Cupertino officials had hoped to see revenues funneling in from two hotels — instead they found themselves approving permit extensions. The Cupertino City Council on Wednesday unanimously extended the development timeline for two upscale hotels by three years, due to a dip in tourism, rising building costs and a slow recovery from the pandemic. The...
Campbell plans housing along major roadways
Even though Campbell has failed to meet its housing requirements over the years, this time around the city plans to construct thousands of new homes in its growing community. The Campbell City Council on Tuesday unanimously agreed to rezone sections of the city for affordable and low-income housing and to reuse existing property within its 6.35-square-mile...
Santa Clara County cities are failing to hit housing goals
Nearly all the cities in Santa Clara County — including San Jose — are moving so slow in meeting state housing goals that hitting the numbers looks like a pipe dream, a data analysis by San José Spotlight shows. Every eight years, the state decides how many homes need to be built in order to...
San Jose program to build backyard homes is thriving
Hundreds of granny units are popping up everywhere in San Jose due to a successful city program implemented five years ago. The city has issued nearly 3,000 permits and seen 1,451 granny units, also known as backyard homes or accessory dwelling units (ADUs), completed since launching its preapproved contractors program in 2019. In the first...
Neighboring San Jose cities face development woes along borders
Campbell resident Stacia Lumley should hear birds chirping in her backyard and feel the warm sun on her face. Instead, the songbirds are drowned out by construction noise, and the sun is partially blocked by a six-story apartment development looming over her home. Lumley has lived in her red two-story house on Moneta Way for...
Sunnyvale to accelerate its housing growth
Santa Clara County’s second largest city just got its housing plans approved by the state, kickstarting 45 programs to increase development and put a dent in the housing crisis. After three rounds of review by the state’s Department of Housing and Community Development, Sunnyvale’s housing element was approved March 6 — more than a year...
Los Gatos inches toward more affordable housing
Los Gatos is one step closer to securing state approval for its housing plan, more than a year after the deadline and months of contention among town officials. The town submitted the latest draft of its housing element — a detailed planning document laying out how Los Gatos will accommodate more affordable and market-rate housing...
San Jose labor leader questions strength of city’s wage theft rules
San Jose officials have gotten stricter about labor protections over the last year, disqualifying companies with a history of wage theft from winning city contracts. But labor advocates say the city still isn’t doing enough to protect workers. South Bay labor leaders question whether companies with a history of lower level infractions and no state...
Historic downtown San Jose park revamp hit with major setback
The plan to turn a historic-yet-blighted downtown San Jose park into a major event venue as part of the city’s revitalization plans faces a major delay. After a four-year battle over a redesign of St. James Park between the city and the Saint Claire Club — the second oldest men’s club in California — the...
San Jose suits up to fight mold at future homeless housing site
A development site for homeless residents in South San Jose is blanketed in blue tarps to get rid of mold from months of neglect. Three days after San José Spotlight broke the story about pre-built homes arriving in poor condition, the site is peppered in mold remediation signs over tarped buildings and employees working in...