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PG&E to Remove Tree Trunks Left During CZU Fires

GT Staff

December 10, 2021

PG&E to Remove Tree Trunks Left During CZU Fires

By Drew Penner

Pacific Gas and Electric Company is moving into the next phase of wildfire clean-up efforts—clearing out thick tree trunks it chopped down previously.

According to Santa Cruz County’s Office of Response, Recovery & Resilience, the electricity provider is taking action in the wake of a legal dispute.

“Under the terms of a settlement reached with the County, PG&E agreed to implement a wood waste removal program and provide additional measures meant to protect the community from the threat and impact of wildfires,” a county spokesperson said in a release. “The County filed suit with the Public Utilities Commission following complaints from impacted residents that PG&E’s vegetation management and hazardous tree removal practices following the CZU Fire were insufficient.”

In a Dec. 1 announcement, the power company said it had already started reaching out to landowners for permission to get rid of the thick tree chunks.

“With landowner permission, PG&E will begin the wood removal program in the coming weeks, weather and safety permitting,” a PG&E spokesperson said in a release. “This includes planning and implementation steps to ensure the safety and success of the program, such as environmental review, site visits, landowner coordination and resource management.”

Following the CZU Lightning Complex fires, PG&E and its tree-removal contractors raced to restore power, including inspecting and cutting down hazardous trees that put workers or electric equipment in danger.

At the time, according to PG&E, crews were able to chip wood that was less than four inches in diameter, often spreading the chips on-site.

“Because wood is considered property that legally belongs to the landowner, any wood larger than four inches in diameter was left on-site,” the company’s release states.

But PG&E got a lot of flak for leaving many felled trees to rot.

The County says PG&E’s decision not to remove large wood debris in the first place put extra burdens on homeowners.

“After hearing from our constituents, it became clear that we needed to take strong action to remedy PG&E’s neglectful actions during the recovery process,” 5th District Supervisor Bruce McPherson said. “We look forward to PG&E working more collaboratively with the County and our residents in the future to assure that their needs are met following major disaster events and outages.”

PG&E says its tree-removal contractors will carry identification with them so residents know what they’re up to.

“In response to customer and community feedback, PG&E is preparing to remove wood debris and trees that it cut down,” a spokesperson said. “For the safety of PG&E’s customers, communities and crews, wood management that may require additional equipment or coordination will be addressed once PG&E is able to determine a path forward.”

Third District Supervisor Ryan Coonerty said he’s pleased with the settlement that he says will help reduce the risk of future wildfires.

“Our role as elected officials is to look out for the interests of residents when they need us most,” he said.

Under terms of the settlement, PG&E will notify customers regarding the opt-in wood waste removal program, which expires Jan. 31.

State Grant to Help Watsonville Renovate City Plaza

Tarmo Hannula

December 10, 2021

State Grant to Help Watsonville Renovate City Plaza

WATSONVILLE—Less than a week after crews began construction of a new restroom in the City Plaza, the city of Watsonville was awarded a $3.5 million grant from State Parks to renovate the entire historic downtown park.

The grant was announced Wednesday evening as part of Gov. Gavin Newsom’s “Outdoors for All” initiative. In all, the state will distribute $548.3 million to help fund the construction or renovation of 112 parks.

The allocation represents the single-largest investment in state history in expanding access to parks in underserved communities, with new or enhanced parks funded in every region of California, according to State Parks.

“People from all over the world come to visit our state’s natural wonders, but too many Californians today lack access to parks and open space in their own neighborhoods,” Newsom said in a press release. “This historic investment will revitalize and create new parks in more than 100 local communities, dramatically expanding access to the outdoors across the state and ensuring more Californians from all walks of life can reap the benefits for our hearts, minds and bodies for generations to come.”

In Watsonville, the state grant will help the City fulfill the community’s long-standing desire to restore key features of the City Plaza to their historic grandeur, preserving them for the enjoyment of future generations, the city said in a press release.

