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San Jose residents have yet to use a law that lets them build denser developments in single-family neighborhoods—at least for now. On Jan. 1, Senate Bill 9 went into effect across California. The law allows residents to subdivide lots to create up to four housing units per parcel. The San Jose City Council approved implementing the law last...
Palo Alto offers more help to renters facing eviction
The Palo Alto City Council is expanding relocation assistance to include more renters, but the only long-time renting councilmember could not participate. The council voted 5-1 Monday to pass an emergency ordinance requiring landlords of smaller residential buildings to pay relocation assistance to tenants during evictions. An existing law already requires the owners of buildings...
Not all Santa Clara County cities see new state housing law the same way
Cities across California are deciding if they are going to welcome or fight a statewide housing bill that could change the makeup of neighborhoods. Senate Bill 9, effective as of Jan. 1, allows property owners to build additional housing on an existing lot which they could then sell. Homeowners on lots larger than 1,200 square feet...
UPDATE: San Jose school district approves Glider Elementary sale to housing developer
The Oak Grove School District board of trustees voted unanimously Thursday to sell the shuttered Glider Elementary School to a housing developer, despite the pleas of numerous residents. The 9.5-acre site at 511 Cozy Drive in South San Jose is being sold to the True Life Companies for $26.6 million. The developer plans to build...
Fire damages ‘nightmare’ house in downtown San Jose
A landlord accused of abusing city housing policies to enrich herself is now facing allegations of neglect from tenants at a building gutted by a fire last week. The fire that broke out on Jan. 9 consumed part of a blue Victorian house at 139 N. Sixth St., just a couple blocks from San Jose City...
Major Silicon Valley developments to watch in 2022
The pandemic couldn’t stop the steady march of development in San Jose in 2021. Tech campuses, high-rise towers and affordable housing are all in the works for next year and beyond. Here are a few of the biggest projects to watch in 2022: Google’s downtown dream Earlier this year, San Jose lawmakers approved Google’s plan to...
San Jose nonprofits rally behind anti-displacement housing policy
A coalition of local nonprofits and residents are pushing for a policy to prevent displacement and create a pathway to homeownership for low-income renters, amid a growing housing crisis that is pricing many out of the region. The proposed policy, named the Community Opportunity to Purchase Act (COPA), would require rental property owners to offer first...
Landlords use scare tactics as Santa Clara County evictions grow
Since the statewide eviction ban ended in September, Santa Clara County landlords have been kicking tenants out of their homes in growing numbers. A total of 365 eviction lawsuits have been filed in Santa Clara County from September through Nov. 30 of this year, according to data from the Santa Clara County Superior Court. Of those,...
After five years, San Jose’s Cambrian Village back on track
Although residents seem satisfied with the latest Cambrian Park Plaza design, questions remain about the project’s impact. The 1950s era Cambrian Park Plaza, located at Camden and Union avenues in San Jose, is being reimagined as Cambrian Village, an 18-acre urban village. It will include retail, restaurants, a hotel, 305 apartments, 48 single-family homes with 27...
UPDATE: San Jose’s historic Burbank Theater sells for $1.6 million at auction
The historic Burbank Theater sold for $1.6 million in a Wednesday auction after sitting mostly empty for the last two decades. The winner of the auction has yet to be made public. The 72-year-old Art Deco icon sits in an unincorporated neighborhood that borders San Jose. The neglected and abandoned theater went up for auction Monday with a...