ARTICLE
Will New Legislation in Sacramento Impact Off-Campus Student Housing for UCSC We know that our community student population has an impact in our neighborhoods — just take a drive or ride on the Westside to see many single family houses filled with students living two or three to a room. Take a look at the additional vehicles on a city street. Yes, our students are part of the fabric of our community. For 50+ years the University has been a major contributor. It is the largest employer in our County. They have a critical part to play in our region’s housing conversation. We need to find a way to bring the ‘city on the hill’ down to the community to conduct a balanced approach to this issue. The Chamber is here to bridge the divide between our University and the City. According to a recent post by state Assembly member Freddie Rodriquez, D - Pomona, California’s public universities have failed to give students and their families’ accurate information on the cost of off-campus housing. Rodriquez authored legislation, AB 990 that was signed into law this week by Governor Jerry Brown. AB 990 will ensure that the universities post online the true cost of attending a campus. Assembly member Rodriguez said the University of California and California State University systems are using estimates that don’t reflect current market rates, leaving students and families without key information when calculating how much it will cost to attend a university. AB990 requires each campus in the CSU and requests each campus in the UC to post on their websites the market cost of a one-bedroom apartment near each campus using estimates done on an annual basis. How does this legislation impact our University, UCSC? The University does post rental costs on the UCSC housing website Community Rentals. Do these numbers reflect the real rental cost in our community or are they just ball park estimates? First, let’s recognize that UCSC houses more students on campus (54%) than any other UC in the State. Second, we know that UCSC is initiating an upcoming Long Range Development Plan which begins the discussion of how to increase on-campus student housing per the UC mandate and other planning requirements. Further, we know the projected growth of the University will require additional beds on campus or available units in the community. I did some quick research of our local Santa Cruz rental market and here is what I found. Craig’s List — which is universally used by landlords, home owners, property management companies, real estate offices and rental consumers provides a quick look at what is available in our area. My snapshot search identified these potential rentals. I selected just a cross section for this story, understanding Craig’s List is exhaustive. Keep in mind not all rentals mentioned are available to students, who usually need a place to rent for 9 months of the year. Most students double and triple up to absorb the higher rent and overall housing costs. If you have ever ventured into the housing or apartment rental search, the painful reality is rental units are typically priced at ‘market’ rate levels, with a first month’s, last month’s rent and deposit to enter into the contract agreement. Many students will sublet a bedroom during the summer months with the intent to return for the Fall quarter. In a tight housing market like Santa Cruz, the ‘hunt’ for housing is even more challenging for our student population. • A 289 sq. ft. studio unit in a downtown Victorian for $1385/month • A 1027 sq. ft. 2 bedroom Westside Condo for $2850/month • A 850 sq. ft. 2 bedroom, one bath in ‘sunny’ Live Oak for $2600/month • A private stand-alone studio in Santa Cruz for $1500/month Craig’s List also displays listings for roommates or single rooms available in an apartment, condo or house. • A ‘large’ room in a Westside apartment on Mission for $850 month. This includes a $1250 security deposit and shared utility cost • A ‘sweet’ room in a Capitola home for $460/month • Share a beautiful home in the Santa Cruz Gardens area for $850/month. Excellent for a student • Room available in 2 bedroom house in Santa Cruz $1200/month In a short comparison, the average rental in our area based on this Craig’s List sample is $1000 to $1200/month depending on type, size and location. Santa Cruz Rentals (Rent Jungle) identifies the median of all rentals in the region. In July, a one bedroom median rental was $2012/month on average with an increase of 6% over last year. Let’s go back and look at the UCSC Website posting: Rental Cost Statistics APRIL 1, 2016 – MARCH 31, 2017 So would the new legislative mandate in AB 990 hinder the University’s accurate report for the local market? It is a fair judgement to state that UCSC rental reporting reflects on the ‘market’ rate for our region. Let’s take a statistical look at the trends over a three year period. The University has a five year comparison put for purposes of the report, three years seems to be the start of the economy recovery from the low years of 2008-2012. 