Integrating new recreational features and upgrading the park’s infrastructure will help accommodate 20-plus annual events and the weekly farmers’ market in and around the Plaza.

The city also plans to update the iconic gazebo in the center of the park, renovate the historic community fountain, improve landscaping and lighting throughout the park and add a permanent stage. It will also add additional seating areas, game tables, group picnic areas, a play station, public art, a circular walkway around the middle of the plaza, a drinking fountain with a bottle-filling station, bicycle parking, improved electrical infrastructure to facilitate events and performances and signage to highlight the historical elements of the park.

An outline for the renovation was approved by the Watsonville City Council in 2019. City staff then used that plan to apply for the state grant awarded this week.

“Our Watsonville Plaza represents the heart of our community,” Mayor Jimmy Dutra said in a press release. “For generations, it has offered a place for the community to gather and for children to play. We are extremely excited and fortunate to be receiving this grant in order to move forward the revitalization of the plaza. This is yet another project that our city will be able to implement in our beautiful city.”

Work began Thursday on the construction of a new restroom facility.

Also years in the making, the new self-cleaning facility will feature two stalls and self-locking doors, said Parks and Community Services Director Nick Calubaquib.

“With weather permitting, the new restrooms should be completed by the end of February or the beginning of March,” Calubaquib said. “This is an exciting change for our downtown.”

The overall cost is $450,000.

The Watsonville Parks and Recreation Commission also approved a mural featuring several iconic Watsonville locations to be painted on the exterior walls of the facility.

Workers have erected 6-foot high chain-link fences around the construction site, which won’t disturb the farmers market that unfolds each Friday.

Ex-Scotts Valley Cop Says Sexual Harassment on Force Was Not Investigated

GT Staff

December 10, 2021

Ex-Scotts Valley Cop Says Sexual Harassment on Force Was Not Investigated

By Drew Penner

A wrongful dismissal lawsuit brought forth by a long-time Scotts Valley Police Department officer accused of sexual harassment claims multiple instances of sexually-inappropriate behavior within the force were never properly investigated.

While David Ball’s complaint is primarily centered on the assertion he was discriminated against because of his age, the Santa Cruz County Superior Court civil action against the city of Scotts Valley and Chief Steve Walpole, Jr. paints a picture of a department with a “hostile work environment” where time card fraud, sleeping on the job and retaliation by the human resources department were tolerated.

Ball, a 27-year veteran of the force, contends that multiple members of the City Council, including his former SVPD superior, Councilwoman Donna Lind, should’ve recused themselves when it came time to consider the appeal of his ouster.

“Mr. Ball believes that he was discriminated (against) based on his age and that the City and City Council have rampant corruption, nepotism issues and inappropriate conflicts,” his lawyer, Neil Berman, of Salinas-based Rucka, O’Boyle, Lombardo & McKenna, said in an interview. “He fears for the citizens of Scotts Valley as they have inept leadership, in his view.”

Lind, who is identified in the lawsuit as Walpole’s godmother, declined to comment for this story, referring questions to the City’s legal department.

City Attorney Kirsten Powell said Ball “was rightfully terminated for cause after a full investigation and evidentiary hearing.”

The City “denies all allegations in his two suits against the City and is prepared to vigorously defend the City’s actions,” she said.

In a complaint filed Aug. 13, Ball says he’s owed $67,200 for “special assignment pay” refused from 2007-2019 when he was fired, despite a younger officer receiving such compensation for similar work.

City Council voted earlier this year to adjust SVPD pay scales so more junior officers aren’t paid more than superiors, as had occurred in some cases.

The department has struggled with staff retention in the last couple of years, although it’s successfully hired several officers in recent months.

Ball claims colleagues turned against him in the wake of the suicide of former officer John Cahill.

“The basis for the retaliation stemmed from a former officer, John Cahill, who was married to Plaintiff’s current wife,” the lawsuit reads. “Plaintiff’s current wife and he began dating and this upset his supervisors.”

Ball says his superiors resented him and felt he contributed to Cahill’s suicide.

