salsito. Um, I also live across the street from Or this building would be constructed My concern apart from the whole parking situation was only going to be half a parking space per unit in this unstrucity Yeah, I was mostly concerned about the affordability of the apartments Um So you guys are requiring a 20% inclusionary rate, although the median salary for Santa Cruz is 78 thousand $350 and the low income cap is 78 thousand and fifty dollars Meaning that 50 percent of people are considered a low income in the city So how does that? I don't the math isn't mapping. I don't know it's 20% does not equal affordability for everyone living in Santa Cruz um Yeah, I Share a studio and that's hard to freaking afford and I have to pay for the parking across the street as well and now it's going to keep going up in price and If you bring in a bunch of people into this new area I don't know how the people who are currently living here are going to be able to afford anything the prices are going to be driven up This is literary gentrification The traffic increase The traffic in downtown is horrible already I don't understand This is going to affect things for the better And I'm from LA so And the restaurant That's going to be included into the building I don't know where they're going to park. I don't know the customers are going to park for them I don't know where the employees are going to park I don't think the one little space for the public is adequate enough Or the entire city or the entire people living nearby And the building looks kind of basic. I don't know how it's going to Be coherent with The aesthetic of the rest of the city um You put this here. It's going to Not only change Santa Cruz. It's going to change it for like it's going to look like every other metropolitain city and I feel like I moved here to get away from that This would just turn this into another LA or San Francisco And I don't know how many of you guys want to live there, but I mean we're getting there so Thank you Hello, uh, my name is Zenon Aliakro. I'm president of the student housing coalition and I've come here today to speak in favor of this project Um, I kind of just want to speak today from the perspective of the next generation Of people that are going to be inheriting the climate crisis And really want to emphasize here that if we aren't growing here, we're growing elsewhere When we don't build in the city of Santa Cruz That doesn't mean the people that would have moved here just vanish and don't exist It means they move out to Watsonville and they commute into Santa Cruz every day It means they build a new suburb out in Antioch. It means someone else is building somewhere and taking up You know prime areas that are carbon sinks that are our natural areas that we should be preserving And so when we look at this area that is in a very highly well served by transit Walkable it's dense. It's close to jobs. It's you know more and more as we're going to get the rail trail And we're going to get more and more transit facilities It's in the best location we can possibly get and we know that if we want to meet our climate targets We need to reduce our emissions by building more densely the connection between land use and climate change could not be clear And so looking at projects like this that are building at a density and building at a height Really, we are talking about climate resiliency. We are talking about making sure we aren't sprawling and we are not continuing with the status quo of development So I really want to implore you guys to support this project for those reasons and thank you Thank you Good evening planning commission. Uh, my name is Ray Diaz and I am a student and also vice president of the student housing coalition and uh Following up with what my counterpart just mentioned. Uh, this is an opportunity for center crews to also address a need for equity Uh, currently we work with a large number of unhoused students Most of which happen to be by poc students happen to be Students of color who as of now being with the current housing crisis, unfortunately can no longer return to Their studies the following years because of how unfortunate they aren't able to find affordable housing within the city And they don't want to unhouse people in watsonville. They don't want to unhouse people in salinas We are also brown and black folk that don't want to displace other people And so this This plan is a perfect opportunity to address the needs that this community has been needing to address for a very long time To make sure that we have more students of color more people attending the university of california and have those same opportunities as previous students from previous generations Uh, so those are my comments and thank you very much Thank you I'm elon wilkerson and i'm a second year student at uc sanikers And I already have to look for housing for the fall quarter and personally I am terrified Every single listing that I have looked for has pretty much been taken away in like a week or two And it's mainly because anything that is affordable Is so competitive now in days I personally cannot compete with a person who has a genuine job I only work part time And then not only that but thinking of families that have a dual income Competing with that is nearly impossible for a student So when you're looking at developments like this it allows students a chance for you know affordable housing that is available well semi affordable housing that is available in sanikers to actually Get that instead of people who make Income that's well beyond our reach at this moment. So that's mainly what I wanted to say. Thank you so much Thank you. Yeah, I had to write this down. So Show of hands how many people here rode their e-bike here tonight? A couple people One walked. Okay, so, um, Dr. Carr Okay, great great. It's um Now what if we tore down the civic auditorium and we put up 400 300 400 units over there With only a parking deficiency just 250 parking spots for thousand people. What if we tore down the library? What if we tore down the library over here put up an eight story 17 story building As we need it. We need we need the housing and I agree. We do need the housing But again, we don't give the share of parking spaces for all the people that are going to live in the building and use and have cars Here's the issue. Um, I've lived in some of these air. Well, I'm a business owner here in santa cruz and have been for 23 years So, um, and I've had a business just a couple of blocks. I An office two blocks from here. So That was 15 years ago and and even at that time there was a thing called parking deficiency So we've had parking issues in santa cruz for quite a while All of a sudden now we don't have parking issues anymore. They just went away. They evaporated So, uh, it's very interesting. So I've lived in some areas For a short time, san francisco is one of them and so I can confer with what some of these other people have said It's very hard to park You spend 20 minutes and you're very frustrated trying to park your car Sure, we we ideal world. We'd all have electric bikes and there'd be, you know, but it's not that's fit 32 degrees in the morning when I get up. No, I didn't ride my bike here um So recently we we removed 200 