People living in RVs along Almaden Expressway are worried they’ll be thrown onto the streets when San Jose begins its tow-away zone program next year. Under a new pilot program, the city will choose up to 30 temporary tow-away zones and 10 permanent sites to clear RVs for street sweeping and cleanup by the end...
San Jose officials greenlight hospital expansion
No one at the packed San Jose City Council meeting wanted the West Valley hospital to close or miss its seismic retrofit deadline, but numerous residents wanted city officials to hear their concerns about the company that owns the hospital. The San Jose City Council voted unanimously on Tuesday to approve the environmental impact report...
Sunnyvale to scout sites for safe parking program
Sunnyvale leaders want to lower the anxiety levels of residents living in their vehicles through a widely supported solution: giving them a safe place to park. The Sunnyvale City Council on Tuesday unanimously approved a policy to allow safe vehicle parking sites in the city, with Councilmembers Alysa Cisneros and Omar Din absent. Safe parking...
Silicon Valley transit agency funds community growth near train stations
VTA wants to increase its presence, and ridership numbers, by pumping dollars into community groups near its light rail stations. To kick off the effort, VTA officials have started a transit-oriented community grant giving program to help retain nearby small businesses and uplift residents. The public transit agency has given more than $400,000 to various...
San Jose mobile home park residents face illegal rent increases
Illegal rent increases at a mobile home park just outside the Santa Clara County Fairgrounds have San Jose housing department staff turning to the city attorney for help. A Nov. 7 report by Housing Director Erik L. Soliván alleges the owners of Western Trailer Park, Stockton-based Harmony Communities, told residents earlier this year rent would go up...
East San Jose development could add hundreds of affordable homes
East San Jose could be home to one of the city’s largest affordable housing developments in recent history under a new proposal. City leaders are hosting a Nov. 18 community meeting to discuss a proposed 100% affordable housing development at 2940 Alum Rock Ave., just across from James Lick High School. The 50,900-square-foot development would...
San Jose prefab homeless housing delayed by mounting flaws
A troubled San Jose modular housing project for homeless residents has hit another snag. The opening of a temporary housing site on Branham Lane has been delayed over difficulties ensuring the homes are structurally safe. The project was supposed to be done in April, then June and then October — but is now anticipated to...
Santa Clara County veterans still need housing
Santa Clara County has made strides to house homeless veterans, but the work isn’t over. The county reached a milestone of “functional zero” among homeless veterans in 2020, where the number of veterans getting housed exceeded the number falling into homelessness. That was due to the concerted effort to end veteran homelessness through a campaign launched in...
North San Jose development includes affordable housing
A proposed development with hundreds of apartments in North San Jose has housing advocates and nearby residents cautiously optimistic. San Jose-based developer Valley Oak Partners recently submitted a detailed plan to the city planning department for 637 apartments and 100 townhomes that goes beyond the 15% minimum affordable housing requirement. The proposal designates 132 apartments...
Santa Clara County leaders skeptical of Earthquakes deal
The Santa Clara County Board of Supervisors has stopped short of letting the San Jose Earthquakes build a private soccer complex at the county fairgrounds under the current proposed terms. Some county leaders on Tuesday slammed the Earthquakes’ proposed terms as a “laughable” sweetheart deal that low-balled the public on community benefits — and expressed...