Homelessness, mental health response, cost-saving recommendations and fee decreases to incentivize commercial development were the hot topics at Tuesday’s San Jose City Council meeting. Here’s the weekly breakdown: Annual Homeless Report Despite the hardships exacerbated by COVID-19, the city’s housing department said it has made notable progress on San Jose’s 2020-2025 plan to end homelessness....
Housing
Housing
UPDATE: San Jose gives more fee breaks to commercial developers
Commercial developers in San Jose will see another fee cut—and some advocates say it’s at the expense of affordable housing. On Tuesday, the City Council unanimously approved a 20% reduction in commercial linkage fees citywide if the fees are fully paid before construction. The fee is a cost per square footage. The plan also increases...
Santa Clara developer scales back project plans
A developer looking to redevelop 46 acres of northern Santa Clara has scaled back its plans by more than half. Mission Point is a proposal to build a new mixed-use neighborhood by developer Kylli at 3005 Democracy Way in Northern Santa Clara. It was first submitted in 2019 after collecting feedback that began in late 2017....
San Jose to lease VTA lot for safe parking program
Unhoused people living in their RVs will soon be able to sleep safely at a sanctioned location in South San Jose. City officials told homeless advocates this week that San Jose is almost ready to sign a 5-year lease with VTA to start a new safe parking program at the Santa Teresa station’s parking lot. The...
Santa Clara 76-acres rezoning could add thousands of homes
Seventy-six acres of office parks in northern Santa Clara have just been rezoned to add high density housing. The Santa Clara City Council voted unanimously this week to approve the Patrick Henry Drive Specific Plan, which changes the zoning of an area bounded by the Hetch Hetchy pipeline right-of-way to the north, Mission College on...
West San Jose six-story hotel approved on Winchester Boulevard
Despite fervent community opposition, a six-story hotel is coming to Winchester Boulevard in West San Jose. On Wednesday, plans for a 119-room hotel on a 0.69-acre parcel at 1212 S. Winchester Blvd. was approved at a Planning Director’s hearing. The approval includes the demolition of two single-story commercial buildings and nine trees. The proposal quietly...
San Jose escalates efforts to clear homeless encampment
With the deadline to clear one of the Bay Area’s largest homeless camps looming, San Jose has started towing cars and RVs near Columbus Park this week—a move that has prompted concern from advocates and homeless residents. With no advance notice, the city put up towing signs throughout the 18 acres area near Columbus Park...
UPDATE: Santa Clara County buys land for more affordable housing
Santa Clara County is acquiring more land to build hundreds of affordable homes for disadvantaged residents. On Tuesday, the Board of Supervisors voted unanimously to purchase four properties in San Jose, Santa Clara and Morgan Hill, which will cost the county more than $17 million and provide 324 apartments. “I really want to just acknowledge...
Santa Clara’s biggest development slated to break ground this year
Related Santa Clara, an $8 billion development considered to be Silicon Valley’s biggest private mixed-use project, is set to finally break ground this year after facing delays related to the COVID-19 pandemic. “Like many large, mixed-use projects, the pandemic has pushed back our timetable, but (Related Santa Clara) is on track and expects to break...
VTA bets big on housing in Santa Clara County
Transit comes first at VTA, but the San Jose agency sees a big future in residential real estate. Earlier this month, VTA announced several significant updates about housing projects being built on agency-owned land, also known as transit-oriented developments (TODs). On March 9, California invested $29 million to build a 569-unit housing project near Tamien...