Watsonville Planning Commission denies appeal of ‘tiny village’ homeless housing project

The Watsonville Planning Commission on Tuesday denied an appeal by a resident asking the commission to rescind its approval of the 34-unit “tiny village” project that would provide shelter for the unhoused on land at Westview Presbyterian Church. 

The formal appeal, filed in October by Watsonville resident Catalina Torres, claimed the approval of the project’s zoning application was “defective and improper” for several reasons. The appeal alleged that staff improperly accepted the application without determining the size, location, capacity and character of the project, despite those being main requirements on the application. 

Torres’ appeal also claimed that the applicants — Monterey and Santa Cruz counties — did not specify the organizations responsible for managing the shelter and provide their qualifications. City zoning staff approved the application in September because it met all requirements of a state law that supersedes local control to increase the stock of affordable housing. 

In a three-hour meeting, commissioners heard from Watsonville’s principal planner, Matt Orbach — who gave an overview of the project and why city zoning staff approved the application. 

Torres and Roxanne Wilson, homelessness services director for Monterey County — which is spearheading the tiny village project — were each given 10 minutes to give their arguments. More than 60 people filled the city council chambers on Tuesday evening, many of whom were in support of the project. 

The seven-member commission voted unanimously, with two members absent, to deny Torres’ appeal. Commissioners said city zoning staff had complied with state laws and did not make any errors when approving the zoning application. 

“The function of our commission is to evaluate the record before us and determine whether there are grounds to overturn a zoning administrator’s decision under the law,” said Peter Radin, vice chair of the planning commission. “My conclusion is that the city has complied with the law.” 

Torres can file an appeal to the Watsonville City Council up to 14 days following the planning commission’s rejection. “I’m not surprised by the outcome, it was expected. But we still wanted to fight the fight,” she said. Torres and some other neighborhood residents have been vocal about their opposition to the project and its location. 

Torres said she is not ruling out filing an appeal and added that some of the neighbors are ready to take that next step. She said her only hesitation is not wanting to waste her neighbors’ time and resources only for another appeal to result in the same outcome as the first. But if her neighbors want to keep fighting the project, Torres said she might be willing to continue.

Wilson said she was happy to see the members of the community attend the meeting to show their support for the project, which demonstrates that there are people wanting to help and who consider the tiny village shelter to be a viable option for individuals seeking housing. 

She said her team is getting ready to file the building permit application within the next week. 

“Everything is fully funded, and at this point we’re just trying to push forward and make it happen because the weather is changing,” Wilson said. “People need help, and if we don’t move faster, we’re going to see the population grow.” 

Watsonville resident Bobby Marchessault said he believes the project is going to address the concerns of residents, like Torres, rather than exacerbate them. Marchessault, who lives in District 2, said he thinks every district should get its own tiny village.

“We don’t have many solutions [to homelessness] here in Watsonville at this moment, and this is one that is finally happening,” he said. 

The 34-unit tiny village project was first proposed by Monterey and Santa Cruz counties in 2023. It will be made up of 26 individual single-bed shelters, two double units and four Americans With Disabilities Act-compliant units. It will also include two laundry rooms, four shared bathrooms, a kitchen and storage area — all of which will reside on the property of Westview Presbyterian Church. 

The project is funded by an $8 million Encampment Resolution Funding Program grant from the State of California. Half of the funding will go to the construction of the tiny village and the other half will go toward supportive services.

Dan Hoffman, pastor at Westview Presbyterian Church and strong advocate for the city’s unhoused population, emphasized that the tiny village project will be a solution to getting people off the streets.

“These are our neighbors in distress. This is the working class of Watsonville,” Hoffman said. “There are a lot of people very close to the edge that could be unhoused as well.” 

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