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...
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...
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...
Los Gatos expands housing advisory board to include residents
As the debate over Los Gatos’ plan to densify housing continues to escalate, the town is asking the public to join the policy-making process. Los Gatos is seeking up to four residents to serve on its housing element advisory board, which will help develop strategies and policies to accommodate new housing required by state law. The...
San Jose mayoral candidate opposes state housing legislation
San Jose Councilmember and mayoral candidate Dev Davis is taking a stance against two controversial state housing bills. “Adding density in an area of the city where infrastructure improvements are not made is a recipe for disaster,” Davis wrote in a memo. “These bills could dramatically affect our neighborhoods and our ability to deliver critical...
Illegal labor practices alleged at costly San Jose wastewater plant
San Jose is pouring more money into upgrades for a costly wastewater treatment plant, even as evidence emerges that the construction company overseeing the project employed unlicensed and uninsured contractors. In April, the City Council approved $14 million to cover new construction costs for an upgrade to the San Jose-Santa Clara Regional Wastewater Facility, the largest plant...
UPDATE: San Jose still shy of building 25K housing units by 2023
There are some “bright spots” in San Jose’s housing crisis plan, but officials say more needs to be done to reach the city’s ambitious goals to prioritize affordable housing. “The affordable housing pipeline had its best year in 2020 out of the years tracked,” reads a city memo. Despite that outlook, completed units fall far...
Bay Area mayors, advocates urge Congress to invest in housing
Local lawmakers and housing advocates are calling on Congress to invest in more housing to help end homelessness and housing insecurity in the Bay Area. A coalition of more than 20 city officials, nonprofits and philanthropy organizations sent a letter to the region’s congressional delegation Tuesday. It urges federal lawmakers to address the ongoing housing shortage...