February 2021 Newsletter
We kicked off 2021 with our January meeting, where we welcomed new members and heard about upcoming projects in Watsonville, Scotts Valley and Santa Cruz.
We got an introduction to the vocabulary and reality of setting long term local housing goals: AMBAG; Housing Elements, RHNA. See below, More On Housing Elements.
We learned about a new advocacy organization for affordable housing: Housing Santa Cruz County. (housingsantacruzcounty.com)
Watch also for Santa Cruz YIMBY to ramp up our local advocacy. We’ll still be tracking state legislation and learning from others in the Bay Area, the state, and, yes, the nation.
Upcoming Meeting - Feb 11 at 5:30 PM
Join us for our next meeting on Thursday, February 11 at 5:30PM. Register for the Zoom meeting via the button below. You will receive a confirmation email with the link after registering. If you can't attend, feel free to email your ideas by responding to this email.
831 Water Street is an important and immediate focus for our support!!!
Mixed use: 151 units - 77 units affordable, of which 47 are Very Low Income units (rent is 30% of income, maximum income $46,200/year for 1-person studio, $52,800/year for 2-person 1-bedroom [PDF]
9,000 sf Neighborhood Retail; 3,300 sf community room; 2,200 sf rooftop public space
Walking distance to neighborhood commercial and downtown
On bus routes for the Santa Cruz - Watsonville corridor
The Community Meeting January 27 drew 270(!) participants, mostly neighborhood NIMBY defenders. We will need lots of voices on this. Make plans to attend the second community meeting, still unscheduled.
Learn more about 831 Water St and
submit comments of support!
Public Comment Open on UC Santa Cruz Draft LRDP Environmental Impact Report
Public comment is open for the Draft Environmental Impact Report (EIR) of University of California Santa Cruz (UCSC) Draft Long Range Development Plan (LRDP). Deadline is Monday, March 8, 2021
Provide Feedback on UCSC's EIR
Affordable Housing
The Santa Cruz City Council met on Jan 26 and:
Advanced 65 unit affordable housing project at Calvary Church site, raising allowable number of limits to 100, if developer is able to do so.
Advanced a proposal to redevelop the Santa Cruz Metro bus system’s downtown Pacific station to include ground floor commercial and 100 units of affordable housing.
Heard an update to the Mixed Use Downtown Library project, which has an affordable housing component.
Other affordable housing news:
Good Times Santa Cruz (Jan 26) | Will Coastal Commission Block Affordable Housing in Santa Cruz?
Sacramento City Council Votes Unanimously to Eliminate Single-Family Zoning!!!
On January 19, the Sacramento City Council voted unanimously on elements of the 2040 General Plan update that would “Permit a Greater Array of Housing Types in Single-Unit Neighborhoods”, effectively eliminating single-family zoning.
Sacramento City Express (Jan 25) | City council shows strong support for allowing more housing types in single-family neighborhoods
For a better understanding of how this was accomplished and might be replicated, take a look at the City Council Report [PDF]. A lot of research, education, and community engagement preceded this seemingly bold move. Ultimately, neighborhood groups were supportive of the changes!
Start with the Key Strategies (pp 98-106 of the report).
Who's Next?
Mercury News (Jan 25) | Will San Jose move to densify single-family neighborhoods like Sacramento just did?
Sightline Institute (Jan 20) | Suddenly, Zoning Reforms are Popping up Everywhere
Santa Cruz???
Berkeley goes YIMBY and eliminates parking minimums
On January 26th, Berkley’s city council voted unanimously to eliminate off-street parking requirements for new developments, and even went so far as to have parking maximums in transit rich areas. It has long been a YIMBY issue to change parking regulations to promote more climate-friendly, walkable neighborhoods, as well as to lower the cost of housing. Arguments over parking are often a core NIMBY tactic to block new housing.
Berkeley has long had a reputation for regressive NIMBYism with housing, but is now leading the way with progressive parking reform.
Daily cal (Jan 26) | Berkeley City Council ends parking requirements for new housing
Berkeleyside (Jan 27) | Berkeley overhauls off-street parking with an eye toward greener future
What we are watching....
YIMBY Action’s Making Urbanism AntiRacist series | YouTube (Jan 21): Sara Bronin on Making Urbanism Antiracist
Donald Shoupp’s collection of short videos on the high cost of free parking | Parkumentries
What we are reading....
Sightline Institute (Jan 22) | State Incentives for Local Abundant Housing Policy
Strong Towns (Jan 6) | College Campuses Are Designed at Human-Scale. Our Cities Can Be Too.
Sightline Institute (Sept 21, 2017) | Yes, You Can Build Your Way to Affordable Housing
Time (Jan 22) | Amsterdam Is Embracing a New Economic Theory to Help Save the Environment. Could It Replace Capitalism?
The White House (Jan 26) | Memorandum on Redressing Our Nation's and the Federal Government's History of Discriminatory Housing Practices and Policies
Santa Cruz Sentinel (Jan 26) | Santa Cruz County supervisors look to big tech for affordable housing help
Medium (Jan 21) I’ve experienced homelessness and it is unacceptable. That’s why I’m a YIMBY.
More on Housing Elements
The basics: a brilliant 3 minute video by the City of Carlsbad explaining the process
Some details: UCLA Lewis Center for Regional Policy Studies (Dec 14, 2020) [PDF]
California Housing Legislation - 2021
Learn More About CA Senate Housing Priorities
Stay in touch!
We welcome your feedback, questions or comments! Feel free to be in touch with a reply to this newsletter or follow us on social media: Facebook, Twitter and (new!) Instagram
We are a chapter of YIMBY Action, a network of pro-housing activists fighting for more inclusive housing policies and a future of abundant housing.