SANTA CRUZ — As the smoke clears, local officials are set to consider a range of strategies to help families who lost homes to flames navigate the complex process of rebuilding.
The CZU August Lightning Complex fire destroyed 1,431 structures in Santa Cruz County, 911 of which were homes. Dozens more structures were destroyed in neighboring San Mateo County. Hot spots still smolder in parts of the 86,509 acres of burn area, and containment was listed at 86% as of Saturday afternoon.
A preliminary assessment places the cost of damage to the county at $340 million, including $30 million in infrastructure damage. The 1989 Loma Prieta earthquake, by comparison, caused $433 million in damage to Santa Cruz County, or roughly $900 million in today’s dollars.
Though still coalescing, Santa Cruz County’s rebuilding strategy represents a key step on a long road to recovery. It also raises a host of challenges, including the question of how to handle a number of unpermitted homes that burned in far-flung areas of the North Coast and the San Lorenzo Valley.
Other issues before local regulators include the question of permitting fees — which can, and should, be reduced or waived? — the complex process of cleanup and mitigating harm to the environment, rules regarding temporary housing for rebuilding residents, and how to handle rebuilding homes on parcels with geological risks or whose septic tanks are no longer up to code.
On parallel tracks, county officials are considering eliminating a 30-day cap on hotel and vacation rental stays and an ordinance to further clamp down on price gouging, proposed by 3rd District Supervisor Ryan Coonerty
Each of those pieces is set to be considered Tuesday by the Santa Cruz County Board of Supervisors. The proposed rebuilding strategy comes as a response to direction given by supervisors Sept. 3, co-authored by Coonerty and 5th District Supervisor Bruce McPherson.
In that scaffold, supervisors directed planning staff to develop a rebuilding strategy that streamlines the process for homeowners as “much as legally possible” — by reducing or waiving fees and by simplifying permitting processes and creating an online portal to navigate.
Asked if the proposed strategy meets that mark, Coonerty said Friday he was still reviewing the details and listening to input from impacted residents.
“But overall, I really appreciated that there was an effort to do what we wanted, which was to streamline the process, give priority to people who’ve lost their homes and reduce the cost as much as possible,” he said.
Rebuilding hundreds of homes also promises to serve as a test of how efficiently the county’s planning and permitting bureaucracy can respond to a crisis.
“Our planning process in recent years and recent decades hasn’t been viewed as an overall friendly process,” said McPherson, who represents the San Lorenzo Valley.
“Basically, if they build in the same footprint as they had before, and probably with an updated septic system — generally, my thought is let’s go ahead and let it be built.”
According to a report prepared by county planning staff, permit costs to rebuild a typical 2,000-square-foot home in Bonny Doon are estimated at about $10,900.
That accounts for the waiver of impact fees required for new developments, but doesn’t take into account permits for new septic system, a new well, grading or geological review. The estimate also assumes the home is “substantially equivalent” to the destroyed structure, which would eliminate the need to pay impact fees.
For the unclear number of fire victims who built without permits and may have been uninsured — including in the hart-hit area of Last Chance on the North Coast — rebuilding poses an even greater challenge. One option under consideration is to grandfather in unpermitted homes built before 1985, partially under the assumption that county records prior to that year could be incomplete.
“In general, reconstruction of legal structures can and will be facilitated,” states the staff report. “It should be recognized, however, that proposed reconstruction of previously unpermitted/illegal structures will be subject to a different framework of regulations, permit requirements and costs.”
The report from the planning department staff calls the need to allow residents flexibility to live in temporary accommodations while their homes are rebuilt “essential.” Located on the damaged property itself or a neighboring property, those temporary accommodations would include accessory-dwelling units and trailers.
“However, any site to be used for temporary housing must have PG&E or an approved alternate power source restored, potable water available, and an acceptable means of sewage disposal,” the staff report states.
Hazardous waste and debris removal must be completed before temporary permits could be issued, and generators could not be the primary power source for a property, according to the report.
Rebuilding from the fire promises to be a lengthy and complex process without precedent in the unincorporated county — and a process that is still in its nascent stages. Following Tuesday’s meeting, county officials plan to return Oct. 6 to consider potential code amendments and other steps — and to return Nov. 17 with more action to address unpermitted structures, in particular.
If there is a silver lining to rebuilding, it’s the opportunity to improve on the status quo and better prepare to meet challenges such as fire safety, power outages and water shortages, according to Coonerty. It’s something he saw firsthand in the wake of the Loma Prieta earthquake, which toppled the Coonerty family’s Bookshop Santa Cruz, among other damage to downtown Santa Cruz.
“I think rebuilding after the earthquake, Santa Cruz, especially downtown, emerged much more safe seismically, but also was a lot more vibrant than it had been before,” Coonerty said. “And I think the same thing could happen here if we do it right.”
IF YOU GO
What: Santa Cruz County Supervisors to consider a range of strategies to support rebuilding in the wake of the CZU Lightning Complex.
When: 9 a.m. Tuesday
Where: Room 525, Government Center, 701 Ocean St., Santa Cruz.
How to watch: Streaming online at santacruzcountyca.iqm2.com/citizens/default.aspx.
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