SANTA CRUZ — In an attempt to give housing-forward jurisdictions in the state some local control over housing developments that qualify for the state’s Density Bonus Law, Santa Cruz Mayor Fred Keeley and city staff helped draft a state Assembly bill earlier this year, which now sits in limbo.

At the Santa Cruz City Council meeting Sept. 9 , during an appeal hearing for a six-story housing development on Mission Street, community members who lived near the proposed building urged the governing body to push back against recent state housing laws, such as the Density Bonus Law . The law allows developers to waive local building standards such as building heights if the developer sets aside a percentage of housing units in a project for lower income households, as defined by the state .

See Full Page