Housing

Housing

Is San Jose’s progressive housing policy dead?

A contentious affordable housing policy coming to the San Jose City Council appears to be dead on arrival. The Community Opportunity to Purchase Act, or COPA, is coming to the city council in late April, but it seems the long-debated policy will not have enough votes to pass. Councilmember Peter Ortiz tried and failed to defer the policy...

San Jose breaks ground on prefab homeless housing

San Jose is breaking ground on a unique transitional housing site that will support hundreds of homeless residents when complete. Preparation is underway for a three-story, prefabricated modular project on Branham Lane and Monterey Road in the south part of the city. Planning for the site in District 2 began in 2021. It will open in April 2024 with...

San Jose mayor proposes homeless ban in parts of city

San Jose’s mayor has faced criticism for his plan to ban homeless residents from setting up camp in certain parts of the city, but he believes it’s only because people don’t fully understand it. As part of his March budget message, Mayor Matt Mahan asked the city to explore enacting no encampment zones, which would prohibit homeless camps in...

A new push to move San Jose homeless from Coyote Creek

Valley Water is shelling out millions for San Jose to clear out homeless residents living along Coyote Creek. The $4.8 million contract with the city comes as the water agency prepares to build out mandated flood protection measures along a nine-mile stretch of the creek following the devastating 2017 floods. The nearly 120 to 200 homeless people living along the waterway...

Renters say San Jose policies aren’t working

San Jose tenants say the city’s rent control policy is ineffective. This bleak finding comes from a recent survey featuring more than 200 tenants and landlords who report feeling underwhelmed by ongoing city efforts to slow soaring rent costs. The survey, conducted by consulting firm RSG, is part of a larger effort to collect feedback from tenants...

San Jose braces for bill criminalizing homelessness

When Jade Sweeney surveys the area where she slept in south San Jose just last week, she not only feels sad—she feels violated. She said her belongings were taken and discarded by city workers following a sweep of her camp. She’s lived in San Jose for more than 50 years and became homeless last year....

San Jose won’t meet homeless housing goal

One of San Jose Mayor Matt Mahan’s main goals is to finish his predecessor’s promise and complete 1,000 interim homes for the unhoused by the end of this year—but city staff said that’s impossible. Interim homes are quick-build temporary shelters designed to be a fast and cheap solution to getting homeless residents off the streets and on the path to permanent...

Senior high-rise coming to downtown San Jose

A historic two-story building in downtown San Jose will be converted into a high-rise apartment tower for hundreds of older adults, following a green light from city leaders. On Tuesday, the San Jose City Council unanimously approved plans from Roygbiv Real Estate Development to gut the Realty Building at 19 N. 2nd St. while maintaining...

What’s next for blighted San Jose theater?

A dilapidated theater is ready to be annexed into San Jose. How it will be used is up in the air. The San Jose City Council unanimously voted Tuesday to annex nearly an acre of land that’s home to the 74-year-old Burbank Theater at the intersection of South Bascom and Parkmoor avenues. The annexation enables a developer to...

San Jose says yes to controversial Buddhist temple

Controversial plans for a Buddhist temple years in the making are moving forward in San Jose’s Evergreen neighborhood. Following a three-hour discussion Tuesday, the San Jose City Council unanimously approved the development of the nearly 14,000 square-foot Wat Khmer Kampuchea Krom Temple on a 1.86-acre corner lot at the intersection of Ruby and Norwood avenues....