Board approves outside hearing officer and signals stronger enforcement for code violations

Santa Cruz County supervisors voted April 15 to authorize contract terms that will allow the county to use an outside independent hearing officer to adjudicate more serious zoning and civil-code matters. Staff said the move is intended to increase transparency, reduce internal resource strain and deliver more consistent enforcement across the county.

Planning/enforcement staff described two enforcement pathways: a civil route that leads to a hearing officer and a criminal pathway for more serious violations. County staff said many persistent complaints revolve around water, affordable housing pressures, construction activity and trash mitigation, particularly in the Rio Rico area. "We recognize that the current standards... we're gonna take steps as we revise things to address that," staff said.

Staff recommended reserving the outside hearing officer for more egregious cases to build public trust and free internal department heads from conducting hearings. "We felt and we have a few more serious cases that we felt it'd be appropriate to have, actually, an independent hearing officer that was outside the county," staff explained.

A public commenter, Dr. Bronny Tetra, described recurring early-morning construction activity and on-going trash problems in Rio Rico and urged more enforcement.

The board moved and approved the contract terms; the motion carried by voice vote. Board members praised the shift toward a more proactive approach and asked staff to report back on implementation and expected hearing cadence. Staff said they expect an initial uptick in hearings as compliance improves, but that use of an external hearing officer would primarily address higher-profile cases.