Housing News Around the County
April 21st, 2022
City of Santa Cruz
Oversize Vehicle Ordinance
On April 12th, Santa Cruz City Council approved rules on overnight parking limiting overnight parking for oversized vehicles or RVs.
Overnight parking permits will be required for oversized vehicles
Without a permit, RV parking will not be allowed on streets from 12:00 to 5:00 AM
Exceptions to these restrictions would be made in emergency situation such as mechanical breakdowns. Violators would be ticketed and fined.
Resident permits are available to people who live at a street address in the city
A Safe Parking program includes 3 spaces in the Santa Cruz Police Department lot, 30 spaces on city-owned land, and an overnight parking program with connections to service providers.
Below is the letter Housing Santa Cruz County sent to the City Council in advance of their vote:
Dear City Council Members,
Housing Santa Cruz County is concerned with the unintended consequences of the Oversized Vehicle Ordinance. The City’s Housing Element states in describing the need for those most in need of housing, “any vehicle designed, used, or intended to be used generally for living and/or sleeping quarters which is capable of moving, being moved, towed or transported, can be part of meeting that need which should be maintained.”
Repeated ticketing of oversized vehicles used by the unhoused could result in towing and the elimination of its use as a home thereby transferring the occupant(s) to the streets or tents, as shelter opportunities have become significantly reduced with the County’s reduction of Project RoomKey shelters, a less desirable outcome for both the unhoused individuals and the community.
HSCC supports the “safe parking” program with the stated goals of the ordinance to provide locations, infrastructure and assist those interested in transitioning from unhoused oversized vehicle dwellers to long-term affordable housing options. However, until those programs are in place there will not be enough “safe parking”, and even though RV owners can acquire emergency permits there will always be some who will not request them, guaranteeing some might become homeless. We suggest a moratorium on parking tickets and towing until the other programs outlined in the ordinance are functioning with law enforcement only as the last resort.
There are no easy solutions and no solution that will have broad community support. We believe that as the Housing Element states, all housing, even RV’s, contribute to housing the unhoused and that should be a high priority.
Sincerely,
Don Lane, Chair
Housing Santa Cruz County
www.housingsantacruzcounty.com
Live Oak
1500 Capitola Road
The 1500 Capitola Road housing project which includes 57 affordable apartments for families and individuals with supportive housing needs will hold a groundbreaking ceremony on Wednesday, May 11th from 11:00AM to Noon. This will be an outdoor in-person event. If you plan to attend, RSVP to communications@midpen-housing.org
Soquel
2838 Park Avenue
An applicant for Project Homekey funds, this project in Soquel was approved by the Board of Supervisors in January. The development will have 36 units of extremely-low permanent supportive housing including 31 for very low-income veterans and youth exiting the foster care system, 4 units for families with children under age 18, and 1 manager's unit. Services for residents, such as financial literacy or career counseling, would be provided by Abode Services.This project has received a large amount of neighborhood push back. Novin Development formed a coalition with the Central Valley Coalition for Affordable Housing and plans to use modular structures to expedite construction. The project will go back to the Board of Supervisors for a final vote of approval if Homekey funding is received. HSCC gives this project a high priority because there is a great need for permanent supportive housing. Letters of support will be needed as the project has received a large amount of push back from the community. Write a letter sharing your voice with the Santa Cruz County Board of Supervisors to make sure they know our community supports this project.
Watsonville
1482 Freedom Groundbreaking
The construction loan for 1482 Freedom Boulevard closed on March 25th and the project is now officially in the construction phase for a 53 unit housing project. An official groundbreaking ceremony will be held on May 25th. More information about this event can be found on our Affordable Housing Month calendar.
1620 W. Beach Street
An applicant for Project Homekey funds, this proposed project would renovate the Rodeway Inn and convert it into 94 permanent supportive housing units in the extremely low income category. Fourteen units would be set aside for individuals with mobility disabilities, and nine for individuals with visual or hearing impairments. The developer, Shangri-La Development Inc. is working with Santa Cruz County Housing for Health Partnership. This is an important project due to its permanent supportive housing component. To date, there has been no organized opposition to the project.