News

Spruce Up Your Garden With Rhododendrons

April 21, 2018 by Seb Frey

Starting at 7:30 AM on Saturday April 28, 2018 the Monterey Bay Chapter of the American Rhododendron Society will have a rhododendron plant sale at the Aptos Farmers Market at Cabrillo College, located at 6500 Soquel Drive, Aptos, California 95003. It’s been voted as the Coast’s Best Farmer’s market for several years.

Besides obtaining choice rhododendrons from Bay Laurel Nursery in Scotts Valley, as in past plant sales there will very likely be deciduous azalea series rhododendrons that were hybridized by Jerry Harris, who lives in Ben Lomond, California. At the California Chapter ARS rhododendron shows, Jerry Harris usually wins trophies with his deciduous azalea hybrids.

During the last few plant sales at the Aptos Farmers Market at Cabrillo College, they almost sold out, so please come early.

Information on the Monterey Bay Chapter, and the rest of the American Rhododendron Society can be found at:

Thornton Wilder’s Our Town comes to Santa Cruz

April 7, 2018 by Seb Frey

Our Town comes to Santa Cruz

Thornton Wilder’s Our Town comes to Santa Cruz this month at the Center Sage in downtown Santa Cruz! OUR TOWN, set in the early 20th century, has been described as “the record of a tiny New Hampshire village as created by the lives of its most humble inhabitants”. It invites reflection on how our country has changed over the past century. Yet the play is less about a particular time than about time itself, and the passing ephemeral quality of all life. Much like the inhabitants of Grover’s Corners, we too make breakfast, go to work, celebrate birthdays, get sick, get drunk, get married, raise children, and endure trouble. And yes, we also die.

Wilder’s play reflects his encounter with the Zen inspired Noh theater of Japan where Buddhist themes were played out on a largely bare stage. OUR TOWN’s staging is likewise spare: 2 ladders, 2 tables, several chairs. Much of the action is mimed and left to the imagination of the audience. It conveys in a Zen-like fashion a sense of the preciousness of human life in the face of cosmic immensity.

Thus the play evokes and celebrates the luminous, extraordinary, even the sacred quality of everyday life in every time and place. As the Stage Manager, whose folksy commentary moves the play along, puts it: “We all know that something is eternal. And it ain’t houses and it ain’t names, and it ain’t even the stars. There’s something way down deep that’s eternal about every human being.”

Now more than ever, amid the fears, turmoil, and toxic divisions of our public life, OUR TOWN lifts up a larger sense of perspective that gives significance and meaning to our individual lives and relationships. For we too dwell, as young Rebecca in the play reminds us, in “the United States of America…the Earth… the Universe, and the Mind of God.”

Tickets and Showtimes

The show runs April 6th through the 22nd on weekends at the Center Stage, 1001 Center Street, Santa Cruz. Show times are at 8 PM on Fridays and Saturdays, and on Sunday at 2PM. Tickets can be purchased online at www.brownpapertickets.com/event/3205509 and are $25 general admission and $10 for anyone of limited means.

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Housing Solutions Initiative Community Meeting in Aptos

April 7, 2018 by Seb Frey

Make Affordable Housing in Santa Cruz County a Reality

It’s no secret that we have a housing crisis in Aptos and in Santa Cruz. To begin to address the issue, the Santa Cruz Housing Solutions Initiative has been created. The Housing Solutions Initiative aims to provide affordable housing for local workers and vulnerable populations through a bond measure of up to $250 million, proposed for passage by voters in the fall. On Wednesday, April 11th, 2018 at 5:30 PM there will be a community meeting of the Housing Solutions Initiative at Twin Lakes Church.

The planned bond measure would provide investment in affordable housing through four distinct funds:

Affordable Rental Housing Development Fund to create and preserve affordable rental housing by funding land acquisition and development costs.
Home Ownership Fund to facilitate first-time home ownership and help vulnerable homeowners keep their homes.
Homelessness Fund to support permanent supportive housing, transitional housing and emergency services facilities.
Innovation & Opportunity Fund to make it possible to respond quickly to opportunities to preserve and expand affordable rental housing and/or prevent tenant displacement.

