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In This Issue...
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Opinions
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Soquel Village â€" A Closer Look
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Soquel Village â€" A Closer Look
Soquel Merchants and Residents Complain about Increase in Crime, Lack of Parking, Speeding Cars, Homeless Encampments and Other Issues
By Supervisor Jan Beautz
I held a community meeting in Soquel this past week, having heard quite a bit of concern from people who are worried about such things as development, traffic and crime â€" diverse issues and obviously large issues. Sheriff Steve Robbins also attended the meeting so that he could hear firsthand the problems that residents are having regarding crime in our neighborhoods.
We began the meeting discussing the issue of crime. People were especially concerned about the increase in break-ins and vandalism in the Village itself. In addition to actual break-ins, people are concerned about such things as graffiti enforcement, abandoned vehicles, too much drinking late at night in the Village, high school students causing disruption in the Village during their lunch hour, speeding vehicles, homeless encampments, property crimes in residential areas, weed abatement, and mail theft.
Some of these issues are actually handled by other agencies. For instance, weed abatement is under the jurisdiction of the Central Fire District. Central Fire Chief Bruce Clark attended the meeting and indicated that people should get in touch with him if they have concerns about weed abatement.
With regard to concerns involving high school students, while these issues are within the jurisdiction of the Sheriff â€" and indeed there is a Sheriff’s Deputy stationed at Soquel High School â€" it is also important to make the officials of the school district aware of any concerns that may be associated with student activity during school hours.
Although speeding and traffic concerns in the unincorporated area are generally under the jurisdiction of the California Highway Patrol, in certain situations the Sheriff can also address these problems.
There is also a graffiti enforcement program that can be reached directly by calling the Graffiti Hotline at 831-427-0462.
Extra Patrols Deployed in Soquel
With regard to crime, the Sheriff has been allocating extra manpower â€" which is in short supply at this time due to numerous vacancies in patrol positions â€" in an effort to get a handle on exactly what is happening in the Village and surrounding residential areas. His department will do a security assessment for businesses at the request of an interested business owner.
Also, if you see signs of vandalism and damage, it is important to let the Sheriff’s Office know. Oftentimes people become frustrated or feel reluctant to call repeatedly, but that is actually the only way that the Department knows where repeated problems occur, which in turn helps them know how best to respond.
There was also talk of a phone tree so that citizens can participate when things happen and get everyone involved quickly to help solve problems. The Sheriff’s Office will also hold Neighborhood Watch meetings, which have proven over time to be quite effective if neighborhoods are interested in that service.
Discussion also took place concerning the recent increase in methamphetamine use. There seems to be a very high correlation with some of these other problems and that particular type of drug use.
If you would like to discuss any of the crime-related issues identified above, or any others, please contact Sgt. Todd Liberty at the Live Oak Sheriff’s Service Center at 831-464-6230, or Sheriff Steve Robbins at 831-454-2414.
Developments Ahead in Soquel
A variety of interest was expressed during the land use and traffic portions of the meeting.
I reviewed some of the major new developments that are coming to Soquel, including those that are still in the planning stages so people can be aware of what might be happening in their neighborhoods. We also talked about the issues on 41st Avenue regarding Home Depot and other possible plans for commercial development.
I feel people are concerned that they need to know ahead of time what will be happening rather than just read about these projects in the newspaper a day or two before a public hearing. In an effort to ensure adequate public notice, the County is looking at three specific areas which we believe will be of help.
The first two are policies the Board of Supervisors has been considering for well over a year but that were delayed because they had to be reviewed by the Coastal Commission and could not become finalized until that review was complete.
One improvement will involve putting better signs at the location of projects that are under consideration, rather than a tiny sign that can easily get knocked down almost as soon as it gets put up. One of the main complaints about the whole Safeway/Home Depot project was that there wasn’t enough notice.
People knew a development was proposed but really didn’t understand exactly what the development entailed. I believe this change will be a significant help.
The second issue concerns projects that are large enough to go to the Planning Commission and the Board of Supervisors for review. In these instances, the developer will be required to hold a community meeting at the beginning of the process, which is seen as a benefit for all involved. A community meeting will ensure that the neighbors get to know about the proposed development early on and the developer gets to know what issues are of concern to area residents before going too far in the process, both in terms of time and money.
The third solution that we anticipate will be of help is that there is a group of residents within the Soquel community that would like to form an ongoing community group to look at these issues and respond to them as they come up. This group would like others to work with them and have asked people to get in touch with them if they’re interested in getting involved. I would urge concerned area residents to take advantage of this opportunity. It’s very important to know what’s going on and to comment and attend meetings. It’s much easier for my office to ensure that residents know about items under consideration if there is a centralized group of people who can then further spread the word regarding what’s happening here at the County.
While there were groups such as this in the past, they have dissolved over time. Therefore, it would be good to see that function restored. If you’re interested, please call my office at 831-454-2200.
Too Much Growth Remains a Concern
I also made people aware of what is going on with the Housing Element, which is the mandate that the State puts on local government as far as housing. There seems to be great concern and definite resistance towards the County having to build the number of units that the State is mandating. It would create very high density, three-story buildings, likely with insufficient parking and zero open space.
I personally find it very inappropriate for the State to force the County to put this kind of development in our neighborhoods. Suffice it to say, for the most part neighborhoods agree and were certainly not supportive of this type of development at this meeting.
People are very concerned that we will be covering up everything in concrete and there doesn’t seem to be a mandate to preserve our natural open spaces. We don’t have enough of things like water to create these high density projects.
There will be a public hearing at the Board of Supervisors regarding Housing Element issues on May 23. The meeting starts at 9 a.m. If you would like further information as to what will be discussed and where this item will be placed on the agenda, you can call my office on or after May 18 at 831-454-2200.
Lastly, there is great concern about traffic and speeding in Soquel Village. Given the fact that Soquel Drive runs parallel to Highway 1, which is very impacted during certain hours of the day, it’s somewhat predictable that drivers will head to Soquel Drive because they feel it will allow them to move through traffic faster.
We will continue to work with the businesses and residents in Soquel to see if there is some way to deal with this issue, although it is very difficult. Unfortunately, there just aren’t any easy answers. One thing that may help is that as part of the Home Depot project, there are some fairly extensive improvements being made to 41st Avenue. If that road opens up and performs better, there should be less cut-through traffic on Soquel Drive.
If you would like additional information on these issues, please feel free to contact my office at 831-454-2200, or you can send e-mail to jan.beautz@co.santa-cruz.ca.us.
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