zach friend

Zach Friend Speaks at Aptos Chamber

January 14, 2016 by Seb Frey

Zach Friend Re-Election — Zach Friend Announces Re-Election Campaign

Supervisor Zach Friend was today’s special guest at the Aptos Chamber of Commerce. He was introduced by Jimmy Panetta (son of Leon), Deputy District Attorney for the county of Monterey, who is himself running to replace retiring U.S. Representative Sam Farr.

The Supervisor, who is currently running for re-election, spoke of his continuing resolve to work for progress on challenges he’s identified, such as affordability of housing, jobs, high-speed internet, water, and traffic among others. His remarks seemed well received by those in attendance, which included his wife Tina and young son Elliott.

He later took a few questions from the crowd, and provided an update on Rancho del Mar Shopping Center project. He replied that in a meeting with new ownership 1-2 months ago, the owners indicated they have no immediate plans to do anything with the property. He added that the new owners know it needs a remodel but do not feel like the larger scale project envisioned previously was appropriate.

See also: FriendForSupervisor.com

El Niño Preparedness Meeting in Aptos

October 1, 2015 by Seb Frey

Supervisor Zach Friend has announced there will be a El Niño Preparedness Meeting in Aptos, to be held on Thursday, October 13, 6:30 PM, at the Rio Sands Hotel, Room 116. The Department of Public Works, Office of Emergency Services, and Public Safety staff will attend to answer questions and provide tips. While a wet winter is by no means assured, there’s every indication that we’ll see rainfall this year similar to what we say in 1982-1982 and 1997-1998. If significant rainfall does come, we can expect periodic power outages, flooding, landslides, and washouts – so Aptos residents are well-advised to be prepared.

For those Aptosians who can’t make the October 13th date, there will also be a meeting in Watsonville on October 5 at 6 p.m., Civic Plaza Community Room 275 Main St., Suite 400.

See also: Preparing for El Niño

Seacliff Village Park Groundbreaking

August 2, 2015 by Seb Frey

It’s finally happening – Seacliff Village Park will soon become a reality! The public is invited to attend the Seacliff Village Park groundbreaking ceremony on Monday, August 3rd from 10 AM until 12 noon. The ceremony is to be held at the park site at the corner of McGregor Drive and Sea Ridge Road in Aptos.

The first phase of the park’s construction will be performed by Earthworks Paving Contractors, who have 144 days to complete this first stage of the development. This work will include a lighthouse-themed play structure, a picnic area, a small plaza, drinking fountain, bike rack, benches, several walkways, and drought tolerant landscaping.

Phase 1 will also include a public art component by artist Kathleen Crocetti, who will cast 38 stained concrete pylons topped with mosaics along the park pathways. The public is invited to join in the creation of the artwork by attending design meetings or participating in the onsite artwork construction. For more details please visit www.scparks.com.

Please join County Supervisor Zach Friend, Parks staff, the Seacliff Improvement Association and Earthworks Paving Contractors, Inc. for this FREE event on August 3rd, 2015 at 10:00 A.M. All are invited to attend to hear speakers share, and reminisce about how Seacliff Village Park became a reality.

Rio del Mar Ribbon Cutting Ceremony

May 24, 2015 by Seb Frey

Rio Del Mar - Established 1926 — New Rio Del Mar Neighborhood Sign

Supervisor Zach Friend and the Rio del Mar Improvement Association (RDMIA) will be holding a ribbon-cutting ceremony on Monday, June 1, 2015 at 9:30 AM at the Rio del Mar Beach esplanade. The ceremony will celebrate the completion of the new roundabout as well as the new entrance sign to Rio del Mar and other beautification efforts. All are invited to the ribbon cutting ceremony.

The County of Santa Cruz Public Works Department managed the construction of the roundabout, beginning in the fall of 2014. The RDMIA coordinated the relocation of the Whaley Structure to the roundabout during the construction project. The new roundabout is now complete and provides a safer circulation pattern with less air pollutants released. The Aptos Chamber of Commerce recently awarded a “Community Enhancement” award to the RDMIA for its participation in the roundabout construction.

