Dene Bustichi
The downturn in the nation’s economy has without a doubt hit Scotts Valley in many ways. While we are doing better than most municipalities when it comes to our budget, our businesses are hurting and people have less money to spend. We have seen an upturn in retail vacancies and a downturn in the retail sales tax income flowing into city coffers.
The economy is also hurting national retailers who, 14 months ago, were interested in expanding in Scotts Valley but are now closing stores and not expanding at all.
Stanbery, the Town Center developer in a predevelopment agreement with the city, asked for an extension in November 2008 and stopped work on its project as the economic downturn slowed retail growth, banks stopped lending money and retailers chose not to expand.
While this all sounds bad for the dream of a Town Center, the sky is not falling.
Back up for a minute — let’s talk about what the Town Center is.
The Town Center has been a dream of planners and residents two decades in the making. It will be a development of retail and mixed-use housing on about 14 acres of Skypark.
The retail component would be more than 100,000 square feet of small and medium-sized shops consisting of local and national clothiers, restaurants and other specialty stores. The residential component will consist of smaller units, condo-type living and affordable housing for our workforce and seniors.
There also will be a town green — a true center for gatherings, concerts, arts and hanging out with family and friends.
Finally, the new library will be worked into the mix to create the synergy needed for a true Town Center — not just another shopping center.
Most importantly, these are your ideas, provided through numerous town hall meetings and public hearings.
This project took shape with the completion
in October 2008 of the Scotts Valley Town Center specific plan.
Since that approval, many pieces of the puzzle have come together in terms of the property and property owners.
In 2008, we purchased the first parcel of land from the Van Kregten family. In early 2009, we purchased our second parcel of land from the Ow family. Most recently, we purchased the Scotts Valley Sports Center, which will become part of the Town Center as a new 13,000-square-foot library.
It is important to remember that the money for these purchases is restricted and is only available for these types of projects — under state law, it cannot be used for general fund needs.
Suburban Propane Gas Co. has leased a new site to relocate its distribution center and will move soon, and Amerigas is currently negotiating for a new site as well. These accomplishments were a key stumbling block in past Town Center attempts.
We now control all the key properties and necessary rights of way for the project.
But finally, can Stanbery perform and can retailers secure loans for expansion? Are retailers looking to expand?
The city is in a place where we are ready to move forward when the economy turns around. Stanbery, our developer, has a great track record. They are working on conceptual drawings and ideas to jump-start the Town Center.
Stanbery will come to the council with some of its ideas in October during a public meeting.
The library is also off and running. We are moving forward with the architecture and hope to start remodeling the Sports Center in January 2010.
So don’t give up on the Town Center. We certainly have not.
It’s best to move slowly and methodically
through all the ups and downs. While it’s important to bring new retail to Scotts Valley, it is equally important to protect and improve the well-being of businesses that are already in our community.
I would like to thank the members of the public for their patience and understanding as well as their input and support through this process. We hope all of you will continue to be involved. That is what will make the Town Center a true success.
Dene Bustichi serves on the Scotts Valley City Council.
An inviting conference center and park next to the Hilton.
Alfred Hitchcock museum with millions of visitors, dumping money in a town center.
Affordable housing for their friends and family. (Where there is mass is gravity. Locals will need to go back to school of head out of town.) Sorry old folks, you will have to leave too, your trailer parks will be worth too much, and you will be "Eminantly domained" for the good of the whole community, not just your need to have a place to live comfortably.
We should start all using the ramps in the north off of 17, especially during rush hour and give them a taste of what will no doubt become a permanent fixture to their aspirations.
Replacing Scotts valley's natural scenery that we live hear for with tacky urban development that we live here to get away from. We don't want to live next to a stupid Target store. We want to live next to beautiful fields and meadows. If you can't understand that then you probably never will.
What is the price of dignity? SLV just bought back their water supply. That's worth paying for. The easy solution on maintaining the same funding level and extending the current tax, is no big deal. Or would you like higher priced homes and low wage jobs?
Paul is doing a good challenging the city machinery. We all should.
Lets see...
1) Starting with offering to evict the residents for the trailer park by eminent domain, until it became clear it was a bad move during an election year.
2) Raming the relocation of the Propane companies down Lockhart Gulch, until they could go no further.
3) Added a "dog park", really it's a park with parking lot across the High School, and even took the time to poll the residents in Glenwood. 87% against. Did it matter ? nope. They want the dog park moved from the town center.
4) After having the public vote and reject a moving of the current fire station, they are pushing it ahead anyways. And of course they are trying to crown it with the traffic backed up on HWY 17. So That's complete gridlock. um, There's a reason no one wants to spend 5 million bucks on a station when all it eeds is a seismic retrofit. And with the addition of the town center and new housing on SV Drive, it's already perfectly placed in the center of town.
Between the recent boondoggle of SEIR, it's ironic that they think it will be their financial savior when it's their relatives and friends families-which will be squashed on 17 around that blind corner waiting to get into SV.
I could go on but why make it easy ?
And guess what, they are touting target will raise housing values, just in time for those below livable wage jobs. hum, I guess 10 target employees can get together and but a 650,000 home.
Or The City Council can build studios for $400,000...
it's sad but true.
So they won't need to evict the people who are living in the Trailer Park across from the "New " Town center, the property they live on will become so valuable, the rent increase will force most to move out of the city. Felton bound.
The trades. they supports the Council in that neck of the woods, and only when it's too late will they see what their loyalty is worth when they get a bad case Eminent Domain.
