SANTA CRUZ — From considering funding awards for local nonprofits through Collective of Results and Evidence-based Investments, or CORE program, to postponing the gas-powered leaf blower ban, the Santa Cruz City Council has a packed agenda at its Tuesday meeting.
The meeting begins at 12:30 p.m. Tuesday after the council’s closed session with oral communications, or the portion of the meeting devoted to hearing the public’s concerns about items not on the agenda. The governing body will then consider the consent agenda, which includes 19 items that will be voted on in one motion unless an item is pulled for further discussion and deliberation.
The consent agenda includes an item that, if approved by the council, would push the upcoming ordinance banning gas-powered leaf blower use in the city from January to July 1, 2025. If passed, the item also calls for city staff to evaluate the number of residents who use gas-powered leaf blowers and their potential need for financial assistance.
The ordinance, which was approved in June, prohibits property owners in the city from using gas-powered leaf blowers on their property at any time. The property owner is also responsible for the use of the gas-powered devices on their property, despite the user, and will receive a warning for the first violation and escalating fines for subsequent violations.
The use of gas-powered generators to charge batteries for an electric leaf blower is also prohibited in the ordinance alongside blowing debris and waste into a neighbor’s yard, street, sidewalk or storm drain.
Exceptions to the new ordinance include land parcels that are 10 acres or larger, excluding homeowners associations, as well as certain city parks such as DeLaveaga Park, Depot Park, Harvey West Park, Neary Lagoon, San Lorenzo Park, the Rail Trail, University Terrace Park, the Riverwalk and West Cliff, all of which are exempt from the prohibition.
According to the item’s agenda report, during the first reading of the ordinance, the City Council heard feedback from residents and businesses about needing financial assistance to switch from gas to electric implements because of the ban.
City staff later met with members of the Monterey Bay Air Resources District to seek financial assistance through the organization’s Landscape Equipment Exchange Program. The LEEP program provides rebates to residents and businesses in Santa Cruz, Monterey and San Benito Counties to swap out gas-powered landscaping tools with zero-emission electric equipment.
The Monterey Bay Air Resources District informed city staff that due to state requirements, LEEP’s rebates are not available to residents in cities that have a ban on gas-powered equipment on the books, so the rebates would only be available to residents until the ban becomes ordinance at the start of next year.
The agenda report states that the reason city state funded rebate program is “meant to incentivize individuals to voluntarily adopt electric equipment rather than mandate compliance with local ordinances.” However, the LEEP rebates would still be available to landscaping businesses because they generally operate in multiple cities.
WIth that in mind, the City Council Health in All Policies Committee met to discuss the issue and are recommending that the council consider postponing the onset of the ordinance to July to give city residents an additional six months to apply for LEEP rebates and city staff more time to touch base with community members through an outreach campaign.
Following the consent agenda, the City Council will consider rescinding decades-old ordinances, which prohibit members of the city’s Planning Commission and Board of Building Appeals from receiving compensation for their service.
In August, the City Council approved a stipend of $75 for advisory body member for each meeting they attend, but the two older ordinances prohibit members of the Planning Commission and Board of Building Appeals from also receiving the stipend. If approved, the two commissions could be included in the stipend program.
Following the public hearings, the Santa Cruz City Council will tackle the award of funding to local organizations through the Collective of Results and Evidence-based Investments or CORE program, which is managed and funded by the Santa Cruz County Human Services Department in partnership with the city.
The program has a total of about $6 million in funding available to invest, with $4,879,000 from the county and $1,080,000 in funding provided by the city of Santa Cruz. With about $1.5 million of the funding already set aside for shelters with supportive services, and about $3.79 million was available for competitive funding to local organizations through the program’s request for proposals process.
The City Council will consider approving the awards chosen through the request for proposals process and coordinate with the county to return by April 30, 2025, with an update on new and existing CORE contracts, a lessons learned framework and an updated agreement between the city and county.
To read the meeting agenda, visit cityofsantacruz.com.
If you go…
What: Santa Cruz City Council meeting
When: 12:30 p.m., Tuesday
Where: Santa Cruz City Hall, 809 Center St.