Cutting Down 610 Trees: Harm to Ecosystem
I am writing to oppose the proposed housing development, The Haven, on Graham Hill Road. My home, which I built and have lived in for over 40 years, is directly behind the planned site. This project raises serious concerns about the environment, infrastructure, and community.
The development is across from Henry Cowell Redwoods State Park, an area renowned for its natural beauty. Cutting down 610 trees will irreversibly harm the ecosystem and threaten several endangered species. Since the land was purchased, I’ve noticed a sharp decline in wildlife. I used to see at least 20 deer daily on my property, but they have vanished.
The transition from a quiet, rural area to a dense residential development will bring excessive noise and light pollution. It would feel like living on an airport runway. Water restrictions are already an issue here during the summer, and adding more homes will strain resources further.
Our overcrowded schools, which rely on portable classrooms, cannot handle an influx of students. Traffic and safety concerns will worsen, and there are unresolved questions about fire protection, sewage capacity, and increased crime risk.
This is a rural area. Developments like The Haven belong in urban settings, not the countryside. I purchased my property for its peaceful, natural surroundings and plan to protect that way of life.
— Linda Eberhardt, Hidden Glen
High Traffic Volume on Graham Hill Road
Dear Planning Commission, I am writing in the hope that you will carefully review the impacts of allowing 157 homes to be built on a 40-acre parcel adjacent to Henry Cowell State Park.
My biggest concern is that I fear that the developer is not concerned, at all, about the inability to purchase reasonable fire insurance since we are considered to be in a high fire danger zone. At the last meeting, I got the impression that the developer felt that fire insurance was not his problem.
Living just one house in from Graham Hill Road, I can attest to the high traffic volume now on Graham Hill Road.
Graham Hill Road has become a main artery for the San Lorenzo Valley. Traffic on Graham Hill Road, Lockwood Lane, Whispering Pines and Mt. Hermon Road will be significantly impacted by this development. Other things to consider are the impact of 157 homes on our local schools, removing habitat from local wildlife, and where will the development get water and sewer.
I respectably request that the Planning Department carefully review this proposal and work with members of the community to find a reasonable development for this property.
— Diana Bailey, Rolling Woods
Multiple Hundreds More Vehicle Trips
I am writing in opposition to The Haven project proposal. To place such a large, dense, high-impact project directly across from Henry Cowell State Park would be ruinous to the Park and its flora and fauna, and makes me heartsick.
As a resident on Lockewood Lane, I am particularly concerned about the traffic impact.
Lockewood — what was once a quiet neighborhood-area lane — will become a primary route in and out for residents of this proposed project to access Hwy 17, as well as the services along the Mt Hermon corridor through Scotts Valley.
The cumulative traffic impacts brought by this project, on top of the close-to-approval housing at Valley Gardens former golf course, will add multiple hundreds more vehicle trips along both roads daily, especially at the stoplight/turn lanes at the intersection of Lockewood and Mt Hermon.
We all know traffic on Mt Hermon is bad now and keeps getting worse. Current traffic volumes are much heavier on both Lockewood and Graham Hill than just a few years ago based on my experience living here.
Imagine the backups at the stoplights on either end of Lockewood (at Graham Hill and Mt. Hermon respectively) if/when both The Haven and old golf course projects were to be completed? I know we need more housing but at this scale and location, NO to The Haven.
— Linda Haas, Lockewood Lane/Scotts Valley
Big Money puts on Pressure
I live on Lockewood Lane. When my grandfather bought the property in 1935, it was sand. Now it is crazy with fast traffic.
I fear for my husband’s life when he puts the trash cans out. An elderly neighbor no longer drives because the traffic scares her.
I don’t want to think about more traffic with 157 homes added to Graham Hill Rd. There’s already too much traffic for Graham Hill, and no easy ways to widen it.
Then there’s the water issue — our rates are too high now because there’s not enough water already. Add in the Mount Hermon June beetle and the special Sandhills ecosystem — why do we need to build homes there??!! If the existing laws, management plans, and protections that should prevent this development get overturned because big money puts on pressure, it would be a very sad day.
Taking away beautiful open spaces like the property on Graham Hill Road reduces the quality of life for those of us who already live here and enjoy a slightly less hectic environment.
— Margaret Nelson
A Loophole for Local Developer
We can all agree Santa Cruz County needs affordable housing, but recent moves by lawmakers in Sacramento have created a loophole for one local developer to abuse our planning process and circumvent all restrictions on density, fast-tracking a project almost nobody wants.
The state recently established mandates for housing with which the county has complied, but due to missing a deadline by one day it has allowed one outlandish development application to come forward through the “Builder’s Remedy” loophole.
