The Santa Cruz County Board of Supervisors approved six proposed focus areas for a new Strategic Plan covering the next six years, drawing on countywide surveys and 18 community focus groups conducted as part of the planning process.

County Executive Officer Nicole Coburn and members of the plan design team presented engagement results showing residents prioritized housing, economic and transportation concerns. Bella Bonner, who led community engagement for the design team, summarized disaggregated survey results and focus-group findings: renters and younger residents ranked housing and health as top priorities; San Lorenzo Valley residents flagged natural-environment concerns; BIPOC-focused focus groups emphasized cultural safety, economic barriers and transportation limits to accessing parks and ocean resources.

Sven Stafford said staff would use the approved focus areas to draft measurable results, indicators and alignment with existing county plans (for example the climate action and adaptation plan, local hazard mitigation plan and regional housing needs assessment). The proposed lenses are health-in-all-policies, equity and fiscal stewardship; staff said operational excellence would be applied as a foundational lens.

Supervisor Koenig cast the sole no vote, saying the new structure combined housing and infrastructure in ways that could obscure operational differences and reduce clarity. Other supervisors supported the focus areas and asked staff to refine definitions and ensure the plan remains responsive and flexible to emergent needs.

The board will hold a retreat in January to validate and prioritize draft indicators; staff will also conduct community roadshows to test the results and finalize the strategic plan framework.

The board's action was procedural: it approved the focus areas so staff can proceed to develop results, indicators and an implementation framework for subsequent board review.