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Measure M is a major mistake for our community.
Measure M will push housing development away from downtown and closer to neighborhoods all over town as we respond to state requirements to build more homes in Santa Cruz in order to address our housing crisis.
Measure M was authored in private by a well-intentioned group of residents who want to protect downtown from taller buildings. However, because of their failure to have a public process, they made many troubling mistakes when they wrote the initiative.
It requires expensive citywide elections on minor zoning matters, such as building fences between neighbors and constructing granny units. We taxpayers will pay for these elections that will average $170,000 each.
Measure M will hinder workforce housing development just when we need more housing for the people who make our community healthy and successful.
It will push homebuilding further away from downtown, where the greatest number of jobs and the best sustainable transportation options are located. This mistake will lead to more traffic, increased vehicle emissions, and pressure to build more homes in areas that should be protected from development.
Many mistakes were made. They made a mistake when they proposed a system with so many costly elections. They made a mistake when they proposed costly impediments to building much-needed housing. They made a mistake when they wrote a measure that pays lip service to affordable housing, but actually puts more barriers in the way of meeting the housing needs of our essential workers and their families.
Say NO to this disastrous housing policy mistake.
Measure M is opposed by the Santa Cruz County Democratic Party, Affordable Housing Now, Santa Cruz YIMBY and other local organizations.
Please join us in voting NO on Measure M.
Sonja Brunner
Diana Alfaro, Board Member, Affordable Housing Now
Casey Coonerty Protti, Owner, Bookshop Santa Cruz
Elizabeth Madrigal, Lead, Santa Cruz YIMBY
Nicolas Robles, Communications Executive, UCSC Student Housing Coalition
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As volunteer members of your City Planning Commission, we can say unequivocally, based on years of planning work as your representatives, Measure M will be counterproductive and wasteful.
As planning commissioners, we work toward the healthy, sustainable, balanced, equitable community everyone aspires to in this city we all love. This work can be complex, but it does give us a chance to consider the best locations for much needed housing. We are guided by state housing requirements that legally must be followed, including the number of new homes to be built.
One thing that’s clear to us: downtown is the best location for higher-density apartment buildings. It’s more environmentally sustainable, helps protect other parts of the city from high intensity development, and creates a healthier downtown, while fighting the sprawl our community rejected decades ago.
Measure M supporters claim their measure will provide more democracy. We disagree. Instead of more democracy, M will deliver more slowdowns for construction of new homes, and more frustration for owners of existing homes.
Under current city law, city voters already can reject any major zoning change. Measure M is not needed for this—and it will trigger unnecessary and expensive elections for minor zoning changes.
Measure M will create costly impediments to building housing that current state law requires our community to build. Worse, Measure M will likely trigger costly lawsuits that taxpayers would have to pay for in the years ahead.
We can’t afford this mistaken policy. Vote No on M.
Pete Kennedy, volunteer planning commissioner
Julie Conway, volunteer planning commissioner
Michael Polhamus, volunteer planning commissioner
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