The debate over Workbench’s proposed Bright Plaza project has become tangled in misunderstandings about what is actually being proposed, how the city approval process works, what qualifies as affordable housing and where higher-density housing belongs, writes affordable housing advocate and former Santa Cruz mayor Don Lane. Santa Cruz can disagree about development without letting misinformation, hyperbole and name-calling replace thoughtful debate, he writes. Before we decide what kinds of housing belong in our community, he insists that we should separate preliminary drawings from actual proposals, affordable housing from market-rate housing and legitimate concerns from exaggerated claims.
Housing & Development
Posted inOpinion from Community Voices
Suddenly Seabright? Where has Ryan Coonerty been on development all this time?
Ami Chen Mills, running for mayor of Santa Cruz, pushes back against the assertion by her opponent, Ryan Coonerty, that she has taken a stance “too late” on the project proposed at Seabright and Soquel avenues. She presents the politics behind the Seabright project, criticizes Coonerty’s record on development and local control and explains her own evolving approach to the housing crisis. She argues for truly affordable housing, tenant protections, neighborhood-scale development and stronger local oversight.
Posted inPolitics & Policy
Why a bill to juice condo construction died even though California lawmakers voted for it
Supporters said a condo construction bill was a key to unlocking the type of naturally affordable for-sale housing that California desperately needs. But deadlines matter.
Posted inOpinion from Community Voices
If nobody goes to downtown Santa Cruz, who are all these people?
Downtown Santa Cruz isn’t empty — and both the numbers and the visuals prove it, writes Matt Huffaker, the city manager. New businesses are opening, vacancies are falling and millions of people are showing up to shop, eat, study and spend time downtown. Maybe, he writes, it’s time to stop asking what’s wrong with downtown and start noticing what’s working.
Posted inHousing & Development
Watsonville rescinds approval for 21-unit housing project after airport safety lawsuit
Watsonville officials have rescinded approval of a 21-unit townhome development across from the municipal airport after a judge ruled that the city violated state airport safety and environmental laws in approving the development.
Posted inHousing & Development
Watsonville revoca la aprobación de un proyecto de 21 viviendas tras una demanda por seguridad aeroportuaria
Funcionarios de Watsonville han revocado la aprobación de un proyecto de 21 casas adosadas ubicado frente al aeropuerto municipal, después de que un juez determinara que la ciudad infringió las leyes estatales de seguridad aeroportuaria y medioambientales al aprobar el proyecto.
Posted inOpinion from Community Voices
Santa Cruz mayoral candidates need a ‘Mamdani moment’ on housing policies
Santa Cruz calls itself the “leftmost city,” but the mayoral race is exposing a sharp contradiction: progressive politics and resistance to new housing. Economist Richard McGahey argues that candidates Ryan Coonerty and Ami Chen Mills need a “Mamdani moment” on housing – and points to their opposition to a proposed Seabright project as a troubling example. With Santa Cruz-Watsonville again ranked the nation’s least affordable rental market, McGahey says the city needs more housing supply, not more barriers to it. The part-time Santa Cruz resident and author of “Unequal Cities” asks whether the city’s progressive values extend to actually building enough homes.
Posted inHousing & Development
Santa Cruz County housing market stalls, then rebounds as AI wealth boom looms
The Santa Cruz County housing market looked similar in July to what it has for most of the summer, despite sales temporarily dipping as prospective buyers leave for vacation and school gets back into session.
Posted inOpinion from Community Voices
On Coral Street, police sweeps don’t solve homelessness; they make it invisible
On Coral Street in Santa Cruz, the tents are disappearing — but the people who lived in them have not. As Housing Matters prepares to open 120 units of supportive housing, weekly street sweeps are escalating into daily displacement, writes Kevin Gallagher, who works with the unhoused on Coral Street. A community, he says, cannot call itself compassionate while pushing its most vulnerable people out of sight. Homelessness is not erased when we clear a sidewalk; it is simply moved somewhere we don’t have to see it. He urges city leaders – and all of us – to do better.
Posted inOpinion from Community Voices
Time’s up: Constant development pressure on Santa Cruz’s neighborhoods must be addressed
Santa Cruz mayoral candidate Ryan Coonerty says he will fight against the six-story housing project proposed at Seabright and Soquel. Housing projects outside of downtown should be limited to granny units and modest buildings that are designed at scale with the neighborhood and include reasonable parking and setbacks, writes Coonerty.
