Lookout Santa Cruz: Fact check: Will buildings in Santa Cruz’s downtown expansion plan be only 7 to 8 stories tall?
A skyline dotted with high-rises is a real fear for many Santa Cruzans, one that has been greatly exacerbated by the Downtown Plan Expansion project in the area south of Laurel Street.
The city’s original plan included the potential for 15- to 17-story skyscrapers, though that was lowered to 12 stories after Fred Keeley was elected Santa Cruz mayor in 2022.
That was still too tall for some community members, prompting Measure M, the citizen-led initiative on Tuesday’s ballot that would require buildings proposed to be taller than height limits set in the city’s general plan be put to a vote of Santa Cruz residents, in addition to increasing affordability requirements in larger housing developments.
FROM OCTOBER 2023
In mid-February, the Santa Cruz Warriors, who are partnering on the Downtown Expansion Plan development with local landowners such as the Santa Cruz Seaside Company, officially revealed their opposition to Measure M.
Warriors president Chris Murphy announced the opposition in an email that reshared a letter written by former Santa Cruz mayor Hilary Bryant and United Way of Santa Cruz County CEO Keisha Browder urging voters to vote no on the measure.
One tidbit in Bryant and Browder’s letter might come as a surprise to those who were expecting 12-story buildings downtown: “Neither the housing to support this new facility, nor the arena itself, will exceed 85 feet — roughly seven to eight stories,” they wrote. The pair added that the buildings would be “less than the height of the Palomar Hotel on Pacific Avenue.”
Is that true? It could be. Keeley told Lookout that the city itself has not changed its plan to cap the height of buildings in the project to 12 stories, but that the Warriors and their partners might have decided to build lower than that — something Keeley said he supports.
“If they can do their project in seven to eight stories, then hallelujah,” he said. “The fewer stories, the better.”
COMMUNITY VOICES OPINION
Lee Butler, director of planning and community development for the City of Santa Cruz, told Lookout that the developers have suggested that the “additional costs associated with going above 85 feet in height are making it infeasible to build taller.” He pointed to a staff report from January 2023, which states that changes in cost of construction materials and regulations could cause some developers to decide not to exceed 85 feet.
Murphy, the Warriors president, told Lookout that the focus on 85 feet or lower is based on “realistic conversations” in construction and development markets today.
“In the conversations we’re having with developers, the reality is that housing economics in California don’t pencil out at 12 stories,” he said. “In every single meeting I’m in, we’re not having conversations about 12 to 17 stories anymore.”
Frank Barron, a leader of Housing for People — the group behind Measure M — said that an 85-foot limit would be “wonderful,” and that buildings of that height would not trigger an election even if Measure M does pass. However, Barron said he remains concerned that 12-story buildings could still find their way into Santa Cruz
“Personally, I think it’s a hopeful sign that they’re scaling back the project, but as far as everyone else is concerned, the rest of the area is still under the 12-story plan,” he said. “If that is the case, nothing changes except the Warriors component.”