The roundabout is just one of several projects completed in the Rio del Mar area during the past year. A new entrance sign to Rio del Mar was completed in May 2015 in the traffic median island across from Deer Park Center. The sign’s construction was coordinated by John Fuchs Construction of Rio del Mar and LMNO Arts, an Aptos-based business, created the unique metal letters. The sign’s design is a replica of one of the original signs in Rio del Mar dating back to 1926. The new sign provides a historic and charming “welcome” to residents and visitors alike. All of these efforts are part of the RDMIA’s “Beautification” Strategy for 2014-2015. Other projects that the RDMIA is coordinating include new landscaping and a memorial bench program for new benches along the Esplanade.

The Public Works department utilized grants and other funding to pay for the roundabout. The RDMIA raised over $13,000 to pay for its beautification efforts. Residents, property owners and local businesses contributed to the fund.

Aptos Village Design Changes Unanimously Approved

May 5, 2015 by Seb Frey

Aptos Village Approved — Aptos Village Design Changes Approved

The Santa Cruz County Board of Supervisors today unanimously approved the changes to the Aptos Village design requested by the developer, Barry Swenson Builder. The project initially won approval in 2012 after a decade in the planning process, but that approval granted the builder some flexibility in the final design. The approval today from the Board of Supervisors should allow the project to move forward with the requested modifications.

The meeting was well attended, despite starting at 9 AM on a weekday. Dozens of members of the community got up to speak, with proponents and opponents roughly evenly divided. Most of those opposed appeared to be the members of our community which will be most adversely affected by the construction and increased congestion in the village – that is, those living up Cathedral Drive, Trout Gulch Road, and Valencia Road.

Audio Recording of the Supervisor’s Meeting

Download audio file…

The portion of the meeting which dealt with Aptos Village lasted over an hour and a half, and ended with little debate among the supervisors before they unanimously approved the changes. It seemed as though their support was a foregone conclusion, and there was substantial but muted commentary from those in attendance that their voices had not been heard, or at least not given due consideration.

At the end of the discussion and before the vote, Supervisors Zach Friend, John Leopold and Bruce McPherson did make some remarks. Supervisor Friend spoke to both the process by which the project was approved, and the need for a project like this. Many in attendance today who opposed to the project expressed a sentiment that the project was being pushed on the community with little input. Supervisor Friend addressed this head on, and seemed genuinely to feel as though the local government had in fact sought substantial community involvement and feedback.

Supervisor Leopold remarked that the government should be committed to a good public process, and that a “ten year project” with over 20 meetings meets that requirement. He went on to say he understands the community’s concerns about the density of the project. He mentioned specifically the Sustainable Santa Cruz County plan, which calls for greater density within the urban services line (the area served by public water and sewer) along the Soquel Drive corridor. By concentrating development within this area (in which Aptos Village is located), we can keep more parts of our county rural. Perhaps counter-intuitively, this kind of denser development is in fact more sustainable than the kind of sprawl found in so many suburban communities in many parts of the state and country. According to Leopold, from an environmental point of view, the Aptos Village is in many ways a model for future development within the county.

Supervisor McPherson mentioned that one of the main concerns from Santa Cruz county residents is the lack of affordable housing in the community, and that more housing must be built. He went on to say that the Aptos Village project will provide additional, much-needed housing, and that the new Aptos Village is a very environmentally sound project.

Supervisors will Discuss Aptos Village Design Changes

May 3, 2015 by Seb Frey

The Santa Cruz County Board of Supervisors will discuss Aptos Village design changes at their regular meeting on Tuesday, May 5th at 9 AM. They will also discuss the recent appeal to the Level 4 planning approval. The Aptos Village Plan was unanimously approved by the Planning Commission and Board of Supervisors in 2012, but when approval was given, the builder was allowed some flexibility to make changes, and these changes will be discussed at this meeting.

The changes include:

Re-routed Aptos Village Way around Bay View Hotel property, splitting Building 6 into two smaller buildings
Relocated future SCWD water well site, (with Soquel Creek Water District collaboration)
Minor boundary adjustment along donated future park land to accommodate more parking
3 parking garage spaces added to back of Building 7
Using optional 6 additional condo units in Building 3
Deleted man bridge between Building 3 and Building 4, (for FNMA compliance), and added an elevator
Removed interior courtyards and back alley at Building 12 and added backyards

It is expected that the meeting will be well attended, and the public will be given an opportunity to speak and share their thoughts and opinions on the project and the design changes. As the meeting will be held during working hours, those who are unable to attend are encouraged to give email Supervisor Zach Friend at zach.friend@co.santa-cruz.ca.us and let him know their thoughts.

