A safe parking site for people living in their vehicles will open next month, and San Jose officials have chosen who will manage it. The San Jose City Council on Tuesday unanimously voted to award WeHope, a nonprofit homeless services provider, a $2.8 million contract to oversee the city’s second safe parking site on 1300 Berryessa Road. The...
Campbell makes building duplexes easier on single-family lots
Campbell is making it easier for residents to create a wide array of housing options in their own backyards. The Campbell City Council unanimously voted Monday to implement a temporary policy to make the city compliant with Senate Bill 450. The law, enacted Jan. 1 after Gov. Gavin Newsom signed it last year, makes it simpler for homeowners to...
Insufficient builder fees leave San Jose with infrastructure backlog
Housing and business developers in San Jose avoid building public improvements by paying fees to the city, but this often leads to infrastructure projects slowing to a crawl. Developers are typically responsible for building necessary infrastructure as part of residential and commercial projects, such as underground utilities, street improvements, traffic signals and more. To get...
Chick-fil-A may have found a home in the West Valley
A crispy fried chicken chain may have found a home in West San Jose. Chick-fil-A filed plans with the San Jose planning department last month to build a new restaurant at 4400 Stevens Creek Blvd. where an empty Round Table Pizza and kidney dialysis center sit. The chicken-eatery giant wants to demolish the existing 10,400-square-foot...
Feds expand lawsuit against corporate San Jose landlords
Landlords with ties to Silicon Valley have been targeted by the U.S. Justice Department in its growing effort to to stop property owners from using tech software to influence rent prices. Federal officials on Tuesday added six corporate landlords to an existing lawsuit against RealPage, a company accused of providing property management software used to maximize rent...
San Jose starts ban on RV street parking
San Jose has begun temporarily banning RVs in designated areas across the city this week. Under a $3.3 million pilot program, Oversized and Lived-In Vehicle Enforcement (OLIVE), the city has chosen 30 temporary tow-away zones to clear RVs for street sweeping and cleanup throughout this year. It will establish a new temporary tow-away zone every...
San Jose tenant illegally ran an unlicensed independent living home
A San Jose landlord has filed a complaint to evict a tenant operating an unlicensed business at her property without her knowledge. Nelson Muan signed a lease agreement with Angela To in 2013. He then, unbeknownst to her, illegally converted the property on 659 N. 13th St. into an unlicensed independent living home. Muan converted...
Santa Clara County agritourism threatened by development
Santa Clara County officials remain out of compliance with state housing laws, which could put their agricultural tourism efforts in a race against developments proposing to pave over the Valley of Heart’s Delight remaining farmland — with or without their approval. A San José Spotlight review of county builder’s remedy applications shows at least 20...
Silicon Valley homeless services provider has new leadership
HomeFirst’s new leader says the homeless support services nonprofit is looking to turn the page. René Ramirez was permanently appointed as CEO last month, after his predecessor Andrea Urton stepped down in July amid turmoil within the organization. Ramirez, who at that time was chief operating officer, became the interim CEO. After a nationwide search,...
San Jose homeless camps spark safety issues for railroad workers
Homeless residents living along train tracks pose an unsafe and dangerous problem for railroad workers across California cities, including San Jose. Recent videos shared by a San Jose-based railroad enthusiast show workers and riders passing by homeless camps close to the tracks — giving a glimpse into some of the most egregious encampment sites. While railroad officials...