The long-awaited decision has finally arrived. Arana Gulch will remain as it is. The 68-acre preserve will not be crisscrossed by a network of walking paths and bike trails, as transportation activists and city officials had hoped. In other words, there will be no bicycle path connecting the city of Santa Cruz with the community of Live Oak.
The decision, made in San Diego, was a close call for everyone involved. The Commission vote came to a 5-5 tie, and a majority was needed to approve the development. Commissioner Mark Stone, who also serves on the Santa Cruz County Board of Supervisors, backed the plan.
The opposition expressed special concern for the fate of the indigenous Santa Cruz tarplant, an endangered species that is already beginning to disappear from the gulch. According to opponents of the plan, any efforts to conserve the plant were made by the planning committee as an “afterthought.”
Supporters of the development plan disagreed, with Paul Schoellhamer saying that “the city’s proposal was clearly the best environmental outcome possible.” The argument was called “disingenuous” by Commissioner Steve Blank, who voted against the trail.
The city originally bought the Arana Gulch greenbelt in 1994 in an effort to expand the amount of open space available to residents. Since then, plans for the area have been hotly disputed between city officials, who want some development there, and conservationists, who want to leave it as is. Since the Coastal Commission only rarely reneges on its decisions, it appears as if Arana Gulch will remain as is for a long time to come. Read more at the Santa Cruz Sentinel.
