On paper, developer Workbench received almost everything it applied for with unanimous support in Tuesday’s Santa Cruz City Council vote on the proposed redevelopment of The Food Bin site on Mission Street — the height, (most of) the units, limited parking. However, finer details tell a different story.
Housing & Development
Posted inHousing & Development
With few options under California’s new housing reality, Santa Cruz neighbors, city council gird for vote on Food Bin project
Neighbors disagree with the project, and city councilmembers have criticized developer Workbench’s approach to the five-story, 59-unit redevelopment of the Food Bin. But neither is likely to stand in the way of the project in California’s new era of state-mandated housing development.
Posted inOpinion from Community Voices
How did we get to the homelessness problem of today and what is next?
Homelessness didn’t just happen. It came about through government choice and policy, writes Lookout politics columnist Mike Rotkin, a five-time Santa Cruz mayor. Here, Rotkin leads us through how unhoused policies shifted starting in the 1970s and offers his read on what we need now.
Posted inHousing & Development
One of Santa Cruz’s most recognizable Victorian houses hits the market on the Westside
A historic, unique painted lady Victorian house is for sale for the first time in nearly 50 years. George Ow Jr. and his wife, Gail Michaelis-Ow, have owned it since 1975, but the home has stood at its Highland Avenue location since the late 1800s, withstanding two massive earthquakes and many drastic changes within the Santa Cruz community.
Posted inLatest News
Newsom promised 1,200 tiny homes for homeless Californians. A year later, none have opened
Gov. Gavin Newsom said he would send tiny homes to San Jose, Los Angeles, Sacramento and San Diego County. Why haven’t any materialized yet?
Posted inHousing & Development
Pacific Station North affordable housing project breaks ground in downtown Santa Cruz
Along with Pacific Station South, Pacific Station North will bring the total number of new units on the corner of Pacific Avenue and Laurel Street to just shy of 200 by the end of 2026. The city celebrated its groundbreaking Monday as it prepares to open up Pacific Station South to tenants by the summer.
Posted inHousing & Development
New images unveiled of Santa Cruz’s downtown library project
The library and affordable housing project in Santa Cruz promises to be a generational shift in the look and feel of the city’s downtown.
Posted inPolitics & Policy
After residents told to move their mobile homes for Coastal Rail Trail, some mull legal action
Residents in two Live Oak mobile home parks directly beside the rail line fear they could be displaced by the Coastal Rail Trail project, specifically, Segments 10 and 11 that run right between the two parks. As the Santa Cruz County Regional Transportation Commission prepares to consider options for the residents, those living in the parks have begun seriously weighing legal action.
Posted inOpinion from Community Voices
Teachers like me need affordable housing now – 2027 is too late
Middle school science teacher Christy Fairbairn loves her job and wants to stay in Santa Cruz County, but she and her husband, an ecologist, can’t afford the high rents. Too many fantastic teachers and staff, she writes, are leaving our community because of the high cost of living. To keep our schools thriving, she says teachers and school staff need workplace housing now.
Posted inPolitics & Policy
In the Public Interest: Lookout wins the Pulitzer Prize; Scotts Valley’s tabula rasa, and more
Santa Cruz County politics and policy news and notes from Pulitzer Prize-winning Lookout Santa Cruz correspondent Christopher Neely.