Hello everyone, welcome to our newest members, and thanks to all our members who attended the City Council Study session on August 15th.
It has been a busy summer, and now is the time for us to take action!
BAD NEWS / GOOD NEWS
The bad news is that repairs to West Cliff will not happen before winter. The city does not have emergency permits from the Coastal Commission, and construction bids have been delayed. This means, once again, West Cliff is at risk from a strong El Nino, and as Dr. Griggs and Dr. Storlazzi have published, 76% of the damage to our coastline happens during El Nino-powered west storms. This delay also means FEMA will only pay 88.5% of the emergency repair costs, and we will need to find a way to fill the gap, likely to be at least $2 million.
The good news is that our City Council and City Leadership are acutely aware of this risk and are working with the internal City team to complete and submit Local Coastal Program (LCP) and Local Hazard Mitigation Plan (LHMP) updates to State and Federal agencies. City Leadership is concurrently working to move forward on the 50-year vision for West Cliff with Farallon Strategies that the City Council asked for in the May 23, 2023 Council meeting.
The following is what we need from you:
1. COMPLETE THE SURVEY
Please complete this City survey to inform the LHMP update:
2. READ THIS DOCUMENT AND SEND COMMENTS
The latest edit to the “A Resilient West Cliff, Accessible to All Roadmap” has been released by Farallon Strategies and the City of Santa Cruz. The Save West Cliff executive committee is preparing comments, and we need you to read it and send comments as well.
It’s important that you read this document! This document is the basis for not only the next 3 years, it is the foundation for the 50-year plan which is what we have spent the last seven months fighting for.
Download the Document:
https://www.cityofsantacruz.com/home/showdocument?id=95432&t=638279543953167048
Send comments to:
Erika Smart esmart@santacruzca.gov
NEWS & UPDATES
Erika Smart from the City circulated a detailed update on West Cliff a few days ago. Its great work and we thank Erika for all her work keeping the community informed. If you aren’t on their mailing list, here is the update:
https://myemail.constantcontact.com/An-Update-on-West-Cliff.html?soid=1139788986312&aid=xOwcZ-7vCFs
Santa Cruz Local did in-depth coverage with their article “Input wanted on 50-year vision for West Cliff Drive in Santa Cruz”. It provides a good perspective on the current state of West Cliff and it’s a great call to action for us all. Here is a link to the article:
WHAT’S NEXT?
The next significant milestone for us is the upcoming City Council meeting to discuss the status of the emergency repairs, progress on Interagency engagement and the 50-year plan for West Cliff.
We will send details on this meeting in the next update.
We are also waiting to hear from City leadership how the community can contribute to the LCP update, particularly related to the new Bluff and Beaches section.
Thanks,
#savewestcliff
web: https://savewestcliff.com/
email: info@savewestcliff.com