Residents from the Santa Cruz Gardens area, nearby the planned development, opposed the project’s potential impacts on their neighborhood. (Tyler Maldonado – Santa Cruz Local)

LIVE OAK >> The Santa Cruz County Planning Commission on Sept. 24 unanimously approved a 100% affordable housing rental development at the intersection of Soquel Drive and Thurber Lane in Live Oak. 

The development plans include 171 affordable units and two manager’s units in five buildings. There is also 1,800 square feet of ground-floor commercial space, 257 parking spaces, an outdoor common area with a playground , a fitness room, off-leash pet area and laundry room. 

Unit prices at Anton Solana, a project of Sacramento-based Anton Development Company, are expected to be affordable to people making between 30% to 80% of the area median income, based on state-set income limits. Rents will vary, but are expected to average between $2,000 and $3,000. 

Affordable housing costs are considered to be roughly 30% of a household’s income before taxes. For an individual, 30% of Santa Cruz County area median income is $41,550. Income limits are updated annually.

“I am glad that this project is 100% affordable and not a market rate project,”  said Jane Barr, who filled in for commissioner Jesse Nickell, who was absent from the meeting. “We could be in a different situation and not have a say about this project.”

Santa Cruz County lags behind on housing goals set by the state. To meet those goals, local governments must permit an average of 12.5% of required homes each year. By the end of 2024, the county had issued about 1% of its goal for extremely low income homes and roughly 9% of its goal for low income homes. 

The 2023 Housing Element, which identified potential locations for housing projects in the county, identified the site as capable of providing more than 120 units in the lower income categories – 30% to 80% of the area median income. This project is expected to exceed that target by more than 50 units of that type.

Karen Flores sympathized with traffic impacts, but said the lack of affordability in the area was her primary concern. (Tyler Maldonado – Santa Cruz Local)

“This is 100% affordable, and not at the moderate level, but at the low income level,” said John Swift, a land use consultant for the developer. He told the commission the units would help the county catch up on its development of low income housing.

Despite support for the project by local leaders, many residents of Santa Cruz Gardens north of the planned development spoke against the project’s traffic impacts, pointing to a planned in-lane bus stop on the southeastern corner of the development on Soquel Drive. In-lane bus stops are designed without dedicated bus lanes, and although these lanes halt traffic during a stop, they also reduce the time required for a bus to re-enter a traffic lane.

“I see that as just a big traffic jam up,” said a 30-year resident of Santa Cruz Gardens at the meeting. 

Karen Flores, a county resident, renter and commuter, sympathized with the neighbors’ concerns about traffic impacts. “Yes, it’s horrible. The traffic has changed,” she said. 

However, she stressed the need for affordable housing for county residents.

“This isn’t just about the housing situation for people that are already here, it’s the people that have been living here and who have to go somewhere else to commute just to be able to afford living here,” Flores said.

Others from the Santa Cruz Gardens neighborhood expressed concerns about access to emergency exits from their neighborhood. In particular, some pointed to access gates on Winkle Avenue and Katherine Lane, which are often closed and restrict pedestrian flow in and out of the neighborhood to Thurber Lane only. With the additional residents from the development, those from Santa Cruz Gardens feared the additional traffic would impede their ability to escape through Thurber Lane in the event of a fire.

“Every one of those cars is going to be between us and getting out of the neighborhood,” said Geoffrey Ellis, Santa Cruz Gardens resident.

“If there’s a fire, if there is a lightning strike, we can’t get out,” said Leslie Davidson, a 20-year resident of nearby Santa Cruz Gardens. 

Dave Reid, director of the county’s Office of Response, Recovery and Resilience, offered reassurance.

“As the emergency manager for the county, our role will be to ensure that those gates are open during high fire severity conditions,” Reid said. 

Jamie Sehorn, analyst for First District County Supervisor Manu Koenig, said the supervisor had already been in talks with emergency departments and was assured that the county is prepared to manage an evacuation for the neighborhood in the event of an emergency.

“We will work with OR3 (Office of Response, Recovery and Resilience) to make sure the community feels prepared for an emergency event,” wrote Sehorn in an email after the meeting.

“We have a lot of opposition in the county for these projects, and a lot of it has to do with, honestly, the bigness of them,” said planning commissioner Shane Pavonetti, whose district the development would be built in. 

He said he didn’t love all of the aesthetics of the project, but acknowledged the county ultimately needed the units.

Read more about the Soquel Drive and Thurber Lane project on Santa Cruz Local’s housing project tracker.

Questions or comments? Email [email protected]. Santa Cruz Local is supported by members, major donors, sponsors and grants for the general support of our newsroom. Our news judgments are made independently and not on the basis of donor support. Learn more about Santa Cruz Local and how we are funded.