New Santa Cruz rules aim to ease housing crisis

Rent prices in Santa Cruz County are on a steady rise over the last several years and now the county is ranked the 5th most expensive metro area to call home. That was from a national coalition studying affordable housing. But Tuesday night, Santa Cruz voted to finalize new rules that may make it easier to find cheaper housing.

“Right now, there (are) eight of us living together,” resident Adrienn Sparks said.

Sparks, a U.C. Santa Cruz student, lives in an average sized house with eight roommates. That’s the only way they can afford it.

“Its pretty tough. You know, a couple house mates is great. But you know, it’s a struggle for everyone,” Sparks said.

Two of her roommates have made the living room into bedrooms and the garage and a backyard shed are also being used as bedrooms.

Council member David Terrazas is aware of the affordable housing crisis and said he’s hopeful the the city will relax the rules regarding granny units (aka accessory dwelling units or ADUs), which are rental units on single family properties.

“We’re looking at ways where the lot size requirements have decreased so there is more. I think nearly 800 new ADU’s could be built based on some of the changes we’ve made,” Terrazas said.

In the last four years, rent has gone up almost 24 percent, making the average rent in Santa Cruz about $2,000 for a studio.

To live in Sparks house, roommates each pay $650.

“This has been some of the cheapest housing I’ve found,” Sparks said.

Housing and community development manager Carol Berg said she knows all about the renter struggle.

“It’s a huge problem because we don’t have enough housing to provide for people who work here,” Berg said.

Meanwhile, Sparks wants to move to a smaller place with fewer roommates. She said within 30 minutes of posting an ad online, she heard from dozens of others in the same situation.

“Can you like please consider me, maybe? Like have it a double? Because it’s been hell finding housing this year,” Sparks said.

Whether it’s two or eight, she knows unless housing costs in Santa Cruz go down, roommates will be a way of life.

The city also plans to allow an avenue for those already built illegally to become legal with code enforcement.

In addition to the city’s discussion about ADUs, Santa Cruz city workers took to the streets urging city council members to give them better living wages. On Tuesday, dozens of city workers hand delivered a letter demanding higher wages and more affordable housing.

Members of the Service Employees International Union or SEIU said the average Santa Cruz employee makes about $34,000 a year.

Workers who participated said they need to qualify for low income housing to be able to afford rent in a city that has seen rent prices skyrocket in the last several years.

“Workers in this city who are working in poverty wages are just almost losing it here. The rents are so high,” Santa Cruz solid waste worker Xander Joyet said.

Joyet said his landlord has his rent at a fixed rate, otherwise he wouldn’t be able to afford today’s prices. On Wednesday, marchers carried signs saying “a city that recovers together grows together.”