The Santa Cruz County Planning Department has proposed a set of regulatory changes to the County Code that the Department says is intended to streamline the planning process. These proposed changes are lengthy and complex. If they are adopted, a rural single-family house on a 1+ acre lot could have a total of four dwellings without addressing septic system capacity, traffic, or water use.

At its December meeting, the Supervisors voted 3-2 delay action to the February 26 Board meeting. The Sierra Club has requested an EIR assessing the impacts of the proposed changes. Our next issue will have a more detailed article.