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San Jose should be commended for shelving the ridiculous idea of taxing vacant homes. The housing crisis needs serious solutions and wasting staff time on such a frivolous item does not make any sense. San Jose voters passed Measure E on March 3, 2020. It enacted a real property transfer tax, which is imposed on...
Staedler: Downtown San Jose needs groups like Urban Vibrancy Institute to improve
Over the last several decades, there have been various opinions and political handwringing on what is wrong with downtown San Jose. In the past, San Jose officials have blamed the lack of downtown vibrancy on business cycles and other over simplistic issues such as daytime or nighttime population. The city of San Jose presented its...
Staedler: Binding arbitration needed for government agency disputes
When government agencies sue each other, it is simply a huge waste of taxpayer dollars. The only winners in these situations are the contracted attorneys on either side. Those dollars could be used to fund vitally needed services, but are wasted going to a long, drawn out court battle. A majority of those matters could...
Staedler: City data gives the public insight into challenges
Two hot topics that have come up recently are crime and traffic fatality data. The interpretation of this data is being debated. I’m not going to wade into the interpretation arena, I just want to bring attention to the fact that San Jose makes available various data sets to the public. On April 7, the...
Staedler: Participation in San Jose’s budget process is vital
One of the yearly San Jose traditions is the mayor’s March Budget Message for the upcoming fiscal year. It sets out budget priorities and starts the process of the creation of budget proposals which will be considered by the entire City Council in May, with a final budget approval in June. Here’s the full 25-page...
Staedler: San Jose permitting moving in the right direction
San Jose has been working on a more robust online permit system over the last several years. It’s called the Rapid Online Service Intake (ROSI) and had a full launch on Jan. 24. Per the city presentation at the Smart Cities and Service Improvements Committee meeting on March 3, ROSI allows customers to submit their plans...
Staedler: San Jose’s 62,200 housing unit question
San Jose has moved past a crossroads and now faces a staggering housing cliff. On Dec. 16, 2021, the Association of Bay Area Governments adopted the final Regional Housing Needs Allocation (RHNA) and the California Housing Community Development Department has determined San Jose must plan for 62,200 housing units from 2023 to 2031. The Bay...
Staedler: Community Opportunity to Purchase Program doesn’t need to interfere with the market
The housing tragedy that our community faces continues to be a grave reality. I have been an advocate of buying existing rental units, and while the bureaucratic process has caused affordable housing units to cost approximately $800,000 per unit, it doesn’t need to be that way. If you look at the proformas for affordable housing, you...
Staedler: With SB 9 legislative confusion, let’s shelve Opportunity Housing
The San Jose Planning Commission held a study session last Wednesday to discuss the contentious item of SB 9 and Opportunity Housing. City staff did the best they could to describe the impacts of SB 9 and the amount of housing that potentially could be developed with this legislation. There is a long list of disappointing...
Staedler: Lets focus on mixed-use projects that will impact our community
While there has been a lot of discussion in the last week about SB 9, SB 10 and the gaping legislative holes in what each bill will and won’t do, it overshadows projects that will redevelop neighborhood retail centers. These projects will develop more than 1,000 homes in areas with amenities and infrastructure. The two...