Located at 900 High Street, the Peace Village housing project proposes one apartment building that would contain 40 dwelling units. Those 40 units include 11 studios, three one-bedroom units, 15 two-bedroom units; four three-bedroom units, six four-bedroom co-living units; and one five-bedroom co-living unit.

Inclusionary units: Four units are proposed to be income restricted as affordable to very low-income households, and five additional units are proposed to be income restricted as affordable to low-income households. These nine affordable units are a mix of studios through 3-bedroom units, comprising 22.5% of the total units in the project and 20% of the bedrooms in the project.

Click here to learn more

Located on nearly 1.5 acres, 2838 Park Ave. will be a 36-unit project designed as one new, 3-story building with tuck-under parking in the rear to take advantage of a natural 13-foot grade change. The project will have a community center and space for on-site management and resident services.

It is located near residential uses, urban open space, schools and Cabrillo College. The property is a short walk (0.2mi) to the Soquel Drive & Parke Ave. It's also near the Santa Cruz Metro bus stop that has access to four lines, including the 69W and 71 which take riders to and from Watsonville and Downtown Santa Cruz. This is ideal for intended residents who have a lower rate of car ownership.

All units in the project will be deed-restricted affordable to 30% of AMI (Average Median Income) or below.

Learn More: https://www.parkhavenplaza.com/overview

Located on the Housing Matters Campus in the city of Santa Cruz, 120 studio units will be used as permanent supportive housing and one manager's unit with a ground floor recuperative care center, behavioral health clinic, and a residential lobby with shared residential space and service provision space. Learn more about the project here.

MidPen Housing is currently working on a significant project in the city of Santa Cruz. This project will be a 100% affordable 50-unit development with units dedicated to those in need of permanent supportive services. You can learn more about the project here.

An applicant for Project Homekey funds, this Victorian office building will be converted into a permanent supportive housing solution offering two studios and five one-bedroom units with services provided by Housing Matters in the city of Santa Cruz.

This proposed four or five story mixed-use building will bring more badly needed affordable housing to the City of Santa Cruz — though its streamlined approval process has yielded backlash from certain community members. Read our letter of support for this project here.

Eden Housing broke ground in May 2022 and is a new apartment community that will serve residents earning between 25 to 50% of the area’s median income, which is equivalent to an annual income of $28,000 to $56,000 for a two-person household. Approximately half of the units are for farmworkers. There will also be 6 units dedicated to households experiencing homelessness. The development is designed as two three-story buildings with 53 apartments, which include a mix of one-bedroom, two-bedroom and three-bedroom units. Additionally, the ground level of the building includes a management office for the full-time community manager, as well as an office for a resident services coordinator who will provide myriad services – such as wellness, career, education and financial literacy programming – to help ensure residents succeed. There will also be an office for onsite case-management support from Santa Cruz County to assist the households transitioning from homelessness.

In May 2022, MidPen Housing started construction of 57 units of affordable family and supportive housing at 1500 Capitola Road in Live Oak. The second phase of a mixed use housing and health hub, MidPen has partnered with two like-minded non-profit organizations, Dientes Community Dental and Santa Cruz Community Health, to create a campus that co-locates affordable housing with affordable healthcare services, the first of its kind in Santa Cruz County. And in further collaborating with the County of Santa Cruz Health Services Agency and the Central California Alliance for Health to house persons who are homeless and have complex mental and physical health conditions.

An applicant for Project Homekey funds, this proposed project would renovate the Rodeway Inn and convert it into 94 permanent supportive housing units in the extremely low income category. Fourteen units would be set aside for individuals with mobility disabilities, and nine for individuals with visual or hearing impairments. The developer, Shangri-La Development Inc. is working with Santa Cruz County Housing for Health Partnership. This is an important project due to its permanent supportive housing component. To date, there has been no organized opposition to the project.

This 65-unit development of 100% affordable apartments broke ground in June 2022. Many of the residents will be individuals and families coming out of homelessness and supportive staffing will be on site.

MidPen Housing is currently working on a significant project in the city of Watsonville. This project will be a 72-unit development with units. Miles Lane will have a preference for agricultural households for 35 of the units. MidPen received an award of 40 project-based Section 8 vouchers from the Housing Authority of the County of Santa Cruz 15 units are expected to have a preference for formerly homeless individuals who will receive intensive case management from the County of Santa Cruz Health Services Agency, as well as, support from onsite MidPen Resident Services staff.

You can learn more about the project here.

The Pacific Station South project broke ground in May 2022. It is a 100% affordable housing project including 70 rental apartments and dedicated medical and dental spaces anticipated to be the new downtown sites for Santa Cruz Community Health Center and Dientes Community Dental Care. The project will have ~15,200 square feet of ground floor commercial retail and residential amenity space.

An AWARD RECIPIENT of Project Homekey funds, the Santa Cruz Veterans Memorial Building Board of Trustees are working to convert and existing hotel in Ben Lomond into 20 permanent supportive housing units to serve 20 veterans along with nine modular or newly constructed units to supplement existing structures, serving an estimated 20-24 tenants. Units will be studios and one-bedroom units.