Supervisor Zach Friend and Capitola Mayor Michael Termini will host this community meeting. Learn more about the proposal, and share your thoughts and experiences.

Remarks will start at 6 p.m.

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Aptos Q1 2018 Real Estate Wrap-Up

April 3, 2018 by Seb Frey

316 Doris (4 BR, 2 BA, 2,137sf) sold for $885,000 after 121 DOM

The Santa Cruz county real estate market continues to show remarkable strength. The median price for Santa Cruz county jumped to a new high of $920,5000 in March. This spike in prices appears to be the result of Silicon Valley workers seeking lower home prices and a better lifestyle in Santa Cruz. So how is the Aptos real estate market doing? Let’s look at the numbers in this Aptos Q1 2018 real estate wrap-up.

Here’s a quick break-down of the single-family home data:

55 sales (-5.2% vs. 58 a year ago)
$885,000 median (-13.7% vs. $1,025,000 a year ago)
50 Days on Market average (-19.4% vs. 62 a year ago)
$607/sf average (+6.1% vs. $572 a year ago)
88 new listings (+22.2% vs. 72 a year ago)

Now let’s look at the market for condos and townhouses:

23 Sales (+35.3% vs. 17 a year ago)
$700,000 median price (+8.4% vs. $646,000 a year ago)
25 Days on Market average (-43.1% vs. 44 a year ago)
$535/sf average (+12.9% vs. $474/sf a year ago)
29 new listings (unchanged from a year ago)

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A Closer Look

The 13.7% drop in median home price is alarming – but at the same time, the average price per square foot is up 6.1% in the same period. Smaller houses usually have a higher sale price per square foot than larger houses (since so much of the value of the real estate is in the land, rather than in the structure). In fact, the average home sold in Aptos in Q1 2018 had 1,963 square feet on average, vs. 2,350sf on average in Q1 2017.

Overall, the Aptos market does appear to be stable, with prices rising gradually compared to last year. There’s mixed news for home owners thinking about selling: homes are selling more quickly this year compared to last, but there’s significantly more competition in the Aptos market, with a lot more inventory this year compared to last.

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Thoughts on the Santa Cruz YIMBY Meeting

March 29, 2018 by Seb Frey

On March 28th, the Santa Cruz YIMBYs (“Yes in My Back Yard”) held a public meeting at the Dream Inn in Santa Cruz to discuss the urgent need for more affordable housing in the city and county of Santa Cruz. The meeting featured a discussion on the state of California housing by Linda Wheaton, assistant director for the California Department of Housing and Community Development. A panel discussion followed Wheaton’s presentation, moderated by Robert Singleton of the Santa Cruz County Business Council.

Jondi Gumz of the Santa Cruz Sentinel was there and she did a great write-up on the meeting, so I don’t need to go into too much detail about who said what. I did record audio of the entire proceedings, which you can listen to and download here:

Download the audio….

As the Sentinel did such a good job going over the particulars of the meeting, I’ll just add some of my thoughts on what was discussed.

Although Linda Wheaton went through a fairly exhaustive list of recent and proposed California housing legislation, she made no mention of the most radical bill making its way through the legislature: SB-827, sponsored by Scott Weiner of San Francisco. This was touched on in the panel discussion, but it was disappointing that it was not more of a focus by Wheaton or the panelists.

The Q&A session for the panelists was moderated by Singleton of the Business Council, who asked the panelists questions from a prepared list. There was little time remaining for questions from the audience; just three audience members were called on.

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One question from the audience was especially poignant: would not more housing lead to destruction of so much of what makes Santa Cruz such a beautiful, special place to live? I think that many folks feel that way: more housing = less green and open space. After all, who hasn’t heard about all the fruit orchards and farms which used to cover the Santa Clara valley, which were covered over with concrete, asphalt, and tract homes a few short decades ago?

Panelist Sibley Simon was quick to shut that notion down, however. As he pointed out, that’s been settled a long time ago in Santa Cruz. We’re keeping our green, open spaces. More housing does not mean more sprawl, such as we see in Santa Clara county and much of southern California. More housing – and more affordable housing – means denser, infill development (such as would be required with SB-827).

