Our Downtown, Our Future

Bob Morgan / ourdowntownourfuture [at] gmail.com / 831-200-4133
https:/http://www.ourdowntownourfuture.org
Group Announces Voter Initiative For Downtown

Santa Cruz, CA — A new CA FPPC campaign committee, “Our Downtown, Our Future,” is set to initiate a signature-gathering campaign in order to qualify their proposed ballot measure for a vote in the City of Santa Cruz’s November 2022 election.

The voter initiative would amend the Santa Cruz General Plan, Downtown Plan, and Local Coastal Program to steer the city toward what the group calls “a better way” for affordable housing, the Farmers’ Market and the Library, rather than the City’s proposed six to seven-level development on Parking Lot 4, on Cedar Street.

The group says there are four core goals of the measure:

● Prioritizing 100% affordable housing on specific City-owned lots downtown, including Lot 7 on Front Street.
● Creating a dedicated funding stream for affordable housing by using parking revenue saved from not building an unnecessary garage. Parking revenue would also supplement Measure S funds for Library renovation and improvements on Lot 4 for the Farmers’ Market and community space.
● Preserving the large, sunny and centrally located Lot 4 parcel as the optimal permanent location of the Farmers’ Market, saving 10 Heritage trees, and creating the potential for a future green community space – a Downtown Commons.
● Renovating the City’s Downtown Library at its historic Civic Center location.

The measure addresses the City’s housing crisis by prioritizing development of affordable housing.