WATSONVILLE >> It is almost budget season in Watsonville, and as part of the budgetary process, the Watsonville City Council will be considering a list of capital improvement projects to be funded over the next five years as part of its Capital Improvement Program.

However, before the program goes before the council, it will go before the Planning Commission Tuesday to determine if the projects are in alliance with the city’s General Plan.

According to a staff report by Finance Director Marissa Duran, the Capital Improvement Program is used to identify needed capital improvement projects and to synchronize the timing and funding of the projects in a manner that allows them to be implemented. As part of the City Charter, the Planning Commission is tasked with ensuring the appropriateness of the prioritized list of projects, recommending capital improvements to the council and informing the city manager’s annual budget message.

In March, departments were asked to submit capital improvement requests for the next two fiscal years, Duran wrote. The projects were later submitted to a cross-departmental committee that analyzed and ranked the projects as to their relative vitality. The plan considers a five-year horizon, and the council will approve and appropriate the first year.

The top six projects for the 2025-26 fiscal year include $8 million for the Ramsay Park Renaissance Project, $3.5 million for the remodel of City Plaza, $8 million for improvements to the main switchgear and energy recovery electrical system at the Watsonville Wastewater Treatment Plant, $3 million for a water main replacement, $3.725 million for pavement repairs and $10.541 million for the construction of a pedestrian bridge over Highway 1 and a modification at the intersection of Harkins Slough Road, Green Valley Road and Silver Leaf Drive to improve bicycle and pedestrian access.

Duran wrote that the commission’s role is to ensure the projects support the city’s General Plan, a document that guides long-term planning for cities and counties, including Watsonville.

“Actual implementation of the general plan depends heavily on public investment in development and infrastructure,” Duran wrote. “Major investments in public infrastructure are typically sequenced and prioritized within a jurisdiction’s CIP.”

Duran emphasized that the Watsonville 2005 General Plan specifically calls for the identification of public infrastructure needs using the Capital Improvement Program to schedule needed enhancements to achieve long-term land use and community development goals.

“Integrating the CIP with the general plan helps to ensure that capital investments are also working in tandem with development regulations,” she wrote.

Staff is recommending the commission recommend the council approve adopt the Capital Improvement Program, which would be in effect from 2025 to 2030.

In other business, the commission will receive a presentation on implementation of the 6th cycle Housing Element and consider a Type 21 alcohol license to allow the Grocery Outlet on Main Street to expand its sale of alcohol products to include distilled spirits. Currently, the store has a Type 20 license, which only allows for the sale of beer and wine.

Also returning to the agenda is a special use permit for a Quick Quack Car Wash on East Lake Avenue which has been delayed multiple times over the last six months as the council has made changes to the city’s drive-thru ordinance. At the commission’s April 1 meeting, where the matter went up for a vote, the item was pulled as the 30-day statutory waiting period for the text amendment to the city’s drive-thru facilities ordinance and property rezoning would not be complete until April 24, so the commission was not allowed to take action yet.

The commission will meet at 6 p.m. Tuesday in the Council Chambers on the top floor of the Watsonville Civic Plaza, 275 Main St., Watsonville.