Join Advance Planning for a Virtual Community Meeting July 23rd, 2020 from 6:00 - 8:00 PM to discuss the following:

Santa Cruz Beekeeping Ordinance Update

After consultation with local beekeepers and research into best practices, the City of Santa Cruz is seeking to amend its beekeeping ordinance.The City of Santa Cruz currently regulates the residential beekeeping of European Honeybees in the following ways (Santa Cruz Municipal Code §24.12.650): beehives must be set back twenty (20) feet from all property lines, and beekeepers require a city-issued permit, at a fee. In the past year, a coalition of local beekeepers has brought to the City’s attention that this current ordinance does not support current best practices for maintaining healthy and safe colonies of honeybees, a pollinator species integral to local and world agriculture. 

Changes to be discussed:

• No registration or permit required.
• Apiaries require a constant and permanent source of water on site with the hives, either natural or provided by the beekeeper.
• Apiaries on non-residential use lots, including public spaces not limited to parks and community gardens, require both the written consent of the property owner and neighbors within 50 feet of the apiary, and the apiary owner’s ID (name, phone number) stenciled on each hive box.
• If someone wishes to keep bees on a property with multiple dwelling units, they must obtain written consent from the property owner and all tenants on the lot, one time, prior to placing hive boxes on the property.
• Hive entrances must be positioned in such a way that the bees are encouraged to fly across the property on which the bees are kept.
• Hive boxes require a setback of 10 feet from pedestrian rights-of-way.
• Hive boxes within 10 feet of property lines shall be accommodated by either a) a flyway barrier at least 6 feet in height, consisting of a fence, wall, building, or dense vegetation, or b) being positioned at least 10 feet off the ground.

Amendments to Parking Regulations

The City is proposing to amend various parking regulations in order to reduce requirements for residential development, modernize certain commercial parking standards, provide a process for proposing alternative methods to address parking needs in commercial and residential projects, and to clarify existing standards. Overall, the proposed amendments are intended to facilitate housing development and accommodate new commercial uses in the City, while maintaining an adequate supply of parking and mobility options for residents, visitors, and workers.

Summary of Updates for Discussion

Zoning Ordinance Cleanup Amendments

The City is proposing a number of amendments to Title 24, Zoning Ordinance of the Santa Cruz Municipal Code to clarify and update various code sections, to remove obsolete sections and references, to streamline application processes, and to bring the Zoning Ordinance into conformity with State regulations. Some of these amendments are also amendments to the City's Local Coastal Program. Specific amendments would update the citywide sign ordinance to more closely align with the Downtown sign ordinance; revise the required findings for design permits to remove redundant information requirements and consolidate the findings to help streamline the application process; and clarify the definition of “lot coverage” and how to calculate the square footage of a “large home.” The intent of these amendments is to make the Zoning Ordinance more user-friendly and to improve clarity and processing time for residents, developers, staff, and any other users.

Summary of Updates for Discussion

This meeting was completed via webinar. At close of the meeting webinar information was removed. 

FUTURE POLICY AND ORDINANCE UPDATES

Visit our Long-Range Planning Page to learn more and stay up-to-date on policies and ordinances the City is working on.