downtown parking spots Gone so we're putting up buildings that don't have sufficient parking And this is going on and on so anyway, am I chicken little am I just making this up? Is there no problem here? Let's look at last weekend So I had to park downtown last weekend. I my office right now is on Across from the metro 903 pacific so pull up No parking Well, why is that catalyst at a show? um So I pulled over to lot seven. Oh, that was full I pull up to the next lot. Oh, that's full. So I pull up to walnut street. Oh full It tells me in green letters. That's full. So I parked here So we're I think that You've had The idea that if you look at it from from daytime parking you see a lot of spots, but the reality is In during during a weekend show when the catalyst is has a weekend show. There's no parking So you should really look at that because if you're expecting people to come home or go go to a hotel And they're going to park their car. That's not going to happen Um, so one suggestion is you can go to scott's valley And we can have parking there and then people can take the metro to get here Because they still have parking in scott's valley at the metro station So we could set something up maybe work with scott's valley And then hotel residents people who want to come to the hotel here They park in scott's valley and then they grab a bus in all right. So thank you consider that Mike finari. Uh, my question is regarding the Pumping station was mentioned a couple times but in no detail at all Um says might be parked down partly subterranean Partly above we're talking about five feet above 50 feet above I mean, what's the purpose of this of the pumping station to begin with and then It sounds very industrial How is this going to impact the aesthetics of the project? And in downtown, I mean it it's an issue that was touched on just very briefly a couple of times but um No sort of detail at all was presented on it. I'd like to know a little bit more about The size shape and function of the pumping station. Thank you Thank you Good evening commissioners. Thank you for your service This proposal meets the goals of the general plan the downtown specific plan And helps meet your rena goals Meeting the rena goals is a challenge and if you do not maximize downtown parcels, then it's a lost opportunity for the piece of land Putting nearly 300 housing units in a single family home neighborhood would be far more disruptive Then where people can actually walk to services And eliminate vehicle trips in the associated greenhouse gases The downtown needs more residents to support small business and this development will help The state has spoken It wants housing Density bonus comes with legal protection for applicants that restricts cities from denying housing Thank you to staff for highlighting the four foot difference between this proposal and the adjacent entitled development Development along the river allows for general public access To the river walk and dissuades deviant behavior This is a great project and only thing better will be when it actually opens. Thank you Thank you All right, I think everyone's spoken who would like to last call for public comment With that we'll close public comment and then I'd like to ask staff if they'd like to respond to any of the the comments Yes, thank you chair. Kennedy. I just um wanted to speak to the comments that we received we received about parking real quick So the project does comply with the parking requirements for density bonus state law So that is a state law requirement and it allows for 0.5 spaces per unit New state law is um ab 2097 that would allow for zero parking on this site I just wanted to make that clarification Let's say that again The new state law might allow for zero parking for a project like that just to emphasize what you just said Um, and then uh, one of the comments we received was regarding the pumping station and I would um defer to Nathan when the public works director for additional detail on that All right, Nathan you want to come up and just Like describe the pumping station a bit more I keep thinking of like maria brothers, but i'm sure it's not like a green pipe, right? That is one of the odd design options on the table. We're still in the concept phase Um, so the pump station is as we just as we discussed earlier would be on the corner Of where the bridge abutment and where the building would start Right now the pumps themselves would be submersible. That's what we're imagining right now. There'll be a wet well Not sure exactly how deep maybe in neighborhood of more 15 feet And then we'd have to get penetrations that go through the the um levy structure So there would be a section 408 permit that goes with that as well Above ground what we're looking at is we'd have to have a control panel That's for the actual pump station and an electric generator a backup generator because this is considered critical infrastructure But as I was mentioning earlier, we're trying to Figure out that footprint for the for the energy source for the power source And so we're trying to maybe potentially put that on the other side of the so-called bridge To make that more inviting on that particular corner as you're um entering the downtown area Um minus As I said, we're in the conceptual phase So we don't really have any plans like drawings, you know size and scale But again, we feel that this point with the feasibility study that's been performed That it can fit in that area and that we can also again have access for the um levy trail itself All right First of all, I think we can all appreciate why it's really important to have a pump station so and Thank you for your efforts to make it less obtrusive Um, because I think that is really important as we've stated. It's an important corner Did you say there's funding through fema for this or did I make that up or is this is because it seems like this is This is on a track. This is moving. That's correct. So we're working on getting this project into our cip We've already actually moved for with applying for a fema brick grant. So that's in process It's actually been approved through cal OAS and been kicked up to fema. So we're actually waiting for Whether it's going to be funded through that program or not. Yep. Thank you. Any other response All right. So with that, we'll bring it back to the commission for a motion and further discussion Commissioner Conway. Yeah um, I feel like there's a few things um to discuss here and first of all Again, thanks to everyone who's worked on this project It is amazing to see it come this far I really did feel kind of gobsmacked by the expecting 50 feet. I was expecting to have You know a density bonus, of course I didn't expect the density bonus to go on top of the additional height When you put up the six-story building, I thought, oh, yeah Yeah, that's what that's what we were looking for and um, you know, I'd like to emphasize that I think that there were some good reasons to have it stepped up Of course the density bonus is affording us the opportunity to actually Make dense projects feasible I I couldn't be more supportive of the density bonus and But I do feel like The the one piece of discretion that we've retained is Whether or not The density bonus calculation is based