Agreement between PVUSD, Ceiba and the City of Watsonville
Summary
SCH Number
2025040072
Public Agency
City of Watsonville
Document Title
Agreement between PVUSD, Ceiba and the City of Watsonville
Document Type
NOE - Notice of Exemption
Received
Posted
4/2/2025
Document Description
On March 25, 2025, the City Council of the City of Watsonville approved an agreement between PVUSD, Ceiba and the City (the “Agreement”) to effect the following: (1) PVUSD’s agreement to take action on Ceiba’s Zoning Exemption request by approving that request and rendering the City’s Zoning Ordinance set forth in Title 14 of the City’s Municipal Code inapplicable to the facilities and public charter school that Ceiba has operated at the Ceiba Campus since 2013 pursuant to Government Code sections 53094 and 53097.3 (the “Zoning Exemption”); (2) PVUSD’s and Ceiba’s agreement to exclude the site known as 228 and 234 Locust Street (the “Vacant Site”) that is owned by Ceiba and adjacent to the Ceiba Campus as well as all parcels contiguous to the Ceiba Campus (collectively, “Contiguous Parcels”) from the Zoning Exemption and Ceiba’s agreement not to submit to City and/or PVUSD any future proposal to exempt the Vacant Site and/or Contiguous Parcels from the City’s Zoning Ordinance and/or to develop the Vacant Site and/or Contiguous Parcels for any school-related uses for so long as Ceiba or any successor charter school is occupying and operating a charter school on the Ceiba Campus; (3) Ceiba’s agreement to withdraw its current Proposition 39 request to PVUSD for the 2025-2026 school year and waive and relinquish its right to file any future Proposition 39 requests to PVUSD during the term of the Agreement which runs to July 31, 2044; (4) City’s waiver and release of all challenges to the Zoning Exemption; (5) City’s agreement to take action on any future request Ceiba may submit to rescind the Ceiba land use approvals, i.e., the General Plan Map Amendment, Zoning Map Amendment, and Special Use Permit with Environmental Review the City previously approved in February-March 2023 (the “Entitlements”), within ninety (90) days of the filing of a written request from Ceiba to do so; and (6) Ceiba’s agreement to indemnify, defend and hold harmless PVUSD and City against any and all challenges arising out of or related to the Agreement and the Zoning Exemption and, if Ceiba requests and the City rescinds the Entitlements under the Agreement, Ceiba’s agreement that the indemnification condition of approval associated with the Entitlements set forth in Condition No. 9 of the Special Use Permit will survive the rescission of the Entitlements such that Ceiba will remain obligated under that condition and the agreement executed pursuant to that condition to defend, indemnify and hold City harmless against any and all challenges arising out of or related to the Entitlements until any/all legal challenges to the Entitlements have been fully and finally resolved or concluded.
Contact Information
Name
Justin Meek
Agency Name
City of Watsonville
Job Title
Assistant Community Development Director
Contact Types
Lead/Public Agency
Phone
Location
Cities
Watsonville
Counties
Santa Cruz
Regions
Northern California
Cross Streets
Riverside Drive and Locust Street
Zip
95076
Parcel #
017-161-51
Schools
Ceiba
Notice of Exemption
Exempt Status
Statutory Exemption
Type, Section or Code
Public Resources Code sections 21080, 21084, 21065
Reasons for Exemption
City's approval of the Agreement is exempt from CEQA because the action does not meet the definition of a “project” under Public Resources Code section 21065/CEQA Guidelines section 15378 as it maintains the status quo at the Ceiba Campus and will not cause either a direct or reasonably foreseeable indirect physical change in the environment. Even if the action is a project under or subject to CEQA, it is exempt from CEQA pursuant to the common sense exemption in CEQA Guidelines section 15061(b)(3) because it can be seen with certainty that there is no possibility that approval of the Agreement would have a significant effect on the environment and also categorically exempt pursuant to the Class 1 Existing Facilities exemption in CEQA Guidelines section 15301 because the City's approval of the Agreement will neither change the status quo nor cause an expansion of or change to Ceiba’s current use at issue which is the operation of the public charter school it has operated at the Ceiba Campus since 2013.
Exempt Status
Categorical Exemption
Type, Section or Code
Class 1 Existing Facilities (CEQA Guidelines §15301)
Reasons for Exemption
City's approval of the Agreement is exempt from CEQA because the action does not meet the definition of a “project” under Public Resources Code section 21065/CEQA Guidelines section 15378 as it maintains the status quo at the Ceiba Campus and will not cause either a direct or reasonably foreseeable indirect physical change in the environment. Even if the action is a project under or subject to CEQA, it is exempt from CEQA pursuant to the common sense exemption in CEQA Guidelines section 15061(b)(3) because it can be seen with certainty that there is no possibility that approval of the Agreement would have a significant effect on the environment and also categorically exempt pursuant to the Class 1 Existing Facilities exemption in CEQA Guidelines section 15301 because the City's approval of the Agreement will neither change the status quo nor cause an expansion of or change to Ceiba’s current use at issue which is the operation of the public charter school it has operated at the Ceiba Campus since 2013.
Exempt Status
Other
Type, Section or Code
CEQA Guidelines section 15061(b)(3)
Reasons for Exemption
City's approval of the Agreement is exempt from CEQA because the action does not meet the definition of a “project” under Public Resources Code section 21065/CEQA Guidelines section 15378 as it maintains the status quo at the Ceiba Campus and will not cause either a direct or reasonably foreseeable indirect physical change in the environment. Even if the action is a project under or subject to CEQA, it is exempt from CEQA pursuant to the common sense exemption in CEQA Guidelines section 15061(b)(3) because it can be seen with certainty that there is no possibility that approval of the Agreement would have a significant effect on the environment and also categorically exempt pursuant to the Class 1 Existing Facilities exemption in CEQA Guidelines section 15301 because the City's approval of the Agreement will neither change the status quo nor cause an expansion of or change to Ceiba’s current use at issue which is the operation of the public charter school it has operated at the Ceiba Campus since 2013.
County Clerk
Santa Cruz
Attachments
Responses to Comments
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