Let’s get more signatures for this petition
Hi all,
We’ve reached 2,029 signatures on our petition! Thank you so much to everyone who has signed, shared, and supported our efforts.
Please join us for the upcoming public hearing on Friday, November 6, at 9 AM, 701 Ocean Street, Rm. 525.
Your participation matters, and we need as many neighbors as possible to show up and make their voices heard.
We’re also asking everyone to please take a few minutes to write to our elected officials and County Planning Department:
Supervisor Manu Koenig: Manu.Koenig@santacruzcountyca.gov
County Planner Jonathan DiSalvo: jonathan.disalvo@santacruzcountyca.gov
State Senator John Laird: senator.laird@senate.ca.gov
Below is the letter I sent to Supervisor Koenig. I’m sharing it so you can see the concerns I’ve raised and the changes we’re asking for.
My letter to Supervisor Koenig:
Supervisor Koenig,
Your lack of concern and leadership regarding the proposed development at 7th Avenue & Brommer is deeply disappointing.
Attached are photos taken today, Thursday, October 8, at 2:50pm, showing 7th Avenue completely gridlocked. This is already a heavily congested, single-lane corridor serving local residents, commuters, beachgoers, businesses, and service vehicles. Yet you continue to support adding high-density housing without adequately addressing the impacts on the people who already live here.
This is not in the best interest of your constituents.
We all recognize the need for affordable housing. What we do not support is a nearly 60-foot-tall, four-story development that is completely out of scale with our existing neighborhood, with inadequate parking and no meaningful improvements to the surrounding community.
I have collected more than 2,000 signatures from local residents opposing this development as currently proposed. Many of the neighbors who have been fighting for responsible development are copied on this email because we want everyone to see how you respond to the community you were elected to represent.
We are asking for reasonable changes:
Reduce the number of units and building height to better fit the surrounding neighborhood.
Distribute the development across Parcels 1 & 2 rather than concentrating so much density against existing homes.
• Provide adequate on-site parking instead of pushing the burden onto already crowded neighborhood streets.
• Preserve meaningful open space and create a public park that the surrounding community can enjoy.
• Protect the existing natural habitat, mature trees, and character of this beautiful property.
• Address existing traffic congestion and infrastructure needs before adding hundreds of additional residents.
We also deserve answers about the approximately $46 million in federal funding associated with this development. Why aren't community improvements being included? Why isn't there an opportunity for affordable homeownership rather than exclusively rental housing? Why does it appear that the developer's plans are being prioritized over the concerns of the residents who will live with the consequences?
We are not asking you to stop affordable housing. We are asking you to fight for affordable housing that is responsibly planned, respects the surrounding neighborhood, and provides something positive for the entire community.
This property is an opportunity to do something meaningful for Live Oak. Instead, the current proposal threatens to add even more congestion, remove established trees, and permanently change the character of a neighborhood without delivering meaningful benefits to its existing residents.
You were elected to represent this community, not simply support a developer's preferred design.
More than 2,000 residents are paying attention, and your response to this project will matter when voters decide who should represent them.
We are asking you to step up, listen to your constituents, and advocate for a smaller, better-planned development that includes adequate parking, public open space, and real community improvements.
Our neighborhood deserves better.
-Jenny
Resident of 7th Ave