on a base project without the additional height Or a base project with the additional height And I think it's important to emphasize that that's our discretion And I'm glad it's not That we can't we can't turn down a density bonus project. We shouldn't be able to But it is also important to note and I feel like It's important To frame these projects in that light This is the base project without any additional height You know, this is what it would be with the density bonus And then this is what it would be with the You know discretionary additional height and density bonus on top of it. I think it makes a difference So I just want to be really clear about that Any response or anyone else want to speak You had a question Yeah, thank you. I did have a question So we do have a good amount of information on the mix of units in terms of micro studio one bedroom one bath one bedroom One bath den and two bedroom What I don't see anything about is how the affordable units are going to be spread And I wondered if the applicant had any information about that Oh, and I'm not sure if you have this information either But not only spread between types of units, but spread between floors If there's any type of information on that Everybody can just come up Hello chair and commissioners leave out their planning director for the city and the code requires that the The inclusionary units would be comparable to the The number of bedrooms that are distributed through the project. So if it's You know 20 percent Two bedrooms and 80 percent one bedrooms. I don't know the exact mix on this Then the inclusionary units would need to meet that Same spread between number of bedrooms the code does allow for the units to be 75 percent of the size Of the market rate units So they can be slightly smaller But the bedroom count distribution is the same Okay, great and then Just in terms of distribution, you know over floors like how many are they all jammed on the second story Are they all put on the third story or is there sort of a spread all the way up to the top? Or if you don't know that's okay, too I'm just curious sure I I don't know that but I don't think there's anything that calls out on which floor They have to be on just as long as the percentage is is matched And I would like to highlight that there would be no reason for us to minimize a unit to 25 or 75 percent It just doesn't make sense when we're designing a building to have that so it just it's easier when everything stacks So I just just want to express that Great, thank you Mr. Polymus Um, the the code does say that the inclusionary unit shall be spread throughout the residential development to prevent the creation Of a concentration of affordable units within the development so we would expect that they be dispersed throughout Yeah, and that was something I kind of popped in my head from other developments that had similar Um Had a similar outcome. So yes, thank you. So the way it's implemented is As a conditional approval the applicant enters into an affordable housing development agreement And that's reviewed for consistency with the ordinance by our economic development staff So all those details get worked out before the building permit gets issued There was a comment earlier about how that is managed and that we would have on-site management Working in tandem with that agreement with the housing department They review certain things like the lease that that's established for potential tenants and they report You know, if someone's moved and has it and notifies Housing department if a if a unit's available things of that nature So the housing department actually allocates The rental units We have an agreement with them. I believe we we I well there's a draft We would work on a draft agreement and we would identify which and where and then It would be established and then there's just continual reporting To make sure that we're in compliance Thank you Commissioner Dawson, I didn't catch you as first I think I was looking down as well. Thank you, um chair So I'm I'm glad we've the we've kind of turned to talking about affordable units I think uh, we can all agree that we are in an affordability crisis and We talk a lot about the density bonus. So I just want to put on the record for the public once again That because of the density bonus We're only there's 276 units and we're only 13 percent of those are going to be affordable units That is the letter of the law, but it's only 13 percent And that's not going to meet the need and I also want to put on a record once again and make a recommendation Um, at least publicly and to the council because I don't think I have support to make one formally with votes that A legal council has weighed in our city council could choose to increase the inclusionary percentage for Density bonus projects so that we would end up getting 20 percent of the total units of a project Which is not what we're getting right now. Again, we're getting 13 percent also just want to recognize the residents and um The equitable issue around parking I think that that you know, the climate crisis is real. There is no doubt. That is literally my day job I I'm in it all day every day Um, but we also have to recognize where we are right now and think about the equity equitable access um to Living in these spaces and then being able to get to work because we all want a transit Um option that could get us where we need to be Santa Cruz is a service economy You don't have flexibility if you have a nine o'clock shift and a bus doesn't get you there. You need a car I'd also like to recognize that we are recovering from the impacts of covid To our downtown economy and our small businesses and there are only so many jobs downtown. So I think we should be planning for the future But I just want to recognize that um, we need to be building way more affordable housing This developer is getting seven waivers Which again is the letter of the law to build this building and only providing 13 percent So I just want to encourage the council and hopefully my other commissioners to Get behind the idea of raising the inclusionary for density bonus projects in the future. Thank you Commissioner Gordon I appreciate all these really big Comments that you all make mine are going to be a really granular So, um I had a couple more things that I had questions about that I have some questions about the trash access for the commercial spaces that are facing the levy In the conditions of approval, you know, the flexibility of those spaces is critical, you know, and Um, I'm having a hard time kind of wrapping my head around If those spaces were to be restaurant or something that would be You know, what what are they going to be and how do they access trash and get delivery even with that restaurant on the corner? I'm kind of curious how that that's going to work there from a access perspective Um, I would defer to the applicant to address the question of you know How deliveries will get to the restaurant on the second floor? Um but also, um, we do have Nathan here from public works who may be able to better speak to how the trash enclosure is sized to appropriately handle a restaurant use um We could include it as a condition of approval of the project But i'm not sure if the spacing