Votes are still being counted, but Measure O, the controversial proposal that would scrap city plans for an updated downtown library, affordable housing and a new parking garage, is behind by 18 points.
As early results were posted, the No on Measure O campaign members let out tentative cheers in the corner of Abbott Square they staked out. But no one wanted to get their hopes up yet.
“Certainly not time to celebrate, but I’m cautiously optimistic,” says former Santa Cruz Mayor Don Lane, a spokesperson for the No on O campaign.
A vote in favor of the measure supports remodeling the current downtown library. It would keep the downtown farmers market at its current location, one of the fundamental tenets behind the initiative.
A vote against the measure supports the library project, a development in the works for over a decade.
As of 11:20pm, 3,025 votes have been counted in favor and 4,181 against the measure.
Should the measure pass, it is uncertain how it would be implemented. The measure designates eight city-owned lots for future affordable housing development, but an outside evaluation found only three of those lots to be feasible for housing projects.
It would also cast uncertainty on the future of the library: the city found remodeling the current library to be more costly than building a new one and that updating the existing building would constrict the possibilities for affordable housing and other amenities, like a childcare center.
Measure N
The initial results for Measure N, which would tax second homes that are in use less than 120 days per calendar year, are looking grim for its passage.
So far, the measure has the support of only 36.6% of votes, with 63.4% of votes against the tax.
The measure, also known as the “Empty Home Tax,” broadly pitted affordable housing proponents against real estate agents and vacation homeowners.
Funds from the tax would be dedicated to affordable housing, and the campaign estimates the tax could generate millions for low-income housing.
Opponents of the measure say similar taxes implemented in other cities have yielded inconclusive results.
The funding against the measure was significant. Santa Cruz Together, the committee leading the charge against Measure N, raised upwards of around $130,000, with nearly $50,000 coming from the California Association of Realtors.
This story will be updated.
