News
Strong Business, Better Community: My Time at the SCC Business Council
By: Sandra Parhami My name is Sandra Parhami, and for the last seven months I have served as the Policy and Programs Intern for the Santa Cruz County Business Council. As a recent college graduate from UCSC, I studied Economics and Cognitive Science— many would see this as a peculiar combination, but I thoroughly enjoyed…
Read MoreHigh Tax Burden is Burning Out Local Cannabis Industry
By: Sandra Parhami After more than a century of prohibition on recreational Marijuana, constituents were hopeful that the passage of Proposition 64, the Adult Use of Marijuana Act (AUMA), approved by voters in 2016, would create state and federal tax revenue, as well as reduce the scope of the unregulated market, or ‘black market’, to…
Read MoreBalancing Affordable Housing in Watsonville
Last week the City of Watsonville held a study session to review potential options for their inclusionary zoning ordinance. Now we’ve covered inclusionary zoning (IZ) extensively in other blog posts, but essentially IZ is when a jurisdiction requires a certain percentage of new housing to be deed restricted to only be available to those earning…
Read MoreExploring Sonoma and Marin Counties SMARTer by Train?
Exploring Sonoma and Marin Counties SMARTer by Train? By: Sandra Parhami As a Southern California native, my first experience traveling by train was the Amtrak Pacific Surfliner, along the California coast, followed by a recent journey through the forest hills of Felton aboard the Roaring Camp Railroads. Neither of these experiences prepared me for the…
Read MoreDensity Bonuses and You
Last week we announced that the Business Council would be working with other community partners, including Affordable Housing Now, MBEP, and the Chamber, to advocate in favor of a model density bonus program to be adopted at the County level. As part of that discussion we promised to provide a deeper dive into what a…
Read MoreAssistant Director for California Housing and Community Development Linda Wheaton’s YIMBY Presentation
YIMBY’s inaugural event at the Dream Inn was held Wednesday, March 28, 2018 and featured Keynote Speaker Assistant Director for California Housing and Community Development, Linda Wheaton. Wheaton gave a rousing speech to all attendees, “Building California’s Future” about the current status of housing legislature at the state level in California and what its…
Read MoreHave Local Businesses Solved Soquel Creek’s Water and Development Problem?
For those of you following the local housing crisis, it’s no secret that building anything in the Soquel Creek Water District is next to impossible, mainly because of one major constraint: water. The District, which covers parts of Live Oak, and all of Capitola, Soquel, and Aptos (basically everything from 41st Avenue to Watsonville) is…
Read MoreTyson Sayles of Ensemble Real Estate Investments Dream Inn Development Project Presentation
Last week for the Joint Transportation and Infrastructure/Government Affairs Committee of the Santa Cruz County Business Council heard a proposal from Tyson Sayles of Ensemble Real Estate Investments for the development of a new housing project in the current parking lot across from the Dream Inn – a project that will include affordable housing measures. His full presentation about the project can be found…
Read MoreDon Groppetti Presents Santa Cruz Nissan Proposal to SCC Business Council
Santa Cruz County Business Council Member Don Groppetti presented his proposal for the new Santa Cruz Nissan and the intersection of 41st and Soquel, in Santa Cruz, last week for the Joint Transportation and Infrastructure/Government Affairs Committee. His full presentation about the project and the total impact can be found below: GAF SC Nissan Project Presentation
Read MoreWhy AB1506 Was Bad for Housing
If you have been following the issue of housing in the California State legislature for any significant period of time then you have probably heard of the Costa-Hawkins Act, otherwise known as the Rental Housing Act, or “Rent Control” Act. Costa-Hawkins is a piece of legislation enacted in 1995 that regulates how local jurisdictions (Cities…
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