As Scotts Valley’s first affordable housing project breaks ground, mayor says developer, state bulldozed public process

Scotts Valley Mayor Derek Timm considers himself part of a growing group in Santa Cruz County’s northernmost city that wants to see more affordable housing built. 

In August, local developer and architecture firm Workbench, with its New York-based partner CRP Affordable Housing, broke ground on the first 100% affordable housing project Scotts Valley has seen in decades. The demolition of the old Seagate office building is nearly complete, and construction at 4575 Scotts Valley Dr. is set to begin soon.  

However, Timm and other city officials are still wondering whether the project, which will bring 100 housing units to one of the city’s main thoroughfares, was worth the cost. 

“What we had on this site was one of the better constructed buildings in town,” Timm said. The building, which was originally built as the international data center for tech firm Seagate, had relatively rare amenities, such as built-in backup power supplies, that made it attractive office space for tech companies. 

Still worse, in Timm’s mind, is the loss of local control. The project took advantage of a state law, Assembly Bill 2011, that allows for the conversion of professional office and commercial space into affordable housing — all through an over-the-counter process that doesn’t require public forums or votes from the city council or planning commission. In a column published in the Press Banner on Sept. 18, Timm said “Scotts Valley residents get no say.”  

“I think this is indicative of a trend that we’re going to see moving forward,” Timm told Lookout. “I think we can all agree that housing policies have historically prevented housing, but it doesn’t mean we should throw away common sense. Common sense was thrown out in this case.” 

Sibley Simon, a principal with Workbench, called Timm’ and others’ objections “thinly veiled NIMBYism,” or not in my backyard, a term used to describe the political stance against new housing development. 

“I don’t get it, they claim it was a fancy building, but it didn’t seem that way to us, we couldn’t find what they claimed was so great about it,” Simon said. “It should only be celebrated that a vacant office building has turned into housing for 100 families. I haven’t figured out a downside to it.” 

Many in Scotts Valley relish in the community’s ethos as a tech incubator. Netflix started in the city, and Borland Software Corporation had a campus there as well. Universal Audio works out of Scotts Valley, and Paystand just recently moved out, to downtown Santa Cruz. Timm maintains that losing a higher-end office structure like the old Seagate building harms Scotts Valley’s ability to continue attracting young tech companies. 

“Is it good we’re getting affordable housing? Yes. Is this the right spot? No, and both those things can be true,” Timm said. 

For Workbench, the project represents a significant benchmark. The Santa Cruz-based firm has held a steady presence in headlines and neighborhood conversations thanks to its reputation for designing splashy, and sometimes controversial, multifamily housing development proposals and its uncompromising attitude in pushing the projects through the permit approval process. 

However, despite being behind large-scale visions such as Clocktower Center, ArtHaus and the Food Bin redevelopment, the only completed Santa Cruz County projects on Workbench’s résumé are smaller, accessory dwelling units and low-density housing. Once complete, the Scotts Valley project will be by far the largest Workbench product in the county. 

“This project is a big milestone for us,” Simon said. “There are a lot of opinions about Workbench out there, but this project really shows our true interest that our first big project is 100% affordable housing.”

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