San Jose State University students say the school is failing to provide emergency housing for those in need. The university agreed this week to extend its one-semester, 12-bed emergency program indefinitely, but students say they have to jump through hoops to receive services. “Requiring students to take out loans is making it impossible to get an emergency...
San Jose business owners fear displacement from historic district
Dozens of Spanish-speaking businesses in the bullseye of rezoning on Willow Street rallied to force the city to rethink its position. Other business districts may not be so lucky. San Jose officials are exploring land-use changes to four business districts: Willow Street, North 13th Street, Willow Glen and Taylor Street in Japantown. The city wants...
Santa Clara County wants options for emergency housing sites
Local lawmakers are racing to build more emergency housing amid a growing homelessness crisis, but where these sites will go is still undecided. A pair of Santa Clara County officials want to use vacant or underutilized lots for a new temporary housing or safe parking site. The plan is to replicate the Casitas de Esperanza...
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UPDATE: San Jose officials question statewide changes to single-family zoning
California Gov. Gavin Newsom effectively did away with single-family zoning last month with two pieces of legislation. But implementing the bills is leaving San Jose officials and elected leaders with questions as the laws come closer to taking effect. The San Jose City Council held a study session Thursday to discuss Senate Bills 9 and...
San Jose increases homeless camp cleaning efforts
San Jose residents and elected officials are frustrated with the buildup of more than 200 homeless encampments. The city plans to clean up some of them by next spring. The San Jose City Council reviewed the city’s ongoing encampment management policy on Tuesday. City officials will come back with a plan to identify encampments across the...
In Silicon Valley, college students see hardship through COVID-19 pandemic
This story is being co-published with The Imprint, a national news outlet covering child welfare and youth justice issues. College students have long gone hungry and slept in their cars in Silicon Valley, one of the wealthiest enclaves in the nation. But many of the young people pursuing higher education this year face obstacles that...
Major Los Gatos project promised 270 affordable apartments. Only 50 are happening.
The town of Los Gatos learned a tough lesson when it placed a big bet on the North 40 project to deliver affordable housing. One of the oldest jurisdictions in Santa Clara County, Los Gatos is made up of 71% single-family homes with a median price of $2.1 million on the current market. Construction of...
UPDATE: No fence around San Jose homeless camp — for now
Faced with the tough choice of building a giant fence to keep homeless people out of a public park, San Jose lawmakers took no action — despite an upcoming deadline to clear the encampment. The controversy centers around a 40-acre encampment at the Guadalupe River Park in downtown San Jose where nearly 200 homeless people...
San Jose business leader floats big ideas about homelessness
One of San Jose’s largest business groups wants homeless people off its streets, and here’s it’s pitch to make that happen. San Jose Downtown Association Executive Director Scott Knies floated the idea of creating a social services team to focus on the homeless population. “What is clear to all of us in the trenches is...
UPDATE: Housing tower moves forward after San Jose commission denies appeal
A last-ditch effort to derail a high-rise residential tower near San Jose State University has been denied, opening the way for more housing downtown. The San Jose Planning Commission voted unanimously Wednesday to approve a 23-story, 248-foot apartment building one block from the university called The Mark. Commissioner Jorge Garcia abstained from voting because of...