Environmental Review/CEQA
Notice of Availability of Draft Environmental Impact Report (EIR)
Project Title: 307 Chestnut Street Residence
Project Location/Address: 307 Chestnut Street (APN 006-502-11)
Project Description: The proposed project consists of a Residential Demolition Authorization Permit, Design Permit and Heritage Tree Removal Permit to demolish an existing single-family dwelling, construct a new single-family dwelling unit and remove two heritage-sized trees on a parcel located within the Santa Cruz Downtown Historic District. The proposed new dwelling unit would contain a total of eight bedrooms and three bathrooms within a two-story structure with an approximate total floor area of 2,002 square feet. The new dwelling unit would be located generally within the footprint of the existing dwelling being demolished. An adjacent single-family residential structure that is located on the project site would remain in place and would not be demolished, modified, or otherwise affected by the proposed development.
Public Review Period: September 2, 2026 through October 16, 2026
Comments on the Draft EIR should be submitted in writing or emailed to Rina Zhou at the address below by 5:00 PM on October 16, 2026.
Lead Agency: City of Santa Cruz
Department/Division: Community Development Department
Address: 809 Center Street, Room 101, Santa Cruz, CA 95060
Contact Person: Rina Zhou, Senior Planner
Phone: (831) 420-5104
Email: rzhou@santacruzca.gov
Address Where Copy of Draft EIR is Available: A printed copy of the Draft EIR may be reviewed at the Community Development Department located at 809 Center Street, Room 101 from 7:30 to 11:30 AM, Monday through Thursday.
The Draft EIR is available for review on the City’s website at: https://www.santacruzca.gov/ceqa
For additional information, contact Rina Zhou at the Community Development Department at (831) 420-5104 or at rzhou@santacruzca.gov.
Previous Public Review Period
Notice of Intent to Adopt a Mitigated Negative Declaration
The Administrator of Environmental Quality of the City of Santa Cruz is preparing to issue a Mitigated Negative Declaration of environmental impact for the following proposed project:
Project: 810 3rd Street Site Improvements
Application No: CP24-0130
Project Location: 810 3rd Street City of Santa Cruz
Project Applicant: Christian Nielsen, 1509 Seabright Ave, Santa Cruz, CA 95062
Project Description: The project consists of a Coastal Permit, Administrative Use Permit, and Design Permit to modify an existing parking lot to provide a total of 25 parking spaces, to construct a laundry room addition, conduct utility trenching, and to install a fence on a property with an existing motel use within the boundaries of the Beach South of Laurel Area Plan. The site contains known archaeological resources. The site is not included on a list of hazardous materials sites compiled pursuant to Government Code Section 65962.5.
Significant Effects on the Environment: Cultural Resources (archaeological resources).
The Administrator of Environmental Quality of the City of Santa Cruz has reviewed the proposed project and has determined that the project, with mitigation measures as conditions of project approval, will not have a significant effect on the environment.
Public Review Period: July 28, 2026 through August 26, 2026
- 810 3rd Street - Mitigated Negative Declaration(PDF, 67KB)
- 810 3rd Street - Initial Study(PDF, 2MB)
- The copy of the Mitigated Negative Declaration and Initial Study document may be reviewed on the City’s website at https://www.santacruzca.gov/Government/City-Departments/Community-Development/Current-Planning/Environmental-ReviewCEQA or may be reviewed at 809 Center Street, Room 101, from Monday through Thursday from 7:30 AM to 11:30 AM (except Holidays).
- Comments on the Mitigated Negative Declaration should be submitted in writing or emailed to Rina Zhou at the address below until 5 PM on August 26, 2026.
Contact Person:
- Rina Zhou, Senior Planner, RPP, MCIP
- City of Santa Cruz Community Development Department, 809 Center Street, Room 101, Santa Cruz, CA 95060
- Phone: (831) 420-5104
- Email: rzhou@santacruzca.gov
Notice of Preparation of an Environmental Impact Report: 307 Chestnut Street Residence
The City of Santa Cruz, as the lead agency, is preparing an Environmental Impact Report (EIR) on the project described herein. Please respond with written comments regarding the scope and the content of the EIR as it may relate to your agency's area of statutory responsibility or your areas of concern or expertise. Your agency may need to use the EIR prepared by our agency when considering your permit or other approval for the project, if any is required. Responses are due within 30 days of the receipt of this Notice, as provided by State law. The contact person's name and address are listed below. Please include the name and phone number of a contact person at your agency in your response.
