Yes, in their backyard.
But the divided decision by the Santa Cruz City Council this week that the controversial 831 Water Street housing project meets, after all, the city’s standards for development will not sit well with many opponents.
However, the city still has to confront the realities of the state housing law and what will happen if the obstacles to the 145-unit project, which will feature half-affordable units, persist, and that will now move into the design phase.
Back on October 12, the board saw the matter differently, and denied that the project met its “objective criteria”. The main objection was that the developer proposed placing all of the affordable housing units in one of the two proposed towers, a design feature that some said created separate residences.
But the board learned that funding provisions for housing projects, along with SB 35, the state’s affordable housing law, could have different provisions for how housing should be standardized or distributed throughout the project.
Novin Development has also brought in traffic and noise studies detailing that affordable condominiums will be tied to 60% of median income in the area or less, limiting apartments to residents earning no more than $66,540 per year.
In the end, it’s possible that Santa Cruz’s elected officials recognized that rejecting the plan was a violation of SB 35—a law that many in the community despise, because they feel it strips local control of development proposals. However, the law was passed in 2017 because many local governments were not dealing with housing shortages and unaffordability. The state previously said Santa Cruz is under SB 35 because it has a housing shortage for low-income people. Had the council continued to reject the project, Novin could have taken the city to court, contending that the project fell within the “objective criteria” that SB 35 says requires approval of the developments.
It is no secret that for decades Santa Cruz has been a society largely opposed to major developments and the prospect of housing projects on a large scale still undoubtedly calls for such deep opposition. But with a median home price of about $1.3 million and a distinct shortage of rents, employers, workers and others who can’t afford or can’t find housing are increasingly demanding a voice.
This is not a new situation.
In 2015, a study by the state’s Office of Legislative Analyst indicated that to avoid steep increases in cost, California was supposed to build at least 70,000 additional housing units annually, and possibly as many as 110,000 from 1980 to 2010. Estimates of the shortfall are more than that of the 30-year period at about 3.5 million units.
Gavin Newsom cited this figure while running for governor in 2018 and pledged to close the gap by 2025. It didn’t.
Two measures were passed by the legislature this year – SB 9, which prohibits demolition of affordable housing, restricted rental housing, or rented-to-rent dwellings in the past three years; and SB 10, which makes it easier to build multi-family dwellings of up to 10 units in certain areas by removing some approval processes – it also replaces local control over housing development and allows for more intensive development as a way to achieve affordable housing while cutting red tape and Byzantine rules and regulations that hampered development.
It’s a defeat, for now, for those who want to preserve single-family housing and have concerns about crowding, resource management, environmental values, and neighborhood character. Critics also say the bills mean there will be no recourse for local or neighborhood governments to stop unwanted developments.
Meanwhile, the Association of Monterey Bay Area Governments is considering making Santa Cruz an additional 3,400 housing units by 2031 — and that number could rise next month when a final decision is expected. This will compare to the 747 units assigned in the previous allotment and will begin possible changes to the reorganization and development possibilities that could make the hype around 831 Water Street seem mild.