City of Santa Cruz

📢 We Want to Hear From You! The City of Santa Cruz is crafting its 2025-2030 Consolidated Plan and Neighborhood Revitalization Strategy Area, and we need your input! Your feedback will help us allocate federal HUD funds, including Community Development Block Grant (CDBG) and HOME Investment Partnership (HOME) funds, which support affordable housing, community programs, and infrastructure improvements. 🏘️ Let us know your thoughts! Take the survey today: https://loom.ly/H1HXJnU 🏘️We’re also hosting two community feedback meetings: 👥In-Person: Wednesday, September 11, 5:30–6:30 PM at the London Nelson Community Center (301 Center St). 💻Virtual: Friday, September 20, 12:00–1:00 PM on Zoom. Please join us to learn more and share your thoughts. 🌟

🌟 Calling all Santa Cruz High School students! 🌟 Are you passionate about making a difference and connecting with community leaders? Apply to be a Youth Liaison with the City of Santa Cruz! As a Youth Liaison, you can earn stipends or community service hours while connecting Santa Cruz Youth and City Council. Don't miss this incredible opportunity to have your voice heard and make a positive impact. Apply today! https://loom.ly/n29inV8

🎉 Exciting News! 🎉 The City of Santa Cruz has been recognized for the first time with an Achievement of Excellence in Procurement award by the National Procurement Institute. This prestigious award celebrates organizational excellence in public and non-profit procurement, evaluating innovation, professionalism, e-procurement, productivity, and leadership attributes. We are one of only 72 cities in the U.S. and Canada to receive this honor in 2024. We couldn't be prouder of our incredible procurement team. Keep up the outstanding work! Learn more about the Achievement of Excellence in Procurement: https://lnkd.in/gBSTnfsX

JOIN US TODAY! August 6th — Celebrate Community at National Night Out in Santa Cruz! Get ready to celebrate community at National Night Out in Santa Cruz! Bring your family, friends, and neighbors to join us for an unforgettable evening filled with games, delicious treats, and exciting surprises. Date: August 6, 2024 Time: 5:00 – 7:30 PM Location: Kaiser Permanente Arena — 140 Front St, Santa Cruz, CA Street parking is available around the arena. You can view a map of all DTSC parking options on our website. The Santa Cruzer shuttle will provide stops to and from Locust St. Garage, Del Mar Theatre, and Depot Parking Lot.

🏆 Exciting news! The City of Santa Cruz has been awarded $500,000 from the California Department of Housing and Community Development to support a rental assistance program that will serve up to 80 households in the City! We are proud to collaborate with Community Action Board of Santa Cruz County to help people with housing stabilization, eviction prevention, rental assistance, and rapid rehousing services. The City of Santa Cruz is one of nineteen Prohousing Communities in California to receive a share of $15.3 Million in Incentive Grants. The Prohousing Designation Program (PDP) administered by HCD recognizes cities and counties that demonstrate a commitment to enacting proactive policy changes and providing incentives and support to break down barriers to housing development. Learn more about the City's homelessness response efforts:https://loom.ly/sddmnaU Sign up for our newsletter: https://loom.ly/3npK8tY

🚒Tech in Action: Police and Fire Departments Use Drones to Quickly Contain Hillside Fire 🚓 🔥On Friday, July 12, the Fire Department requested assistance from the Police Department to respond to multiple reports of smoke of unknown origin on the hillside near Kirby School. A police officer certified in drone operation responded and deployed the department's drone. The drone quickly located the fire in the vast open space and utilized its thermal feature to assess its size. This crucial information allowed the Incident Commander to effectively order and deploy resources, successfully extinguishing the fire before it could spread or grow significantly. In the past, fire crews would triangulate locations based on caller information and then drive or hike to the suspected area, often causing delays in fire suppression. 🚨Given the challenges of our open spaces and this year’s demanding fire season, the drone program is a game changer. The quick response to this hillside fire highlights how the use of drones enhances community safety and makes our public safety responders more effective and efficient. 👏THANK YOU, City Police and Fire teams!

Have you seen the progress on West Cliff? Our Citywide project team has been working diligently, and it’s fantastic to see them in action! A huge shout out to all our City staff who are working hard every day to bring this project to completion – THANK YOU!! 🚧 This week, the Granite team is making major progress! They'll be forming the retaining wall footing and installing galvanized rebar on the east side of the south wall at Bethany Curve. PG&E has started relocating electrical utilities to clear the way for the Culvert work and will continue through Saturday, 8/3. Plus, with ongoing work on the infill walls, the project is moving right along! 💪 Learn more about the projects at https://lnkd.in/gw7Pf-jk

🌊 Exciting news! The City of Santa Cruz has been awarded nearly $8 million from NOAA through the Climate Resilience Regional Challenge! 🌊 This funding, part of a $71 million award to the California Marine Sanctuary Foundation, will strengthen coastal resilience in the Monterey Bay region. We’ll use it for projects at the mouth of the San Lorenzo River on Main Beach, San Lorenzo Park, and Jessie Street Marsh, focusing on nature-based solutions to combat climate change impacts like sea level rise and drought. This supports our ongoing Resilient Coast Santa Cruz Initiative, ensuring safe and equitable coastal access for all. Learn more at www.cityofsantacruz.com!

The recently conducted 2024 Point-in-Time (PIT) Count, an annual census of individuals experiencing sheltered and unsheltered homelessness, shows significant progress in addressing homelessness in the City of Santa Cruz. Read the full press release at www.cityofsantacruz.com. According to the data from the 2024 PIT Count, there has been a 36% decrease in the overall count of individuals experiencing homelessness in the City of Santa Cruz. These results mark a concerted effort to address the structural factors contributing to homelessness in the region, including increased housing-focused services and strategic investments by the City. A complete report detailing demographic information and other key indicators is available at https://lnkd.in/g_CGRuqq.

📢Weigh in on Proposed Policy for Major Home Renovations in Santa Cruz! The City of Santa Cruz is proposing energy efficiency requirements for major residential building renovations and wants your input at a community meeting on 7/10. Miss the community meeting? Check out the City's Building Decarbonization webpage for information and other opportunities to provide input! Access zoom link for community meeting and information on proposed policy at https://lnkd.in/g37gj9ga