Candidates for all three races were given two minutes for introductions and to discuss some of their priorities if elected, followed by questions from Flynn and the audience.
Coonerty was the only mayoral candidate who was not present Saturday morning. Audience members were mostly concerned about housing and development — primarily in the downtown area of Santa Cruz.
Schendledecker said she believes there’s a housing shortage and that Santa Cruz has been “underbuilt for so long.” She said the city is stuck between community preference for less building and state housing laws, which call for more housing to be built. Schendledecker said she has concerns about the empty commercial spaces in many of the newer housing developments.
Chen Mills echoed her opponent’s comment about an ongoing housing shortage. She said local officials need to educate the public about the efforts to meet state housing numbers. She added that the city needs to have objective standards when it comes to housing and lay out what types of buildings it would like to see.
Krohn said that rather than a housing crisis, there’s an affordability crisis in Santa Cruz. He criticized the lack of affordable units in some of the new apartments being built downtown.
Greensite said that by approving so many projects, the city is causing overdevelopment. She said median incomes are increasing because more affluent people are moving into the area, leading to an increase in rent prices. She added that it might be time for the city “to take a pause” in approving housing developments.