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Santa Cruz County
Business Council:
2015 Annual Report
February 18th, 2016

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P.O. Box 1267 Freedom, CA 95019 (831) 515-2118 www.sccbusinesscouncil.com
Santa Cruz County Business Council Members:
2015 was a year of change. Change in executive directors, change in
engagement practices and a clear direction to be a part of the solutions for
our county. This annual report is a reflection of our past, our achievements
and the steps we take towards a more vibrant community.
The Business Council is a trusted voice of the business community and an
effective advocate for sustainable change. During the past two years, 2014-
2015, Peggy Dolgenos, our out-going Chair of the Business Council led us
through those changes while focusing on the critical issues facing our
county and the region - housing, transportation infrastructure, water
systems, and our educational system to name just a few. She has set a
positive tone for the council. Thank you Peggy for your leadership, your
uncanny and thoughtful approach. We deeply appreciate your leadership
and know you will continue as an active member of the Business Council in
the year ahead.
2016 will be a pivotal year. It is time to turn the corner on these issues and
really pave a path for a sustainable future. Our success in the past is due
largely to the personal commitment of our membership. To be thought
leaders seeking solutions we need to be actively engaged in the policy
making decisions process. In 2016, the Council will re-invest our energy in
the future of our region - one business at a time, one policy issue at time
and in a collective effort, we will make a positive difference.
Thank you for joining us in this process.
Sincerely,
Sid Slatter, President, Slatter Construction
Chair, SCCB
Casey Beyer, Executive Director
SCCBC
2015 Board of Directors
AT&T
Barry Swenson Builder
Bay Federal Credit Union
Comerica Bank
Cruzio Internet
Dominican Hospital
First Alarm
Graniterock
Grunsky Law
Hutchinson & Bloodgood
LLP
Lighthouse Bank
Marianne’s Ice Cream
Pajaro Dunes Company
Palo Alto Medical
Foundation
PG&E
Physicians Medical Group
of Santa Cruz County
Plantronics
Santa Cruz County
Association of Realtors
Santa Cruz County Bank
Santa Cruz Sentinel
Shadowbrook/The Crow’s
Nest
Slatter Construction
University of California,
Santa Cruz
Wells Fargo Commercial
Wells Fargo Insurance
Services

4.
MAJOR LEGISLATIVE ACHIEVEMENTS
Water Supply Advisory Commission Recommendation
After 18 months of education and deliberation the City of Santa Cruz Water Supply
Advisory Commission delivered a recommendation to the City Council in November of
2015 to address the City’s long term projected supply shortfall. The Recommendation
relies first on the preferred strategies of In Lieu Recharge, and Aquifer Storage and
Regeneration (ASR), but also contains the backup options of Recycled Water and
Desalination. The City Council formally adopted the recommendation, but elected to not
put the measure up for a City wide vote.
Business Council Board Member, and Current 2016 President Sid Slatter served on the
WSAC as the Business Council’s appointed representative. Sid, in working other
commissioners, was instrumental in ensuring that a supplemental supply option be
included in the final recommendation, and that there be appropriate “triggers” in place to
guarantee that the City has an adequate and reliable water supply plan should the
preferred alternative options fail to work.
Business Council staff, in addition to providing support to sympathetic WSAC members,
also spoke in favor of the recommendation at public meetings, wrote letters supporting
the commission’s efforts, and even adopted a formal stance to support their final
recommendation.
Regional Transportation Commission Expenditure Plan
In December of 2015 the Santa Cruz County Regional Transportation Commission
formally voted to adopt an expenditure plan for the likely 2016 Transportation Ballot
Measure, which would increase the County-wide sales tax by a half cent to fund local
transportation projects. The expenditure plan outlines five core project areas:
Neighborhood Projects, Highway Corridors, Mobility Access, Rail Corridor, and Coastal
Rail Trail.
The Santa Cruz County Business Council has taken an active role in helping to move a
potential measure toward the ballot. SCCBC members have contributed money for
polling of likely voters, provided extensive input to RTC staff and board members, and
have spoken in favor of the measure at public meetings. SCCBC members and staff
have also engaged in critical discussions with other organizations likely to support the
measure, including Friends of the Rail & Trail, the Land Trust of Santa Cruz County, and
the Santa Cruz Area Chamber of Commerce; in an effort to build a broad coalition of
business and environmental interests.
Annual Report 2015