Project Location: As shown in Figure 1 Project Location, the approximate 6,250-square-foot project site is located at 307 Chestnut Street (APN 006-502-11) in the City of Santa Cruz.
Project Description: The proposed project consists of a Residential Demolition Authorization Permit, Design Permit and Heritage Tree Removal Permit to demolish an existing single-family dwelling, construct a new single-family dwelling unit and remove two heritage-sized trees on a parcel located within the Santa Cruz Downtown Historic District. The project proposes demolition of an existing single‑family residential structure on a parcel containing two existing structures and construction of a new two‑story single‑family residential structure. The proposed new dwelling unit would contain a total of eight bedrooms and three bathrooms within a two-story structure with an approximate total floor area of 2,002 square feet. The new dwelling unit would be located generally within the footprint of the existing dwelling being demolished. An adjacent single‑family residential structure that is located on the project site would remain in place and would not be demolished, modified, or otherwise affected by the proposed development. This existing residence would continue to function independently from the proposed project.
Project Applicant: Peter Cook
Probable Environmental Effects of the Project: After completing a preliminary review of the project, as described in Section 15060 of the CEQA Guidelines, and preparing an Initial Study for the project, the City has determined that an EIR should be prepared to assess the potentially significant environmental impacts of this project. The City has identified the following possible effects of the project as topics for analysis in the EIR. No other potentially significant impacts were identified based on the reviews in the Initial Study.
- Cultural Resources – Potential impacts to historical resources will be evaluated.
- Required EIR Sections – Unavoidable impacts, growth inducement, cumulative impacts and project alternatives.
The City will consider the written comments received in response to this Notice of Preparation in determining whether any additional topics should be studied in the Draft EIR.
Initial Study:
Contact Person:
- Rina Zhou, Senior Planner, RPP, MCIP
- City of Santa Cruz Community Development Department, 809 Center Street, Room 101, Santa Cruz, CA 95060
- Phone: (831) 420-5104
- Email: rzhou@santacruzca.gov
Responses to this Notice of Preparation are due by July 31, 2026.
Downtown Plan Expansion
Pursuant to the requirements of the California Environmental Quality Act (CEQA), an Environmental Impact Report (EIR) has been prepared to disclose and assess environmental impacts potentially generated by the proposed project.
The Notice of Availability (NOA) announces that a Final EIR has been prepared and is available for public review. The City Council considered this report as part of a public hearing in May 2025.
The NOA and both the Draft and Final EIR, including responses to public comments, can be found below.
For questions please contact Matthew VanHua at mvanhua@santacruzca.gov.
California Environmental Quality Act (CEQA)
The California Environmental Quality Act requires local and state governments to consider the potential environmental effects of a project before deciding whether to approve it. CEQA's purpose is to disclose the potential impacts of a project, suggest methods to minimize those impacts, and discuss alternatives to the project so that decision-makers will have full information upon which to base their decision. Types of CEQA documents and categories include:
- Initial Study (IS): An analysis of a project's potential environmental effects and their relative significance. An initial study is preliminary to deciding whether to prepare a negative declaration or an EIR.
- Exempt: Article 19 of CEQA outlines certain classes of projects that do not have a significant effect on the environment and are therefore declared categorically exempt from having to prepare environmental documents.
- Negative Declaration/Mitigated Negative Declaration (ND/MND): When a project is not exempt from CEQA and will not have a significant adverse effect on the environment a negative declaration must be prepared. The negative declaration is an informational document that describes the reasons why the project will not have a significant effect and proposes measures to completely mitigate or avoid any possible effects.
- Environmental Impact Report (EIR): A detailed review of a proposed project, its potential adverse impacts on the environment, measures that may avoid or reduce those impacts, and alternatives to the project.
Archived CEQA Documents
Projects
This page contains environmental documents related to project applications or planning documents processed by the Community Development Department and does not contain documents administered by other City departments.