SANTA CRUZ >> The city of Santa Cruz will hold an online community meeting for a proposed mixed-use, five-story development on the 800 block of Water Street from 6 to 7:30 p.m. on Nov. 20 via Zoom.

The mixed-use project spans nearly an acre from 823 to 833 Water St. and consists of two sections — a four-story section and a five-story section. The building would contain 800 square feet of retail space, 2,500 square feet of work/live units, a community room, shared spaces, on-site laundry and a manager’s office on the ground floor.

In sum, the building would contain 140 housing units that are a mix of studios, one, two, three-bedroom and work/live apartments.

An SB 35 application for a similar version of the project was submitted and approved by the Santa Cruz City Council in 2021. SB 35 was passed in 2017 and streamlines the approval process for housing developments that guarantee a certain number of housing units considered affordable by the state.

In early October, the Walnut Creek-based developer Novin Development submitted a modified permit for the project that reduces the commercial space in the building from about 2,400 square feet to 800, combines the four and five-story sections into one building and changes all of the 140 units in the development to affordable for those considered making extremely low income to moderate income.

In Santa Cruz County, a family of four making less than $54,351 would be considered extremely low income and a family of four making $159,350 annually is considered the median income. The revised application also reduced the number of vehicle parking spaces from 136 to 43 spaces.

The project plans state that the building would contain a total of 64 studios, 53 one-bedroom apartments, 15 two-bedroom, three three-bedroom and five live/work rental units.

The parking area would be located underground and will have one space designated for the commercial use and the rest for the residents. Under SB 35, the project could be built with no parking because it is located within one-half mile of public transit. The development would feature 144 long-term class-one bicycle parking spaces, and 38 class-two spaces.

Although the permit was modified, the developer requests the same concessions, which are provided with the promise of building affordable units. The developer requests to exceed the existing height limits in the area, or 45 feet, and build to about 55 feet in height. Other concessions include reducing the open space in the project and exceeding the floor area ratio in place for the area of the city.

According to the 831 Water St. project page, the city’s Planning Commission will review the proposed modifications at a public hearing after the public online meeting for compliance with the objective standards that were in place at the time of the original approval.

For meeting information, visit cityofsantacruz.com.