In an article for cnn.com, Cahill’s dad said his son killed himself because he “was distraught about the failure of his marriage, his financial problems and the possible impact of the divorce” on his family.

Chief Walpole did not respond to a request for comment for this article.

Ball claims a younger officer who made sexually-explicit comments to a subordinate and sent a sexually-explicit message to a female dispatcher was never investigated or reprimanded for his actions. That same officer was discovered committing potential timecard fraud, something the employee wasn’t penalized for, the lawsuit also states.

In another case, a female trainee who made TEAM COCK BLOCK (The letters TEAM followed by a picture of a rooster and a stop sign) T-shirts for fellow officers had them confiscated when a male officer was offended by them and reported this to Capt. Mike Dean, according to the complaint.

The lawsuit claims this employee was never investigated for possible sexual harassment, however, when she learned she’d been reported for “regularly sleeping on duty” and other job performance issues, the suit states, she made up a story about Ball sexually harassing her “within hours,” leading to his firing.

Ball, in the suit, says his relationship with Walpole started to sour when he told his wife about something unprofessional Walpole had said to him.

“I don’t even like anyone here,” Walpole told him, he claims. “These are just people I work with.”

According to the lawsuit, another officer overheard Ball tell his wife about this, and he reported the conversation to HR Director Tony McFarlane.

McFarlane shared this with Walpole, who threatened to investigate Ball, and later retaliated against him, the complaint states.

From then on, Walpole was set on getting rid of Ball, according to the complaint.

Ball says even if the verbal sexual harassment allegations against him were true, according to the City’s own employment policies that wouldn’t necessarily require that administrators fire him from his job.

Ball denies sexually harassing the female trainee.

On May 24, 2019, Ball was placed on paid administrative leave by Walpole, who was serving as acting city manager and police chief at the time, while he was investigated.

Walpole hired Ehle, Medina & Belcher Associates, a firm owned by three former police chiefs from neighboring cities, who were good friends of Walpole’s father, Steven Walpole, Sr., the former SVPD police chief, according to the complaint.

“Mr. Ball maintains that the City committed age discrimination and their handling of the matter was akin to a kangaroo court with multiple conflicts of interests where Chief Walpole should have recused himself during the investigation and City Council members should have recused themselves during the farce that was the administrative proceeding,” Berman said.

Walpole not only initiated the investigation, “he ordered specific employees to participate, met numerous times with the investigators throughout the investigation, participated in findings of the investigation, then sat as the ‘Skelly’ hearing officer even after (Ball) objected to his involvement on this matter,” the lawsuit states.

According to simasgovlaw.com, “The Skelly Review Officer must be ‘reasonably impartial and uninvolved’ from the underlying facts and circumstances of the employee. However, they are typically still employees of the same public organizations; maybe just from a different unit.”

In order to prevent Ball from getting unemployment benefits, Walpole submitted a written declaration, dated Jan. 10, 2019, that improperly disclosed confidential personnel information in violation of Plaintiff’s POBAR (Public Safety Officers Bill of Rights Act) rights, despite the appeals process just beginning, according to the complaint.

“Chief Walpole was jealous of him,” Berman said, characterizing his client’s position. “Chief Walpole had a personal conflict and vendetta against him and his family.”

Berman says Ball wants a jury to consider the evidence in the case.

Plan to Purchase 38 Acres for South County Park Approved

Todd Guild

December 9, 2021

Plan to Purchase 38 Acres for South County Park Approved

SANTA CRUZ—The Santa Cruz County Board of Supervisors at its Tuesday meeting unanimously approved a plan to purchase a parcel of land in Watsonville, with the hopes of one day converting it into a public park.

The 38.5-acre parcel at 188 Whiting Road—located adjacent to the Santa Cruz County Fairgrounds—is currently zoned for commercial and agricultural uses. It is valued at just over $3.1 million.

The plans are far from complete. County officials must still find funding, secure permits and complete environmental impact studies.

