SANTA CRUZ – The City Council approved a three-year strategic plan Tuesday evening that outlines the city’s goals for economic development, environmental protection and public safety.
The plan did not represent approval for any specific initiatives not yet passed by the council, such as a proposed seawater desalination plant or certain roadway expansion projects. But it did reaffirm more than 30 individual goals, including pursuit of new water supply options, infrastructure improvements, the creation of more youth activities and attraction or retention of 200 jobs.
Councilman Tony Madrigal, who works with union members in the Central Valley, dissented to a goal that the city pursues labor negotiations based on principles approved last year. He previously voted against those principles, which urge pension reform and state that city salaries exceed those in the private sector.
“I still disagree,” he said.
During the council’s afternoon session, Robert Norse, who has filed a First Amendment lawsuit over being ejected from a 2002 council meeting after making a mock Nazi salute, said he would forgo any financial settlement with the city if the council agrees to repeal a ban that bars people from sleeping outside in public overnight.
Mayor Ryan Coonerty said the city is unlikely to roll back the camping ban, which supporters see as a vital tool for changing Santa Cruz’s image as a haven for transients.
“For me, that is a nonstarter,” Coonerty said. “I would be extremely hesitant to overturn what I think is a strong community sentiment just to save money on a lawsuit.”
However, unless a settlement is reached with Norse, the city will ask the U.S. Supreme Court to hear an appeal of a lower court’s decision in December to allow Norse’s case to go to trial. The city has hired a Washington-area lawyer familiar with Supreme Court procedures to handle the case, which has garnered national media attention.
In other business, council members approved a request from City Manager Martin Bernal to hire with a consultant at a cost of $50,000 to $90,000 to find $2 million to $3 million in savings for next year’s budget. Police officers, firefighters and some other labor groups have agreed to compensation savings, but the city still faces a projected gap of $2.7 million that Bernal said the city needs a third party to tackle.
Also Tuesday, the council renewed a special property tax assessment totaling $154,000 annually to fund the downtown hospitality program and First Alarm security guards who handle low-level nuisances, including aggressive panhandling and smoking.
