Join the Santa Cruz Port District Team

• Location(s)
• Job Openings

The Santa Cruz Port District is an independent special district formed in 1951 to construct and operate Santa Cruz Harbor, located 70 miles south of San Francisco and 35 miles north of Monterey in the City of Santa Cruz, California. Santa Cruz Harbor was constructed in 1964, and expanded in 1973. It provides over 800 permanent slips for recreational, commercial, and research opportunities. Additionally, the harbor provides a launching facility and access to the Monterey Bay, a national marine sanctuary, and secure storage for kayaks, rowing shells, paddleboards, and trailerable vessels.

For coastal mariners, the harbor is maintained as a year-round harbor of safe refuge coupled with visitor berthing. The harbor also offers RV camping, a public beach, and scenic walking trails. Numerous charter operations provide fishing, whale watching, pleasure cruising, kayaking, paddleboarding, and sailing instruction opportunities. Santa Cruz Harbor is home to ten major concessions, including 5 restaurants, and more than 30 other smaller businesses which operate directly from harbor property. There are also many other marine-related businesses in the vicinity which contribute significantly to the local economy.

Santa Cruz, with a population of nearly 64,000, boasts some of California’s best beaches along with 29 miles of coastline, redwood-covered mountains, laid-back towns, and organic farms. The area’s beach boardwalk, museums, art galleries, steam train rides, and numerous local events, combined with a mild climate means boundless activities for residents and visitors throughout the year.

The Port District operates as a government-owned business, funded almost entirely by user fees. With an annual operating budget of over $9 million, the Port District provides for nearly all of its own services including maintenance, dredging, security, financial, and administrative functions. It is very much like a small city, operating within the City of Santa Cruz boundaries. The only outside services required are for major fire suppression and occasional assistance from the City of Santa Cruz Police and Santa Cruz County Sheriff’s Department in jail transports and booking for criminal offenses committed in the harbor. The Port District voluntarily acts as a “Good Samaritan” using its harbor patrol boat to assist the Coast Guard and local agencies in year-round emergency ocean rescue and law enforcement services. Over the harbor’s 50+-year history, it has experienced and recovered well from natural disasters including earthquakes, damaging storm events and shoaling, tsunamis, and fish kills.

Twenty-eight full-time employees provide all the necessary harbor services seven days a week, twenty-four hours a day, year-round. In addition to this, approximately 20-30 seasonal and part-time employees are hired during peak periods.