would allow for that as it is now so right Well, I think that was kind of my question is I saw the trash enclosure And I saw the path to the trash enclosure and I saw where the commercial spaces are being proposed and It seems impractical like it's just limiting basically and so I just Maybe there was some thought process around it and then yeah the delivery thing So I do believe we provided as part of the plans a trash Access, um, are you referring to that sheet? Yeah, that um, I mean, that's what we tried to accommodate in order to show that path. I will say it's not it's not That's the challenge with having commercial on both sides in this type of project Um, I do ideally, you know, there is still elevator access if they were to go all the way around But again, I believe the plans that I don't know it by heart Um still allows workers to access the stairwells down to that trash enclosure And we've worked. I believe the project is conditioned to as far as trash pickup. We have bins in there and compactors. It's very, uh Similar to our project at um on park or park pacific project My architect's texting me so he might be more helpful. That's right. We're on zoom Oh, there's a trash shoot as well Okay, go down. Uh, so that would be um helpful and as far as trash pickup We've worked with public works too Because we have on-site management. You need that with this type of project When trash does come we're conditioned to remove it like within two hours and then it goes back in so there's not any impact to traffic and you know looks and I'm I'm assuming that somebody's thought through this. It just wasn't really clear from the plans But also delivery like that the restaurant gets these deliveries were to those trucks Pull up and and deliver all the things and we've just seen that in so many Tenant improvement issues of of of how that works and and those particular units are Complex in their location. So I just Sure, it depends on the size of the vehicle. Um, I'm not I don't believe there's a loading zone on the street No, so they would have to pull into the driveway of that access and load there Um, so I you know, whatever vendor they're working with I think they need to make sure what kind of size truck they're using Yeah And I'll just add to that with regards to the operation service So we do work with the developers as a part of the review of the plans to look at trash enclosure How the operation is going to work in this case, especially in the downtown area area Oftentimes all the all the pickup is going to be on the street in the morning And as as you mentioned earlier, we have a certain time frame which it can be out there and then has to be picked up While we realize it's in the downtown core It's a lot of basically of how a lot of our businesses work currently right now Where their trash is behind the business they bring it out We do the collections in the morning and then they have to put it back So that the rest of the down can operate normally With regards to the loading zone Space unloading and loading for commercial though. That is that is quite a challenge We are talking about that curb management Potentially setting up some type of policy in the future working with the planning department on that kind of thing There are some developments, but we are looking at trying to provide that type of use Kind of a multi-use curb where it's going to be parking normal parking during the day But in the mornings or evenings we allow for commercial use and or Deliveries for like amazon or you know board ash those kind of those kind of businesses uberge etc And so we are trying to think about that kind of modernization how we're kind of managing our roadways With regards to these large development projects where we have we know we have a concentrated amount of housing Thank you Okay, another granular thing The balconies are really prominent in the design on that and I'm just wondering how The management of that is going to work in terms of the tenants use of those I know you're no longer the owner of 555 pacific, but it is an example Of some out of control balconies Sure, so we absolutely could work with our management and part of the lease that's like nothing unsightly, you know Or it's kept in good order Probably maybe something a little more objective So we can point to it and and just ensure that they're compliant I think that's all that that's also something we could include as a condition of approval if you like for them to For us to require them to include that requirement in their tenant leases But as Eric pointed out that's a little difficult for us to enforce and regulate And it would be a fairly low priority Complaint if it came in but it is something we can include as a condition of approval Right I mean, I don't want to over complicate things because if we can't monitor it. It's just another rule, but I wanted to bring it up as a A serious concern because there's it's a high impact corner. So I don't want to over complicate things by that by doing that, but I wanted to say it by my memory We've added that condition to like a whole ton of projects in the past and it's nice to have it there like just in case May I remember that right Eric? Yeah, we I know we've done it on some standard but some projects Yeah, I mean your point's well taken given the visibility of that corner. Um, and I think by making it a The condition tied to the lease it sort of helps us with enforcement in that It becomes the management company's issue rather than the city and the individual tenant Okay, um, but as the applicant pointed out having something objective Um in that condition would really help with enforcement like nothing on the the railings or something to that effect I'm too new at this to plants on your balcony that craft perfect language I'm more of a 30 000 feet person. I have a language. I'm not a crafter in that way. So I'll drive something. Okay. Thanks, Sam This would go to council. So there'd be some time there for staff to catch up a little bit Especially since Samantha's dropping into the project Commissioner Paul Amos and I would just say commissioner Gordon that you know not on pacific has My understanding is a similar agreement and that is a very visible Building in terms of coming down the hill there on mission extension. And so I think that's an important point Okay, those are all my questions. Thank you Commissioner miscellaneous. I'm feeling like we should get a motion here pretty soon, but go ahead Thank you chair Kennedy Um, I have uh some comments. Um, I want to I won't repeat um commissioner conways comments earlier about the pro process Um, but I do support them. Um, I'm also I want to respond a little bit to commissioner Dawson's comments about the inclusionary percentage of units um I am Very much an affordable housing advocate And while 13 sounds like a very low number I'm also Aware that in that 13 there are 28 units which will be Allocated to very low income residents And if I remember right In the last housing cycle We didn't meet the requirements for the very low income units because they're extraordinarily difficult to build Feasibly build and economically build so that they're including this many units in this project impresses me And so I'm less worried about the quote number