There are elections on the March 3rd ballot that will have a big impact on the future growth and development of Santa Cruz, and we should all know where the city council candidates stand regarding their views on high-density buildings near neighborhoods in Santa Cruz.

There are two candidates running in the election to replace Council Member Chris Krohn, should he be recalled. One of the candidates, Katherine Beiers, has stated that she is in favor of terminating the “Corridors Plan,” and supports the Council’s new direction, insisting that our zoning code and General Plan make the preservation and protection of our residential neighborhoods a “first priority” for the City. Her opponent in that race, Don Lane, has declined to answer a questionnaire regarding his views on the corridor plan. He has made clear, elsewhere, that he favors high-rise and high-density along the city’s main transportation corridors, many of them on the city’s East Side of Santa Cruz.

The replacement candidates for Drew Glover, should he be recalled, are Tim Fitzmaurice who was twice elected to the Santa Cruz City Council and served a year as mayor and Renee Golder who has been a bilingual elementary school teacher in Santa Cruz.for 20 years. In the same questionnaire both stated they support and will not seek to modify or reverse the new planning priorities regarding the termination of the Corridors plan and they will insist that our city planning policies preserve and protect residential neighborhood areas and existing City businesses as the City’s highest-level policy priority.

The important decisions which will come before the City Council in the next few years require each City Council member the ability to research issues and make well thought out decisions. Choose wisely for the future of your Santa Cruz. Remember your vote is important.