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Dan Connolly warned San Jose officials in 2019 that pushing up the height limits on downtown buildings could cost airlines money. They didn’t listen to him. Two years later, his predictions have held true—and he’s not happy about it. “We chose a scenario where the airport and airlines lost and the developers won,” he told...
State orders San Jose to halt implementing hotel rent
San Jose’s Housing Department violated a state agreement by setting monthly rents too high for formerly unhoused residents living at the SureStay Hotel. Now the city needs to recalculate. In April 2020, homeless residents vulnerable to COVID-19 received free emergency shelter in hotels across Santa Clara County through Project Homekey—the state program subsidizing emergency housing run by local governments and nonprofits. After...
San Jose plans dynamic initiative to house and employ homeless
Responding to the growing homeless crisis, San Jose has ambitious plans to shelter and employ thousands of unhoused residents within the next five years. The Rules and Open Government Committee voted unanimously Wednesday to recommend the City Council support a housing blueprint and efforts to employ homeless residents to clean up the city. The council...
Santa Clara County renters, landlords prepare for life after eviction ban
As the state ban on evictions draws to a close, tenants, landlords and elected officials in Santa Clara County are bracing for an uncertain future. The eviction moratorium, which protects tenants from being kicked out for not paying rent, ends on Thursday. Starting Friday, tenants have to pay at least 25% of their owed rent from...
UPDATE: San Jose to charge developers fees for high cranes
Building higher in downtown San Jose might come at a cost to developers—but it’ll provide a small boost to passengers bumped from airline flights due to tall cranes. The San Jose City Council unanimously approved legislation Tuesday that will charge developers a fee if they use cranes taller than the city’s building height limit. Fees won’t be...
How San Jose renters can protect themselves after eviction ban ends
With just three days left, thousands of Santa Clara County renters are still waiting for eviction assistance, and those are the ones who have applied. As of Monday, 7,721 households in the county have filed for rent relief with the California Housing is Key program, which provides financial assistance to people who can’t pay rent...
San Jose school district in talks to sell shuttered site for housing
A shuttered elementary school in San Jose may become an affordable housing site, much to the chagrin of nearby residents. The Oak Grove School District is in early negotiations to sell or lease the Glider Elementary School site to The True Life Communities, a real estate firm headquartered in Denver, Colorado. “True Life Communities has...
San Jose co-living housing project still dormant
San Jose was once set to host the largest co-living building in the world. But financial struggles and a torrent of lawsuits have all but killed that plan. Housing advocates now hope the space can be used for affordable housing. The lot at 199 Bassett Street in downtown San Jose remains empty after plans to...
San Jose squashes proposal for prefab homeless housing
The week started with San Jose Councilmember Matt Mahan announcing an ambitious proposal for housing up to 5,000 homeless residents on public land by the end of next year. His colleagues killed the plan before the week was out. Mahan told San José Spotlight he’s disappointed by the outcome of Wednesday’s Rules and Open Government Committee meeting,...
Santa Clara County could spend $25 million on prefab homeless shelters
Building more housing is the key to fighting the growing homelessness crisis in Santa Clara County. Two officials want to give a local nonprofit $25 million to do so. Supervisors Joe Simitian and Otto Lee announced a proposal Thursday to grant LifeMoves, the region’s largest temporary housing provider, a multi-million dollar contract to help it...