percentage than I am about the quality and affordability of the units that are in this project Um, so I'm I'm happy with uh With the number of units and especially the affordability of the units in this project Um with regards to some of the comments that The general public Made I want to um echo those as well um One of the speakers mentioned that if we don't build here We will build somewhere else not we Santa Cruz, but the human race will build somewhere else And I have seen lots of that building in other places and in In my youth We called that sprawl and there was a big anti sprawl campaign launched by the national Sierra club and this was by 1980 and I'm sorry that uh sprawl continued even though there were many people that were Against it at least a few people that were strongly against it And I am glad to see Projects like this because it means that sprawl is coming to an end and we need to end sprawl It's really an inefficient use of land It really destroys green fields In every sense of that word And for that reason I support this type of project um, I was also acutely touched by the comments made by some speakers about the equity issues And as one speaker said This project will give students a chance And I don't think it just gives students a chance But many young people in this community who Really are struggling to find a place to live I moved here in 1983 I know it's maybe before some people in this room were born Um, but when I moved here, it took me six weeks to find a place to live Um housing was really hard to find then And it's only gotten harder. I can't even imagine what it's like to be a young person today looking for housing in this area Um, and so I I sympathize I um, I can relate and I sympathize with With people who are struggling to find a place to live Um, and the very last speaker I thought just kind of nailed it But the risk of being somewhat repetitive, you know, this project meets the general plan goals Makes a significant contribution to meeting our rena numbers and it helps us solve the housing crisis Um, but those are my comments Thank you. Thank you commissioner Commissioner Dawson Yeah, just a quick response to just put some numbers to some of those words. So In so, uh, in this project, we will be getting 10 very low units absolutely correct that those are the Units that we've underperformed in building But right now the average median income in Santa Cruz, um, the state law creates, um income levels and How how much certain size units cost so if you if you go to the housing authority website You can look at these things. So 100 of a one bedroom unit the market rate rent now is is According to them $2,900. So If you're looking for a studio, it's over $2,000. So We we have to put this idea of equity and affordability Into actual numbers here in Santa Cruz. I think that's fairly important when we talk about equity And and for your average worker in Santa Cruz, um, the the wage needed to afford rent at market rate is over $40 an hour And those are all available online and cited So I just want to make sure that what we're putting in context these words that um, we all like to say and um, absolutely agree with The staff and the commission that this Does meet the letter of the law What I am proposing is that we have the ability in Santa Cruz to change that and we're choosing not to do that Thank you commissioner Dawson This is really, um, a question not related. Um, specifically, I just kind of want to raise it We've talked a couple of times. I feel like we do it a little bit every meeting about Wishing we had a design committee Or a way to provide input Not too slow projects down or to return them to the commission or to You know add a layer But to provide an opportunity for feedback and i'm just i'd just like to raise the question And what would it take to create something like that? I'm and where would it be? I mean someone suggested a subcommittee of this commission Or would it be a collaborative with um other Appointees i'm just but I just feel like it's been something that We've wished for for many years since we were you know back in the corridor plan days And it just seems like more and more Um a project like this. I really think it would have benefited from just And by the way, I think it's a beautiful project But I think the opportunity to to say even ask the question of is this feasible Without doing the you know double bonus Would it still work? We don't have a chance to ask that question So we don't have a chance to really examine Um, and I think that would would have come up through a design committee Just because it's further discussion and kind of talking it over So i'm just throwing it out there. I don't know where it comes from. Yeah, I've got a couple comments about that I feel like we should get a motion in a second and then I've got like three more things to talk about and then See if anyone has more discussion. Was somebody willing to make a motion Mr. Paul Hamas yeah, I'll uh Before I do um, Samantha you said at the beginning of the meeting that we're Something had changed. We're still making recommendations on the approval of these permits, correct? That's correct. You're going to make a recommendation at the city council. Okay, then I'll move To recommend approval of the lot line adjustment non-residential demolition authorization permit special use permit design permit additional height requests density bonus request revocable license for outdoor extension area And heritage tree removal permit with design variations to the downtown plan development standards to city council Based on the environmental determination Findings listed below and the conditions of approval listed in exhibit a of the staff report dated February 24 2023 Thank you. Is there a second all second. Thank you commissioner miscini miller for the second So I've got a few things to talk about um I was a member of the downtown plan subcommittee that that made these awesome objective standards I'd forgotten they all made it through the cut, but that's something else Um, it's very exciting for me to see so many parts of that plan coming true and I want to Go back to that time We had such good discussions on that subcommittee of the planning commission in More intimate rooms with neighbors with developers with landscape folks with Awesome architects who've worked in this town for 40 or 50 years and so I want to respond to Julie and other concerns and And as me and Samantha talked about this a bit I wanted to ask the applicant how they would feel about It's not a design review. We don't have that. I don't even know that we want that I feel you I was in Sunnyvale today where they do have design review Standing next to one of those big old mock-ups, you know, and like that costs money, but I feel like for the public that's such a more accessible thing to kind of see and be like, oh, that's what we're getting then The very well described material palette you have in the plans so, um Samantha, I think it's okay to just request that staff work on this idea moving forward and then maybe me and Lee can talk a bit more about how that should be Configured and then council could make the final decision Does that sound? We talked like at the last minute. So I just wanted to circle back and see Yeah We