More San Jose residents are utilizing a local recreational trail following a city ban on homeless camps in the area. That’s according to city data and environmental advocates, who also say more wildlife is returning since no encampment zones took effect last year. San Jose has worked to clear homeless people living near rivers and...
San Jose Chick-fil-A moves forward after planning mistake
A contentious Chick-fil-A project is moving forward after hitting a road bump. The San Jose City Council unanimously approved removing a condition Tuesday that would have required a recently approved Chick-fil-A to construct the development without demolishing existing commercial buildings at 1301 W. San Carlos Street. Property owner Zotta Family Trust and applicant 4G Development...
Santa Clara County rolls out more affordable housing
More than 200 households have been given stability with the opening of two affordable housing developments near Diridon Station in San Jose. City and county officials on Wednesday celebrated the opening of Bellarmino Place and adjacent Alvarado Park, which will provide housing for older adults and people at risk of homelessness. The Santa Clara County...
San Jose safe sleeping site temporarily closes
San Jose’s first safe sleeping site for homeless residents has temporarily shut down due to electrical issues just days after opening. A housing department spokesperson said the city closed the Taylor Street tent village on Friday and moved nearly a dozen homeless people living there to other temporary housing sites. The electrical issues stem from...
East San Jose school district waits for burned youth center assessment
As an East San Jose school district gets quotes to potentially demolish a former vacant youth center that caught fire last month, advocates are still attempting to save it. The Alum Rock Union School District is still weighing what needs to be done with the former Mexican American Community Services Agency (MACSA) building, which burned...
San Jose grapples with preserving its past
With a Japantown family-run business on the brink, a debate over historic preservation has San Jose in a headlock — preserve the past at a cost, or chase the future at a loss. A series of debt-accruing business choices threaten Japantown’s well-known Trigg family with the prospect of losing their home and businesses. They own Jtown...
Sunnyvale development proposes condo, rental combo
A new housing development is one step closer to transforming the corner of a major Sunnyvale road that’s home to car sales lot. The Sunnyvale Planning Commission unanimously voted Monday to allow De Anza Properties and property owners to change their 111-home project to a mix of roughly 85 owned condos and 25 apartments for...
Cupertino’s RV permit policy could affect homeless residents
Fanny never expected she’d uproot her four children from their Santa Clara apartment to a small RV parked on a side street off Stevens Creek Boulevard in Cupertino. When her landlord kicked her out due to a minor dispute about two months ago, she began renting the RV for $900 a month to stay off the...
Silicon Valley tool alerts homeless residents to available housing
One nonprofit has a unique web tool to help homeless people connect to resources, with the goal of becoming the go-to site for that population. MyConnectSV, a web-based portal spearheaded by Destination: Home, allows homeless residents to directly message case managers, receive alerts on available housing and more. The nonprofit wants to hit 2,000 users...
Silicon Valley could see more affordable housing under Trump bill
Amid a tsunami of cuts to the nation’s social safety nets, a golden nugget in the congressional budget bill will allow developers to create more affordable housing. H.R. 1 provides an increase to the Low Income Housing Tax Credit program, the primary source of federal funding for affordable housing. Starting next year, states will be...