Planning for a Sustainable Soquel Drive Corridor

Community Meeting
Tuesday, February 28, 2012
7:00 PM - 9:00 PM
Porter Library
3050 Porter Street
Soquel, CA 95073
map and directions

Last year Santa Cruz County received funding from the State's Sustainable Communities Program to engage in a three-year planning process for Soquel Drive, the County's longest roadway, from the overpass near Dominican Hospital to Freedom Boulevard.

This collaborative process with the community will engage us all in how we think of the Soquel Drive corridor and what changes could be made to promote mass transportation, sound economic development, and a variety of housing options.

There will be a series of meetings in the community and a steering committee will be formed comprised of representatives of transportation agencies, neighborhood organizations, key properties along the corridor, commercial and business interests, and environmental and sustainability groups. They will work with County Planning staff, Economic Development staff and others to host facilitated workshops that are informed by economic studies, transportation analysis and land use constraints.

The process will likely result in land use designation changes and General Plan amendments to support sustainable transportation, housing and economic development along the corridor. You can read about the process by downloading the County Board of Supervisors Agenda Item from June 14, 2011. There will be an informational meeting in Soquel on Tuesday, February 28, 2012, to begin this process. Additional community meetings will be scheduled soon.

Future development in our community will look different than it has in the past if we are willing to take tangible steps to reduce our greenhouse gas emissions and conduct inclusive urban planning exercises that balance the needs of our community, the environment and new state regulations. Please join us in this process.

The Sustainable Communities Program is an outgrowth of the landmark SB 375 bill passed by the State Legislature in 2008; it limits urban sprawl and supports dense, sustainable development with walkable amenities and lower carbon impact. SB 375 instructs the California Air Resources Board (CARB) to set regional emissions reduction targets from passenger vehicles. Each region must then develop a "Sustainable Communities Strategy" (SCS) that integrates transportation, land-use and housing policies to plan for achievement of the emissions target for their region.