The Santa Cruz City Council has a full agenda for today's 3 p.m. public session, but only one item on the agenda for the 7 p.m. session.
Items of interest on the agenda for the first session include:
A public hearing will make official the final adoption of three environmental ordinances: Single-use bag reduction for the city of Santa Cruz, environmentally acceptable packaging and products, and requiring electronic waste to be delivered to certified recyclers.
-A resolution requesting the placement of a ballot measure for the November 2012 Municipal Election. The current tax rate sits at 10 percent, and the city has proposed increasing the rate to 12 percent, a jump that would bring . This proposal faces strong opposition from hotel owners.
-A resolution will examine the results of a petition to require voter approval for desalination projects.
-A resolution will order a November election for the four council seats to be vacated by Beiers, Coonerty, Madrigal, and Mayor Lane—Lane and Beiers are eligible for re-election.
-A motion authorizing the city of Santa Cruz to co-sponsor the Dia De Los Muertos Halloween Parade of Seabright. The Seabright parade is a tradition that dates back over 69 years. After the dissolution of the East Side Business Association, the sponsorship of the parade has continued with Gault Street Elementary School and several local independent businesses. The help of the city would help sustain the parade as a "positive community building effort" according to the Agenda Report.
-A motion to direct staff to research and evaluate policy options for security deposits paid to landlords on residential rental properties. The current ordinance requires landlords to pay their tenants any "earned fiscal interest" on the initial security deposit, either annually or at the time of vacating. The staff will be directed to evaluate options to alleviate the burden of this process for landlords.
-Motion to authorize the City Manager to increase the requested grant amount from the Economic Development Administration, U.S. Department of Commerce, for funding for the Santa Cruz Municipal Wharf from the Economic Adjustment Assistance program. The motion requests an increase from $500,000 to $850,000.
-A pending contract with Nor-Cal Pipeline Services of Yuba City will be discussed to flush the sewer lines in what the city calls the San Lorenzo River Sanitary Sewer Siphon Project. The contract amount is for $199,385 for 2013. The process, which involves a heavy duty "Sewer Hog Sk100" will remove sediment and sewage from the bottom of the siphons, last done six years ago. Nor-Cal has proposed to video the "Seabright Sewer Tunnel."
The 7 p.m. agenda will discuss the multi-family condominium co-housing project which consists of a three-story building above basement parking at 148 Walnut Avenue.
