Legal Victory by CRLA Improves Prospects for New Affordable Housing in Santa Cruz, California by Removing Duplicative Environmental Impact Study Requirement
Monday, July 31, 2006
- Organization: Brennan Center
Low-income Santa Cruz, California residents in need of affordable housing stand to benefit from a July 24, 2006 state Superior Court ruling that county leaders must follow laws barring them from directing developers to do more environmental impact studies once a piece of land is zoned to allow state-required affordable housing.
Last year, the LSC-funded California Rural Legal Assistance, Inc. (CRLA) filed a lawsuit on behalf of Ernestina Saldana and two other Santa Cruz residents who were living in inadequate affordable housing. Ms. Saldana, who uses a wheelchair, was residing in an apartment that was not wheelchair accessible, so she needed to be carried in and out of her building. The plaintiffs claimed that the county illegally required two levels of environmental review when constructing affordable housing and that the process was causing the county to fall hundreds of units short of state-required affordable housing goals. "We're excited. We hope that this really is going to result in a real opportunity for lower-income people to be able to be decently housed in our county," says Gretchen Regenhardt, an attorney with CRLA. The county has 20 days to appeal the decision and 120 days to bring its housing plan into compliance. Genevieve Bookwalter, Court Bongs Enviro Reviews on Affordable Housing, Santa Cruz Sentinel, July 26, 2006.
Last year, the LSC-funded California Rural Legal Assistance, Inc. (CRLA) filed a lawsuit on behalf of Ernestina Saldana and two other Santa Cruz residents who were living in inadequate affordable housing. Ms. Saldana, who uses a wheelchair, was residing in an apartment that was not wheelchair accessible, so she needed to be carried in and out of her building. The plaintiffs claimed that the county illegally required two levels of environmental review when constructing affordable housing and that the process was causing the county to fall hundreds of units short of state-required affordable housing goals. "We're excited. We hope that this really is going to result in a real opportunity for lower-income people to be able to be decently housed in our county," says Gretchen Regenhardt, an attorney with CRLA. The county has 20 days to appeal the decision and 120 days to bring its housing plan into compliance. Genevieve Bookwalter, Court Bongs Enviro Reviews on Affordable Housing, Santa Cruz Sentinel, July 26, 2006.
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