Audio from the meeting will be live streamed, and should also be available on Santa Cruz Community Television.

Aptos Village Meeting on April 22

April 23, 2015 by Seb Frey

The Aptos Village Meeting on April 22 was held at the Rio Sands Hotel by the Rio del Mar Beach. It was standing room only, with the room full to its limit, an estimated 150 people. The meeting was headed by 2nd District Supervisor Zach Friend and Mary Gourlay with Barry Swenson Builder. Extensive information was provided by Ron Duncan and Bruce Jaffe from the Soquel Creek Water District, and also Jack Sohriakoff, a senior traffic engineer with the county Public Works department.

At the beginning of the meeting, attendees were asked to write their questions down on cards, so they could be asked in an orderly and efficient fashion. Nevertheless, remarks by Friend, Gourlay and the other speakers would be peppered with spicy questions from the crowd throughout the evening.

Audio Recording of the Aptos Village Meeting on April 22

Download audio file…

The meeting opened with remarks from Supervisor Friend, who was quick to point out that the purpose of the meeting was not to discuss approval of the Aptos Village project, as it’s an “entitled project.” It has already gone through the entire approval process and was approved in 2012.

This meeting was intended as a way to receive public input on some modifications to the initially approved design, which the builder has submitted to the county for approval. Also, the meeting was designed to be a way to publicly discuss what will happen during construction, what will those impacts be, and how the county can communicate to make people’s lives in the area “less miserable” during construction. Also open for discussion were the water, traffic, and public safety impacts of the project.

Video from Aptos Village Meeting

Supervisor Friend explained that when the county initially approved the project, it allowed the builder some room to change a few things around within approved parameters. The county supervisors will be meeting to consider approval of the builder’s proposed “design modifications” at its meeting on May 5th, 2015, and members of the public are certainly welcome to attend.

After opening remarks from Supervisor Friend, Mary Gourlay went over a project map and explained what each building is. Considerable time was spent discussing the “design modifications” made to the project since it was initially approved.

Slides from the Presentation – Barry Swenson Builder

Slides from Barry Swenson Builder — Barry Swenson Builder has made a copy of the slides from their presentation available in a PDF document. You can download the developer’s slides from their web site here.

After the opening remarks by Friend and Gourlay, Supervisor Friend read through the questions that had been collected from the crowd. Many of the questions reflected the community’s concerns around the drought and the project’s water usage, as well as the impacts on traffic – both during construction and forever more. Other questions involved parking, affordable housing, site drainage and runoff, and more.

Supervisor Friend brought the meeting to an end a few minutes before 8:00 PM, but he and the other speakers remained after the meeting to answer questions from those who stayed late. More meetings are expected to be held in the future as the project progresses.

See also:

Photo Gallery of Aptos Village Meeting

The Rio Sands Hotel played host to the meeting

Aptos Village Community Meeting on April 22, 2015

Aptos Village Update for Merchants

April 8, 2015 by Seb Frey

There was a meeting today at the Cantine Wine Pub, with the purpose of giving an Aptos Village update for merchants in the Aptos Village area. The meeting was well attended; about fifty people showed up to learn how the project may affect their businesses. The meeting was organized by Del Crawford of Mulberry Gallery, and updates on the project were given by Supervisor Zach Friend, Mary Gourlay from Barry Swenson Builder, John Prestly, the Director of Public Works for Santa Cruz County, and Jack Sohriakoff, a senior traffic engineer also with the county Public Works department.

Audio Recording of the Aptos Village Merchants Meeting

Download audio file…

Supervisor Friend was careful to note that the Aptos Village redevelopment project has already been approved by the County Board of Supervisors, and that this project is moving forward. Indeed, Barry Swenson Builder indicated that they intend to break ground on the project “this fall,” beginning with moving the historic Hihn Apple Barn to the center of the new village and construction of a concrete pad for it and grading along Granite Way.

Some time was spent discussing the fact that there have been a few small changes made to the plan, which were allowed under the scope of the approval previously granted by the Board of Supervisors. However, this small change has triggered an appeal by some concerned citizens. Supervisor Friend indicated he did not foresee this in any way stopping the project, but may cause some delay. For this reason, it is not known precisely when the project will officially break ground.

Barry Swenson Builder has launched a new web site, TheAptosVillage.com, which will serve to update the Aptos community and the greater public about the project’s developments.

