Santa Cruz County Housing Articles

Students pushed off campus, some to their cars.

City attorney told to draft law for potential November ballot measure

The end of the month seemed to approach faster than usual for Shirli McLaughlin. The 76-year-old Felton resident, a longtime Ben Lomond shopkeeper, was told her current rental was being sold. “It’s an important word, ‘home’—don’t you think?” she asked …

WATSONVILLE—A large crowd of nonprofit, city and county officials gathered Wednesday to break ground on a development on Freedom Boulevard that will house 53 low-income families. “I’m pleased we’re able to offer affordable housing here to fulfill Watsonville’s downtown specific …

Plus: November ballot initiatives take on Downtown library, empty homes

WATSONVILLE—The three candidates vying for the Fourth District seat on the Santa Cruz County Board of Supervisors squared off in a forum Tuesday night, touching on transportation, housing and other issues affecting the county. The forum was hosted by the …

Cities show mixed progress on current targets.

The 'Washington Post' descends on the "capital of Blue State America" to expose the ongoing homeless crisis in Sacramento.

WATSONVILLE—A group is planning to file a complaint to the California Attorney General’s Office against the city of Watsonville and the County of Santa Cruz for advancing a housing project that they say will create an environmental hazard for its …

Code violations, even after they're fixed, can cost struggling homeowners their homes. Some have seen fees and fines into the six figures even after repairs. Here are some of the horror stories. But what can be done about it?

Small city will have to accommodate 1,200 homes, including roughly 800 affordable units

Assembly Bill 2179 extends eviction protections through June 30 for Californians who signed up for the program or applied for local assistance by March 31.

WATSONVILLE—Since the state opened its Covid-related rental assistance program roughly a year ago, 889 Watsonville residents who have fallen behind on their monthly payments have submitted an application for help. But only around half of those people have received funds, …

A new California bill would extend evictions protections for those with pending applications.

Scotts Valley is required to give the state an annual update on its progress toward helping to alleviate California’s housing crunch—including on delivering affordable places to live. And while this year the results on that front weren’t great, they sure …

Tuesday’s city council meeting addressed important issues and ignited debate.

The item came to the board a week before the statewide eviction moratorium ends on March 31.

Final map will need Santa Cruz City Council approval.

WATSONVILLE—As the three dozen or so people attending a Feb. 10 virtual meeting about the future of Watsonville’s downtown gave their final comments, one speaker’s remarks invoked some smiles and produced nodding heads from the rows of attendees displayed in …

WATSONVILLE—The historic 1903 Roache schoolhouse is on the move, once again.  In order to make way for heavy equipment and ground moving, the building at 221 Airport Blvd. was recently hoisted across the property and now sits perched on cribbing …