Village Parking Lot Debate Set for Thursday Night

Since the Capitola Village floods ravaged the Pacific Cove Mobile Home Park two years ago, there has been increasing talk about putting a parking lot in the mobile home park location to easy the traffic on the Esplanade.

A decision of real implications may finally be made at Thursday's meeting of the Capitola City Council, where a 226-spot temporary lot will be debated by both the public and the council.

City staff has recommended that the council approve the design and scope of the project, but approval is a long conversation away still.

Here are most important details of the proposed lot:

• The price tag is $1.4 million 
• It is designed to be a placeholder while a larger parking garage is built behind city hall
• There will be 226 parking spots
• There will be street lighting, landscaping
• The restrooms will include nine toilets, three urinals and five showers

Councilman Dennis Norton has been a squeaky wheel in the process lately, arguing that locals want a park in that location, not necessarily a parking lot. According to the Santa Cruz Sentinel, Norton is interested in seeing the Esplanade closed to cars if the parking lot goes forward.

What do you think? Is the parking lot a good idea? Tell us in the comments!