SANTA CRUZ – Discussions will go on Tuesday about a contentious proposal for a Blended-Use Downtown Library Challenge.

Santa Cruz Town Council will meet up with at 6 p.m. Tuesday via Zoom to discuss getting into into a deal of $240,000 with Griffin Buildings Inc. for Section 1 of the task.

The Combined-Use Downtown Library Challenge is component of the city’s try to generate additional cost-effective housing alternatives for Santa Cruz people. Council customers program to consolidate surface-amount parking tons to produce 50 new housing units downtown. These models will consist of 10 reasonable-income units, 20 low-revenue models and 20 really-reduced-income models.

Downtown Santa Cruz is predicted to drop 369 community parking areas, which is about 10% of what is presently obtainable, as new economical housing assignments proceed to arrive to fruition, according to the City Council Agenda.

Foreseeable future very affordable housing jobs are anticipated to shut as quite a few as 7 parking plenty around the future two a long time, in accordance to the Town Council Agenda. New housing will make an amplified demand from customers for parking downtown. The addition of a parking garage to the downtown library is an effort to limit the loss and maintain up with the long run desire for accessible parking in the spot.

Metropolis Council permitted the relocation of the downtown library into a combined-use facility on Sept. 11, 2018. The strategy was put on hold right until the council made a decision to go forward with the venture in a 4-2 vote on June 23. The new spot of the downtown library will be the parking whole lot at Cathcart and Cedar streets.

The Combined-Use Downtown Library Venture has been a divisive issue in Santa Cruz. Some citizens have expressed worries in excess of the job, as it will displace the neighborhood farmers marketplace and replaces it with a massive six-tale structure. Some others guidance the undertaking, citing the reasonably priced housing issue in the community.

Other concerns over in the group have been around funding. Local community customers anxious over how the town will fund the task following the council voted it by.

The town strategies to fund the job making use of Evaluate S cash and neighborhood fundraising for the library and parking district funds for the garage. Funding for housing is predicted to come from several earnings sources. Metropolis Council will use the City’s Reasonably priced Housing Have faith in Fund and hopes to consist of funding from the state or federal level, tax credits and loans.

Santa Cruz City Council will limit general public comment to one particular hour. Metropolis Council encourages members in the public forum to “avoid considerable and repeat comments” in buy to give the council time to deal with as a lot of concerns as doable.

People can check out the meeting at communitytv.org/view. The meeting is also out there at Comcast Channel 25.