could you could do it that way or we could include a condition of approval Um, I I think that you're referring to a subcommittee that would review Design modifications that are proposed to this particular project Part of building permit issuance, is that correct? Yes. Okay And and I really want to say again that this is not because we don't trust the developer I'm thinking of 555. I don't know. I don't remember you being there a lot. The other Jesse was around back then That's a great project. It's delightful We thought we weren't going to get the affordable units because we had a requirement of zero at that time And through the conversion we ended up getting them. So thank you for that I forget that as you were the next person, but uh, thank you Let me get back to the point. Uh, it was very valuable to have a subcommittee To assist staff and we're we're called in several times We had several really good architects on on the commission at that time And it was really nice, you know So I'm I'm interested. I don't want to hold up your project I never want this project to have to come back to us because a shingle change or that steel change color But I'm accountable to the public here and people want buildings of quality Continued quality, you know that you guys have done this before so I just wanted to pitch that out there and uh Think about doing that on this project. Let me I'm kind of rambling on but ad hoc committees as I understand them can be established by the chair And then it's up to the planning director if staff is participating So, you know, that's a pretty good balance of power and you know, I think it would be good The last thing I want to say is I was thinking about the earthquake in 1989 when I was here I was 13 I was six, you know when misedi miller moved in so I'm not quite that young My dad was on the city council at that time and like our downtown was gone, right? And everyone's like, oh, what are we gonna do? So we established vision Santa Cruz, which I don't know if Cindy would remember but That was like the most amazing thing left and right work together the developer. I mean because we had to we had nothing there so the intent of this subcommittee would be to contribute to the most beautiful river walk We could possibly have under budget and within constraints and um I want to push for it and I think we should do it And I'm pretty sure we can work out the details. I don't know if staff wants to respond more And I'd like to hear from the applicant if you hate this idea or what you think um Yeah, thank you. So we we did pull um a condition that you had proposed On a prior project and we made some modifications to it But I do have the language here. Um, if you wanted to review that Yeah, um on the last project where this came up There there is some language in here that I think caused some concern that we should probably um Talk about it was just a section that said Such subcommittee will coordinate with the applicant and the director of planning and community development to achieve the highest possible quality of streetscape and finish That is a bit vague and so um it when you're ready. I can pull this up and If you wanted to move forward with a condition of approval if you wanted to move forward with just directing staff to um, you know figure out what that condition would be prior to the city council meeting we can do that as well Let's see it. Okay And and please give me feedback to Yeah, coming up Just because they don't primarily work in construction I would want to consult with our construction team because they would be a part of that So, um, if there is a recommendation for staff to Work on something that that might be applied as a condition So where we could all collaborate to make sure it's it's appropriate because I'm not the one to make that decision understood and I don't want to spring it on you, you know I don't want your project to pay for all this Okay, thank you. I think this condition the way it's it's currently worded. Um, it's really um Meant to address changes that are made by the applicant and evaluating those changes, you know by a subcommittee with the ability to potentially Um refer it to the full planning commission And or make use of our existing. Um, we have a Architect on retainer that we use to answer some of the questions that commissioner conway has brought up We can and do use him. Um, quite often The first part of this condition is um a standard condition the italic version and it's been Um modified to refer to this subcommittee, I believe Let's be submitted for review and approval by the planning director of planning community development parties in the middle of the building permit And then the second part is the language that was added regarding the subcommittee. I'm just reading it. Just Commissioner Mercedes Miller. Thank you. Chair Kennedy as I recall This was a proposal that was withdrawn Uh, unless my memories On at the last meeting. I believe you made this proposal and it was withdrawn after discussion by the commission That's correct. The language has been modified, but it's the same intent And I I think that the difference is um, I know I I spoke against that last time because um, I didn't want an approval to be considered discretionary Which is um, particularly vital if you have a tax credit application because It'll make you ineligible for funding So I think there is there a way to craft Some feedback and early enough in the process I mean, maybe this is this is intended to sort of Watch over it as it goes along and be a sounding board if you will But I do think that that issue of not having it be in any way muddling The approval that that was the important point and I think this might Might not do that. I'm not I'm not sure I'd be If I could just weigh in one more time. Um, we did have some comments I think I heard some comments regarding the Materials that are proposed on the building currently So if you were interested in modifying those materials that are proposed You would need to do that as a condition of approval because this would only address changes to what you're approving or what the city council is approving Right. That was what I was gonna actually ask is I mean, I did have some specific questions about the materials because they're pretty vague in that particularly when it says, you know cement Horizontal board like it doesn't actually say What the brand is or you know, and I know I happen to know that there's a big difference between those and so Again, I want to reiterate. I'm not trying to hold things up but in terms of a process This situation only addresses if you were to decide that you wanted to use metal instead of wood or completely change things but Earlier in the process or having some standards where we actually know what that is so that we know what we're changing Is is kind of a critical Thing and in a project of this scale. I feel like and so this does address After the fact, but I wonder Is there something that can be done earlier in this process As a tool for you as a developer. I mean you have your architect. There's obviously somebody on retainer, but but We're here as volunteers to be a resource on a multitude of levels and so I'd be interested in in figuring out what the opportunity is to help staff because