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Santa Cruz Council approves Coral Street overlay to speed temporary and affordable housing, narrows height and adds oversight directions
Summary
The City Council unanimously approved a Coral Street overlay to allow emergency shelters, navigation centers and other temporary-housing uses by right, adopting council amendments that reduce the proposed height limit, expand allowable behavioral-health uses, and direct staff to pursue policies on local shelter placement and lease oversight.
The Santa Cruz City Council unanimously approved an ordinance creating a Coral Street overlay district intended to increase the city’s capacity for temporary and affordable housing while adding council-directed safeguards.
Senior Planner Clara Stanker told the council the overlay rezones sites studied in the Coral Street Visioning report (plus one additional parcel at 133 Fern Street) to meet state requirements tied to the 2023 Point-in-Time count. Staff said the overlay must allow emergency shelters, navigation centers, bridge housing and respite/recuperative care as by‑right, objective uses and recommended eliminating a parking minimum for temporary housing to maximize feasible sites.
The council’s adopted motion, introduced by Vice Mayor Kalantari-Johnson, reduced staff’s recommended maximum building height…
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