LIVE OAK >> A five-story, 57-unit apartment building proposed in Live Oak is set to be considered by the Santa Cruz County Planning Commission on Wednesday.
The commission will review permits to demolish a single-family home on the 0.88-acre site and a development permit to build the apartments. Planning commission staff recommended commissioners approve of the project but reject a concession that would allow the developer to include four or five additional apartments as accessory dwelling unit conversions.
Workbench sued the city of Santa Cruz last year over the city council’s denial of proposed ADU conversions.
The apartment building proposal includes seven studios, 35 one-bedroom apartments and 15 two-bedroom apartments. A total of 31 parking spaces are proposed.
It is expected to be the first approved project in the county that utilized a state law that allows developers to defy zoning rules under certain circumstances. According to a planning commission staff report, county zoning on the property allows a maximum of eight homes.
Santa Cruz County’s state-mandated housing plan, called a Housing Element, lapsed in December 2023 after the county failed to submit its updated plan on time. California authorities certified the county’s Housing Element in April 2024, but not before developers submitted three proposals that took advantage of the lapse.
If a local government does not have a certified Housing Element, a state law called the Builder’s Remedy allows housing proposals with greater density than would otherwise be allowed within a property’s zoning. Local governments have essentially no say over approval of such projects.
The law is meant to allow unfettered housing development when a government isn’t keeping up with Housing Element requirements.
The proposal at 841 Capitola Road was submitted by Santa Cruz-based developer Workbench in April 2024 two weeks before the state certified the county’s Housing Element. The property is in unincorporated county area, and falls under county government jurisdiction.
Workbench first proposed a project with 15 homes at 841 Capitola Road. The project has grown to include 57 homes.
Workbench first put forward a plan for the site in 2023 that included 15 homes. The version proposed in 2024 included 40 homes, and after several iterations a final application included 57 units.
In addition to the Builder’s Remedy, other state laws allowed Workbench to grow the project’s size even further because it includes four below-market-rate homes. State law grants “density bonuses” to some housing developments, allowing developers to grow projects that include affordable homes.
Neighbors’ concerns
At a community meeting in April, neighbors of the project expressed concerns about its scale and the potential impacts on parking and traffic.
In a letter shared with Santa Cruz Local this week and signed by 35 neighbors of the proposed project, residents said they were “stunned” by the scale of the proposal.
“This immense, five-story building will have a profoundly negative impact on our quality of life and our homes. Standing roughly 60 feet tall, its balconies will loom over our properties and homes, eliminating any privacy we currently have,” the letter states. “What is now our kid-friendly (and safe) cul de sac will become a busy thoroughfare, and all available on-street parking will likely be taken up.”
The letter also decries the destruction of every tree on the property, including 12 coast redwoods and four coast live oaks.
Residents who oppose the project plan to attend the meeting and can be reached at [email protected].
-Santa Cruz Local, Nik Altenberg October 21, 2025
