Get a Road Paved

Santa Cruz County is governed by State Statutes as to how public funds are spent on roadways. Statute 28-6705 identifies how public funds may be spent on roads other than established county highways.

Methods
The 2 most commonly utilized methods of paving unpaved roadway are by a county improvement district or public / private partnership with the County's Road Division. Possible advantages and disadvantages of each method are as follows:

County Improvement District
A minimum of 51% of the residents petition for improvements. Everyone within the district boundaries pays for their fair share and have up to 10 years to pay their assessments. This is more costly than public / private partnership and will take longer.

Public / Private Partnership
Residents agree to provide the material and other costs prior to construction. The project is then constructed by the Road Division. The contractor and the Road Division may share in the project costs.

Public / private partnership projects are generally lower in cost than improvement districts, however they must be paid for in advance and are not assessed over a 10 year period. Any financing must be done by the individual(s). There are additional costs to the paying residents if some individuals do not wish to participate in the public / private partnership project.