But county officials envision the property as one day offering space for recreational activities, a one-mile nature trail and a 15-acre demonstration and educational berry farm, whose profits could help fund the annual maintenance costs for the park.

“I am truly excited,” said Department of Parks, Open Space and Cultural Services director Jeff Gaffney. “This is a very robust piece of land with lots of opportunities. It checks all the boxes for the needs of the community.”

The board gave credit to 4th District Supervisor Greg Caput who they said tirelessly advocated for additional park space in South County, which falls far under the many national per capita recommendations for parks space.

FDA Authorizes Pfizer Boosters for 16- and 17-Year-Olds

The New York Times and GT Staff

December 9, 2021

FDA Authorizes Pfizer Boosters for 16- and 17-Year-Olds

By Sharon LaFraniere, The New York Times

Federal regulators Thursday authorized booster shots of the Pfizer-BioNTech coronavirus vaccine for 16- and 17-year-olds, six months after they received their second shot of that vaccine. The move clears the way for several million teenagers to receive an additional shot.

All adults have been eligible since Nov. 19 to receive a booster six months after their second shot of Pfizer or Moderna’s vaccines, or two months after a Johnson & Johnson shot. Nearly 50 million Americans — or one fourth of those fully vaccinated — have gotten the additional shots.

The Food and Drug Administration broadened Pfizer’s authorization to cover the younger age group on an emergency basis. The other two coronavirus vaccines, Moderna and Johnson & Johnson, are authorized for use only for adults.

The agency’s decision, which was expected, comes as an initial spate of laboratory tests have suggested that the new fast-spreading variant, omicron, seemed to dull the power of two doses of the Pfizer vaccine.

“Since we first authorized the vaccine, new evidence indicates that vaccine effectiveness against COVID-19 is waning after the second dose of the vaccine for all adults and for those in the 16- and 17-year-old age group,” said Dr. Peter Marks, who oversees the FDA’s vaccine division. A booster “will help provide continued protection against COVID-19 in this and older age groups,” he added.

Pfizer and BioNTech said Wednesday that tests with blood samples from people who had received only two doses showed much lower levels of virus-fighting antibodies against omicron than against an earlier version of the virus. Antibodies are the immune system’s first line of defense against the virus, and the results suggest that two doses may not be sufficient to protect against infection, officials from the companies said.

With a booster, the level of antibodies working to neutralize the omicron variant were comparable to those combating the original variant after two doses, the companies said.

Senior administration health officials have said omicron, which contains dozens of mutations never seen before, is even more reason for everyone eligible for a booster to get one. More than 200 million Americans — over 60% of the population — have been fully vaccinated.

Although the U.S. vaccination rate overall is still well behind that of some other countries, the discovery of omicron has driven many people to get shots, even as much remain unknown about the variant.

According to federal data, roughly 3 million 16- to 17-year-olds in the United States got their second shot of Pfizer at least six months ago and would be eligible for a third shot this month.

Said Dr. Ugur Sahin, the chief executive of BioNTech, Pfizer’s German partner: “In the current situation, it is important to offer everyone a booster, particularly against the background of the newly emerging variants such as omicron.” And Dr. Albert Bourla, the chief executive of Pfizer, called the expansion of booster shots “a critical milestone.”

Pfizer is supplying booster doses to the U.S. government under an agreement negotiated months ago.

“The companies do not expect that today’s news will impact the existing supply agreements in place with governments and international health organizations,” a statement released Thursday by Pfizer said.

This article originally appeared in The New York Times.

Artist’s ‘Gift to the Community’ Resumes After Dispute

December 9, 2021

WATSONVILLE—Watsonville artist Augie WK for two years has dreamt of bringing a humpback whale to life at the Marinovich Community Center.

It was 2019 when the upstart muralist was approached by Watsonville Environmental Science Workshop coordinator Darren Gertler and asked if he’d be interested in using his talents to splash some art onto the downtown park.

