You must make more than $70K a year to live in Santa Cruz Co.

The National Low Income Housing Coalition estimates people living in Santa Cruz County must make more than $33 an hour, or $70,000 a year, to afford a two-bedroom apartment.

“Young people tend to not have as much money, tend to not have as good credit, if you’re living with an animal, good luck,” said Robert Singleton, who has struggled to find housing in Santa Cruz County.

For many, finding a place to call home in Santa Cruz County is nearly impossible.

Officials say the desire to live in coastal California along with environmental protection and housing policies that hinder development have contributed to the housing crisis.

“If we have limited housing stock and not enough availability it comes down to whose gonna pay the most,” said Singleton. “So landlords have free rrein to raise rents to not keep their properties in good shape.”

To provide adequate and affordable living conditions, the Santa Cruz County Board of Supervisors approved a 137-page Housing Element.

It’s a state mandated document that spells out challenges and lays down the foundation to meet future housing needs.

“We want to make sure there’s diversity of people, diversity of ideas, diversity of talents and diversity of incomes,” said Santa Cruz County Board of Supervisors Zach Friend. “Right now unfortunately with the way the housing prices are we may not be going down that road and this Housing Element tries to shift that.”

The Housing Element reveals the need for about 1,300 new housing units.

“Anytime you show up to an open house in Santa Cruz for a place it’s gonna be a crowded,” said Singleton.

The multi-year plan includes making sure land is available for diversified housing, getting rid of unnecessary governmental constraints and promoting equal housing opportunities for special needs, low income and energy efficient housing units.

“The types of development that we’re looking at aren’t single family homes,” said Friend. “We’re looking at much more environmentally friendly, much smaller mixed use developments along urban corridors to give people an opportunity for a starter home or maybe seniors that are looking at downsizing a chance to stay.”

County officials say as of right now the Housing Element is just a guide for the next several years.

The real work will happen project by project.

The document will have to be approved by the state.

After that more funding for development and housing will be available.

ORIGINAL STORY: The National Low Income Housing Coalition estimates people living in Santa Cruz County must make more than $33 an hour, or $70,000 a year, to afford a two-bedroom apartment.

Residents are desperate to find affordable housing. The county reported there were 4,823 households on the waiting list for Section 8 housing vouchers in May 2015. The county says only 354 families got vouchers in 2014.

But hope is on the horizon. On Tuesday, the Santa Cruz County Board of Supervisors unanimously approved a new housing plan aimed at alleviating the crisis.

On Facebook, county leaders wrote, “We have a ways to go and there are many challenges ahead, but over the long run, today may prove to be an important step toward more affordable housing, better jobs, and a more livable community.”

Tonight on KION, Maya Holmes will report on the housing crisis and tell us what steps the county plans to take in the new housing plan.