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.
Housing & Development
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.
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.
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.
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.
Santa Cruz mayoral candidates oppose 6-story housing project at Seabright and Soquel; wish to regain some local control over building
Santa Cruz mayoral candidate Ryan Coonerty wasn’t shy with expressing his disapproval of a proposed housing development at the intersection of Seabright Avenue and Soquel Avenue. His mayoral opponent, Ami Chen Mills, said she also disapproves of this development despite wanting to continue to build affordable housing.
This week in Santa Cruz County business: Workbench files pre-application for new housing on site of Seabright business plaza; Joby makes moves in Texas
In her weekly look at local business, Jessica M. Pasko reports on a proposed six-story mixed-use development in Santa Cruz, Joby Aviation’s latest maneuvers and names, numbers and dates to know.
Almost nowhere in California is building enough, according to the state. Here’s why
The state ordered every city and county to plan for 2.5 million new homes by 2030. With the exception of just five jurisdictions, no one is on track to hit their numbers.
Santa Cruz’s Pacific Avenue is starting to look like Everywhere Else
Pacific Avenue once embodied Santa Cruz’s quirky, community-driven spirit, writes UC Santa Cruz student and aspiring writer Carly Pavlin. As chain retailers, including Anthropologie, replace longtime local institutions, she fears that identity is beginning to fade. Here, Pavlin reflects on the downtown she fell in love with four years ago — and asks what kind of city Santa Cruz is becoming. Is Pacific Avenue still Santa Cruz, or is it starting to look like everywhere else?
Why insurance matters to renters, landlords and California
Insurance affects the cost of rent, housing supply and recovery from disaster. In November, Californians will elect the state’s next insurance commissioner, a position that will play an important role in the recovery from last year’s Los Angeles County fires and the state of the insurance market.