Another meeting has been scheduled for April 22nd, from 6 PM to 8 PM, at the Rio Sands hotel. This meeting is intended for the public at large, and all are invited to attend. The public will be updated on the Aptos Village project and community feedback and input will be welcome.

At least for the initial phase of the project, the work done by Barry Swenson Builder is not expected to have much impact on traffic flow into, out of, or within Aptos Village, as their equipment and materials will be on site and not spill over into the public streets. However, Santa Cruz County will be doing some road work projects, slated to begin in January, and this will likely have considerable impact on traffic for several months while the work is in progress. These projects include adding of traffic lights, sidwealks, and roadway improvements.

It was noted that there will be no sidewalk between Soquel Drive and the railroad tracks. This was apparently part of the initial plan, as the vision of Aptos Village is one of a very walkable community. The sidewalk had to be cut because of Federal rules regarding proximity of sidewalks to railroad tracks. This may have the unfortunate effect of splitting Aptos village instead of creating an integrated whole on both sides of Soquel Drive. This is another example of how the presence of an active rail line running through our community compromises the vision for a walkable, sustainable Aptos Village and indeed the whole of Santa Cruz county.

The New Aptos Village

Sheriff Hart, Supervisor Friend Address Seacliff Residents

March 11, 2015 by Seb Frey

Last night at the Mediterranean Bar in Seacliff, newly elected sheriff Jim Hart and 2nd District Supervisor Zach Friend addressed a meeting of the Seacliff Improvement Association.

Members of the public who attended had a lot of questions, and Sheriff Hart and Supervisor Friend provided a great amount of detail on a wide ranging set of topics. The meeting lasted about an hour, and if you would like to hear the full extent of the comments from Jim Hart and Zach Friend, you can listen to the recording here:

Audio Recording of Jim Hart, Zach Friend

Download audio file…

Summary of Topics Discussed

Sheriff Hart touched on a number of items:

New Burglary suppression program: a deputy will come and walk around exterior of home, talk about weak points, beef up security
New Elementary school program to talk about stranger danger and school safety
Sheriff is doing clean up of homeless encampments in Aptos
Reported that crime is down in Aptos in the past 45 days
The department has 15 people studying at the police academy to increase deputies on the streets
Establishing a new “Sobering Center” to handle those detained for public drunkenness with a $2.1 million federal grant

Supervisor Zach Friend updated the public on the following:

County has re-funded County Parks Department to become a stand-alone department again
Seacliff Village Park: they will break ground on that in two months
McGregor Drive was completely repaved this year
Seacliff Village Undergrounding of utility poles is going forward, it is budgeted for this spring
New Broadband Policy will bring high-speed Internet to Aptos and Santa Cruz residents via fiber optic backbone “in the next 18 months”
Mar Vista Pedestrian Overcrossing is still scheduled for construction in 2017, but the project does not yet have approval from CalTrans.
Aptos Village Redevelopment is moving forward, and they are expecting Barry Swenson Builder (BSB) to apply for permits “soon” but have not yet given a date for that. BSB is creating a web site with information on the project for the public.
Rancho del Mar Redevelopment: No news on this one, the county has not heard anything from the new owners of the shopping center.
Santa Cruz Rail Trail: no news on this either, they are still waiting for the results of the Passenger Rail Study which the RTC plans to release in April. There is no word on what the passenger rail study might reveal as regards the feasibility of passenger rail service, however building out the trail segments will require private funding as there will be no public funds available for this any time soon.

Seacliff Neighbors Toast Jim Hart

Aptos Village Redevelopment Continues to Move Forward

February 23, 2015 by Seb Frey

The Santa Cruz Sentinel is reporting that the Aptos Village Redevelopment continues to move forward.

The first concrete sign of progress came last week, when the famous Aptos Post Office Bike Jumps were flattened, marking an end to the area’s premiere mountain bike jumping grounds, a bittersweet day in the history of Aptos.

Here are some interesting tidbits from the Santa Cruz Sentinel story:

Barry Swenson Builder should submit their permit application to the Santa Cruz County planning department in April.
The first phase of construction should begin in late summer or fall, with the first phase of construction (some buildings, and all the infrastructure) should be completed in fall of 2016.
The total construction time should will require 30 months at least, and may be delayed if the economy sours.
2nd District Supervisor Zach Friend’s office announced there will be community meetings with project updates