Santa Cruz YIMBY’s Priorities for Housing Elements
(Aka “Housing Element Solutions Resource Guide.”)
Santa Cruz YIMBY seeks to build a community where our neighbors of all ages, cultures, and incomes, can make Santa Cruz County their home. We advocate for an affordable, walkable city, with abundant housing and public transportation to meet the needs of our growing population.
By the end of 2023, Santa Cruz County and each of its Cities has to submit a housing plan called a Housing Element to the State of California for certification. Housing Elements are part of the overall General Plan and identify policies and programs to meet existing and projected housing needs for the city or county. Housing Elements are an opportunity to provide solutions to the affordable housing shortage. Once these policies and programs are written into cities’ housing elements, they become enforceable commitments.
Each jurisdiction must have opportunities for public input on their plans . Below, we’ve summarized policies that can help produce a compliant and achievable Housing Element. With your advocacy, we can help cities accomplish their housing goals in equitable, sustainable, and inspiring ways that can make our neighborhoods vibrant, walkable and bikeable.
Get Involved
We need people to help us understand the particular challenges and opportunities of each jurisdiction. i.e., cities of Watsonville, Scotts Valley, Capitola, Santa Cruz, and the unincorporated county of Santa Cruz, and to understand which policies might be the best fit. Volunteer to be a Housing Element Watchdog.
Here’s what to advocate for in Housing Elements:
Change zoning to favor infill and multifamily development
Encourage multi-family housing in residential zones by upzoning all single-family zones, and increasing density in additional residential zones to incentivize abundant, affordable housing.
Upzone current and future transit corridors, including the Rail Trail Corridor and adjacent streets.
Add local density bonuses if a project is near public transit (aka “Transit Oriented Development” or TOD) or includes 2 or more bedrooms that house working families.
Create a city-wide 100% affordable housing overlay (learn more about Berkeley’s AHO)
Commission studies to determine at what percentage an inclusionary rate becomes an impediment to housing development.
Move to form-based zoning for all multi-family zones. (learn more: “Form Based Code”)
Equity at the center of the process (aka “Affirmatively Furthering Fair Housing” (AFFH))
Zoned capacity for housing should be in desirable areas near jobs, good schools, and robust transit or in areas of racially concentrated areas of affluence.
Zoned capacity for lower-income housing shall be equitably distributed throughout the city.
Enact stronger tenant protection laws that guarantee any low income tenants living in housing that is redeveloped are guaranteed paid relocation costs and a spot in the new building (learn more: Right to Return and Relocation Benefits)
Create a database that shows how many apartments are occupied, how many are vacant and what the rents are, and helps people eligible for rental protections (aka Rental Registry)
Create a publicly owned affordable housing developer non-profit that can apply for grant funding not available to government entities. (see the Seaside Housing Collaborative)
Pursue additional taxes to fund affordable housing, e.g. a real estate transfer tax or a vacancy tax (potentially with homeowners exemption) (learn more: Progressive Transfer Taxes Can Help Fix Housing Inequality)
Provide incentives for developing rentals that are dedicated to people with housing vouchers and homes that will always be affordable (aka deed-based affordability)
Make it easier to get permits and build housing faster
Expand the types of projects eligible for ministerial approval by city staff, e.g. multifamily projects meeting objective standards that are under 50 units or 100% affordable projects.
Revise fees to incentivize multi-family housing over single-family housing
Create a local ordinance giving preference to local workers and existing residents for affordable housing.
Remove owner-occupancy requirements for ADUs
Incentivize student housing
Incentivize 15 minute walkable and bikeable neighborhoods, and car-free lifestyles
Remove mandatory car parking requirements for new housing and allow conversion of existing parking to bike storage
Replace traffic studies with quantifying Vehicle Miles Traveled (VMT), a more accurate measure of project impact, aiming to reduce the amount of time people have to spend behind the wheel. (learn more: CalTrans and SB373)
Allow condo and apartment rentals to unbundle parking, which makes the cost of a parking space a separate, opt-in item for renters. (learn more: unbundled parking)
Mitigate traffic and parking impacts and boost pedestrian and bicyclist rights, protections and accommodations, e.g. by requiring transit and bike-share subsidies for residents.
Want to find out about when cities are holding their Housing Element meetings? Check out Santa Cruz YIMBY’s Housing Events calendar or the Campaign for Fair Housing Element’s Calendar for events across the state.