you're limited in your bandwidth to On how to make these projects truly the best that they can be and the more people One one option would be we used to regularly collect materials boards from For these large projects And that went away with covet and digital and you know, everything is digital now But it's still on our application form. I believe we could A direct staff to be more diligent about collecting those materials boards, especially when they're coming before you That you can see an actual sample of the materials I mean, I still want to address the timeline on this because what I'm finding I know I'm a new beyond this but I'm like I've got a full-time job in a week to process a thousand pages and wrap my head around All the different aspects and I you know appreciate everybody You know, that's 30,000 feet and I'm down here at 5000 feet talking about trash enclosures But it requires all of that and all of us to be able to do that for the public and so Even the material board, I guess I would just be curious, you know, is that I mean, it would help the developers earlier on in the process, you know The sooner we get that information and can provide feedback so that we're not at the The podium having this discussion Yeah, I'm wondering and just kind of floating this to my fellow commissioners If maybe it makes sense to deal with the substantive issue here with the motion on the floor and then maybe after we're done Direct staff or make a motion to direct staff to bring back some language on materials review at some point in the process That doesn't necessarily hold up You know tax credit applications and securing a funding but also gives us an idea Of what types of materials are actually going to be used because I know for myself somebody who's currently Going through a remodel seeing the materials is Really different than seeing it in a catalog or seeing it online So maybe there's a way after we deal with the motion on the floor and um this project to To do something with that intent I love that idea. Let's split it out further. I'm comfortable just like Directing staff to do that and come back to us or counsel I don't want to word workshop this right now And um, does that work for everybody? Okay, it's been a while since I have um Looked at the actual application form and I'm pretty sure sam's right in that it does include um That an application be submitted with a materials board and and um, you don't need to direct us we can we're happy to Highlight and send it out to you by email what what that looks like and and I think she's right We need to get back on track Um with with um getting something to you for these meetings. Okay That totally works for me if everyone is good with it We hear hear a lot like we don't want to look like la we don't want to look like san Jose so You know, maybe we can keep santa cruz weird with some cost effective tiny comments on On particularly the river levy part, you know, which is the public space Okay, let me say again that these guys are you know filling in the levy to make new land in santa cruz Building a park there and basically giving it to us right so that's awesome. Thank you Thank you. I just I just want to convey um, you know, our material board is it's It's not our intent for it to be vague, but it's really about product availability And you know, so you can't really say that certain brand a lot of us At least in the construction industry or even the design industry Supply was challenging for the past two years. So, you know, you may have one material one day and then a month later And they're not making it anymore So so I think we do appreciate a little bit of flexibility Again, we understand the intent we want to build something great and we feel we build We built a lot of buildings downtown and we we like what we build and we hope you do too So, um, yeah, we're willing to figure that out Thank you And you know, we can't impose a subjective standard on you anyway, right? So this is not about I wanted to be pink and bob wants it to be blue Is really an honest attempt to help things out and make awesome urban spaces. Thanks for For accommodating that. We're all clear. Um Two more quick things we talked about the arts question. I think we're fine. Just let that sit It's a big thing, but I'd like to direct staff to find a funding source for art in this town Timory and I were talking about what is it saying as eight as 1% is that in relation to this project? Yes, okay I'm just making sure because you guys got a little sly on me at the last I want to make sure when you guys really go to vote on this that you know what it is before you vote on it Absolutely. That's not a condition or anything. That's just me saying that Lee Hello commissioners again I'm fairly certain that we already have a 1% for the arts Um, I just um was looking back at our public works director and he said I think that we also have it and so Between the two of us. I was confident enough to get up here and say yes, and I'm pretty sure that we have a 1% for the arts and If it pleases the commission, I'm happy to provide Some of the back of the envelope specifics That commissioner Dawson was speaking to with respect to the affordability of units and the prices That sounds good. Thank you. Maybe it should be 3% for the arts, but we'll leave it there Um, uh, yeah To hear all your So just quickly, um The project has 28 of the 37 required inclusionary units at 50 percent of area median income That's the very low income level. So Roughly, you know, you can say a family of four is around 100,000 or family of three. I can't remember exactly but I use the 100,000 because that's an easy round number to to do math from And the way our ordinance is structured is the annual income is Or the monthly income technically it's 30 for very low income You can only spend 30 of your income on your rent so For those units If it's a $50,000 annual 50 percent of the area median income $50,000 annual That works to about $1,250 per month for the rent for very low income for the Other so that's that's for 28 of the units nine of the units are at 80 percent of the area median income and So that would be roughly $80,000 a month for that family of three or four and then That particular Income category I'm just going to confirm here in If anyone wants to reference it. It's section 24 dot 16 dot 015 two That's the affordable rent and the payment standard. Let's see for Low income household it uses 35 percent of the income instead of 30 And so there is a distinction at some of those income levels, but it's it's based on the area median income and then the The either 30 or 35 percent of your income level So that's what the rents are based on based on our inclusionary requirements Thank you for having the real numbers there. That's really helpful. Welcome. All right, so I have One more quick one for the applicant and then we're done if you wouldn't mind coming up This project was passed when we had a 12 percent requirement for Level two ev chargers, and I noticed you had puzzle stackers, which is awesome I feel you on the transformer room Would it kill you to do 20 percent ev level two installed? And it's pretty objective, but you know pull me back I think we have At some of I think we can accommodate that i'm trying to