Current and Upcoming Public Review Period

Public Works: Routine Maintenance Project

Pursuant to the requirements of the California Environmental Quality Act (CEQA) guidelines and the local City of Santa Cruz CEQA guidelines and procedures, a Negative Declaration has been prepared to disclose and assess potential environmental impacts that may be generated by the proposed routine maintenance activities.

A Notice of Intent to Declare a Negative Declaration has been issued. The Initial Study/Negative Declaration for the City of Santa Cruz Maintenance Projects is available for public review. The public review period will end on June 23, 2025.

The Notice of Intent to Declare a Negative Declaration and the Initial Study/Negative Declaration for the City of Santa Cruz Maintenance Projects can be found below.

• Notice of Intent to Adopt a Negative Declaration
• Initial Study/Negative Declaration: City of Santa Cruz Maintenance Project

Downtown Plan Expansion

Pursuant to the requirements of the California Environmental Quality Act (CEQA), an Environmental Impact Report (EIR) has been prepared to disclose and assess environmental impacts potentially generated by the proposed project.

The Notice of Availability (NOA) announces that a Final EIR has been prepared and is available for public review. The City Council will consider this report as part of a public hearing currently targeted for May 13, 2025 (date subject to change).

The NOA and both the Draft and Final EIR, including responses to public comments, can be found below.

• Notice of Availability (NOA) for Final EIR
• Final Environmental Impact Report (EIR)
• Notice of Availability (NOA) for Draft EIR
• Draft Environmental Impact Report (DEIR)
• DEIR Figures
• DEIR Appendices

A printed copy of the Final EIR may be reviewed at the Planning and Community Development Department located at 809 Center Street, Room 101 from 7:30 to 11:30 AM, Monday through Thursday. For questions please contact the project manager, Sarah Neuse, at sneuse@santacruzca.gov or (831) 420-5092.

California Environmental Quality Act (CEQA)

The California Environmental Quality Act requires local and state governments to consider the potential environmental effects of a project before deciding whether to approve it. CEQA's purpose is to disclose the potential impacts of a project, suggest methods to minimize those impacts, and discuss alternatives to the project so that decision-makers will have full information upon which to base their decision. Types of CEQA documents and categories include:

• Initial Study (IS): An analysis of a project's potential environmental effects and their relative significance. An initial study is preliminary to deciding whether to prepare a negative declaration or an EIR.
• Exempt: Article 19 of CEQA outlines certain classes of projects that do not have a significant effect on the environment and are therefore declared categorically exempt from having to prepare environmental documents.
• Negative Declaration/Mitigated Negative Declaration (ND/MND): When a project is not exempt from CEQA and will not have a significant adverse effect on the environment a negative declaration must be prepared. The negative declaration is an informational document that describes the reasons why the project will not have a significant effect and proposes measures to completely mitigate or avoid any possible effects.
• Environmental Impact Report (EIR): A detailed review of a proposed project, its potential adverse impacts on the environment, measures that may avoid or reduce those impacts, and alternatives to the project.

Archived CEQA Documents