Capitola council reviews draft strategic plan, votes to release it for two-week public review

CAPITOLA, Calif. — The Capitola City Council on Feb. 4 reviewed a draft five-year strategic plan and voted unanimously to release the document for public review, the council decided at the end of a multi-hour workshop.

Consultants and city staff presented proposed mission and vision statements, six draft value statements and six strategic priorities — sustainable infrastructure; community safety; attainable housing; economic opportunity; healthy families, community and environment; and accountable government — then walked the council through specific objectives under each priority. After edits and clarifying discussion, the council authorized staff to post the revised draft for public comment and outreach for about two weeks using Social Pinpoint and a citywide mailer before it returns to the council for possible adoption in March 2025.

Why it matters: The plan is intended to be a five-year “north star” to guide policy choices and budget priorities across city departments. Staff and the consultants emphasized the plan will include a later implementation schedule with measurable performance targets and an action spreadsheet for monitoring progress.

What the council considered: Consultant Maddie, who led the presentation, described the plan as “a living document” that should guide decision-making while remaining adaptable to changing circumstances. City staff summarized outreach to date: in the plan development phase the project used in-person forums, targeted stakeholder interviews, employee focus groups and an online engagement portal; more than 1,900 people visited the engagement site during development and roughly 250 people completed surveys (about 28% of those respondents reported living outside Capitola). Council members and staff discussed wording changes to the draft mission and vision statements, whether to emphasize “coastal” identity, and how to treat terms such as “accessible” versus “inclusive.” They also suggested edits to objectives across priorities — for example, specifying sidewalks and ADA transition work under infrastructure and adding goals linking housing strategies to infrastructure, and calling for targeted police education and enforcement pilot work around e-bike safety.

Public outreach and next steps: Staff said the public-review release would include a postcard mailed to every resident with a QR code linking to the Social Pinpoint page, paid social-media outreach and a summary page on the city website that links to the project history (including Vision Capitola and previous outreach). Staff recommended a two‑week community review window so consultants could analyze results and present an updated draft for a March adoption hearing. The implementation plan — an item staff described as an Excel action matrix that lists responsible departments, estimated resources and performance measures — will follow adoption.

Formal action: Councilmember Johnson moved to authorize staff to release the draft strategic plan for public review; a second was noted and the motion passed unanimously. Councilmembers present at roll call were Jensen, Orbach, Morgan, Vice Mayor Peterson and Mayor Clark.

Costs and schedule: Council staff earlier allocated $50,000 in the FY 2023–24 budget for the strategic-plan project. Staff said the public-review period would run roughly two weeks, and full council adoption is projected in March 2025. Consultants said Social Pinpoint and the planned mailer would show engagement history and permit respondents to comment on the revised draft and suggest word changes.

Council and staff concerns recorded in the workshop included how to measure outreach success (consultants said the online portal had broad reach but that completed survey counts are not statistically representative), the balance between economic development and preserving Capitola’s “charm,” and how the plan’s objectives intersect with existing plans (for example, active transportation, climate action and hazard mitigation). Staff and several council members urged clear performance measures and easier public-facing presentation of budget and progress information on the city website.

What was not decided: The council did not adopt the plan at the Feb. 4 meeting; it approved release for public review. The council also did not set further binding policy changes this session — most edits will be incorporated into the draft and returned to the council after the community review.

Ending note: Staff will return to the council in March with community-review findings and an updated draft for potential adoption, along with a proposed implementation schedule and monitoring metrics.