5.
MAJOR LEGISLATIVE ACHIEVEMENTS
Santa Cruz County and City Housing Elements
2015 was a pivotal year for housing within our community as rents and the median
home price continued to climb to all time record highs. However, 2015 was also an
important year for Housing policy as all of the local municipalities were required to pass
Housing Elements.
A Housing Element is a section of a given agency’s general plan that assesses the need
for additional zoning in order to meet the expected population growth of the next 7
years. These numbers are referred to as Regional Housing Needs Allocation (RHNA),
and they are assigned based upon the research conducted by a regional state agency,
which in our case is the Association of Monterey Bay Area Governments (AMBAG).
While the State does get the final say over whether to certify a housing element or not
(meaning they reserve the right to withhold funds), a City/County must only have
adequate zoning for certification. There is no real requirement to build the units.
Business Council staff were present during all phases of the Housing Element adoption
process. We continuously expressed our desire to use the Housing Element as a way to
adopt more forward thinking policies that would encourage the development of more
housing beyond just zoning, and the reduction of existing barriers to development. The
results of our effort and continual involvement were that the two largest and most
important housing elements, Santa Cruz City and County, were both adopted with large
lists of new policies and programs that will fundamentally alter the development
landscape of our community. Not only do both adopted documents meet their RHNA
certification levels, but these additional policies are widely supported by a coalition of
business, community, and environmental interests.
Aptos Village Breaks Ground
The Aptos Village Project has been in the works for over a decade, having been
originally approved in 2006. However, given the length and difficulty of navigating the
public approval process the project has only now just broken ground. That being said,
the Business Council has been supportive of the project since it was first proposed,
having written letters, attended public hearings, and solicited letters to the editor, all
while hearing directly from the project developers, Business Council member Barry
Swenson Builder.
Annual Report 2015

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The project boasts the development of over 70 new housing units (of which 10 will be
made available to those earning below the regional median income), a new town green,
and an anchor grocery/retail store, all built along the main transit corridor of Soquel
Avenue in Aptos. The Aptos Village Project is exactly the type of development project
that the Business Council should be supporting because it is a mixed use infill project
that would revitalize an under-utilized commercial corridor, built primarily for the
purposes of providing for workforce housing.
Broadband Initiatives - City and County
2015 paved the way for major advances in developing broadband infrastructure
throughout our region, as best embodied by the County’s award winning Broadband
Master Plan, and the approval of the City of Santa Cruz’s municipal fiber network.
Business Council staff and members helped to champion both of these projects through
open and direct advocacy, having attended public meetings, and written letters in
support of both initiatives.
As part of their planning process the County approved a 91 mile fiber optic line
development project that would extend fiber access from Santa Cruz to Soledad,
building the essential fiber backbone required for future internet projects. The plan
proved to be so successful that it was awarded a national achievement award by the
National Association of Counties, for being an “innovative and effective county
government program that enhance services for all residents.”
The City of Santa Cruz approved a private/public partnership with Cruzio Internet, a
Business Council Board Member, to build out a municipal fiber network that would
connect to every single household in Santa Cruz. Given the terms of the deal, this new
network could potentially provide every household with the option of having 1 Gigabit
per second download speeds at a price comparable to existing cable broadband
services currently offering speeds 20x less than a potential fiber network. This
partnership represents a unique blend of private sector “know-how” with government’s
ability to borrow and regulate, that may prove to be a model for the rest of the Country.
Annual Report 2015

7.
MAJOR LEGISLATIVE ACHIEVEMENTS
Affordable Housing Program Amendments
Starting in late July 2014, the County performed a nexus analysis on the potential for
new impact fees, largely in response to multiple statewide court rulings. After multiple
rounds of public hearings at the Board level, Planning Commission and Housing
Advisory Commission, the Board adopted a “developers choice” model to funding
affordable housing, allowing for the payment of impact fees as an alternative to building
on-site inclusionary units.
SCCBC staff successfully lobbied the County to preserve this elective model, resulting in
substantially more flexibility, that will also be used to fund affordable housing in the post-
redevelopment era. SCCBC also successfully lobbied for a tiered fee structure for
smaller unit projects that rewards smaller, denser development, while not overly
burdening single family homeowners. Taken together, these updated policies constitute
the most significant changes in the County’s relationship with and approach to housing
development in the past 40 years, and the Business Council played a pivotal role in
realizing these changes.
OUR GUEST SPEAKERS
SCCRTC Executive Director George Dondero
As part of the Business Council’s ongoing involvement in
the transportation sales tax measure George Dondero
visited with our members and Board on multiple occasions
last year to speak about the expenditure plan that was
eventually adopted in December.
Supervisor Ryan Coonerty
3rd District Supervisor Ryan Coonerty and Susie O’Hara of
the County’s Downtown Accountability Program met with
the Council in March to discuss public safety and review
the program.
Annual Report 2015