The plan, WK says, was to paint a 50-by-54-foot mural of a humpback whale on a basketball court at the park. The art piece, he says, would not only highlight ocean conservation but the migratory path that the whales take along the California coast and down into Mexico—a parallel to some of the city’s residents that is not lost on WK and his partner Jessica Carmen, who was born and raised in Watsonville.

After gaining approval from the Watsonville Parks and Recreation Commission in mid-October, it seemed like his dream would come true. But for more than a month, he and Carmen had to cease work on their project as they awaited administrative approval of their proof of liability insurance—a stipulation that they say was not made clear when they submitted their application.

WK says they submitted their paperwork to the city on Nov. 11. They received approval to resume work last week and restarted painting on Dec. 3.

Before the work stopped, the mural was less than a quarter of the way done. And without a coat of sealant, the winter weather and typical wear and tear took their toll on some two weeks of work they had sunk into the project—work that they were initially not being paid for, even though they were first told by Gertler they would likely be compensated.

“When they said they wouldn’t pay us for it, I just said this would be our gift to the city, our gift to the community,” WK said during an interview on Nov. 8. “Even then, we’ve hit a ton of hurdles.”

Comeback story

Parks and Community Services Department Director Nick Calubaquib says that the situation at the park is a result of miscommunication between the city and the artists. WK and Carmen, Calubaquib says, began their work before the two parties had an agreement—and proof of insurance—in place. Because of this, the city told the artists to cease work.

“When we first received their insurance, the name on the certificate of insurance did not match the names used on the agreement, so we had to make adjustments,” Calubaquib said in an email. “There was also some confusion regarding artist and materials fees that we have since clarified. We are waiting on a final approval signature from the City Manager’s Office and they will be good to go. We are looking forward to seeing the final product.”

It is not the first time WK and Carmen have had a dispute with the city over an art piece. Two years ago, they got into a quarrel while painting a mural on the side of Don Rafa’s Supermercado off Riverside Drive. The issue then was that they began painting without a permit, and without any approval from the city—they say they contacted the city multiple times about the project but did not receive any response. That disagreement was eventually resolved, and the “Sabor” mural at the Mexican food market shines brightly to this day.

When asked why they would come back to paint another mural after their first experience with the city, Carmen says that the work the Watsonville City Council has done to promote art gave her hope that their second project would run much smoother. An employee with Arts Council Santa Cruz County, a nonprofit that promotes art and distributes thousands of dollars in grants to local artists, Carmen says that the “behind the scenes” movement that she had seen in her hometown was promising.

“I was like, ‘Great. They’re all on board. We’re all moving toward the same goal of having the arts be a pillar of the community,’” Carmen said. “In my head, I was like ‘there’s no way they’re going to hinder us this time because this is what they want.’ When this happened, I was like ‘Woah, I thought we were on the same page.’”

Action plan

The behind the scenes action Carmen was referring to is the city’s public art program. The first phase of that initiative was approved by City Council just a few months after their squabble with the city over the “Sabor” mural. There are two phases to the program. The first phase dealt with public art funded by private companies, grants or donations, and it established an approval process that artists would need to follow to lawfully showcase their work.

Calubaquib says the first phase of the program has been an overwhelming success. He estimated that the Parks and Recreation Commission has approved one or more art projects per month since the program was introduced. On top of that, having artists present their work to the commission in a public meeting has given the community an opportunity to have a say about the art that is showcased in their city.

Calubaquib highlighted the ongoing “Watsonville Brillante” mosaic on the Civic Plaza parking garage, the newly-installed murals honoring disabled athletes at Ramsay Park and the strawberry mural on the intersection of East Lake Avenue and Brennan Street as success stories.

“It’s neat to see how things have grown in certain ways,” he said.

Phase 2 of the program, Calubaquib says, is where things get “really exciting.”

The city plans to set up a sustainable funding source for public art—both visual and performing—by establishing a “percentage for the arts” fee. Calubaquib says that staff is proposing developers pay 1.5% of their overall project costs into an account with the sole purpose of funding city-initiated public art. If the fee is greater than $75,000, Calubaquib says, the developer could choose to add a public art piece to their project in lieu of paying the fee.

