190 West Cliff Drive

Urban Planning Partners managed community outreach efforts for a proposed mixed-use development in Santa Cruz. The project will bring new residential, retail, and recreational uses to a site adjacent to the Dream Inn hotel near the Santa Cruz beachfront. The project presents a unique set of challenges, including a history of public controversy over proposed development on the site and a site-specific zoning overlay.

UPP led a public workshop attended by almost 150 local stakeholders to collect feedback on the proposed development. This workshop served as a forum for the Ensemble team to introduce the project and receive feedback from the community as well as to begin to build relationships with interested parties who may support or oppose the project. The feedback provided insight into existing public perceptions of and ideas for improving the Cliff and Bay area. UPP designed an interactive meeting format to solicit constructive feedback on preferred architectural styles, landscaping, circulation, and proposed and potential land uses.

Urban Planning Partners also assisted the development team with research into the development and entitlement history of the site, review and analysis of proposal iterations to ensure zoning and land use compliance, determination of the required level of CEQA, and entitlement application submittals.

Project Stats

• 89 units, 11 of which are dedicated affordable units

• Almost 150 public workshop attendees

Why We Liked This Project: We got to work in an amazing location that also has a huge housing shortage. It was challenging but rewarding to work directly with the community to correct perceived impacts of the proposed development on the existing neighborhood. We especially enjoyed seeing the community’s input reflected in subsequent iterations of the project plans and look forward to the redevelopment of this underutilized parcel.