First-of-its-kind housing project brings tears, cheers and jeers in Santa Cruz
It seemed like business as usual inside Santa Cruz City Hall on Thursday night, as the city’s planning commission met to weigh an affordable, 100-unit multifamily housing project proposed for the city’s Westside. Despite a pending vote, there was no sense of mystery or political intrigue, as state law essentially forces the seven-member planning commission to approve similar affordable housing projects or face litigation.
Yet, a rare scene unfolded all the same as Santa Cruz City Schools district trustee Kyle Kelley, a vocal pro-housing supporter, approached the public’s lectern to comment on the project. As he began to speak, his voice cracked and he started to cry.
“We’ve been working toward this for years,” Kelley said through tears.
In a moment when it feels like the planning commission and city council are constantly voting on large-scale multifamily housing developments, the project on Thursday’s agenda — which, as expected, passed unanimously — marked a milestone. At four stories and 100 subsidized units, it will be the first affordable housing project dedicated for workers of a specific employer: the Santa Cruz City Schools district.
The term “workforce housing” is a sort of catch-all term for housing affordable to those making 80 to 120% of the area’s median income, which in 2024 ticked up to $132,800 for a four-person household in Santa Cruz County. The city has welcomed hundreds of workforce housing units over the past decade, but only twice has housing targeted specific segments of the workforce: this latest project, and the Tannery Arts Center, which rents only to artists.
Only Santa Cruz City Schools district educators, support staff and their families will be allowed to live in the development, proposed for 313 Swift St. The developer, Santa Cruz-based Bogard Construction, in conjunction with the district, will have to enter into an agreement with the city that ensures the housing is rented to only district employees.
The project was made possible more than two years ago, after local voters approved two bond measures to finance new facilities for Santa Cruz City Schools. According to district spokesperson Sam Rolens, the district will use bond funding to finance the project up front, then replenish the district’s coffers through rent revenues.
“This is one of the best multifamily projects I’ve seen, on many levels,” planning commissioner Matthew Thompson said. “It provides a buffer from the neighborhood, it actually has enough parking. Plus, they’re good-looking buildings and can accommodate many household sizes.”
Not everyone inside city hall showed the same enthusiasm. One man, who did not identify himself by name, told the planning commission he felt the project encouraged “indentured servitude” since the building’s tenants would need to work for the district in order to hold on to their housing. He also complained that, despite the project using public funds, the public could not access the courtyard of the building, which he described as a “gated compound.”
District Superintendent Kris Munro said there was “no concern about this being indentured servitude” from school faculty. She said district employees had been asking to find a solution to the housing affordability crisis, which this project represented.
The Santa Cruz City Council will have the final say on this development in the coming weeks. The state’s threats to sue cities that reject conforming affordable housing projects makes it likely this project will pass.
For more, read my colleague Hillary Ojeda’s coverage of this project.
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OF NOTE
Erin Brockovich joins the Moss Landing battery fire fight: Vistra Corp., the Texas-based energy company, knowingly operated a less safe battery technology and installed an inadequate fire suppression system, which exacerbated the thermal runaway disaster at its Moss Landing plant in January, claims a lawsuit filed against the company last week. Residents are suing for damages and are calling for a full investigation into what caused the fire. Prominent environmental activist Erin Brockovich has signed on to help the plaintiffs in the case.
POINTS FOR PARTICIPATION
Santa Cruz City Council to vote on sanctuary city policy: After some noticeable silence and a closed-session discussion, the Santa Cruz City Council is slated to vote Tuesday on whether to reaffirm its commitment to its sanctuary city policy. As passed in 2017 during President Donald Trump’s first term, the policy deprioritizes communication and coordination with U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement agents. The policy ensures that local police are not being used as proxies for federal agents, as is the case elsewhere in the country. The city council is scheduled to meet Tuesday at noon.
Where the legislators meet the pavement: The Santa Cruz County Board of Supervisors will vote to approve a pavement plan for road resurfacing on Tuesday. Of the 36 roads listed for resurfacing, more than half (19) are in District 2, and one-third are in District 1. You can see the full list in the attachments for Item 8 on Tuesday’s agenda.