MEASURE M IS A MAJOR MISTAKE FOR OUR COMMUNITY

Measure M will hinder affordable and workforce housing development just when we need more housing for the people who make our community healthy and successful. They made a mistake when they wrote a measure that pays lip service to affordable housing, but actually puts more barriers in the way of meeting the housing needs of our essential workers and their families.

Learn more: https://www.affordablehousingadvocatessc.org/

Vote YES on L for a safer, healthier Santa Cruz.

Measure L generates local funding to help tackle some of our most urgent local problems, and can’t be taken by the State:

-Connecting people experiencing homelessness with services and support

-Cleaning up and addressing the impacts of encampments

-Supporting affordable housing

-Keeping pollution out of local rivers, creeks, and streams

-Ensuring City firefighters have the training and equipment needed to fight wildfires

-Improving parks, open spaces, and beaches

Learn more : https://www.safehealthysantacruz.com/yes-on-l

Vote Yes on Measure K for a safer and stronger Santa Cruz County

We need Measure K to attract and retain frontline workers, provide emergency response services, build a resilient community for all, and continue fixing our roads and potholes throughout Santa Cruz County.

Learn more: https://www.safehealthysantacruz.com/yes-on-k

This bill would fast-track university housing developments at UC, California State Universities and community colleges by getting rid of a secondary review currently required under the California Environmental Quality Act (CEQA).

A bill already exists that makes it easier for religious institutions to use their land for affordable housing but this bill enables them to have fewer required parking spaces so that affordable housing can be built.

This bill would add more areas in cities (commercially-zoned) for 100% affordable housing projects to be “by right” and have streamlined ministerial processes while also requiring prevailing wages.

This bill allows for fewer required parking spaces if a property is within a half mile of a bus route enabling more residential units to be built.

This bill would add a new provision to the tax credit system (the major financing mechanism for 100% affordable housing projects) to allow the granting of the credits for buying, remodeling, etc. existing developments that have expiring dedicated affordability units to extend their affordability. Many projects have been in existence long enough to fit that category. For instance, the City of Santa Cruz has over a hundred units near their expiration.

Authored by Laura Friedman, to exempt developments from minimum parking requirements that are within a half mile walking distance of public transit (defined as transit with a frequency of no more than 15 minute intervals). In addition to affordability benefits, there is a significant environmental benefit to reducing parking requirements. Reducing parking requirements creates a less auto-dependent community.

This legislation would repeal Article 34 which requires development, construction, or acquisition of publicly-funded low-rent housing projects to be approved by a majority of voters in a city or county. Passage would reduce the red tape that currently makes it harder and more expensive to build much needed affordable housing. This would require a voter-approved Constitutional Amendment.

This legislation would have 5% of the general fund each year be used to address homelessness and fund affordable housing, including housing and services to prevent and end homelessness. This would require a voter-approved Constitutional Amendment.

The proposed state constitution amendment that will allow voters to approve affordable housing bond measures with a 55% yes vote. The current 66.67% requirement for the passage of a Bond Measure to fund the creation of additional affordable homes in our communities has prevented our county – and other counties- from building needed apartments for local residents and workers. This amendment will create greater opportunities for building affordable apartments.

Is a constitutional amendment that would establish a ten-year funding commitment in the Constitution that dedicates five percent from the state’s general fund, each year, to the state’s affordable housing and homelessness crisis.

The intention of the city council in placing the initiative on the ballot was to fund much needed homeless and housing programs. While the revenue would have gone into the general fund and couldn’t be specifically earmarked in advance, we supported the measure on the expectation that council’s intentions will be carried out. Addressing homelessness and the housing crisis must be the City’s highest priority with Measure F revenue allocations. HSCC encouraged voters to be part of the solution by voting for Measure F on the June 7, 2022 ballot.

The Coastal Commission has not, historically, been sensitive to social equity and affordable housing needs in our coastal communities. By bringing more folks with a social justice lens onto the Commission, we envision greater affordable housing opportunities near the coast for our local residents and workers. Housing Santa Cruz County wrote a letter to Assembly Speaker for District 63, Anthony Rendon, relaying that HSCC has observed that decisions by the Commission, especially in subjectively interpreting ‘community character’ has contributed to housing inequities in the coastal zone and have helped to continue the legacy of redlining. Accessibility to the coast and housing production within has reflected that lack of inclusive consideration. We believe having the Commission members reflect our state’s diversity would begin to reverse that history. We also offered to provide suggestions for candidates, if he didn’t have any.

This year there is an anticipated large revenue surplus that, we hope, could provide additional funding for housing. HSCC has chosen to add its name to the Non-Profit Housing Association of Northern California’s lobbying efforts, as well as, write letters to Senator John Laird, Assemblymembers Mark Stone and Robert Rivas pushing for budget increases for the Multifamily Housing Program and the Housing Accelerator Program. These programs have a backlog of unfunded applications that include: Project Homekey, Veterans Housing Homelessness Prevention Program and No Place Like Home. Additionally, there is the California Low-Income Tax Credit Program and a disaster relief program.