California’s COVID-19 eviction moratorium ends June 30, but rent relief is on the horizon for Santa Clara County residents. Local housing experts explained emergency rent relief programs and eviction protections serving Santa Clara County at a Wednesday panel hosted by San José Spotlight. Rent assistance includes a state and local program, with the local program...
Housing
Housing
San Jose RV dwellers find more leniency as tow companies find less profit
As Debbie Guzman got out of the hospital, she received a call from her only neighbor—police officers were trying to get into Guzman’s RV. By the time she got back to her vehicle on Will Wool Drive in San Jose, she said officers told her the vehicle would be impounded for unpaid registration, forcing Guzman...
East San Jose housing group looks to hold developers accountable
As a prolific housing developer unveils plans in East San Jose, a new coalition is holding it accountable for maintaining acceptable living conditions. Peter Ortiz, a community organizer and policy advisor for the Alum Rock Santa Clara Street Business Association, founded the East San Jose Tenants Coalition in early April after a San José Spotlight...
San Jose Sharks oppose Google development agreement
The San Jose Sharks are taking a bite out of Google’s plan to build a massive downtown campus. The NHL team voiced deep concern with the city’s development agreement with Google for its proposed campus, saying efforts to preserve parking near SAP Center are inadequate. “The city and Google are heading down a path that...
South Bay residents worry Opportunity Housing will worsen parking and traffic
South San Jose residents voiced fears about parking, traffic and development during a Monday night community meeting on Opportunity Housing, a controversial initiative to increase the number of homes that can be built in single-family neighborhoods. “I don’t care who lives in my neighborhood,” resident Christina Ferrigno said. “What I do mind is if a...
Alum Rock schools face lingering encampments amid reopening
Alum Rock Union Elementary School District trustees set a tentative reopening date of Monday for its campuses across East San Jose. However, there remains no concrete solution for addressing the homeless encampments growing along some of the district’s schools. “With less eyes from the community and schools having been shut down, all of a sudden...
Homeless residents in San Jose cited, face arrest over tent encampments
Darlene Gladwell spent months cultivating a blooming garden of colorful plants and flowers outside the tent she calls home in San Jose’s Watson Park. A cluster of at least half a dozen other small homeless encampments surround her along Coyote Creek. But now Gladwell could go to jail, according to a citation she received, for...
How to find homeless services and shelter in San Jose
The past year has been a difficult one for many people in San Jose, especially those facing homelessness and housing insecurity. Finding information about shelter and housing can be a difficult and confusing process. Here’s a guide answering some of the most commonly asked questions from readers about finding housing, as well as some resources...
San Jose nonprofit serving homeless says city won’t clear RVs, trash
Just outside a San Jose nonprofit’s headquarters on Charles St., heaps of trash are overflowing and hazardous materials and human waste are piling up. Officials at CityTeam, a nonprofit that provides services and transitional housing to homeless residents, say they’ve appealed to the city to clean up the trash and move people who live in RVs...
Evictions in San Jose are down, but many tenants still don’t feel safe
The number of evictions in San Jose decreased in 2020 after pandemic-related protections were adopted, but many tenants lack the resources to protect themselves once eviction bans expire at the end of June. Landlord harassment, months of back rent and a struggling economy are just some of San Jose tenants’ concerns—especially during the COVID-19 pandemic. “So many...