Maybe they should start to realize it's North SV, with a few swing areas in the south. This is already changing it's just a matter of time before the South SV realizes the Council is playing them like a violin to cram development and dollar stores down everyones neck.
I can hardly wait to see what a eye sore that dev will look like from 17, Ruining the an official Scenic Route corridor. Too bad they have no class.
That's what I think.
It's time for a recall.
I'd gladly pay 1/2 cents to keep our town from being ruined further by these developers.
"The Town Center has been a dream of planners and residents two decades in the making."
Not this resident.
"It will be a development of retail and mixed-use housing.."
Oh great, densely pack more people into this little town.
"The residential component will consist of smaller units, condo-type living and affordable housing for our workforce.."
In other words, Scotts Valley offers low wage jobs.
"...a true Town Center — not just another shopping center."
No, one with condos on top.
"That is what will make the Town Center a true success."
The Town Center will be a true disaster that will ruin this town even worse.
You're right, there's a limit to what any locality, especially a small one like ours, can do to impact the local economy. But what this Council has done regarding the Town Center shows that while local government's abilities in this area are relatively few, where they can be brought to bear, they can have a huge impact.
Previous Town Centers have stopped because of the presence of the propane companies, specifically the West Suburban property. West Suburban is now in the process of moving because of the Council's actions last year. Another hindrance was the difficulty in bringing the area property owners together to cooperate with a Town Center developer. This problem, too, has been largely eliminated in the last few years because of this Council's actions, and at least as much because Councilmembers Bustichi and Johnson are recognized by property owners as fair dealers and men of their word when negotiating on behalf of the city.
It's certainly fair game to debate whether these things this current Council has done were worthwhile endeavors, but saying these actions didn't materially change the equation on the likelihood of the Town Center happening just isn't serious. In fact, I'd call it a gross overestimation of the facts that you don't seem to want to aknowledge because they interfere with your constant anonymous attacks on this City Council.
Previous councils punted on amortizing the propane tanks, even though that would have solved this problem cost-free by now. I don't know why this is the case; maybe there were good reasons for doing so, but we haven't heard from those who were on the Council in the early to mid '90s on why they didn't take this action. Too bad.
Can you elaborate on why moving ahead so proactively with the library an error? The city and citizenry has been sacrificing financially for almost 20 for it, a decent sized fund has finally accumulated and great opportunity came up to locate the library where the Town Center will be at a fraction of the cost of building new. And if the city didn't move on this soon, it would have had to soon start paying approx. $8k in rent to the library system because of lack of progress on a new Scotts Valley per its agreements with the county from the '90s. What's not to like?
How is foreclosing on Title Two an error? Who cares if it resolves anything with the property. I think it's reason enough to say city foreclosed because the property owner is delinquent in hundreds of thousands of dollars in taxes and isn't even pretending seriously to try and work out a payment plan. The city's obligation to bondholders in the Gateway South Special Assessment District would be endangered if action wasn't taken at some point. Besides that, why exactly should the city apologize for collecting tax money owed to it by somebody with a history of being a serial tax deadbeat? Why do you think the city should be in the business of providing what is in effect a tax-free loan subsidized by the taxpayers?
Outside of your ad hominem attacks on the Council's "swagger" you have three complaints that are substantive -- Town Center, library, foreclosing on Title Two -- and on all counts you think the current Council is too action-oriented. Are you compensating for a relative lack of action not taken when you had the chance?
Can you elaborate on what exactly is the Council's "aggressive" behavior that has "fragmented" the town in the last three years? If you can't provide any substance, I guess it's just more name-calling. Kind of funny coming from somebody who wants more "friendly feelings" from city government.
Thinking that the town center project would happen because of actions taken by the city was a gross overestimation of their level of influence. Moving ahead so proactively with the library is another such error. Foreclosing on the Title Two property, thinking that would actually resolve anything with that property, was still another error in judgement.
We're a small town and we need to stop shoving our collective chest out there like we're a big player. We're not. And that's OK; nothing to be ashamed of. The aggressive council behavior over the past 3 years or so has done a lot more to fragment the town than to strengthen it. The council gambled on everything coming together, and it hasn't. So get back to basics -- govern the small town like a small town. Bring back the friendly feelings between the government and the governed.
We'll get through this. And when the time is right for these properties to develop, let the private sector take the lead. Regulate their activities so they pay their fair share for the opportunity to invest in SV. And if it doesn't happen during your term, live with it. Let the next council take 'the glory'; you can sleep well at night knowing that you were an effective steward during tougher times. Maybe your most important job at the helm is to minimize any long term damage due to hasty decisionmaking. Please don't try to double-down; instead, learn to live wisely in these times. We'll all appreciate it down the road.
Tax Hike Paul Bach wants to raise taxes and you can read it for yourself. go to the sentinel link to this story to read about what Tax Hike Paul Bach said Wednesday at the meeting
http://www.topix.net/forum/source/santa-cruz-sentinel/T6BPI88IDIJVF2TC3
where Bach beats up the city for not cutting enough out of one side of his mouth then begs the Council to raise taxes out of the other side of his mouth. Tax Hike Paul Bach's exact words are Renew Measure C the 1/2 cent sales tax increase.
You can also go to this Sentinel link here to read about what council man Cliff Barret called Bachs abusive behavior to city workers.
http://www.scsextra.com/story.php?sid=78222
At last the truth comes out no wonder he does not want Target he thinks taxes are too low and should be raised.