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Santa Clara County Land Use & Development Articles



San Jose Spotlight logo LOCAL NEWS
San Jose Landmark Status Saves Church From Demolition

An 83-year-old church in downtown San Jose has been granted historic landmark status after years of fighting invasive development proposals that could have demolished the house of worship.
Grace Baptist Church at 484 E. San Fernando St. has been designated …

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San Jose Considers Tax Breaks to Fill Downtown Offices

City leaders want to give new businesses a tax break and parking benefits to lure them into downtown.
A downtown office incentives policy is slated to pass at the City Council Tuesday in an effort to bring not just big …

Los Gatan logo LOCAL NEWS
Council Directs Staff to Prioritize Restroom Plan

Los Gatos is one step closer to having a permanent public potty downtown.

San Jose Spotlight logo LOCAL NEWS
San Jose Residents Say Costco Too Big for Neighborhood

West San Jose residents say their community isn't the place for a massive Costco warehouse and its inevitable impact on traffic safety.
The Planning Commission is set to certify an environmental impact report on Wednesday for a potential sixth Costco …

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Santa Clara County Candidates Share Plans to Tackle Homelessness

Candidates vying for two open seats on the Santa Clara County Board of Supervisors are sharing their plans for the region's top issues: homelessness and housing.
Nonprofits PATH and Destination: Home hosted a candidate forum Wednesday moderated by those with …

Gilroy Dispatch logo LOCAL NEWS
Llagas Creek Project Is Fully Funded After 70 Years

Local agencies finally have enough money to complete the Upper Llagas Creek Flood Protection Project, about 70 years after the massive infrastructure project was initially planned.

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Surfnet to Expand Internet Service in Santa Cruz Mountains With $4.35M in Grants

Surfnet Communications, Inc. announced Sept. 12 it had received three new grants totaling $4.3 million in partnership with the nonprofit California Broadband Alliance (CBA) to extend fiber broadband to communities in the Santa Cruz Mountains. The grants were awarded to …

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San Jose Residents Dispute Outreach on Safe Sleeping Site

A potential sanctioned encampment for homeless individuals near San Jose’s Watson Park has some neighbors upset with what they perceive as a lack of outreach. 
City officials have zeroed in on the first potential safe sleeping site at 1157 E. …

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San Jose Could Restrict Use of AI Tools to Set Rent Prices

San Jose housing advocates say corporate property owners are taking advantage of the latest artificial intelligence tech to drive up rent prices — and renters are feeling the financial pain.
Councilmember Peter Ortiz has proposed a policy to restrict the …

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San Jose Officials Wrestling With Control of Vietnamese Garden

San Jose officials this week will reckon with a political fight over a park important to the city's Vietnamese community.
Councilmember Peter Ortiz is requesting a public discussion over who controls the contested Vietnamese Heritage Garden, after Councilmember Bien Doan’s …

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San Jose Official Says City Won’t Sell Tiny Homes Site to County

After angry community protests, San Jose officials are scrapping plans to sell Santa Clara County a tiny homes site to house incarcerated people with mental health issues on the south side of the city.
Councilmember Arjun Batra, who has vowed …

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West San Jose Development Cuts Affordable Apartments

A proposed West San Jose housing project that would have added more than 100 affordable homes has been scrapped.
Sand Hill Property Company had a previously approved redesign for nearly 1,000 apartments across four separate buildings at the El Paseo …

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New East San Jose Superintendent to Deal With School Closures

A struggling East San Jose school district plans to close multiple campuses as it brings on a new superintendent to help guide officials through the difficult process. 
Due to a projected $20.8 million budget shortfall, along with declining enrollment, Alum …

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San Jose Still Searching for New Flea Market Site

San Jose officials are hard-pressed to find an alternative site for the Berryessa Flea Market as development is set to displace vendors and threaten their livelihoods.
The city has explored two of eight potential locations — the former Sears near …

Gilroy Dispatch logo LOCAL NEWS
Market Factors Lead to Increase in Renters in South County

With home ownership increasingly surpassing the reach of many Californians and residential real estate prices going up across the board, more people in South County are renting their homes in recent years.

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San Jose Selects First Homeless Sleeping Site

San Jose officials have zeroed in on the city's first location for a sanctioned encampment, where homeless people will be allowed to stay inside tents without fear of being swept.
The lot at 1157 E. Taylor St. could open early …

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San Jose Sweeps Columbus Park After Homeless Return

Emotions ran high at a homeless encampment near a San Jose park as the city began sweeping the streets that unhoused residents called home.
Two years ago, the city cleared the sprawling homeless encampment near Columbus Park that sits under …

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East San Jose Businesses to Launch Growth Plan

East San Jose businesses are partnering with the city to launch a plan to drive more shoppers into the Tully Eastridge neighborhoods and breathe new life into its diverse economy.
The business owners want to create a Business Improvement District …

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Historic San Jose Building in Need of Major Repairs

The San Jose Chamber of Commerce building is in need of some urgent upgrades, and the organization has launched a foundation to raise the funds.
Built in 1942, the historic building that fronts the corner of West Santa Clara and …

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Campbell Expands Housing Policy Over Commission’s Opposition

Campbell is adjusting its affordable housing policy in hopes of creating more homes and raking in more development funds, despite an official recommendation not to.
The Campbell City Council voted 4-1 last week to expand its inclusionary housing policy, which …

Featured

Zoning laws tell you what you can and can't build on the property you own. How does government get away with that?
How Zoning Laws Shape California and Society
Zoning is everywhere, but is it a way to regulate development or a tool for social engineering?
How California reclamation districts turned millions of acres of wetlands into fertile agricultural land, starting in the earliest days of the Gold Rush.
Reclamation Districts: Turning ‘Swamps’ Into Farmland
From its earliest days as a state, California has been trying to turn marshes into productive land.
Since 1972, the California Coastal Commission has ruled over the state’s shoreline.
California Coastal Commission: Where It Comes From, What It Does
How a nuclear plant, a real estate development and an oil spill led to a landmark law.
The Baldwin Hills area in South Los Angeles is one region where a state conservancy would keep open land accessible to the public.
California’s 10 State Conservancies: How They Protect Parks and Open Land
Starting in 1976, the legislature began creating agencies to buy up open land, and keep it open.
Does California’s signature environmental law protect the state’s scenic beauty, or cause more problems than it solves?
CEQA: The Surprising Story of CA’s Key Environmental Law
54-year-old environmental law is often blamed for causing the state’s housing crisis. Is it getting a bad rap?
The 1965 law known as the Williamson Act has been responsible for keeping about half of California's farmland out of the hands of developers.
The Williamson Act: How the Law That Protects California’s Farmland Works
More than half of California farmland is under contracts that prevent its development.