“The Haven,” a 157-unit project, is proposed on a 40-acre Graham Hill road property across from the Henry Cowell Redwoods State Park. The project would turn an environmentally sensitive site into a visual and environmental debacle– all to obtain a small number of affordable housing units.
Additionally, this project depends on the San Lorenzo Valley Water District annexing the site and supplying all 157 units. In recent years the San Lorenzo Valley Water District has had considerable difficulty supplying water to its existing base, employing stage 3 rationing. How can it stretch supplies even further?
There are far better ways to reach the same housing goals and the people of Santa Cruz County should be making these decisions, not politicians in Sacramento. Take back our local oversight and planning and let’s develop Santa Cruz in a sensible way. Stop “The Haven!”
— Jack DeStories, Scotts Valley
Significant Adverse Effects: Traffic, Schools, Wildlife
I am writing to formally express my strong objections to planning application number 241369, marketed as “the Haven.” The Haven is a proposed 157-unit development on a 40-acre parcel on Graham Hill Road, between Hidden Glen and Rolling Hills neighborhoods. As a concerned neighboring resident, I have reviewed the proposal and identified significant concerns regarding its compliance with zoning and potential adverse impacts on the neighborhood.
Traffic
The increased population density resulting from the proposed development will strain existing traffic and infrastructure in the area. This includes concerns related to public transportation accessibility, and most importantly the capacity of local roads to handle the additional vehicular traffic. Ensuring this development does not unduly burden the existing infrastructure is crucial to maintaining the quality of life in our community. Traffic on Graham Hill, Lockewood Lane, Whispering Pines and Mt. Hermon will be significantly impacted by this development. These roads are already strained with traffic coming out of San Lorenzo valley.
The developer stated there will be two access points on Graham Hill. I assume this will cause the need for two traffic lights on an already congested main access road connecting San Lorenzo Valley to Santa Cruz and Highway 17.
Schools
Our local schools do not have the capacity to meet the increase of students this development will cause. It is my understanding that Brook Knoll and Vine Hill are already using portable classrooms. There is already a planned development of 196 homes (Scotts Valley Planning Dept. Application #s GPA 19-002, ZC19-002, PD 19-003, DR 19-009, UP 19-005, EA 19-006, MLD 19-002, EIR 19-002) behind the Safeway shopping center on Mt. Hermon, the location of the former golf course in Scotts Valley.
This new development will clearly cause overcrowding at our schools. Does the developer have a plan to address these concerns?
Wildlife
The development is located on the edge of Henry Cowell State Park, home to the Santa Cruz Sandhills. The sandhills are a unique habitat and home to three endangered animal species, the Santa Cruz kangaroo rat, the Mount Hermon June Beetle and the Zayante Band-Winged Grasshopper.
In light of these concerns, I respectfully request that the Planning Department carefully review this development proposal. I firmly believe the proposed development does not align with the County’s environmental objectives and may have significant adverse effects on our community.
I appreciate your attention to this matter and trust that the Santa Cruz County Planning Department will act in the best interest of the community. I look forward to receiving updates on the progress of this application and any further opportunities for community input.
— Caroline Raffo, Hidden Glen Scotts Valley
Sandhills Ecosystem Irreplaceable Resource
I am writing to express my deep concerns about the proposed development, The Haven, in the Santa Cruz Sandhills—a region of exceptional ecological value. This unique ecosystem is home to rare and endangered species, along with a variety of endemic plants found nowhere else on Earth. These species, along with the broader Sandhills ecosystem, are critical to Santa Cruz County’s biodiversity.
The proposed development poses a significant threat to this fragile environment by fragmenting habitats, increasing traffic pollution, and altering the natural landscape.
Given the ecological importance of the Sandhills, any encroachment on this area risks the loss of irreplaceable species and the degradation of the ecosystem’s health.
Sensitive habitats like these are particularly vulnerable, and once developed, they are impossible to restore. While development is an inevitable part of community growth, it is essential that we pursue a balanced approach that prioritizes environmental preservation.
The Santa Cruz Sandhills are an irreplaceable resource—not only for local wildlife but for the overall health of our natural environment.
We must explore alternative development strategies that prioritize both conservation and sustainable growth. I urge local policymakers, developers, and residents to carefully consider the long-term ecological consequences of this development. Instead of further compromising the Sandhills, we must work together to protect and preserve this extraordinary landscape for future generations.
— Orenda Randuch, Conservation Photographer
Impacts of The Haven on a Magical Place
We moved to the Hidden Glen neighborhood 5 years ago, after looking for the perfect place for 6 years. My wife and I have had extremely demanding and stressful careers, and wanted a safe, peaceful, wilderness-adjacent place where we could raise our kids safely.