2014-15 to 2015-16 2013-14 to 2014-15 The highlighted items in the three year comparison 2013-14, 2014-15 and 2015-16 shows an increase of annual cost at 9.7% year over year. That is a staggering return on investment for the property owners, landlords and the property management services. The highlighted items in the three year comparison 2013-14, 2014-15 and 2015-16 shows an increase of annual cost at 9.7% year over year. That is a staggering return on investment for the property owners, landlords and the property management services. The highlighted items in the three year comparison 2013-14, 2014-15 and 2015-16 shows an increase of annual cost at 9.7% year over year. That is a staggering return on investment for the property owners, landlords and the property management services. The pressing concern: the limited available housing and rental units in our community for students, young professionals, mid-management level employees, teachers and our service providers in the hospitality, restaurants, retail and tourism based jobs places Santa Cruz in a distinct place. We have an accessibility and affordability problem. The City of Santa Cruz and the University must come together to mutually discuss and work on a solution. The Chamber will be there to build a bridge for this conversation. When I speak to business associates and colleagues outside of the state, everyone says they would love to be a part of our community. Within a couple of comments back and forth about the quality of life and cost of living here, the conversation usually becomes a head spinner for the out of region associate. They cannot believe how expensive it is. As the housing and rental costs continue on an upward trajectory, we may be slowly pricing out our students from being a part of our beloved Santa Cruz. We must act now. The Santa Cruz Area Chamber has called 2017 ‘the Year of Housing.’ We are mirroring the conversations that Santa Cruz Mayor Cynthia Chase is having as she conducts a community listening tour to learn and understand the various opinions and ideas on how to best move forward to address our housing crisis. As these conversations continue, the Chamber is taking our tour outside the county. We are leading a housing tour (Community Leadership Visit) to other Bay Area Communities later this month: August 24-26 so we can listen, learn and hopefully bring back solutions to meet our housing needs. If you want to be a part of the CLV please contact me for more information: casey.Beyer@santacruzchamber.org
Will New Legislation in Sacramento Impact Off-Campus Student Housing for UCSC
We know that our community student population has an impact in our neighborhoods — just take a drive or ride on the Westside to see many single family houses filled with students living two or three to a room. Take a look at the additional vehicles on a city street. Yes, our students are part of the fabric of our community. For 50+ years the University has been a major contributor. It is the largest employer in our County. They have a critical part to play in our region’s housing conversation. We need to find a way to bring the ‘city on the hill’ down to the community to conduct a balanced approach to this issue. The Chamber is here to bridge the divide between our University and the City.
According to a recent post by state Assembly member Freddie Rodriquez, D - Pomona, California’s public universities have failed to give students and their families’ accurate information on the cost of off-campus housing. Rodriquez authored legislation, AB 990 that was signed into law this week by Governor Jerry Brown.
AB 990 will ensure that the universities post online the true cost of attending a campus. Assembly member Rodriguez said the University of California and California State University systems are using estimates that don’t reflect current market rates, leaving students and families without key information when calculating how much it will cost to attend a university.
AB990 requires each campus in the CSU and requests each campus in the UC to post on their websites the market cost of a one-bedroom apartment near each campus using estimates done on an annual basis.
How does this legislation impact our University, UCSC? The University does post rental costs on the UCSC housing website Community Rentals. Do these numbers reflect the real rental cost in our community or are they just ball park estimates?
First, let’s recognize that UCSC houses more students on campus (54%) than any other UC in the State. Second, we know that UCSC is initiating an upcoming Long Range Development Plan which begins the discussion of how to increase on-campus student housing per the UC mandate and other planning requirements. Further, we know the projected growth of the University will require additional beds on campus or available units in the community.
