If only we could build more houses where people work so they wouldn't have to commute from Santa Cruz..
It is neither noteworthy, nor harmful, that Santa Cruz maintains itself as a "bedroom community" if there is plenty of density where it belongs: in the city.
It is also failing to build the density that would allow affordable housing for its own workforce, instead maintaining luxury zoning which means that only mansions will be built for out of towners that visit sometimes but not often.
This means big profits for the working class homeowners that are now retired, but exclusion of any opportunity for working class people today.
On the other hand, I do know several people who work on the peninsula or in south bay who have chosen to live in Santa Cruz because they actually like Santa Cruz. Not because of cost or availability or housing policy in the rest of the bay area.