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Santa Clara is getting a new city manager after nearly a year of searching for the right person to lead the city. The Santa Clara City Council voted 4-1 to hire Jovan D. Grogan at an annual salary of $405,506. Councilmember Anthony Becker voted no. Mayor Lisa Gillmor and Councilmember Kathy Watanabe were absent. Grogan,...
Santa Clara signs off on thousands of new homes
The Santa Clara City Council took its state mandated housing goals right down to the wire before approving an eight-year plan. Councilmembers voted 6-1, with a no from Vice Mayor Kevin Park, earlier this week to approve the city’s housing element and amend the General Plan. The state requires every city to develop a plan that...
Santa Clara approves contentious affordable housing project
After considerable pushback from residents and uncertainty among Santa Clara councilmembers, city leaders are greenlighting a controversial multifamily housing project on Civic Center Drive. The Santa Clara City Council voted 6-1 Tuesday to build a five-story apartment project with 108 affordable units managed by Charities Housing. Councilmember Kevin Park was the lone dissenter, saying he opposed...
LGBTQ groups call out Santa Clara mayor over silence
Bay Area LGBTQ organizations are calling out Santa Clara’s mayor, after her election opponent leveled accusations she’s enabling homophobic attacks on him. Bay Area Municipal Elections Committee (BAYMEC)—one of the most prominent LGBTQ political organizations in the region—issued a letter calling on Santa Clara Mayor Lisa Gillmor to denounce a blog where homophobic comments have been made...
Santa Clara candidate attacked with slurs, death threats
The Santa Clara mayoral race is turning ugly and life threatening for one candidate. Councilmember and mayoral candidate Anthony Becker said in the past few months he has received death threats and been subjected to homophobic slurs, as the city’s first openly gay policymaker. He said his partner has also been harassed. Becker wants his...
Santa Clara lags behind on low-income housing
Santa Clara has thousands of homes in the pipeline, but advocates are skeptical if these developments will make a dent in the shortage of affordable housing. Santa Clara has a state mandate to produce more affordable housing by 2031. The city must construct more than 11,500 homes, with less than half priced at or above market...
UPDATE: Santa Clara leaders delay decision on affordable housing
Santa Clara leaders are postponing a vote on a controversial affordable housing project until November, amid opposition from hundreds of residents. The Santa Clara City Council voted 4-3 Tuesday to defer moving forward on a plan to build a five-story apartment building at 1601 Civic Center Drive. The project, managed by Charities Housing, would add...
Santa Clara redoing plan for El Camino Real
Santa Clara is going back to the drawing board again on an ambitious project to expand the city’s longest transit corridor—a complex transformation that has dragged on for years. The City Council voted 4-3 Tuesday to have city workers revise a draft of the El Camino Real transit corridor proposal—a major road redesign that includes about...
Santa Clara mayor highlights budget, city growth in annual speech
As Santa Clara faces ongoing economic struggles exacerbated by the pandemic, the city’s mayor on Saturday presented a brighter vision for the future. During Mayor Lisa Gillmor’s first in-person State of the City address, she highlighted her administration’s approach to worsening local issues, such as homelessness. The city this past year has helped fund programs like...
Santa Clara officials say 49ers stadium tour was not a ‘gift’
Two Santa Clara officials are under investigation for allegedly accepting a gift from the San Francisco 49ers football team, which they say was an informational tour they took as part of their city leadership duties. Councilmembers Karen Hardy and Raj Chahal are accused of accepting a gift visit to the 49ers stadium, as the city...