8.
Supervisor Bruce McPherson
Supervisor Bruce McPherson and his Chief of Staff Gine
Johnson met with our Board in January to talk about the
potential implementation of Community Choice
Aggregation, and discuss other issues affecting the
County.
County Auditor-Controller Mary Jo Walker
In July the Council met with County Auditor-Controller
Mary Jo Walker to discuss public pensions and other
aspects of the County’s financial and tax system.
Bike Santa Cruz County Executive Director Amelia
Conlen
Amelia Conlen of Bike Santa Cruz County was a featured
guest during a joint meeting of the Infrastructure and
Transportation, and Government Affairs Committees. She
discussed her organizations position and role in
advocating for the transportation sales tax measure.
Metro Chief Executive Officer Alex Clifford
Alex Clifford, Chief Executive Officer of the Santa Cruz
Metro, met with our Board of Directors in December to
provide insight into the financial state of Metro, and
discuss their position in relation to the transportation
measure.
Annual Report 2015

9.
Santa Cruz Mayor Don Lane
Then Mayor Don Lane visited with the Council in
November to discuss the recently passed WSAC
recommendation, and the likely political repercussions of
the agreement.
Santa Cruz Vice Mayor Cynthia Mathews
Now Mayor, Cynthia Mathews attended the joint
committee session with then Mayor Lane. Having also
been one of the founders of the Sustainable Water
Coalition she provided an informed and thoughtful
perspective on the WSAC recommendation.
Deputy Water Director/Engineering Manager Heidi
Luckenbach
Santa Cruz Water Department Engineering Manager Heidi
Luckenbach discussed the state of the current drought
and briefed the Council about the WSAC agreement with
then Mayor Lane and Vice Mayor Mathews in November.
WSAC Member and Desal Alternatives Founder
Rick Longinotti
Rick Longinotti, co-founder of Desal Alternatives and City
of Santa Cruz WSAC member visited with Council in April.
He outlined his vision for addressing the prolonged
drought, and had a robust discussion with our members.
Annual Report 2015

10.
Gilroy City Council member Peter Leroe-Munoz
Peter Leroe-Munoz, a member of the Gilroy City Council,
visited with our Board in October to talk about his
candidacy for State Assembly District 30, which covers
Watsonville in south Santa Cruz County, as well as Gilroy
and Salinas. His background is that of an Attorney with a
focus on Public Safety.
Open Space District Project Coordinator Fred
Keeley
Fred Keeley was chosen by the County CAO to lead the
effort to explore the potential for creating a County-wide
Open Space District. He spoke about this issue, as well as
his prior experience in the State Assembly with our Board
in May.
FM3 Principal, and Pollster David Metz
David Metz, Principal of Fairbank, Maslin, Metz, and
Associates met with the Council in August to present his
findings from a public opinion poll of Santa Cruz County
residents on transportation. The poll was funded in part
through contributions from the Business Council and our
members.
Annual Report 2015

11.
SPECIAL PROJECTS
Monterey Bay Internships - New Website
During a workshop in November of 2014, Business Council staff met with
representatives of Cabrillo College, their staff, faculty, and students to discuss how we
could better align the educational goals of the institution with our local workforce
development needs. The near unanimous recommendation that came out of that
meeting was a desire to centralize the internship placement process for the entire
region, so that students could get the applied knowledge they needed and local
employers could benefit from the direct recruiting of qualified and interested local
college students.
Fast forward to 2016 and Business Council staff have been hard at work building a new
centralized website that will be utilized by employers and students alike throughout the
entire Monterey Bay Region. The new website, mbinterns.org, leverages a strategic
partnership between the Business Council, UCSC, Cabrillo College, the Community
Foundation of Santa Cruz County, and the Monterey Bay Economic Partnership to
create a one stop shop for local employers looking to recruit local college students for
interns. After nearly 5 months in development, the site is now live, and fully functioning,
and will undoubtably improve the experience of those in the local business community.
Local employers are encouraged to post all of their available internship positions on
mbinterns.org, which is currently being marketed to schools all over the Monterey Bay
Region.
Annual Report 2015

