Board approves County Strategic Plan 2026–2032 after public input; staff told to incorporate board feedback

The Santa Cruz County Board of Supervisors approved a refreshed six-year County Strategic Plan (2026–2032) on May 19 after staff described widespread public engagement and supervisors offered edits to sharpen implementation priorities.

County CEO Nicole Coburn said the plan reflects more than 4,500 points of community input gathered through town halls, targeted outreach to historically excluded groups, and online engagement. The plan articulates a compact vision—"a healthy, safe and affordable community"—three core county values (collaboration, accessibility and integrity), and three implementation lenses (health-in-all-policies, equity, fiscal/operational).

The plan lays out six focus areas with measurable targets and strategies: housing and infrastructure (a target of approximately 2,541 permits over the plan horizon was cited in the presentation), safety and justice (a target to reduce recidivism by 10% over six years), health, well-being and connection (including an increase in step-down behavioral-health beds from 28 to 42), environment/climate resilience, access to basic needs (including a homelessness-exit-to-permanent housing target), and economy and job growth (an objective to raise the share of family-wage jobs).

Steering-committee member Bella Bonner emphasized intentional outreach to historically excluded communities—BIPOC, youth, older adults and rural neighborhoods—and the county's effort to meet people “where they are” during engagement. CEO Coburn and staff added that the plan is designed to guide both policy choices and operational priorities and that departments will develop a two-year operational plan following adoption.

Supervisors thanked staff for broad engagement and suggested refinements. Several board members asked staff to emphasize affordability in the housing strategy (noting that supplying units that are not affordable to local residents would not solve the problem), to highlight parks and community gathering spaces, to incorporate waste-management goals, and to ensure agriculture and environmental health issues are visible in the plan's equity and health lenses. Supervisor Koenig urged simplifying the plan's goals (a "rule of three" approach) and turning high-level targets into straightforward, repeatable public messages. Supervisor Cummings asked staff to prioritize walkable, mixed-use communities and called for stronger emphasis on food security.

CEO Coburn said departments will return to the board on June 30 with a final plan that incorporates board feedback and noted that operational objectives and two-year implementation steps will follow the plan's adoption. The board's motion (mover: Supervisor Cummings; second: Supervisor Hernandez) asked staff to incorporate the day's feedback to the greatest extent feasible and return with the final plan on June 30; the motion passed 5–0.

The strategic-plan adoption makes the framework official for county budgeting and departmental workplans; staff said an operational plan, metrics and a cadence for updates will be launched so the board and public can track progress.