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...
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: 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...
Affordable housing at East San Jose airport? Experts say it’s in the soil
Eighty-two years after Reid-Hillview Airport opened, Santa Clara County supervisors want to shut it down and consider converting it into affordable housing. For decades, advocates and elected officials have pushed to close the airport and rezone the property for housing. But whether that happens depends on the soil’s lead levels. A study commissioned by the...
Where is affordable housing located in San Jose?
San Jose squeezes more than half of its affordable housing in areas with some of the lowest household incomes in the city. About 57% of all below market rate rentals in the city, including some in the development pipeline, are in downtown, central and east San Jose, a San José Spotlight analysis of city data shows. Six districts...
Thousands of San Jose residents owe rent, brace for evictions
With the statewide eviction moratorium terminated, thousands of San Jose residents brace for a wave of ejections. The state ban that protected renters from being booted from their homes for not paying rent due to COVID-19 expired last Thursday. Now tenants have to pay at least 25% of their owed rent from the past year or...
San Jose building height limits come with price tag
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...
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...