City of Santa Cruz

Santa Cruz is a very special place to live. As your local public servants, we at the City work every day to support and maintain the services and infrastructure that support our high quality of life. 

Homelessness Response Action Plan

We know homelessness and housing affordability have been the most urgent problem facing our City for several years. Fortunately, with the help of one-time state and federal funding, we’ve developed the three-year Homelessness Response Action Plan (HRAP) that is beginning to show results.

We need to continue to connect people experiencing homelessness with mental health/addiction services and other support. The City’s encampment assessment team has seen success at moving people from high-risk areas like the flood-prone San Lorenzo River and fire-risk Pogonip open space, and into City operated emergency shelters significantly reducing unsheltered homelessness in the last two years. Complementing these efforts, we are also supporting affordable and workforce housing. In the past year, we’ve seen a 29% decrease of unhoused people. Although progress has been made, there is still more work to be done.

Maintaining Local Funding

Unfortunately, some of our most successful local homelessness response and prevention programs will end as state and federal funding runs out. To maintain these and other essential services, Santa Cruz City Council adopted a resolution during the November 28, 2023, meeting, proposing the inclusion of a one-half of one percent retail transaction and use tax measure in the consolidated March 2024 California Statewide Primary Election.

A potential measure could be used to:

• Connect people experiencing homelessness with services and support
• Keep pollution out of local rivers, creeks and streams
• Clean up and address the impacts of encampments
• Support local food and housing programs
• Provide emergency shelter to get people off the streets
• Expand case management and outreach to people experiencing homelessness
• Improve and maintain City parks, beaches and open space
• Ensure City firefighters have the training and equipment needed to fight wildfires

Fiscal Accountability and Local Control

Any local funding measure would include fiscal accountability requirements, including:

• Required public disclosure of all spending
• Essential purchases such as groceries, prescription medicine, diapers and feminine hygiene products are exempt from sales tax
• All funds must stay local in Santa Cruz and no funds can be taken away by the State

 Learn More About the Proposed Sales Tax

• One-page fact sheet
• Frequently asked questions

Learn more about our Homelessness Response program!