Seb Frey

Fall Fitness Fashion Show

November 4, 2014 by Seb Frey

Fleet Feet Sports of Aptos is putting on a fall fashion show on Saturday November 8th, 2014 at 6:30pm. Tickets are $15.00 per person, or $20 for two, and come with
wine, Hors d’oeuvres, raffle tickets and if you register before November 6, you’ll also get a $20 Fleet Feet GIFT CARD with registration.

Proceeds from the fashion show will go to support Fleet Feet Sports’ Adopt-an-Athlete program. This program does a lot for people in our community, including:

Funds shoes for people who can’t afford them
Training programs and race entries for veteran’s transitioning out of homelessness
Provides sports bras for women escaping a violent environment
Provides spikes and cross country flats to youth in economically disadvantaged schools
Support wounded veteran athletes with gear to increase participation in an active lifestyle

Other sponsors of the event include the Precision Wellness Center, Seascape Foods, O’Neill, The North Face, Nike, and the Bike Station in Aptos. For more information, please visit the Fleet Feet Sports web site.

Mar Vista Read-a-Thon 2014 Kickoff

October 29, 2014 by Seb Frey

My son Aiden is a kindergartner at Mar Vista Elementary School, and we’re doing a read-a-thon fundraiser, and it’s now time for the Mar Vista Read-a-Thon 2014 Kickoff. The Mar Vista library is in sad shape, and half the funds we raise will go to buy new books for the library. The other half of the money will go to the Mar Vista Parent’s Club general fund, which goes to support music, art, and technology, teacher training, and much more.

We will be starting on:
Monday Nov. 3rd

by www.read-a-thon.com

Donations are 100% tax deductible, because the Mar Vista Parents Club is an IRS 501c3 Non-Profit Organization.

Business Sponsorships

Do you have a business, or know someone who does that would like to market to the beautiful people who make up the Mar Vista Community? Consider sponsoring the Read-a-thon, check this out:

http://www.read-a-thon.com/school/donate.php?q=3051

Thank you so much for your support! And also (shameless plug) – Aiden would love your sponsorship!

Run For Pie Thanksgiving Day Turkey Trot

October 27, 2014 by Seb Frey

Fleet Feet Sports is once again hosting the 3rd Annual Run For Pie Thanksgiving Day Turkey Trot. The race begins on Thanksgiving Day, Thursday November 27th at 9:00 AM at Aptos Village Park, and goes through the Forest of Nisene Marks. As is the tradition, registered runners will be served mini pumpkin pies at the finish line.

There’s actually two races in one: a 10K run, and a 5K Run/Walk, and the proceeds from the race will go to support the Youth Resource Bank of Santa Cruz County. Early bird registration (prior to October 31st) is $35 for the 5K and $45 for the 10K race, after that it’s $5 more. Don’t want to sign up – the race sold out two weeks early last year!

This year’s sponsors include New Balance shoes, Kennolyn Camps, Seascape Foods, Norma Jean’s Coffee, and several more.

Aptos Real Estate Report October 2014

October 21, 2014 by Seb Frey

There is no month in Aptos more sublime than October. Warm, sunny, fog-free days fade into crisp evenings. So how’s the real estate market holding up? Let’s find out in the Aptos Real Estate Report October 2014.

The median home price in Aptos in September 2014 was $665,000. Last year, the median price in September was $799,000 – so that’s a 16.8% tumble from a year ago.

The sales volume remained steady, with 21 homes sold in October – exactly the same as it was a year ago. The sales to list price ratio was strong, with sellers receiving 99.7% of asking price. This is an improvement of a year ago, when sellers received only 98.5% of asking price. The homes which sold did so in an average of 65 days – considerably longer than a year ago, when homes sold in 48 days on average.

Inventory in Aptos has jumped this month. There are now 114 homes on the market, and of those, 34 are under contract. That works out to about a 5 month supply of inventory – and this is a huge jump from last month, when there was just a 3 month supply of homes. Selling a home in Aptos just got a lot harder!

When it comes to condos and townhouses, 10 closed escrow in September, with a median price of $507,500. That’s a 20.8% increase over a year ago, when the median price was $420,000. Condos sold relatively quickly, in an average of just 46 days, down 19.3% from a year ago, when condos sold in an average of 57 days. Condo sellers did pretty well too in that they received 97.6% of asking price for their homes, compared to just 94.9% a year ago.

There are presently 35 condos and townhouses on the market, and of those, 8 are under contract with 25 available. That works out to about a 6.5 month supply of condos and townhouses. This means that once again, it’s a buyer’s market for condos in Aptos – but just barely.

