While still reeling from the impacts of the CZU fire in 2020, the county has been hit with a series of atmospheric river storms resulting in significant flooding, mudslides, and damage to local roads, homes, and businesses. These disasters have strained the county's budget due to the increased costs for wildfire prevention and recovery services, flood mitigation, emergency response, and road repairs - and more work remains to be done!
In addition to devastating weather-related natural events, Santa Cruz County continues to experience a critical shortage of affordable housing for frontline workers, teachers, nurses, childcare workers, and countless others who struggle to make ends meet with the high cost of living in our county. The lack of affordable workforce housing adds to the strain on the county's ability to address infrastructure repairs with workers leaving the area for communities where housing is more within their means. Measure K funds will help the county attract and retain frontline workers and provide funds to …
We are a task force of local residents working for affordable housing in Santa Cruz County, CA. The principles of our team are listed below.
Our Working Principles
- Affordable housing solutions should be directed toward housing for existing local moderate and low income residents.
- Affordable housing programs should address existing housing, on the recognition that no amount of new development can meet the need for affordable housing here.
- Affordable housing programs must address the prolonged and severe crisis in the local rental housing market, which includes over half of our households.
- New development and affordability modifications to existing housing should utilize best practices for energy and water efficiency, open space, landscaping and drainage, in order to minimize environmental impacts, maintain neighborhood quality, and reduce operating costs for residents.