Santa Cruz County Housing Digest

The lack of enough places for everyone to live has sent coastal rent prices inland, removing large swaths of previously cheaper rental units.

An appeal was denied by the California Coastal Commission concerning a proposed, mixed-use building, with commercial on the ground level and 89 units above, at the intersection of West Cliff Drive and Bay Street in Santa Cruz.

For the first time, San Diego has surpassed San Francisco for average rental rates, making the All-American City the nation’s third-most expensive rental market, according to a Zillow report. But San Jose had the nation’s highest monthly rent with $3,411.

Ariel Marshall, a senior official from the U.S. Department of Energy visited Santa Cruz city leaders to learn about progress made on all-electric housing and other developments. Marshall’s message was clear: there’s federal money for the city’s climate-friendly projects.

Santa Cruz County tops the list of most expensive rental markets in the country, according to the nonprofit National Low Income Housing Coalition. Renters would have to earn $63.33 an hour to afford a two-bedroom.

The housing development, named “Casa Azul” after its blue paint scheme, includes two upstairs one-bedroom apartments to go with five studio units.

Most of what Californians experience with homelessness occurs along public spaces and city streets. But what happens when a city council member loses her home? Ojai’s Suza Francina is finding out.

Bill Shopoff and his company controls four California retail properties that could one day could be new housing.

The city’s attorney analyzed the ruling and it was determined that there was no way to avoid applicability in Santa Cruz.

Thousands of Californians who lost work during the pandemic are struggling with debt. A new settlement makes COVID rent relief available to tens of thousands of tenants.

Wildfires and expensive rebuilding wiped out their profits, California home insurers say. State Farm isn’t the first insurer to retreat from the state, and may not be the last.

A state bill seeks to create publicly owned housing that's affordable for people of a range of income levels.

About 50 community members showed up for the second meeting of three at the Santa Cruz Police Department community room to help Santa Cruz Mayor Fred Keeley and city officials create a funding source for affordable and supportive housing projects.

The decision came after weeks of protest from residents of Cabrillo Mobile Home Estates Park who said that the park’s private owner had informed them that their rents would increase 56% from $641 to $1,000 beginning June 1 after expiration of an existing 12-year lease.

A longtime apartment complex geared toward tenants with special needs will more than triple in size as part of a new affordable housing project.

An apartment complex geared toward tenants with special needs will soon more than triple in size as part of a new affordable housing project.

California officials depend largely on residents filing complaints to find out about health and safety problems at mobile home parks. Here’s how to file a complaint.

When will the law of supply and demand cool the housing market in California? The state is losing population as it builds homes at its fastest clip in more than a decade.

New numbers show that California added to its housing stock at a faster clip than any time since the Great Recession. Over that same period, the state’s population declined, marking the third year in a row that it’s fallen from one new year to the next. Does this mean the state’s perennial housing shortage could finally end? The long answer: “It’s complicated.”

Santa Cruz Mayor Fred Keeley and councilmembers Scott Newsome and Sandy Brown presented a motion to begin study on a potential bond measure to pay for affordable housing and permanent supportive housing projects in the city.

A builder in wealthy Saratoga agreed to a strict union-hiring standard to take advantage of a new housing law. But questions remain, including whether the state can both encourage developers to build while also requiring them to reserve jobs for the unionized construction workforce.

Amid soaring housing costs, Camper Park, a trailer park owned and operated by UC Santa Cruz, has become one of the most coveted housing options at the school, the Wall Street Journal reports.

California cities of every size lack shelter beds for the growing homeless population. A new bill would force local governments to do more, and punish ones that don't plan housing for homeless Californians.

Local conservation group Habitat And Watershed Caretakers filed another lawsuit against the University of California last week over the housing project, which was approved for the third time in about four years by the regents despite a separate pending lawsuit.

The city of Santa Cruz needs to build more than three times as many housing units in the next eight years as it did in the past eight. The plan coming before the council on April 25 projects 4,457 units—most along Mission, Ocean, Water and River streets and Soquel Avenue.

The Sacramento Bee has created an interactive map showing how the housing market has slowed in most California counties. While the real estate market was peaking at this time last year, things have changed, with El Dorado County experiencing the largest drop-off.

Santa Cruz is seeking public input on the first draft of its latest housing element, a document that guides growth and development for the next eight years. The state's Regional Housing Needs Assessment element compels the city to add 3,736 housing units by 2031.

As Watsonville approaches a new Housing Element six-year cycle, a special meeting will be held Tuesday to review where things stand with the current cycle as the city presents its annual progress report.

Mayor Fred Keeley will pitch to voters a bond measure that would specifically focus on homelessness and housing spending. He plans to unveil the details of this month.

Sprawl has allowed Californians to live closer to nature and buy homes where it is cheaper to build. But it has also left millions vulnerable to wildfires and flooding.

Pajaro residents voiced their discontent with the few resources available to help them return home on Friday when the evacuation order is lifted.

Gov. Newsom wants to spend $300 million the first year. But falling home prices and rising mortgage rates are complicating the launch.