look at the total So we're 12 percent. We have 22 so you're looking at like 44 56 I just did super fast math in my head 40 something like that I'm sure I think we can accommodate that Okay, I'd like to have that condition and then of course if you find it to be extremely generous You're going to council anyway, so I'm talking to them about that. Yeah, the stacker there There's an electrical converter you can add And even if we have applicants that let's say they decide to convert from a gas to a fully electric car We could add that the parking is unbundled so it would be you know catering to that specific version So I think we could do that my concern is just that apartment dwellers can charge overnight so I'd like to propose that condition of approval So since you have a motion on the floor you would ask for that friendly amendment Good point Yeah, and also state what it is because I don't know I have them drafted here So that I think the conditions that that we've heard are this is the This is the one regarding the murals that I was speaking of earlier, and I'm sorry if that's not written very clearly Um, obviously this would be modified because this talks about the north and south ends of the development Yeah, that's clear Um, and then the subcommittee Condition is here. I just struck this and I think it still has the same It provides the same direction without it still establishes a subcommittee to review modifications to the design And then your EV parking 20 percent Thank you This is the balcony's condition. I think I didn't do a very good job because I kept thinking should I include surfboards and wetsuits? I would say no, but if you go to 555 pacific there's one right there that's got about four or five stacked up So maybe there's one All joking aside, they do these amenity areas now that are cool for your long bar and your e-bike and stuff So that's cool. Um, so should it please the maker of the motion. I would like to propose All four Of these conditions of approval be added to the project. Yeah, and I can take these on as a friendly amendment, correct Like all four of these Then yes Good. Yes Thank you Last thing it truly had an idea about splitting out the height. Do you want to talk about that more or? Um You know, I think I made my point Maybe more than once. Um, I do think that the Going into these projects with the assumption That the bonus height is granted And then calculating the density bonus. I think that is a disservice and I would ask that that be not assumed Um, I'm not against it being proposed. I think on this particular project I would have pushed pretty hard because I think it could have been I mean, what do I know? I've certainly looked at the spreadsheets enough, but I think it could have been financially feasible without it Um at this point in time, I think it I'm I'm going to go ahead and support this project But um, I would ask that it not be assumed and it really be considered so that we can really weigh out What is the benefit that we're getting? For these tall buildings because I I think the community needs to know All right Here Kennedy could I ask for a just a clarification? Sure Um, so so the intent of bringing them together was really just to eliminate a step in the process But I hear your concern Would it be helpful if these were to come together in the future to have Of the base plans set separated so you could actually see the different plans. Okay, so they could come together to you again But provide those. Okay. Thank you director Hi, thanks. I found the public art Uh provision and I wanted to clarify searching skills are amazing I wanted to clarify it says uh in 12 dot 80 dot 0 3 0 of the municipal code annual appropriations for public art Shall be calculated by fund as one percent of an average of the most recent three-year total eligible capital spending So I wanted to be clear because uh, I wasn't sure if I had articulated that as an impact fee Which it is not which is separate from what we have as one percent for the arts in terms of spending Is that fourth on capital eligible capital spending? That's a good clarification. Thank you All right, I'm uh one more quick comment. These buildings are amazing. They're all electric Like if you built one today, you're about 60 clean renewable energy The state's goal as 2030 which is coming up for 100 clean renewable electricity So I just want to salute that that costs a lot of money. This is a really hard code I feel the pain on your electrical rooms and uh welcome to the future But these are amazing apartments cutting edge Top of the line. So thank you for providing them And uh, let's have a roll call vote Mr. Conway, aye Nelson abstain Can't abstain no Uh, gordon, aye Back uh, mesidi miller. Hi Oh, hey miss. Hi Chair candy. Hi That ends the second item. Thank you everyone appreciate it I do have one information item. I know everybody's ready to go home, but uh, I couldn't miss the opportunity test Would you mind distributing that to the uh commissioners? So I decided as chair to just kind of document this year the numbers of housing that we're documenting I mean that we're approving here. It's just for fun. I'm going to distribute this at each meeting that we have When I hear we got to build 3,800 units in seven years. That's pretty intimidating But I want to salute staff and everybody for bringing us this many units Is that a date already? But I'm going to keep bringing this up so we can keep track of how many units we're producing for our town Um That's all any other informational items Just a quick update on the schedule. Yeah, um, so for the next meeting on the 16th We just have that one item that was continued that involves amendments to the parking and by parking ordinances Tests sent an email to you all today or yesterday regarding a potential special meeting on the 30th to to Review the coral street visioning efforts and some of you have replied We get replies from the others that haven't replied Or people available on the 30th I'm not calling anybody out It was it was kind of late breaking if I remember Yeah, I didn't respond. I I would be Yeah I'm a teacher's pet candidate also Um, I am not but I am available the 30th I'm an actual teacher and I'm available And I'm available also to have no Eric should we I mean, we're gonna come in the 16th just for that informational presentation. Should we just Well, you're um You'll be uh making a recommendation to city council. Okay, okay on on the 16th on the ordinance amendments. Okay So do we have a quorum then on this on the 30th? Okay. Sorry. Okay, so we're good for the 30th And then out looking out to april We're potentially looking at april 6 as a date to do a check-in on the housing element efforts to date So that's still a little bit in flux, but we're targeting that it's during spring break. So i'm not available that day Did you say you're not available? Right, and that's all I had great. Thanks again staff. I appreciate all your work We don't have any items referred to the future agenda. So with that I will adjourn this in person meeting. Thanks everybody. Thank you Thank you chair kennedy Nice way to run the meeting I have one suggestion Can we make this a digital? Hand out rather than a paper handout in the future just an information item. Yeah, thank you