In an exercise to gauge what members of our 831 Responsible Development group would affirmatively support as a project at 831 Water Street, one of our members surveyed a sampling of others to see if there was a consensus of opinion. The short survey was distributed to 40 people, 32 of whom took part.

The survey results indicated that there is broad consensus for development on the site and for a project that helps address the city’s need for additional housing. Respondents were also in agreement that development there should:

• Adhere to the city’s current land-use rules regarding height (no more than 3 stories and 40-foot-high projects).
• Provide appropriate setbacks from adjacent parcels.
• Be designed with adequate vehicle flow and transportation safety features.
• Harmonize with the area’s historical character.

There was also a high degree of consensus in the answers participants gave to two of the survey’s key questions:

• Asked if they liked the current development proposal for the site, 31 of the 32 respondents said clearly that they did not.
• Asked how many stories high buildings on the site should be, 1 respondent said 4 stories high, 20 respondents said 3 stories high, 8 respondents said 2 stories high, and 1 respondent said 1 story high.

In short, the survey results make clear that our growing group of Santa Cruz residents would absolutely support a project at 831 Water Street that helped address the city’s need for additional housing, especially for families. The respondents just expect it to be reasonable in size, scale, and impact. And safe.