Another concern people have when they hear “more housing” is “more traffic.” As Simon pointed out, the key to reducing traffic is to having housing built closer to where the jobs are. Currently, many of those jobs are in Santa Clara county, but with wise, far-sighted development it is possible to construct live/work developments which will, to a large extent, obviate the need for road-clogging long commutes to distant employers.

The truth is, unless we build denser, more-affordable housing, we are going to end up with a Santa Cruz stuffed full of older, wealthier elites and mostly-empty weekend and summer houses owned by them. There’s simply just too much money chasing too few homes in a very beautiful, coastal area with a mild climate close to the most epic wealth-generating machine (Silicon Valley) the country has ever known.

Simply put: if we want a Santa Cruz that is accessible and affordable to people with a wide variety of incomes, we must build housing for them, because it presently does not exist.

I know it’s tempting to just stick our heads in the sand and hope the problem goes away. It did abate with the housing crash of 2007-2010, when many people lost their jobs and left the area. But with a strong economy and growing employment comes more demand for housing – we can’t have it both ways. Short of a Zombie Apocalypse, the only realistic and economically sound solution for our housing woes is the creation of more dense, affordable housing.

What are we waiting for?

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Update April 3, 2018: the slides from the presentation can be downloaded here. Also, a video of the presentation has been posted to YouTube by the Santa Cruz Sentinel:

Blood Drive at Aptos Library on April 14th

March 29, 2018 by Seb Frey

The Santa Cruz Public Library System (SCPL) has created a new partnership with the Stanford Blood Center (SBC) and will host a blood drive with the Center’s Bloodmobile in the parking lot of the Aptos Library on Saturday April 14^th from 10:00am to 3:00pm.

Every two seconds someone in the U.S. Needs blood. SBC is a leader in the fields of transfusion and transplantation medicine who encourage first time donors to become real-life heroes through mobile blood drives, education and partnerships. Library Director Susan Nemitz says, “When you give blood, you give life. This is a wonderful way to connect with our community and become everyday heroes.”

SBC supplies blood products, testing, and transplant matching services to several Bay Area hospitals, including those in Santa Cruz. Many County residents also travel to SBC to use their services. Help those in need of blood in our community by becoming a donor.

The Blood Drive takes place at the Aptos Library, 7695 Soquel Dr. in the parking lot. The Bloodmobile will be there from10:00am until 3:00pm. To schedule an appointment to donate blood, visit sbcdonor.org and use sponsor code 2557. Or call 650-723-7831.

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Micro Business Summit returns to Aptos

March 28, 2018 by Seb Frey

The Santa Cruz 82% Micro Business Summit – billed as “Santa Cruz County’s biggest small business conference” – returns to Aptos in 2018! 82% of business in Santa Cruz county is done by small business, so collectively it’s really the biggest business in the county. As in years past, the event will be held at Cabrillo College, this year on May 4th.

“We’re building on the success of last year’s Micro Business Summit with even more exciting speakers and topics,” says Barbara Mason, Economic Development Coordinator for the County of Santa Cruz. “Small businesses are the backbone of our local economy. We want to support these entrepreneurs because their success lifts our entire community.”

This year’s event features a range of speakers on topics including social media marketing, startup technologies, managing cash flow, working with millennials, lead generation and much more.

Tickets for the “82% Micro Business Summit” are on sale now for only $49 (use this link to buy tickets) thanks to the generosity of their sponsors. Participants will be able to choose from a range of dynamic speakers and breakout seminars, receive a complimentary breakfast and luncheon and have access to an afternoon mixer as well as fantastic raffle prizes.

Enrollment is limited to 300 participants, so if you’re interested in attending, you better sign up soon! Visit the event’s web site for more details.

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Move for Mar Vista is Back in 2018

March 28, 2018 by Seb Frey

For the past several years, the Mar Vista Elementary School Parent’s Club has been putting on a 5K race through the beautiful forest of Nisene Marks State Park. The race begins in Aptos Village Park and goes up through the Nisene Marks for a couple of kilometers before runners head on back to the finish line. The race will be held Sunday, April 29th, starting at 9:00 AM.

This year, it’s got a 1980’s theme! Runners are encouraged to dig deep into their closets to pull out their finest 1980’s attire to wear during the race. It’s a great opportunity to get outdoors with your family and pass on the love of running to the next generation. The event is open to the whole community, and all ages and abilities are welcome.

