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...
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...
How Santa Clara County divvied up its housing bond dollars
A $950 million affordable housing bond has helped build thousands of affordable homes across Santa Clara County, though its efforts have focused on some parts of the region more than others. Measure A, passed by voters in 2016, has helped fund the construction of 5,135 new homes and smashed the county’s goal of 4,800 in...
Santa Clara County still lacks state approval on housing plans
Santa Clara County is nearly two years behind on receiving state approval for its housing plans, allowing developers to push projects forward in unwanted ways. County officials submitted their fourth draft of the housing element on Nov. 1 and expect to hear back from the state Department of Housing and Community Development by Dec. 31. Lacking...
San Jose affordable housing replaces day care project
A North San Jose site originally planned for what city officials described as a new day care center is shifting gears to an affordable housing complex. McKenzie Dibble, project manager for housing developer Danco, said during a Monday meeting with residents that they acquired the property at 1207 North Capitol Ave. last month and plan to...
Google gives San Jose $5M for community benefits
San Jose has received another infusion of cash from Google, adding to the community benefits pot. The San Jose City Council on Tuesday unanimously approved a $5 million payment from the tech company as part of its community benefits agreement in the Downtown West project. About $4.25 million will be put into the Community Stabilization...
East San Jose business district gets grant to beautify area
Alum Rock business advocates are getting a $100,000 grant to not just beautify the neighborhood, but also solidify the East San Jose district’s cultural identity. Councilmember Peter Ortiz said he secured the grant during the city’s recent budgeting process to support the efforts of the Alum Rock Santa Clara Street Business Association — an organization...
San Jose leaders toss public hearings for infill development
San Jose officials are aggressively moving forward with filling housing gaps in existing neighborhoods, but experts say the proposal needs to go further. The City Council on Tuesday voted unanimously to approve the strategy known as infill housing, following housing department officials identifying barriers on residential developments and finding opportunities for San Jose to reach...