From: James Lynch (james_at_goodkarmadomes.com)
Date: 12/31/98
Message-ID: <368C6622.F2F0A2F8@goodkarmadomes.com> Date: Fri, 01 Jan 1999 00:07:31 -0600 From: James Lynch <james_at_goodkarmadomes.com> Subject: Re: New report/stats on homelessness in Santa Cruz, CA
Where is this domesteading_at_sculptors.com. can't seem to find website. James
Patrick Salsbury wrote:
> Hi, all. I've been pretty absent around here, of late. Sorry about that.
> I've been swamped.
>
> Here's a recent report from Santa Cruz County, where I live. The original
> URL is here, but it looks like a daily URL, not one for archival purposes,
> so I'm including the full text.
>
> Pat
>
> http://www.santa-cruz.com/news/local/stories/2local.htm
>
> ---------------------
> June 20, 2001
>
> New report on homeless confirms perceptions
>
> By STETT HOLBROOK
> Sentinel staff writer
>
> SANTA CRUZ - A new report on housing and homelessness confirms what most
> people already know: It's bleak out there.
>
> But in spite of out-of-reach housing costs and a population vulnerable to
> homelessness, the author of the report says he is optimistic and offered
> several ideas to roll back the tide of rising housing costs.
>
> The Community Action Board of Santa Cruz County released its biennial
> report on housing and homelessness last week. Written by Paul Brindel,
> director of the Community Action Board's shelter project, the report is a
> synthesis of several recent analyses of housing affordability and
> homelessness.
>
> "The housing market, like the energy market, has broken," the report says.
> "The Santa Cruz County housing market is one of the least affordable in the
> nation. In Santa Cruz County, rent increases of 30 percent in a year are
> commonplace and 100 percent increases in once low-income rentals are
> increasing."
>
> There is a connection between these figures and homelessness, said
> Brindel.
>
> The United Way of Santa Cruz County's 2000 Community Assessment Project
> found 1.8 percent of people who were housed in the county were homeless in
> the previous year. Based on the current population, that's about 4,600
> people. But even those in housing are not immune from homelessness. Nine
> percent of households earning less than $15,000 per year were homeless in
> the previous year, according to the United Way report.
>
> Although the housing market is grim, the dot-com meltdown has helped cool
> the market slightly. Brindel said it's important to take advantage of the
> small window of opportunity to create more affordable housing.
>
> Because the housing crisis affects so many sectors of the county, Brindel
> is optimistic residents will rally behind solutions. Half of all county
> households spend 50 percent of their income on housing. Nationally, the
> figure is one in seven.
>
> Brindel said the key to the creation of affordable housing is converting
> housing units into permanent affordable housing. One means of doing that is
> through housing land trusts, he said. Land trusts buy property and land but
> sell only the homes, reducing housing costs by eliminating land costs.
> There is one such land trust in the county, but it is just getting off the
> ground.
>
> Brindel also suggested making units built behind residential housing legal.
> Many of those second units or "granny units" don't comply with building
> codes.
>
> To combat homelessness, Brindel's report suggested an end to the so-called
> sleeping ban, the establishment of safe "sleeping zones" for the homeless
> and an end to further restriction on parking aimed at reducing sleeping in
> vehicles.
>
> The report ends with a recommendation to create a local housing coalition.
>
> "A sense of urgency compels us to act soon or we will find our community
> completely unaffordable and forever changed in ways that will make it
> impossible for many of us to continue to live here," the report concludes.
>
> To view the complete report, go to: http://members.cruzers.com/cab/
>
> Contact Stett Holbrook at sholbrook_at_santa-cruz.com.
>
> ************************************************************************
> * Tracking #: 63E56683BE858F4A86F2E3E34E08802228E807BD
> *
> ************************************************************************
-- James Lynch http://www.GoodKarmaDomes.com (405)685-4822