12.
A TRANSITION IN LEADERSHIP
Casey Beyer Becomes Executive Director
In July, the Santa Cruz County Business Council hired senior Silicon Valley executive
and long time political operative Casey Beyer as the new Executive Director. Mr. Beyer,
who had previously served in leadership positions under numerous elected officials and
private companies for over 30 years, joined the Business Council on the heels of one of
the most successful advocacy years on record for the organization, after former
Executive Director Joe Foster left last December, leaving Gary Merrill to serve as the
interim Executive Director during the transition period.
From left to right, Joe Foster, Gary Merrill, and Casey Beyer
SPECIAL EVENTS
GoBIZ/Covered California Event
In June of 2015 the Business Council partnered with the Santa Cruz Area Chamber of
Commerce and the offices of State Senator Bill Monning and Mark Stone to host an
educational forum on the new State GoBIZ Tax Credit Program and Small Business
Health Insurance Coverage with staff from Covered California.
Community Leadership Visit
In August 2015, the Business Council sent staff to attend the annual Community
Leadership Visit, hosted by the Santa Cruz Area Chamber of Commerce. The 2015 trip
visited Seattle and Victoria Canada and covered such pertinent topics as Housing
Development, Technology Transfer for Universities, Tourism, Transportation, and
Startup Accelerator Programs.
Annual Report 2015

13.
Comerica Bank: The State of the Economy Luncheon
Comerica Bank and the Santa Cruz County Business Council partnering with the
Community Foundation of Santa Cruz County to present Chief Economist and Comerica
Vice President Robert Dye, who provided an overview of current economic conditions,
both locally and nationally.
MBEP: State of Region Conference
In November many Business Council members attended the Monterey Bay Economic
Partnership State of the Region Conference, which featured keynote speaker California
Lieutenant Governor Gavin Newsom. The conference also featured informative panel
discussions and speaker series on Housing, Public Safety, Employee Retention and
Training, and Environmental Conservation. Business Council Executive Director Casey
Beyer was chosen as the moderator for the panel on Housing.
Lieutenant Governor Gavin Newsom addresses the audience during the State of the
Region Conference
Annual Report 2015

14.
STAY INVOLVED
As always, feel free to reach out to staff if you have an issue you think we should look
into, or even if you just want to become more engaged. We welcome members to serve
on one or more of our committees so please don’t hesitate to ask. You can also stay
updated by visiting our website http://sccbusinesscouncil.com/, or by following us on
social media.
You can send general inquiries to staff by emailing us at:
robert.singleton@sccbusinesscouncil.com
casey.beyer@sccbusinesscouncil.com
AUTHOR’S NOTE
After now having served in the role of Policy Analyst for the Business Council for two
years, I am very proud to say that our work has without a doubt directly contributed to
the preservation and promotion of local economic vitality. Our organization has been
instrumental in defining the collective voice of the business community on the most
important issues facing our County. Our role in advocating for a supplemental water
supply can be felt in the adoption of the WSAC agreement. We have led in the
development of a broad coalition of diverse interests in moving forward with the
passage of a transportation ballot measure. And our investment of both time and funds
has helped to bring about a real solution to a core workforce development need, in that
mbinterns.org will directly aid in the placing of college interns with local businesses.
These accomplishments demonstrate the true value of the Business Council to our
community. 2015 was a very productive year, but we are very much looking forward to
the work ahead in 2016.
Sincerely,
Robert Singleton
Policy Analyst
Annual Report 2015

15.
AT&T! ! ! ! Hutchinson & Bloodgood LLP! ! !
Barry Swenson Builder! ! Lighthouse Bank! ! ! ! Santa Cruz Sentinel
Bay Federal Credit Union! PG&E! ! ! Shadowbrook Restaurant/The Crow’s Nest
Berger Lewis Accountancy ! Pajaro Dunes Company!! ! ! Slatter Construction
Cruzio Internet !! ! Palo Alto Medical Foundation/Sutter Health! South Swell Ventures
Dominican Hospital ! ! Physicians Medical Group of Santa Cruz County UCSC
First Alarm & Patrol! ! Plantronics! ! ! ! Watsonville Coast Produce
Graniterock! ! ! Santa Cruz County Association of Realtors! Wells Fargo
Grunsky Law Firm ! ! Santa Cruz County Bank! ! Watsonville Community Hospital
Santa Cruz County Business Council
Board of Directors and Member Companies
2015 Board of Directors
New Members