The Santa Cruz City Planning Commission on Nov. 20 approved a coastal permit to continue parking restrictions that support the city's street‑sweeping operations in the Natural Bridges coastal area, voting to formalize a pilot program as a permanent permit.

City senior planner Tim Mayer told the commission the permit would extend restrictions first enacted as a one‑year pilot and cited federal and state regulatory reasons for the program, including the Clean Water Act and the city's MS4 (municipal separate storm sewer) obligations. "The proposed actions remain statutorily exempt from environmental review under CEQA Article 19," Mayer said, and staff recommended the commission recognize that determination and approve the project subject to conditions in Exhibit A of the staff report.

Public Works staff reported data the commission found central to the decision. Eric Tawken, an associate planner with Public Works, said the one‑time cost to implement the pilot was about $50,000 for signs and installation and that, between March and October 2025, the program recorded 574 warnings and 573 citations (the record cites a base fee of $48) and removed more than 121 tons of trash and debris. "We've been finding that there's almost zero trash in these gutters after this enhanced street sweep," Tawken said, summarizing visual assessments taken after each sweep.

Commissioners pressed staff on enforcement and equity questions. Commissioner McKelvey voiced concern that towing and citations could disproportionately burden people living in vehicles or low‑income residents and proposed an amendment to remove towing as an enforcement tool. Staff said warnings were used first during the pilot and that towing had not been used to date; towing was described as a last‑resort escalation when vehicles prevent effective sweeping. "We haven't done any towing to date," Tawken said, adding that towing exists in the ordinance as a possible enforcement measure but that the program has relied primarily on warnings and citations.

After debating whether conditions could require warnings or a citation threshold before towing, an unidentified commissioner moved to adopt the staff recommendation to approve the coastal permit (as presented) and the motion was seconded. On a roll call vote, Commissioners Gordon, Kelly and Kennedy voted yes; Commissioner McKelvey voted no. The motion passed with one dissent.

The permit applies to routes shown in the staff materials, including Delaware Avenue, Natural Bridges Drive, Swanton Boulevard and Mission Street, and limits enforcement to early‑morning hours used during the pilot (5–7 a.m.). Staff noted any substantive expansion beyond the approved permit would typically require additional coastal permitting and coordination with the California Coastal Commission. The staff report and conditions in Exhibit A outline the operational details, enforcement approach and the environmental determination the commission recognized.

The commission also received staff updates on other planning matters, including recent council actions on an anti‑displacement package and the LCP beaches and bluffs hazards adaptation chapter, and was briefed on tentative December agenda items related to affordable housing overlays and ADU ordinance updates. The meeting was adjourned after the reports.