Meeting

2020/March

From ActCoastal

Year 2020
Month March
Location Santa Cruz
Description The Coastal Commission’s March hearing took place in Santa Cruz at the Hilton Scotts Valley on Wednesday, March 11 through Friday, March 13. The meeting agenda was a little lighter than usual and resulted in one vote chart - the Santa Cruz Beach Management Plan. The City of Santa Cruz also presented the state of their sea level rise planning efforts in an informational presentation. Please also see this important message from the Coastal Commission Chair about the March meeting with an important coronavirus update.

Issues voted on at this Meeting

Click on an issue to read full description


Issue Summary Outcome
Santa Cruz Beach Curfew The City of Santa Cruz sought, as part of its beach management plan, a curfew at its Main Beach from midnight to 5 a.m. The adjacent beach, Cowell’s, already has a similar curfew, which the City asked to continue.

In its application, the City listed “narcotic use, alcohol consumption and abuse, littering and trash, fires, water quality, camping, vendor storage and drug paraphernalia” as the reasons this curfew is necessary. Since most of what was listed is already illegal, opponents to the curfew argued that disallowing people on the beach would criminalize sleeping, sitting, generally hanging out and otherwise merely existing on the beach outside of the wet sand. (The curfew would exempt the wet sand in order to allow for surfing, swimming and walking along water’s edge.)

The City of Santa Cruz also stated that despite the nighttime access restriction on Cowell Beach, “criminal activity has been persistent and ongoing during the nighttime hours at Cowell Beach.” The City notes that the police department is too understaffed to effectively patrol the beach for existing crime, all of which raised the question of how the police will have enough staffing to enforce an extended curfew.

Commissioners approved the curfew in a split vote.

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Vote Chart for this Meeting

Coastal Commission Vote Chart

March 2020 Meeting


Green Dot.png = Positive Conservation Vote         Red Dot.png = Negative Conservation Vote

Commissioner Santa Cruz Beach Curfew
CaroleGroom 2012.jpg Carole Groom Bad Vote
Nl12c hart.jpg Caryl Hart Bad Vote
DBochco.jpg Dayna Bochco Bad Vote
Donne.gif Donne Brownsey Absent for Vote
EffieT-S.png Effie Turnbull-Sanders Good Vote by Alternate
Erik-280x300.png Erik Howell Good Vote
Rice.jpg Katie Rice Bad Vote
Escalante.jpg Linda Escalante Bad Vote by Alternate
Mikewilson.png Mike Wilson Good Vote
RU.jpg Roberto Uranga Good Vote
Saraa.jpg Sara Aminzadeh Bad Vote
200px-Steve Padilla1.jpg Steve Padilla Bad Vote