County supervisors on Dec. 10 approved zoning for multifamily housing at 3500 Paul Sweet Road. (Jesse Kathan — Santa Cruz Local)

Updated Dec. 12: County supervisors approved rezones for 27 of 30 proposed properties. The map below has been updated.

The sites to be rezoned were first identified in the Housing Element of the county’s General Plan, a state-mandated plan to encourage more housing development. As part of state legislation aimed at easing the housing crisis, the county is tasked with permitting 4,634 new homes by 2032. The state approved the county’s housing element in April.

Of the 30 sites to be rezoned, 27 are in Live Oak and Soquel, one is in Aptos, and two are near Freedom north of Watsonville. Some sites have housing proposals set to move forward after rezones are complete, according to a county staff report. 

The changes would shift some parcels that now have single-family homes to allow apartment buildings. In some areas, new developments could move forward with “ministerial approval” by county staff without consideration from the Board of Supervisors, according to a county staff report.

Most multifamily developments in the unincorporated county are limited to three stories under zoning laws, but new state laws can allow buildings to be much taller if they have enough below-market-rate housing.

State penalties

If county supervisors do not follow through with any of the rezones, state law requires them to agree on other places in the county for the same number of homes. 

If the county falls behind on the promised rezones, the county could be fined or declared ineligible for some state grants. That could also activate a state law — called the Builder’s Remedy — that allows nearly unfettered housing development. The county was subject to that law for about three months earlier this year, after local leaders missed the deadline to have the county’s Housing Element approved.

The Board of Supervisors is set to consider half of the rezones called for in the Housing Element tomorrow, and half in 2025. 

The rezones to be considered Tuesday are all in the unincorporated county outside of the cities of Santa Cruz, Scotts Valley, Capitola and Watsonville. Those cities have their own Housing Elements, and are also set to undertake rezoning efforts.

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