Sunnyvale has a unique strategy to support affordable housing development: purchasing the land for developers. Most recently, as part of a $29.5 million roundup of affordable housing expenditures, the Sunnyvale City Council unanimously approved spending $12.5 million to buy a lot at 1171 Sonora Court, to help developers MidPen Housing build 170 affordable apartments. It will...
San Jose tiny homes could become jail diversion site
Santa Clara County wants to purchase a tiny home village for homeless residents from San Jose and use it to house formerly incarcerated people — sparking safety concerns from nearby homeowners. San Jose launched the Monterey/Bernal tiny home site as emergency housing in October 2020 to house residents who became homeless during the pandemic, with...
San Jose apartments designed for people with disabilities
There is no housing market in the U.S. where someone who is disabled and living on Supplemental Security Income can afford an apartment without rental assistance. A disability-forward housing nonprofit wants to change that. The Kelsey is changing how housing developments are built for low and moderate-income households and people with disability needs, with its first project...
Historic Japanese farmhouse in San Jose will be saved
San Jose officials want to save the historically significant residence once home to a Japanese community leader, farmer and survivor of World War II internment camps in California. Preservationists pledged last week to save the North San Jose farmhouse once owned by Eiichi “Ed” Sakauye after the San Jose City Council approved 1,472 apartments and townhomes on 23...
Santa Clara County officials want to toughen eviction protections
Santa Clara County landlords are dodging a decades-old law that requires they pay to relocate evicted tenants. To combat that, county leaders could give unincorporated neighborhoods stronger eviction protections than surrounding cities. The Board of Supervisors next month will discuss expanding their 1993 tenant relocation assistance policy which covers renters in unincorporated areas. The changes...
Land trust wants to keep East San Jose apartments affordable
At a time when rising rents are forcing people out of their homes, one Santa Clara County nonprofit is offering an alternative solution to keep tenants from being displaced. The South Bay Community Land Trust is looking to acquire three apartment buildings on Virginia Avenue in East San Jose to keep rent affordable — by taking...
San Jose ADU law brings back starter homes
With San Jose recently becoming the first California city to allow the sale of accessory dwelling units (ADUs) as condos, affordable housing advocates say it increases the supply of living spaces for residents once priced out. The state long restricted the sale of ADUs, also known as granny flats and backyard homes, as separate residences...
San Jose mayor opposes rent control expansion measure
San Jose Mayor Matt Mahan has come out against a November ballot initiative that could vastly expand rent control to cover any type of housing in California. State law has for decades barred cities from limiting rent hikes on single-family homes and apartments built after 1995. Proposition 33 would repeal that law and also let...
San Jose allows sale of backyard homes as condos
With the average house in San Jose costing more than $1 million, the city has jumped at implementing a new state law that could bring more homes to market. San Jose is the first city in California to opt into a law passed by the state Legislature last year that allows residents to sell their...
Cupertino weighs moving location of aging City Hall
Cupertino City Hall could move from its decades-old location — but it may not be long term. The Cupertino City Council voted 4-1 last month, with Councilmember Kitty Moore as the sole no vote, to open negotiations on moving city departments into an empty office building while the nearly 60-year-old City Hall is renovated or...