San Jose residents could soon see affordable housing crop up in unexpected neighborhoods, thanks to a new policy that will spread out multi-unit developments in the city. The San Jose City Council voted unanimously Tuesday in favor of a plan that distributes affordable housing development in places near public transit and with upward mobility. City...
Homeless fentanyl deaths rising in Santa Clara County
Fentanyl continues to kill unhoused residents in Santa Clara County, and some unsuspecting users may be taking the drug in the form of counterfeit pills. Seven homeless individuals in San Jose suffered fatal overdoses from methamphetamine laced with fentanyl in the past month, according to the Santa Clara County District Attorney’s Office. Fentanyl, a synthetic...
Has San Jose mayor accomplished his housing goals?
San Jose Mayor Sam Liccardo four years ago proposed an ambitious 15-point plan to address the city’s housing crisis. And while the city has checked off many of those points over the years, it’s still shy of reaching one major housing goal. One of the plan’s most important metrics is to build 25,000 homes by...
Second Harvest food bank finds new home in North San Jose
To keep up with growing demand, Silicon Valley’s largest food bank is moving to a new home in the Alviso area of North San Jose. The new location for Second Harvest of Silicon Valley will consist of three connected single-story buildings covering approximately 250,000 square feet. The space will consolidate the food bank’s three locations to reduce costs and...
Santa Clara County limits water handouts for homeless residents
Some activists claim the county is no longer providing them water to take to homeless encampments—a service offered over the course of the COVID-19 pandemic. Gail Osmer, an advocate for houseless communities, said throughout the pandemic she’s gotten multiple cases of water from the county Office of Supportive Housing to distribute. But earlier this month, she says the...
UPDATE: Santa Clara lawmaker apologizes for comparing homeowners to toddlers
The Santa Clara City Council will not censure Councilmember Kevin Park over his comment comparing homeowners to toddlers after Park publicly apologized at a council meeting Tuesday. “I do understand the need for an apology. I will repeat the intent was not to offend, but that’s not what happened, which was that people were offended,”...
San Jose breaks ground on affordable housing for seniors
Homeless seniors will have another place to live in San Jose next year—on the site of a historic market. Local elected officials and nonprofit leaders gathered Monday on the site of the former Dick’s Supermarket north of Japantown for the groundbreaking of Villas at Fourth Street, a 93-unit affordable housing project for chronically homeless seniors...
Churches could be San Jose’s next affordable housing sites
A house of worship could be the next refuge for people looking for a permanent home. San Jose and local faith leaders are proposing a change to the city’s affordable housing plans that would allow developers to build at gathering places such as churches, private clubs, lodges and theaters, bypassing the city’s often lengthy permit...
RV search highlights problems with San Jose towing practices
In December 2015, a tow truck took away the RV Scott Largent lived in. Six years later, he’s still not sure what happened to it. Largent, a longtime homeless activist in San Jose, said he started living in his RV after difficult financial times. On Dec. 29, 2015, San Jose police officers arrested Largent for allegedly...
San Jose expands eviction help centers
East San Jose residents, who face disproportionately higher rates of poverty compared to other parts of the city, will soon have a center to help them battle evictions. San Jose’s housing department plans to open an eviction help center in East San Jose in the Franklin McKinley School District, which is close to lower-income families...