Santa Cruz County Housing Digest

Open since 1933, Bocci's Cellar is for sale for $1.1M.

Tenants in many new privately owned, low-income units will be protected from double-digit increases. So will some in existing units, after a state committee on affordable housing imposed a rent cap.

Local homeless and housing rights activist Reggie Meisler filed a challenge to the renewal of the City of Santa Cruz large-vehicle parking ban.

Plans for an 18 story building 192 feet tall were submitted to the City of Santa Cruz planning department.

The passage of California Proposition 1 is leaving local mental health and homeless service providers with questions as to the impact in the count.

Legislation would fast-track approval for temporary or relocatable housing on vacant land when local shelter emergencies arise.

Mayor Keeley speaks to the priority of building more affordable housing in Santa Cruz, touting the 320 units in progress downtown and the units built on River Street and in progress in Harvey West.

The HOA responded to the 2023 California Coastal Commission fine of $4.7M for blocking beach access by ... erecting a chain link fence to better block beach access.

Santa Cruz Cares and American Civil Liberties Union of Northern California are among those seeking to overturn Santa Cruz Planning Commission approval in February of the Oversized Vehicle Ordinance.

A crew from Lewis Tree Service removed the large redwood, which was causing extensive damage to the sidewalk and was threatening an adjacent apartment building.

The University of California Agriculture and Natural Resources advisors has published a new website with information resources for small acreage landowners raising livestock.

The Measure M initiative to make zoning and general plan changes in Santa Cruz and raise the affordable housing inclusionary rate in the city is unlikely to pass, while the Measure L sales tax increase seemed headed for approval.

41 students who live in a trailer park on campus were told that they had to move out by the end of March because of safety concerns have now been informed they can stay, so long as they unhook their propane tanks.

No issue matters more to Californians than housing and homelessness. Catch up on where the major Senate candidates stand on the subject.

As agents hunt for business in Southern California's slow real estate market, some are trying out new ways of tracking down leads. Others are quitting the industry.

California Atty. Gen. Rob Bonta announced consumer tools to help tenants and landlords understand how much rent can rise under a state law.

The term “unsubsidized 100% affordable project” was once an oxymoron. Under Mayor Karen Bass, Los Angeles is now approving them by the hundreds.

States are plowing billions of dollars into a high-stakes health care experiment that’s exploding around the country: using scarce public health insurance money to provide housing for the poorest and sickest Americans.

On Jan. 31, dozens of cities and counties are expected to convert thousands of suburban-style tracts into apartment-ready parcels. Will the state hold them to it?

State officials hope a lottery and an emphasis on first-generation homebuyers will make California’s most generous down payment assistance program more equitable.

California state law dictates that property owners are responsible for repairing damaged sidewalks. In Sacramento, this has left some owners facing bills of thousands of dollars or tax assessments from the city.

New law is meant to help nursing home residents understand the reasons for their discharge, and inform them of their rights to appeal.

A draft of the city’s housing plans for the next eight years, which includes the construction of 2,053 new units, is available for the public to view at the Watsonville Public Library, Old City Hall and online.

Santa Cruz Metro has been awarded a $2 million grant to boost affordable housing at one of its four transit centers in Santa Cruz County.

In downtown Oakland, a new 19-story apartment tower with 236 units could be left sitting vacant because of a shortage of components required to connect the building to the electrical grid.

María Vela’s family has lived in East L.A. nearly 30 years, but new owners of her duplex asked her family to vacate by Christmas. Most evictions are due to nonpayment of rent, but owner move-ins also cause family displacement.

Federal funding for domestic violence shelters and housing programs is declining. Advocates want the state to step in, but with a record projected deficit new spending is unlikely.

Federal judge David O. Carter has declined to dismiss a lawsuit that could force the Veterans Administration to house veterans experiencing homelessness in the Los Angeles area. Carter’s 41-page ruling could pave the way for a trial in mid-2024.

The Los Angeles Neighborhood Land Trust recently paid almost $10 million for a 1.86-acre site formerly used for oil drilling. It could be converted into a community center, park and affordable housing.

A group called Affordable Housing Advocates Santa Cruz has emerged to counter the ballot measure known as the Housing for People Citizen Initiative, which qualified at the end of November to be placed on the city of Santa Cruz March 2024 ballot.

A coyote recently was found at the $27 million Russian Hill home of AI mogul Sam Altman. This relates to a study, which found that coyote sightings were more frequent in higher-income areas of San Francisco.

Even though California is facing a crippling housing shortage, one potential source remains untapped. The state allows thousands of apartments used for part of the year by farmworkers to otherwise sit vacant for three to six months.