Santa Cruz County Housing Digest

A public hearing will be held on May 13 at 7:00PM by the Santa Cruz City Council as it considers the plan to expand the downtown to the south of Laurel Street neighborhood.

A Republican bill to require more transparency from California’s 50,000 homeowners associations failed to advance out of committee despite bipartisan support.

Two consecutive committee chairs getting overruled by their committee members signifies a growing rift among California Democrats about how to address the housing crisis.

Dixon Trail is the first purpose-built “wildfire resilient neighborhood” in the United States. Making that a reality for the millions of Californians who already live in harm’s way is a daunting and costly challenge that lawmakers are only just beginning to grapple with.

With empty storefronts and a frenzy of building, Wallace Baine considers the future of downtown Santa Cruz.

California uses Medicaid to pay for a range of nontraditional health care services, including housing. The Trump administration wants to scale back those programs.

A pre-application has been submitted to the City of Santa Cruz with a proposal to build an eight-story mixed-use building on the south side of Laurel Avenue.

Students living in UC Santa Cruz family housing were shocked to learn rents at the new housing facility would be $600 per month higher than they are paying now.

California Senate Housing Committee Chair Aisha Wahab is a staunch progressive who is clashing with pro-development activists and other Democrats who want to build more, faster.

Competing housing measures with the same goal of providing more workforce housing are being advanced by Mayor of Santa Cruz Fred Keeley and the Santa Cruz County Association of Realtors, and the Mayor is not happy.

A 32-bed Santa Cruz County Health Services transitional housing facility is set to begin construction at 2202 Soquel Avenue.

Work will soon begin on a 32-bed transitional homeless center on Soquel Avenue in Santa Cruz.

A handful of legislators rallied near the state Capitol Thursday to promote what they’re calling an “extremely unsexy,” but important, bipartisan bill package intended to put California’s housing development into overdrive.

Live Oak residents are concerned about parking and traffic as a 63-unit housing development planned for 841 Capitola Road begins to take shape.

In the recurring legislative fight between YIMBY legislators and defenders of California’s signature environmental law, one bill could be a final legislative showdown.

The impact of cannabis lounges and an update on the housing element of the General Plan were on the agenda of the March 19 meeting of the Scotts Valley City Council. Read on to learn more

Read on to learn more about upcoming neighborhood meetings at local libraries hosted by local homelessness nonprofit Housing Matters for discussion around the topic of “Neighbors for Neighbors: At the Intersections.”

Read on for details about a March 18 online community meeting discussing plans to build a seven-story housing development on the 900 block of Pacific Avenue.

A statement from Santa Cruz City Manager Matt Huffaker and Economic Development and Housing Director Bonnie Lipscomb addressing criticism about transparency and concerns about occupancy numbers of local affordable housing.

Read on for details about a brewing conflict as the Santa Cruz County Association of Realtors advance a housing measure for the ballot in opposition to one backed by Mayor Fred Keeley and local housing groups and other stakeholders.

A $5 billion pot of federal money set aside to help people on the verge of homelessness pay the rent is running out of cash — and no one has a plan to keep the roughly 60,000 renters, more than 15,000 of them in California — from losing their housing after the last dollar is spent.

An online forum hosted by the City of Santa Cruz will be held on March 26 for discussion about a six story affordable housing project to be constructed at 525 Water Street. Read on to learn how you can participate.

In their March 11 meeting, Santa Cruz County supervisors approved new rules to restrict vacation rentals. Read on for more information.

Lookout Local's Wallace Baine reflects on the transformation of Front Street in Santa Cruz as the downtown building boom continues.

Read on for more information about the seven-story mixed-use development proposed for the 900 block of Pacific Avenue and the community meeting about the project scheduled for March 18.

Gov. Gavin Newsom wants to see tangible results from the $6.4 billion mental health bond voters approved last year. Moving fast carries a risk of neglecting under-resourced communities.

Oakland Democrat Buffy Wicks said lawmakers will soon see 20 bills to speed up housing construction, along with more on energy, water and transit.

Feather River College is still reeling from the 2021 Dixie Fire, which destroyed hundreds of homes in the surrounding community and warped the housing market. The college is one of many schools that have tried — and failed — to secure state grants to build more student housing.

Each year, legislation aimed at better wildfire mitigation fails – often due to cost or conflict with environmental regulations.

The biggest obstacle? Not enough housing. Read on to learn more.

Read on for details about a report on the 2-year Yolo County Basic Income Program which ended in April 2024.

A passel of recent California laws were supposed to supercharge the construction of desperately needed housing. According to YIMBY Law, they haven’t even come close.