An appeal against a five-story mixed-use residential development planned for the current site of the Food Bin and Herb Room on Mission Street in Santa Cruz was postponed until Tuesday’s Santa Cruz City Council meeting after the developer made last-minute changes to the project plans. (Courtesy of Workbench)
SANTA CRUZ — Two appeals opposing a five-story mixed-use development planned for the current site of the Food Bin & Herb Room at 1130 Mission St. in Santa Cruz are scheduled to be considered, along with other items, at the Santa Cruz City Council’s Tuesday meeting.
The appeal was scheduled to be heard at the council meeting on April 30. To bring the number of units in the building back to the original 59, the workbench modified the plans to add three “storage areas,” which will eventually be converted into 11 accessory dwelling units (ADUs).
The developer also sought concessions allowed by state law due to a developer’s promise to include affordable units. The Workbench asked that infrastructure such as ducts, grease traps and ventilation systems used in commercial kitchens not be included, and that impact fees to be paid be deferred until the final certificate of occupancy is issued, rather than at the time of issuance of a building permit.
Ultimately, planning commissioners approved the revised plan at their May 16 meeting and recommended allowing the project to move forward, but attached several additional conditions to the project: One, that the property owner pay the adjacent property owner at 1212 Laurel St. in Santa Cruz $10,000 toward the balance of the solar panels, and that a 6-foot concrete wall be constructed along the western property line.
Planning staff recommended the Santa Cruz City Council deny the appeal and approve the project.
Also on the Santa Cruz City Council’s agenda for Tuesday is the city’s fiscal year 2025 budget and receipt of a report on compensation and staffing for the mayor and city council members.
The report, compiled by consulting firm Rafterys, looked at compensation and staffing in nearby cities including Berkeley, Fremont, San Luis Obispo and Santa Barbara.
According to the report, the Santa Cruz mayor’s salary is $41,048 and city council members’ salaries are $20,524. Of the cities surveyed in the report, San Rafael had the lowest annual salaries for mayor and city council members, with the mayor making about $8,500 and the city council members making $5,500. Berkeley paid the highest salaries, paying its mayor $128,500 and city council members about $81,000.
The only action the City Council will take on Tuesday is to receive the report, and while no one will get a raise at this time, the consultant did come to some conclusions.
“Santa Cruz’s mayor and city council members are paid about $3,000 less than the average for the mayor and about $11,000 less than the average for the eight cities studied, but higher than the average for the 30 cities compared using data from the California State Comptroller’s Office,” according to the report.
With regard to staffing provided to local elected officials in neighboring cities, the report states, “Santa Cruz is similar to the cities surveyed except for Berkeley. In all cities except Berkeley, support is provided through the mayor’s office and other city departments.”
The Santa Cruz City Council is scheduled to meet at 10:45 a.m. Tuesday, with the appeal to be heard at 5:30 p.m. in the council chambers at City Hall, 809 Center St. in Santa Cruz.