The fee would require City Council approval. It is unclear when the item would go before the elected leaders for consideration.

If approved, Calubaquib says the funds raised could help spur an art revolution in Watsonville. Along with funding singular projects and paying artists to perform the work, the money could also help create a public art master plan, or provide funding for a community-run arts center.

Calubaquib says that these fees are nothing new. Other cities have for years charged developers this fee and reinvested those dollars into their arts community. While developers might see the fee as another hurdle to completing their projects in an already pricey construction market, Calubaquib says that fees that go toward public art, “unlike any other fee, really have an impact on quality of life.”

“I’ve always been appreciative of art but I’ve really become an even bigger supporter of public art through this whole process,” Calubaquib said. “Public art really helps to create spaces and create an atmosphere where our community voices can be heard and seen in a way that you can’t do in any other way.”

Art-conomics

Carmen and WK say they wholeheartedly agree with Calubaquib on the power of art, and they hope that the city will follow through on the second phase of its public art program sooner rather than later. They also hope the city will refine its approval process, and hire someone to deal specifically with artists looking to create public art.

“And, at the end of the day, they should pay artists,” Carmen said.

She says that investing in the art community could be an economic catalyst for the city. Along with pointing to large tourist hubs like Austin, Texas, Los Angeles and San Francisco, Carmen also highlighted a recent mural festival in Sand City that reinvigorated a mostly barren area of the small municipality.

“It’s proven that art creates economic growth,” Carmen said. “Watsonville is a little bit behind on that … It’s starting to catch up a little bit, but Watsonville is like the last city on Central Coast that’s catching on to the idea that the arts can bring prosperity, it can build community, it helps people in underserved and neglected communities … That’s kind of our whole thing. Yeah, we want to paint the murals but we also want people to actually understand the impact that murals have on the community and on a community’s identity.”

On top of that, WK says, they want to show young Watsonville residents that they, too, can become artists. Born in Salinas and raised in Gonzales, WK says that he was inspired to become a muralist when he came across an art piece in Gonzales. To this day, he does not know who created the mural that “spoke to” him, but he said that he knew immediately that he wanted to be an artist because it gave him a chance to give back to the community and “live forever.”

“If I had that moment of seeing a muralist at work as a child, I think I would’ve started sooner,” he said. “It happens all the time. Little kids get really inspired [when they see us painting] and it’s really heartening.”

For information about the city’s public art program, visit cityofwatsonville.org/1854/Public-Art. To see more art from Augie WK, visit his Instagram page: @augiewk.

[This story has been updated to show that the artists are indeed being paid for their work. — Editor]

County Approves Large Affordable Housing Project

December 9, 2021

WATSONVILLE—The Santa Cruz County Board of Supervisors on Tuesday unanimously approved the construction of an 80-unit affordable housing complex between Atkinson Lane and Brewington Avenue that could break ground early next year.

The project, a part of a multiphase development plan approved some two decades ago, is spearhead by nonprofit developer MidPen Housing. It will consist of three 3-story buildings, an open gathering space and some 137 parking spaces. It will be built over a vacant grassy ravine on unincorporated land near Watsonville’s city limits.

It is the second phase of the Pippin Orchards development that was completed off Atkinson Lane in 2019, and like that project, every unit will be deed-restricted under the county’s affordable housing policies. Of the 80 units, 39 of them will be deed-restricted to farmworker families, 37 would be filled through vouchers from the county’s Housing Authority and all of them would be listed between 30-60% of the area’s median income.

Unlike the first phase, however, the entrance to the new development will come off Brewington Avenue. In addition, there will be no through traffic from Brewington Avenue to Atkison Lane.

That came as a relief for 4th District Supervisor Greg Caput, who represents the area. Although he voted to approve the project, Caput was reluctant to support the rest of the development plan OK’d by several agencies more than a decade ago. That initiative, called the Atkinson Lane Planned Unit Development, has a subsequent phase that would add another 90 units of affordable housing to the east of the development approved Tuesday.

