FAQs

Who are the Circle of Friends?

We are local folks who want to build homes for our families. Based on that dream we have invested our life savings in this project. We are not professional developers.

Are we motivated by profit?

No. Our shared purpose is to create a green co-housing community, a Circle of Friends. We saw this group effort as a way to afford owning a home in Santa Cruz by designing and helping each other build our homes. The Co-housing model allows us to reduce costs by sharing resources.

Are we from out of town?

All members except one family live in Santa Cruz and are long-term Santa Cruz residents

Do we know Santa Cruz? Do we know the Circles?

Ginny & Joe were born and raised in Santa Cruz. Brett’s children grew up here and attended Santa Cruz High. Dwight moved to Santa Cruz last year in part to be near family and his dearest friends whom live in the Circles area. Caitlin came to attend University here in 1999. Alex shares his time between Southern California and Big Sur. All local members work in town and serve the community in a variety of ways and have a deep understanding of the beauty & richness of this unique neighborhood.

What is being proposed?

Circle of Friends been approved to build 12 houses with ADUs in each of the 12 lots. That’s 24 homes of varying sizes for folx in Santa Cruz.

Does the project follow local zoning and building laws?

Yes. We have been working with the city for 5 years to make sure we follow the appropriate guidelines. The current zoning is R1-5 (R=residential and 1-5 means one house per 5000 s.f. lot). Our plan follows the R1-5 zoning without any variance

What is Zoning?

Zoning defines the allowable uses of a property along with types and density of structures. The current zoning for the entire city was considered and set forth as part of The City of Santa Cruz General Plan 2030 which was years in the making and adopted in 2006. It lays out a vision for the city and addresses all aspects of community life including housing.

An Excerpt from the General Plan 2030:

A general plan is a comprehensive, long-range, and internally consistent statement of a city’s development and preservation policies. It sums up the city’s philosophy of growth and preservation, highlights what is important to the community, and prescribes where different kinds of development should go. It is a city’s primary tool for directing and managing growth and conservation.

• A general plan is comprehensive—it addresses all geographic areas within the City’s planning area and all issues relating to the physical development of the city. During its two-year effort, the GPAC widely advertised its meetings to the public and to community and business organizations. All planning commission and city council meetings on the general plan were similarly advertised and open to the public. Specific efforts to promote community participation are described below. The entire General Plan can be seen here:

http://www.cityofsantacruz.com/home/showdocument?id=33418

Are they building affordable housing?

Yes. We will follow the city’s guidelines to provide affordable housing.

What is co-housing?

Co-housing can take many forms. Our version is an intentional community of private homes clustered around shared space. Each family home has traditional amenities, including a private kitchen. Shared spaces feature a common area and outdoor space for play, gardens and resources like tools and supplies. Households have independent incomes and private lives, but neighbors collaboratively plan and manage Co-housing activities and shared spaces. Co-housing makes it easy to share meals, dreams, organize child and elder care, carpool, learning, etc. We are interested in creating a place where our children can live with caretakers and elders so we can weave a tapestry of inter-generational living in community. www.cohousing.org/

Are there other co-housing projects nearby?

Yes. Coyote Crossing on Western Dr. & The Walnut Commons on Walnut are local co-housing communities. We have been in conversation with both cohousing communities as we develop our cohousing framework. There are 400+ co-housing communities across the country. Cohousing started and is most popular in Scandinavia & Northern Europe. Here is a link to one of many TED talks about the many benefits Co-Housing. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=h6e7d8cwdLY