What’s YOUR Aptos House Value?

Interested to know what your Aptos house is worth in today’s real estate market? Then head over to AptosHomeValues.com for an instant, on-line evaluation of your Aptos home’s value.

What Your Money Buys You – Houses

While the median price for homes in Aptos in September 2014 was $721,500, the least expensive home went for $460K and the most expensive went for $2.2 million. Here’s what that kind of money buys you in Aptos today:

3451 N Polo Drive, 3/1.5 1326sf, 3790sf lot, sold for $460K after 91 DOM

619 Middlefield Drive, 3/2, 1340sf, 4,400sf lot
sold for $665K after 10 DOM

1520 Valencia Road, 4/4.5 4249sf on 43.8 acres, sold for $2 million after 99 DOM

What Your Money Buys You – Condos

While the median price for condos in Aptos in September 2014 was $507,500, the least expensive unit sold for $407K and the most expensive went for $800K. Here’s what that kind of money buys you for an Aptos condo/townhouse today:

292 Marlin Court, 2/1, 844sf, sold for $407K after 33 DOM

2119 Penasquitas Drive, 2/2, 1372sf, sold for $490K after 22 DOM

39 Seascape Resort Drive, 2/2.5, 1200sf, sold for $800K, after120 DOM

What about the rest of Santa Cruz county?

Want to know what’s going on in all of Santa Cruz county? For a complete report on Santa Cruz county as a whole, check out the Santa Cruz County Real Estate Report for October 2014

Mar Vista Elementary Harvest Festival October 25th

October 13, 2014 by Seb Frey

The Mar Vista Elementary Harvest Festival is scheduled for October 25th, from 11 AM until 4 PM. This is a annual event is public and all are welcome to come and celebrate the harvest season and help feed those less fortunate in our community.

The organizers have lined up some amazing food, entertainment and events, including:

Law Enforcement K-9 Demonstrations
Costume Parade
Raffle
Surfing Magician
PAC Dance Performances
Mad Scientist Movie Special Effects Spectacular
Bounce Houses
Obstacle Courses
Face Painting
Glow in the Dark Scavenger Hunt
Aptos Fire Truck
Santa Cruz Sheriff Swat Truck and Robot
Photo Booth
Lots of Games, Music, Food, and the Sugar Shack!

This year they are partnering with the Santa Cruz County Deputy Sheriffs Association, along with Second Harvest Food Bank and Grind Out Hunger to kick off the Holiday Food Drive at the Harvest Festival! Please join us in supporting some amazing causes and Mar Vista Elementary! Bring a can of food to receive a raffle ticket and a chance to win some amazing prizes!

Aptos in October

October 12, 2014 by Seb Frey

The finest month of the year in Aptos is in October. The tourists are gone, and the fog is gone. It’s just glorious, warm sunny days and crisp evenings…getting crisper as we head towards the end of the month, of course. This year we had some very hot days at the beginning of the month, which was a nice change, as truly hot days are in short supply here in Aptos.

Here’s a picture I took with my iPhone the other day, as we took one of our evening walks on Seacliff Beach:

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Do you need any more proof that October is THE month in Aptos? #aptos #sunset #iphone #instagram

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Nice, huh?

Yesterday was a pretty awesome day…Cabrillo College hosted a Science Expo so we went to check that out. Despite the publicity on it being pretty poor (we only heard about it the day before, and it seems everyone we talked to also got late notice), it was very well attended. It seems Cabrillo is wanting to connect with kids at a younger age to start getting them interested in STEM (science, technology, engineering, and math) studies early. They put on a pretty fabulous exposition…it was only two hours long, seems like it should have been longer. I recorded some video:

We could only stay for about forty minutes, because we had to run off to the polo grounds for soccer. My son plays on the Red Sharks, a U-6 (under 6) team…and actually his team is definitely Under 6, as there are only five players on it (most teams have 8 or more players).

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Soccer super stars (and their mascot) #aptos #soccer

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After soccer, we went home and the boys took a bit of a nap, and then we headed on up to the Rodoni Farms Pumpkin Patch, which is something we do pretty much every year. I am pretty sure that with the cost of gas and everything we spend a lot more on pumpkins than if we just went to Trader Joe’s, but it’s a beautiful spot on the coast with room for the kids to run around, play on hay bales, and just let their freak flag fly.

