City of Santa Cruz - Official Web Site http://www.cityofsantacruz.com/
History
"Santa Cruz" literally means Holy Cross in Spanish, and was incorporated in 1866 as a town under the laws of the State of California. Its first charter as a city was in 1876. Santa Cruz is the county seat of Santa Cruz County, which was itself established as one of the original 27 counties when California became a state in 1850. The first settlement was Villa de Branciforte. That settlement was annexed by Santa Cruz in 1905. For a more complete history of the name "Santa Cruz" see: Santa Cruz, and for a more complete account of the area see: Santa Cruz History.
City Statistics
Population: about 57,000
City Characteristics
Santa Cruz is a beach, liberal, hippy, yuppy, diverse, intellectual, radical, vibrant, city.
It is one of the only cities in California that is not expanding its city boundaries. This means our green belts and open space should be preserved in perpetuity.
Santa Cruz is a great place to ride your bike and a very easy place to do your errands by walking!
Commerce and Politics
Downtown Santa Cruz is host to many local businesses, and also some giant corporations. The Farmers Market is very popular.
Politics
Santa Cruz City Council meetings are a blast to go to. We are not bashful about sharing our opinions.
