Cheers to Success at the 10/10 City Council Meeting!
October 11, 2017
We headed to the City Council meeting on October 10th with two major goals: 1) ask the City Council approve the Draft Parks Master Plan 2030, and 2) request that the trails assessment project be added as a priority in the Action Plan. The meeting adjourned with both of these goals realized, which is a huge win for all trail users in Santa Cruz, getting us one step closer to increased legal mountain bike trail access. That deserves a major cheers to success!
Here’s how it all went down, and what this really means:
The main purpose of this meeting was for the City Council to approve the Draft Parks Master Plan 2030. For some quick background, we’ve been involved in the Master Plan process from the beginning with the hopes of gaining more mountain bike access in city parks. We originally aimed high with specific trail plans, but through a contentious public review process, the specific trail plans were replaced with a framework to reevaluate trail access, calling out mountain bike access as a specific use to be planned for. We were pleased with this outcome because it is a definite step towards bringing more mountain bike access to Santa Cruz.
However, there was a catch. In addition to the Draft Parks Master Plan 2030, another document was created called the Action Plan. The Action Plan listed specific projects that were to be considered a priority over everything else in the Master Plan—and the trails assessment was not included in the Action Plan. That’s what we wanted to change.
The City Council meeting on October 10th began with a presentation of the Draft Parks Master Plan 2030 to the City Council by Noah Downing, a planner with the Parks and Recreation Department. After his presentation, the floor was opened for public comment, and two organizations were granted extra speaking time: Friends of the Pogonip and Mountain Bikers of Santa Cruz.
Peter and Celia Scot with Friends of the Pogonip were first to speak, and they continued to emphasize that they are against more mountain bike trails in Pogonip.
Next up was our very own Matt DeYoung, who presented some recent MBOSC projects to demonstrate our hard work towards the creation of sustainable trails, and concluded by asking that the trails assessment be included as a priority in the Action Plan.
From there the public was allowed to speak, and we were once again overwhelmed by the mountain bike community as nearly 30 people stood-up to eloquently speak in favor of legal mountain bike access, echoing Matt’s request to prioritize the trails assessment project. Many of the comments focused on the fact that trails provide healthy recreational opportunities for children, and that mountain bikers are passionate about the environment. The public comment period was such a wonderful demonstration of how thoughtful, positive, intelligent, and considerate the mountain bike community is. Thank you to everybody who was there to show support!
Once public comment wrapped up, the City Council began their deliberations prior to voting. In these deliberations, Council Member Martine Watkins made a strong statement in support of mountain biking, asking that a motion be made to include the trails assessment in the Action Plan. We were on the edge of seats with excitement.
Then it was time for voting…
The Draft Parks Master Plan 2030 was unanimously approved with a 7-0 vote, and the motion to include the trails assessment in the Action Plan was approved with a 5-2 vote. Success! We are extending our gratitude and appreciation to the Council Members who voted in support of this motion, including Cynthia Mathews, Martine Watkins, Richelle Noroyan, Vice Mayor David Terrazas, and Mayor Cynthia Chase.
What now?
The Draft Parks Master Plan 2030 now goes through the environmental review process in preparation for final review and approvals. As Mayor Chase stated in summary, the Council has “approved a first step of implementation” of the plan. We are thrilled that the trails assessment was added to the Action Plan, and we are looking forward to the future of mountain biking in the City of Santa Cruz.
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