A plan by San Jose officials to protect a historic former church that has been all but ignored by its owner is now in limbo. The roughly 120-year-old former First Church of Christ Scientist near St. James Park in downtown may continue to be allowed to wither, as a proposal to spend $200,000 of city money...
Housing
Housing
San Jose realtors say housing advocates ‘terrorized’ their office
Tensions between local housing advocates and realtors have boiled into threats and ugly confrontations. A coalition of homeless and housing advocates protested at the office of the Santa Clara County Association of Realtors on June 7, six days before the San Jose City Council approved the annual budget. They yelled chants like, “Realtors you can’t hide,...
South San Jose motel may become a Marriott
Plans to build a five-story hotel to replace the Casa Linda Motel in San Jose are moving forward, following a favorable decision from the San Jose Planning Commission. Planning commissioners voted Wednesday to recommend the demolition of the small budget motel, located at 1669 Monterey Road on the city’s south side. The move will clear...
San Jose’s Berryessa neighborhood to see hundreds more homes
A San Jose developer’s plan to build up to 850 homes and a large commercial space near Berryessa BART received the green light from city officials. The San Jose City Council unanimously approved the project on Tuesday, though not before it touched off a debate about whether the city should be stricter with density and affordable...
San Jose’s housing plan projected to be more costly
Quick-build temporary shelters are faster and cheaper for San Jose than investing in permanent affordable housing—that’s been Mayor Matt Mahan’s pitch during his first six months in office. But as officials prepare to approve this year’s $5.2 billion budget, the long–term costs for short–term housing don’t exactly support Mahan’s sweeping claims. It’s something he touted...
UPDATE: San Jose to house hundreds of homeless residents
More interim housing and safe parking sites are coming to San Jose to move its homeless population off the streets. The San Jose City Council on Tuesday unanimously approved moving forward on four projects focused on safe parking and housing. A safe parking site with more than 100 parking spots for RVs and vehicle dwellers...
San Jose leader to spend night in homeless shelter
San Jose officials are being challenged by a formerly homeless resident to stay in a shelter before voting to open more—and one is up for the offer. Sketch Oppie, who sits on the San Jose’s Housing and Community Development Commission, recently asked the city council to experience what a homeless shelter is like before diverting funds...
San Jose OKs six-story apartment complex in Five Wounds
Nearly 200 apartments are coming to San Jose’s Five Wounds neighborhood near a future planned expansion of a walking trail. A two-story commercial building at 70-80 N. 27th St. will be razed, and in its place a six-story, 198-apartment complex with a parking garage will be built, after getting the green light at a city...
UPDATE: San Jose sees small drop in homelessness
Santa Clara County’s homeless population is slightly lower than last year, with the biggest drop happening in San Jose. Preliminary data from the county’s point in time count found that homelessness has decreased by 4.7% over the last year in San Jose, bringing the number to approximately 6,340 homeless residents, down by about 300 people. City...
San Jose housing left out of state environmental reform
Gov. Gavin Newsom, who has made a habit of taking big swings on critical policy issues, laid out a proposal earlier this month for reforming the California Environmental Quality Act, aiming to make it easier to build major infrastructure projects. But with California facing a deficit of millions of homes, and officials up and down...