The San Jose City Council approved changes to existing regulations on dispensaries, expanding where they can set up shop and relaxing expensive annual audit requirements. The council had been discussing revisions since late last year after industry complaints that the strict rules effectively barred cannabis storefronts from being able to open in most of the...
UPDATE: San Jose to house hundreds of homeless residents
More interim housing and safe parking sites are coming to San Jose to move its homeless population off the streets. The San Jose City Council on Tuesday unanimously approved moving forward on four projects focused on safe parking and housing. A safe parking site with more than 100 parking spots for RVs and vehicle dwellers...
San Jose leader to spend night in homeless shelter
San Jose officials are being challenged by a formerly homeless resident to stay in a shelter before voting to open more—and one is up for the offer. Sketch Oppie, who sits on the San Jose’s Housing and Community Development Commission, recently asked the city council to experience what a homeless shelter is like before diverting funds...
UPDATE: San Jose officials challenge mayor’s housing plan
San Jose Mayor Matt Mahan’s controversial plan to divert millions of dollars away from affordable housing is being challenged—this time by his own colleagues. Now, the mayor is trying to get ahead of his plan being thwarted with a new spending plan. San José Spotlight obtained an early draft of a budget document being released...
How to participate in San Jose City Council meetings
One of the simplest ways to have your voice heard in San Jose is by keeping up and participating in the city’s council meetings. In our 2022 reader survey, San José Spotlight readers told us they want to be more civically engaged and involved in local policymaking. Many said our coverage of local government has...
UPDATE: San Jose abandons affordable housing preservation proposal
After years of deliberation and analysis, hundreds of public comments and heated jabs hurled between San Jose councilmembers, a controversial housing preservation proposal is dead. The San Jose City Council voted 9-2 to reject the Community Opportunity to Purchase Act, or COPA, which would’ve given qualified nonprofits the ability to make the first offer on...
San Jose says goodbye to its neighborhoods commission
The San Jose Neighborhoods Commission is on pause, for now. The City Council voted unanimously to suspend the neighborhoods commission until it can come up with a better model to attract and retain commissioners. The 20-member committee—which allows residents and neighborhood groups to weigh in on critical votes and bring concerns to elected officials—has not met...
UPDATE: San Jose council wants iconic landmark in the heart of downtown
San Jose officials are considering bringing a towering landmark to a downtown park. The promoters of the “The Breeze of Innovation”—a design that would use hundreds of swaying rods powered by wind to light up at night atop a viewing platform and cafe—want to build the landmark at Plaza de Cesar Chavez. The San Jose...
Is San Jose’s progressive housing policy dead?
A contentious affordable housing policy coming to the San Jose City Council appears to be dead on arrival. The Community Opportunity to Purchase Act, or COPA, is coming to the city council in late April, but it seems the long-debated policy will not have enough votes to pass. Councilmember Peter Ortiz tried and failed to defer the policy...
State bill would automate speed enforcement in San Jose
San Jose resident Limin Cao was walking with her daughter and their dog on a marked crosswalk on Blossom Hill Road on March 26 when Cao and the dog were struck and killed by a car, which fled from the scene. To help reduce deaths like these, the San Jose City Council is supporting Assembly...