New housing development at Polo Grounds

The Scotts Valley City Council has unanimously approved six units of affordable housing, to be built by the developer of the new 40-unit Polo Ranch subdivision planned for the former home of Santa’s Village.
The low-income two- and three-bedroom condos will be built in a different location from the new subdivision, but the council determined the separate location fulfils a city ordinance that requires that every new subdivision include an affordable housing component.
The affordable housing will be built at 4303-A Scotts Valley Dr., a 26,000 square-foot vacant lot behind the Chef Liu Restaurant. The condos will have two and three bedrooms, with floor areas of 1,000 to 1,300 square feet.
The main Polo Ranch project is located on 17 acres off Santa’s Village Road, south of Timber Ridge Road.  The project developer is Lennar Homes.
The application for off-site affordable housing first came before the city Planning Commission in December 2012.
 “The application did not proceed to (city) council so that an affordable housing agreement could be finalized,” said Michelle Edwards, the city’s senior planner. “Now that an affordable housing agreement is being processed, the application is ready to proceed.”
Under the city’s Affordable Action Plan, prospective buyers can qualify for by making 80 percent of Santa Cruz County’s median income. For a family of four, that translates to $80,650 annual income.
To qualify as a first-time home buyer, the family cannot have owned a residence of had an interest mortgage deduction for at least the last three years.
“This is an exciting opportunity for qualifying first-time home buyers,” Edwards said.
The lack of affordable housing in ScottsValley has been a much-discussed topic. With a limited, expensive housing stock, it is difficult for schools to entice teachers, and for the city to recruit police and fire fighters.
Those interested in learning more about the city’s affordable housing program can call 831-440-5630.
Meanwhile, heavy equipment has been making changes at the main site near what used to be Santa’s Village Amusement Park.  About 14 acres of the site will remain open space.
Work at the site includes grading, retaining walls, relocating a water main and building a bridge. Because of the heavy rains this year, grading has come to a standstill, and will begin again when the weather dries out.
No time table has been established to begin construction on the affordable condos or single-family homes. Lennar Homes project manager Brent Reed declined to provide an update