I did some quick research of our local Santa Cruz rental market and here is what I found. Craig’s List — which is universally used by landlords, home owners, property management companies, real estate offices and rental consumers provides a quick look at what is available in our area. My snapshot search identified these potential rentals. I selected just a cross section for this story, understanding Craig’s List is exhaustive. Keep in mind not all rentals mentioned are available to students, who usually need a place to rent for 9 months of the year. Most students double and triple up to absorb the higher rent and overall housing costs.
If you have ever ventured into the housing or apartment rental search, the painful reality is rental units are typically priced at ‘market’ rate levels, with a first month’s, last month’s rent and deposit to enter into the contract agreement. Many students will sublet a bedroom during the summer months with the intent to return for the Fall quarter. In a tight housing market like Santa Cruz, the ‘hunt’ for housing is even more challenging for our student population.
• A 289 sq. ft. studio unit in a downtown Victorian for $1385/month • A 1027 sq. ft. 2 bedroom Westside Condo for $2850/month • A 850 sq. ft. 2 bedroom, one bath in ‘sunny’ Live Oak for $2600/month • A private stand-alone studio in Santa Cruz for $1500/month
Craig’s List also displays listings for roommates or single rooms available in an apartment, condo or house.
• A ‘large’ room in a Westside apartment on Mission for $850 month. This includes a $1250 security deposit and shared utility cost • A ‘sweet’ room in a Capitola home for $460/month • Share a beautiful home in the Santa Cruz Gardens area for $850/month. Excellent for a student • Room available in 2 bedroom house in Santa Cruz $1200/month
In a short comparison, the average rental in our area based on this Craig’s List sample is $1000 to $1200/month depending on type, size and location.
Santa Cruz Rentals (Rent Jungle) identifies the median of all rentals in the region. In July, a one bedroom median rental was $2012/month on average with an increase of 6% over last year.
Let’s go back and look at the UCSC Website posting: Rental Cost Statistics APRIL 1, 2016 – MARCH 31, 2017
So would the new legislative mandate in AB 990 hinder the University’s accurate report for the local market? It is a fair judgement to state that UCSC rental reporting reflects on the ‘market’ rate for our region.
Let’s take a statistical look at the trends over a three year period. The University has a five year comparison put for purposes of the report, three years seems to be the start of the economy recovery from the low years of 2008-2012. 2014-15 to 2015-16
2013-14 to 2014-15 The highlighted items in the three year comparison 2013-14, 2014-15 and 2015-16 shows an increase of annual cost at 9.7% year over year. That is a staggering return on investment for the property owners, landlords and the property management services.
The highlighted items in the three year comparison 2013-14, 2014-15 and 2015-16 shows an increase of annual cost at 9.7% year over year. That is a staggering return on investment for the property owners, landlords and the property management services.
The pressing concern: the limited available housing and rental units in our community for students, young professionals, mid-management level employees, teachers and our service providers in the hospitality, restaurants, retail and tourism based jobs places Santa Cruz in a distinct place. We have an accessibility and affordability problem. The City of Santa Cruz and the University must come together to mutually discuss and work on a solution. The Chamber will be there to build a bridge for this conversation.
When I speak to business associates and colleagues outside of the state, everyone says they would love to be a part of our community. Within a couple of comments back and forth about the quality of life and cost of living here, the conversation usually becomes a head spinner for the out of region associate. They cannot believe how expensive it is.
As the housing and rental costs continue on an upward trajectory, we may be slowly pricing out our students from being a part of our beloved Santa Cruz. We must act now.
The Santa Cruz Area Chamber has called 2017 ‘the Year of Housing.’ We are mirroring the conversations that Santa Cruz Mayor Cynthia Chase is having as she conducts a community listening tour to learn and understand the various opinions and ideas on how to best move forward to address our housing crisis. As these conversations continue, the Chamber is taking our tour outside the county. We are leading a housing tour (Community Leadership Visit) to other Bay Area Communities later this month: August 24-26 so we can listen, learn and hopefully bring back solutions to meet our housing needs. If you want to be a part of the CLV please contact me for more information: casey.Beyer@santacruzchamber.org