🚨 Save Our Neighborhood – Act Now on the 7th Ave & Brommer St Development 📣

A proposed 95-unit housing development is moving forward at 7th Avenue and Brommer Street in Live Oak. If you live, work, drive, bike, or spend time in this area, this project will impact you.

This is not about opposing housing.

This is about ensuring the project fits the neighborhood, protects existing residents, preserves open space, and addresses the real concerns of the community.

Why This Matters

If you live in Live Oak, you already experience:

• Traffic congestion that can take 20 minutes to travel less than half a mile from the beach
• 7th Avenue serving as a major route for residents, commuters, school traffic, and beach visitors
• Limited street parking throughout the neighborhood
• Now imagine adding hundreds of additional daily vehicle trips to the same corridor.

For nearby residents, concerns also include:

• Loss of privacy
• Increased noise and activity near homes
• Additional traffic and safety concerns
• Impacts to neighborhood character and livability
• Pressure on already limited parking

The question is not whether housing should be built. The question is whether this level of density is appropriate for this location.

What We Are Asking For:

• A more reasonable scale of development
• Preservation of existing oak trees and natural buffers
• No walkways, roads, or driveways directly along existing residential fence lines
• Building heights that are compatible with surrounding homes
• Meaningful setbacks and privacy buffers
• Smarter placement of access roads and pathways
• Real consideration of traffic, parking, and neighborhood impacts

📣 TAKE ACTION

We are gathering signatures and bringing community concerns directly to County leadership.

Please email to  share your concerns:

first.district@santacruzcountyca.gov  (First District Supervisor)
justin.cummings@santacruzcountyca.gov (Third District Supervisor)

If you care about your home, your neighborhood, and the future of Live Oak, now is the time to speak up. Please sign and share this petition.

🚨 PROJECT UPDATE – JUNE 2026 👇👇👇👇

At the June 9 Board of Supervisors meeting, the Board unanimously accepted modifications required by the California Coastal Commission. These changes are now part of the County's official planning documents and may help reduce some impacts to neighboring residents, trees, and wildlife habitat.

Key Changes:

Housing Clustering: Housing must be concentrated within the smallest feasible footprint, limited to no more than 3.5 contiguous acres and located closer to 7th Avenue and Stagg Lane. This means the development cannot spread across the entire 6.4-acre site.

Open Space Preservation: The remaining portions of the property outside the housing footprint will revert to their previous zoning, allowing future public review of non-housing uses.

What We Know Today:

• Approximately 3.5 acres may be sold to nonprofit developer Community HousingWorks.
• The project is proposed as 100% affordable rental housing.
• Some onsite parking is planned.
• Existing Significant Trees (similar to Heritage Trees) are expected to be preserved.
• Approximately 2 acres are expected to remain as open space, although exact boundaries have not yet been finalized.

Ongoing Concerns:

Because of state housing laws and the ministerial approval process, the project will not go before the County Planning Commission and does not require traditional public hearings where residents can formally comment on the project.

This makes community involvement even more important.

What's Next:

Community HousingWorks plans to hold an informational Zoom meeting, with additional community meetings potentially following.

These meetings will be important opportunities to advocate for:

• Preservation of existing oak trees and natural buffers
• Meaningful setbacks from neighboring homes
• Safe placement of pathways and public access areas away from existing homes
• Adequate parking and traffic mitigation
• Protection of neighborhood character and open space

The Board of Supervisors is expected to consider subdivision and sale of the housing portion of the property at its June 30 meeting.

There is another active community group, called Harbor Neighbors, established in 2016, concerned with "protecting the quality of life in our neighborhoods from negative impacts of proposed developments at the 7th & Brommer site." Harbor Neighbors publishes updates frequently. To receive e-updates, use their Contact Us form found HERE.

Thank you to everyone who has signed, shared, attended meetings, and stayed involved. Community participation will continue to be critical as this project moves forward.