That phase, however, won’t come before the board for several years, as that property won’t be converted into housing until agriculture operations on those farms are deemed no longer feasible.

“Phase three is something down the line that will come years from now, for probably the next generation, so I don’t have to worry about it,” Caput said before he asked staff multiple times to remove language in the staff report that mentioned phase 3. “We haven’t had neighborhood meetings on phase 3. I don’t want my name used in the future where someone can say, ‘Yeah, Supervisor Caput said it was OK.’”

Although the rest of the board was largely supportive of the project, one elected leader spoke in opposition of it: Watsonville Mayor Jimmy Dutra. The representative for Watsonville’s 6th District, which oversees that area of the county’s southernmost city, said during public comment that he had concerns about the increased traffic flowing through Brewington Avenue and the quiet, upscale neighborhoods of single-family homes off that street. He also said that the project would likely not benefit Watsonville residents.

“If this housing was only going to serve South County residents then that would be fine, but that’s not how it happens,” he said. “There are lists that everyone from the county gets on and people will move into these properties from all around.”

Only one other person spoke in opposition to the development during public comment.

Another 11 callers all voiced support for the project, including several nonprofit leaders and farmworker housing advocates who say the state of housing for the region’s farmworkers is forcing many to flee the area or live in unsafe conditions.

When the first phase of the Pippin Orchards development was completed in 2019, some 2,500 people applied for the 46 units available “illustrating the extraordinary need,” said Land Trust of Santa Cruz County Executive Director Sarah Newkirk.

“[This project] won’t solve our farmworker housing but it will have a meaningful impact,” she said.

Supervisor Zach Friend said the project is an example of why the county—and the greater state of California—is in the thick of a housing crisis.

“This has been a 20-year process, there’s been litigation, it’s been through LAFCO, it’s been through city and county discussions, Measure U, I think it’s hard to imagine a project … that’s going through a longer process just to make its way toward completion,” said Friend, whose 2nd District oversees some areas of Watsonville.

The project received a unanimous recommendation for approval from the county’s planning commission in late October, and the city of W atsonville approved an agreement with the county that laid out who—the county or city—would be responsible for the services provided to the development and who would collect certain fees.

The city, according to the agreement, would collect more than $1 million in impact fees in exchange for providing its services such as police, fire, water and solid waste. The agreement also states that the city would annex the property when completed.

The project would be the third affordable housing development greenlit in the Atkinson Lane area, including the aforementioned first phase of Pippin Orchards and the 53-unit complex on the corner of Atkinson Lane and Freedom Boulevard recently approved by the City Council.

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Low-Key Lux

PG&E to Remove Tree Trunks Left During CZU Fires

Supervisors Revamp Wireless Communication Facility Rules

State Grant to Help Watsonville Renovate City Plaza

Ex-Scotts Valley Cop Says Sexual Harassment on Force Was Not Investigated

Plan to Purchase 38 Acres for South County Park Approved

FDA Authorizes Pfizer Boosters for 16- and 17-Year-Olds

Artist’s ‘Gift to the Community’ Resumes After Dispute

Comeback story

Action plan

Art-conomics

County Approves Large Affordable Housing Project

Watsonville Film Festival Launches Fellowship for Local Filmmakers

Things To Do in Santa Cruz: Dec. 8-14

ARTS AND MUSIC

COMMUNITY

OUTDOOR

PG&E to Remove Tree Trunks Left During CZU Fires

Supervisors Revamp Wireless Communication Facility Rules

State Grant to Help Watsonville Renovate City Plaza

Ex-Scotts Valley Cop Says Sexual Harassment on Force Was Not Investigated

Plan to Purchase 38 Acres for South County Park Approved

FDA Authorizes Pfizer Boosters for 16- and 17-Year-Olds

Artist’s ‘Gift to the Community’ Resumes After Dispute

County Approves Large Affordable Housing Project

Watsonville Film Festival Launches Fellowship for Local Filmmakers

Things To Do in Santa Cruz: Dec. 8-14