A controversial housing development in Cupertino is heading toward potential approval, as city officials weigh state housing mandates against resident concerns about wildfire risk and evacuation safety. The Planning Commission in February voted 3-2 to recommend the city move forward with a 51-townhome project on a 2.5-acre site along Linda Vista Drive — to the...
San Jose mayor touts 15-point housing plan for California
San Jose Mayor Matt Mahan aims to stand out from the crowded field of California governor candidates with a statewide policy plan to speed up housing production. Advocates say there’s plenty to like — even if certain facets of the plan could cut funding to local public services. Mahan unveiled his 15-point plan March 5...
State grant opens door to housing for South Bay farmworkers
Farmworkers who have grappled to make ends meet while doing backbreaking labor to feed Bay Area communities will have a pathway to home ownership. Santa Clara County will use a $2.2 million grant from the state’s Farmworker Housing Grant program to provide loans for mortgage assistance so low-income, first time homebuyers can purchase manufactured homes....
Larger Whole Foods to open in Los Gatos
A new Whole Foods Market is about to open in Los Gatos, with amenities that include a spacious hot-food bar, indoor seating and a mural of local birds. Construction crews are busy installing interior fixtures at the 40,039-square-foot supermarket on Los Gatos Boulevard at the intersection of Los Gatos Almaden Road. The market is expected...
Cupertino council approves unique affordable housing project
A controversial nonprofit housing project in Cupertino that’s been under consideration for about 20 years has the green light to move forward. After a three-hour marathon of presentations and public comment Tuesday, the City Council voted 3-1-1 to narrowly approve a first-of-its-kind housing mix with 40 affordable apartments. Of those, 19 will be set aside...
San Jose wants industrial land exempt from housing law
With just five months before landmark housing legislation takes effect throughout California, San Jose officials are racing to exempt broad swaths of the city from the law. Sen. Scott Wiener’s Senate Bill 79, signed into law in October, aims to encourage denser housing construction around transit hubs. In San Jose, the law would cover 40,000...
San Jose boosts incentives to convert offices to housing
San Jose wants to make it easier to convert its underused office buildings into housing with new financial incentives. The City Council voted unanimously Tuesday to expand an existing housing incentive program covering downtown residential high-rise projects to include conversion projects with at least 20 new homes. The city will cut certain fees and taxes for...
UPDATE: San Jose eases housing development requirements
The San Jose City Council has approved a trio of housing measures intended to spur local development by adjusting certain requirements that homebuilders say have stymied new projects. Two of the measures expand incentive programs that reduce construction taxes and ease affordable housing requirements for developers. A third measure revamps San Jose’s inclusionary housing policy,...
Mountain View Planning Commission backs 8-story apartment
Plans for an eight-story apartment building are taking shape in the East Whisman area of Mountain View, a part of the city that is better known for office buildings and surface parking lots than high-density housing. The applicant, Jeffrey Stone of WTA Middlefield, is proposing to build a 460-unit apartment complex with nearly 9,400 square feet of...
VTA to bring thousands of homes online
An effort to develop housing at public transit stations in Santa Clara County has awakened after being dormant for decades — and is expected to rake in lease profits and fuel train ridership. VTA leaders next week will open the doors to their first new public transit-oriented apartment complex in 20 years, between the Willow...