Hidden Glen was absolutely a dream come true – right near Henry Cowell Redwoods State Park, with a beautiful common area in the center, and plenty of room to run around. I remember my wife’s excitement when we first toured the neighborhood: “This is magical!!” (I had not heard that statement in the prior 6 years of looking).
We have a neighbor nearby who similarly moved from Mountain View, and he said moving to Hidden Glen “lowered the collective family blood pressure.” We totally agree with that!
The proposed Haven development would ruin a lot of the things we love about our neighborhood:
- The peaceful “spur” (dead end of Spreading Oak) is a safe place where our kids have learned to ride bikes… this would transform into a high traffic area
- Our neighborhood currently only has one spot of ingress and egress, which allows us to keep it safer… the new development would open this up and make it a lot less safe
- We already have occasional problems with non-neighborhood folks trying to use our beautiful community pool and common area… the chance of this going up dramatically is quite high if 157 units go in right next door to our 60 units.
- We specifically moved to this area for LOW density (calm, de-stressing, mature trees, low noise, safe area for our kids to run around)… putting in a HIGH density neighborhood, 2.5x our size, immediately next to us will lower property values and is the exact opposite of the reason we moved there!
I thought we would never leave Hidden Glen, but if this development goes in, we will have to leave… which obviously seems quite unfair, given how much we love our area.
This development would dramatically lower our quality of life, lower our family’s safety, lower our hard-earned property values, and make us want to leave our dream home.
— Kurt Schwarz, Hidden Glen
Siphoning Precious Resources from SLV
I attended the neighborhood meeting on Dec. 4 conducted by Tate Development of Del Mar California. It was unnerving to see the scope of the project dubbed “The Haven” planned for the 40 acres of undisturbed land on Graham Hill Road.
The developer is using a loophole called “Builders’ Remedy” to bypass the county and cram 157 homes and 600 parking places onto the site.
What alarmed me more was his plan to have San Lorenzo Valley Water District annex the site into the SLV Water District, thus siphoning off a precious resource from the people of the San Lorenzo Valley.
The arrogance of this Southern California developer thinking that he is entitled to SLV Water, when there are CZU fire victims that still don’t have water, should ring alarm bells for everyone living in the valley.
SLV Water District has not yet voted to annex “The Haven” Development into the district.
Boulder Creek, Ben Lomond and Felton residents must let SLV water board members know how they feel about this project.
— Rosemarie Slawinski, Scotts Valley
Siphoning Precious Resource from SLV
I attended the neighborhood meeting on Dec. 4 conducted by Tate Development of Del Mar California. It was unnerving to see the scope of the project dubbed “The Haven” planned for the 40 acres of undisturbed land on Graham Hill Road.
The developer is using a loophole called “Builders’ Remedy” to bypass the county and cram 157 homes and 600 parking places onto the site.
What alarmed me more was his plan to have San Lorenzo Valley Water District annex the site into the SLV Water District, thus siphoning off a precious resource from the people of the San Lorenzo Valley.
The arrogance of this Southern California developer thinking that he is entitled to SLV Water, when there are CZU fire victims that still don’t have water, should ring alarm bells for everyone living in the valley.
SLV Water District has not yet voted to annex “The Haven” Development into the district.
Boulder Creek, Ben Lomond and Felton residents must let SLV water board members know how they feel about this project.
— Rosemarie Slawinski, Scotts Valley
The Only Way to Stop This
Like roughly 90 of my neighbors, I attended the Haven review meeting on Dec. 4 at Pasatiempo. The project reminds me of when Scotts Valley School Superintendent Andre Lacouture wanted to combine the grammar, middle and high school on a single property across from Juvenile Hall on Graham Hill (circa 1997).
He was about as popular as Mike Formico is now and for similar reasons; it is a total misappropriation of land use.
That said, adding 157 housing units on Graham Hill (across from Henry Cowell) is considered a viable project because the state has mandated Santa Cruz County to build 4,500+ housing units by 2031.
Adding fuel to that fire, the County missed a deadline to file a development plan opening the door for an expedited approval process. Forget that under current law the project would not satisfy zoning guidelines or that water approval would hold it up for years, this project is headed for approval and on an expedited path.
Here is my advice; If you care about the quality of life in your neighborhood, the only way to stop this is through legal representation. If you live anywhere upstream or downstream of the building site on Graham Hill (Lockewood, Rollingwoods, Hidden Glen, Woods Cove…) consider donating to a TBD legal fund that will protect your interests.
This project easily has a budget over $100 million and undoubtably a team of lawyers willing to defend it.
Your normal, difficult to deal with County Planning department is going to get run over by Sacramento, just like the grading trucks lining up to build this monster.
— Brian Sheredy, Scotts Valley neighbor and longtime resident of Santa Cruz County