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The annual trip to Rodoni Farms #october #pumpkins #halloween

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After we got our pumpkins, we headed down to Woodstock Pizza in downtown Santa Cruz, which I had actually never been to before. It was great! I give it two thumbs up, for sure. After dinner, we headed on over to Capitola for the Monte Foundation Fireworks. For years, the fireworks had been in Aptos, but this year they moved them to Capitola…grrrr. But it was a beautiful display:

It was a pretty busy day, but it’s kind of par for the course in Aptos in October. In a small town kind of way, of course.

The Castro House in Aptos

October 11, 2014 by Seb Frey

The Castro House in Aptos is one of the oldest remaining structures in Aptos. It was originally built by Vicente Castro in 1870s. Vicente Castro was the son of Rafael Castro, who originally received the 5000 acre land grant for Aptos Rancho from Mexican Governor Jose Figuroa in 1833. Today the Castro House is the community center for the Aptos Blue housing complex, and has been totally remodeled and updated on the inside, while retaining the original style on the outside.

Nisene Marks Trail Work Day on October 12

October 7, 2014 by Seb Frey

The Advocates for the Forest of Nisene Marks invite you to a special trail work day Sunday October 12, 9:30-12:30. Volunteers should meet at the park entrance kiosk at 9:30 for coffee and treats.

Each year State Parks requires the Advocates who build and install the bridges each spring to remove them by October 15, prior to the rainy season. They need extra people to be able to remove and store the two seasonal bridges. Come help for the whole time, or just an hour.

The Advocates is a non profit to fill in the gaps of trail maintenance, trail building, safety and general health of the Forest of Nisene Marks State Park. They have done a lot to their website to make it a resource for park users. The site provides abundant trail info as well as info on the park’s flora and fauna. Please visit www.advocatesfnm.org

They organize, in conjunction with State Park Rangers, trail work each 3rd Sunday of the month 9:30-early afternoon and always need volunteers. You don’t have to have special skills, just come lend a hand! Feels great to give back to this beautiful park and spend a few hours outdoors making a contribution!

Santa Cruz 115kV Reinforcement Project

October 6, 2014 by Seb Frey

Santa Cruz County residents and concerned citizens have joined collectively in a new grassroots group, Neighbors Organized to Protect Our Community (NOPOC), to voice their issues concerning a proposed power line project. The neighborhood alliance believes the Santa Cruz 115kV Reinforcement Project as proposed by PG&E will have an adverse effect on the surrounding hills, wildlife, livestock, agriculture, and residents within the impacted areas of Day Valley, Aptos, Corralitos, Plesant Valley, and Watsonville.

According to NOPOC, the proposed project will see greater than eighty metal poles, many as tall as 10-story buildings, erected in rural residential neighborhoods. To put in these monumental steel structures, PG&E plans to assemble touchdown pads in an apple orchard and fly heavy cargo helicopters six days per week for 10 hours a day over properties, faculties, and companies for as much as 18 months. The venture could even require the destruction of greater than a hundred and fifty mature trees and the ongoing elimination of vegetation, which can adversely impression the ecosystem and the aesthetics of the area.

See also:

Vacation Rental Restrictions coming to Aptos?

October 5, 2014 by Seb Frey

There is a move afoot to limit the number of vacation rentals in the “coastal” areas of Aptos, specifically Seacliff, Seascape, and Rio del Mar. The limits would be identical to what is now presently permissible in the <a href="http://www.sccoplanning about his.com/Portals/2/County/Planning/policy/052-11LiveOakWeb.pdf” target=”_blank”>Live Oak Designated Area (LODA), which is the coastal area that encompasses Pleasure Point and the area near the Santa Cruz harbor.

If the restrictions are approved by the Santa Cruz county board of Supervisors, the designated areas in Aptos (SADA, or “Seacliff Aptos Designated Area”) would not allow vacation rental permits in excess of 20% of the homes on any one block. There is apparently a concern that the increasing number of homes used as vacation rentals would diminish the availability of homes used for long-term rentals, and increase the cost of renting in Aptos.

There are presently two streets in Aptos which have vacation rentals that exceed 20% of the homes on the street: Beach Drive, and Rio del Mar Boulevard between Beach Drive and the Kingsbury/Cliff Drive intersection. Under the ordinance, no new vacation rental permits would be approved on these streets.

The board of supervisors is to take up the issue at a public hearing on Tuesday, October 28 at 9:00 AM at the Board Chambers, County Administrative Building, 701 Ocean Street in Santa Cruz. People who are concerned with the issue, in favor or against, are encouraged to contact Supervisor Zach Friend or attend the hearing on October 28th.

We have posted some notes from the Santa Cruz County Planning Commission meeting on September 16, for those who are interested in learning more.

Seacliff Aptos Designated Area