All proceeds go to benefit Mar Vista Elementary School and their efforts to build a running track on the lower field. They’ll be awarding prizes for the best dressed runners. You can sign up using this link: https://runsignup.com/Race/CA/Aptos/MoveforMarVista5k. Registration is $25 for kids 12 and under and $35 for everyone else.

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Yearly Aptos Rhododendron Garden Tour

March 26, 2018 by Seb Frey

On Sunday, April 8, 2018 at 1 PM, the Monterey Bay Chapter of the American Rhododendron Society will feature a tour of the Monte Toyon Garden of Maury and Fran Sumner, that is located at the Monte Toyon Camp and Conference Center, 220 Cloister Lane, Aptos.

From the parking lot located in the area of 36°59’46.7″N 121°53’51.5″W, please walk up the trail to the Observation Platform of the Rhododendron Garden, which is located at the top of the hill.

The tour will be led by Mike McCullough, who knew the Sumners from 1975 until they passed away.

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The Sumners lived in San Francisco, but in order to test and display their hybrids such as the Maddenii Series rhododendrons My Lady, My Guy, Mi Amor, Saffron Prince, Martha Wright and Owen Pierce; and to grow other rhododendrons, in the 1950s they established the three acre Monte Toyon Rhododendron Garden in Aptos.

Information on the rhododendrons of Maurie and Fran Sumner can be found here:

Information on what the tour would be like can be found here:

http://www.imagesforrenewal.com/weekly-image/ravishing-rhododendrons/

Hopefully the early blooming Sumner hybrids My Lady, Fran Sumner, Saffron Prince, Martha Wright, and Owen Pierce, shall be in bloom; as well as rhododendrons such as the Maddenii Series species Rhododendron cubittii, the Maddenii series hybrid Else Frye and several Grande Series rhododendrons, such as Rhododendron grande, Rhododendron macabeanum, and Rhododendron magnificum.

Grande series species are noted for their large leaves:

Some of the, Grande series and other species were grown from seed from England and other areas.

There is no charge for admission.

Information on the Monterey Bay Chapter, and the rest of the American Rhododendron Society can be found at:

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County Taking Applications for Affordable Aptos Village Homes

March 3, 2018 by Seb Frey

Work on the Aptos Village project is proceeding apace, and the county of Santa Cruz is now accepting applications from buyers for ten (10) affordable Aptos Village homes. These homes are deed-restricted Measure J units, the buyers for which must meet strict program criteria. These ten homes will be sold in two phases, with Phase 1 releasing four (4) 1-bedroom units and one (1) 2-bedroom unit. Phase 2 will have one 1-bedroom, two 2-bedroom, and two 3-bedroom units.

To qualify to buy these affordable Aptos village homes, you must be a first-time buyer and must have household income at or below 120% of the area median income. Applications are due May 18th 2018, with a lottery drawing to be held on June 1st of this year. Prices for these ten affordable Aptos Village homes have not been finalized, but preliminary reports indicate pricing will be in this range:

1-bedroom: $256,000-$280,000
2-bedroom: $296,000-$322,000
3-bedroom: $338,000-$363,000

Median income varies by household size, and Santa Cruz county is using these figures to determine yearly maximum income for qualification:

1 Person Household: $73,100
2 Person Household. $83,500
3 Person Household: $93,950
4 Person Household: $104,400
5 Person Household: $112,750
6 Person Household: $121,100
7 Person Household: $129,450

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The county will be holding a workshop for those interested in throwing their hat in the ring for one of these coveted units. The workshop will be held on Saturday, March 24th 2018, in the conference room of the Rio Sands Hotel. There will be two sessions: one in English from 1:00 to 2:00 pm and on in Spanish from 2:30 to 3:30 pm.

For more information on the process of purchasing these homes, please download this document from the Santa Cruz County Planning Department’s web site.

Barry Swenson, the developer of the Aptos Village, has indicated that sales of non-Measure J units should begin in Spring of 2018, at the time that the first units are ready for occupancy. Pricing for these units has not been announced.

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Tickets and Showtimes

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What's YOUR Aptos House Value?

A Closer Look

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What's YOUR Aptos House Value?

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