Santa Clara County Housing Digest

Sprawl has allowed Californians to live closer to nature and buy homes where it is cheaper to build. But it has also left millions vulnerable to wildfires and flooding.

Palo Alto will have to add more than 6,000 housing units after the Department Housing and Community Development ruled that the city's proposed Housing Element fails to meet state law.

Gov. Newsom wants to spend $300 million the first year. But falling home prices and rising mortgage rates are complicating the launch.

San Jose is chipping in $25 million toward an affordable housing project proposed just south of downtown, which officials and advocates said is desperately needed as the city struggles to provide homes for its lower-income residents.

Mountain View’s staffers are eager for the council to adopt the draft so the city can avoid consequences for being out of compliance.

County officials could soon fulfill one of their long-term goals—making it easier for teachers to live where they work. The Santa Clara County Board of Supervisors is voting to secure approximately five acres in Cupertino to construct affordable housing for educators.

Gov. Gavin Newsom wants to delay state funds to student housing because of the state’s budget deficit. Lawmakers have different ideas on what kind of compromise might be reached.

The controversial mixed-use development, located on Cox Avenue between Paseo Presada and Saratoga Avenue, is slated to have 17 buildings with more than 90 new housing units and 5,000 square feet of commercial space.

Palo Alto is still likely months from having a compliant plan for adding more than 6,000 homes, but city officials indicated that they could adopt a new housing element even before they get a green light from California.

Mountain View’s Development Review Committee saw the new proposal, located at 685 E. Middlefield Rd., for the first time at its March 1 meeting. Next it heads to the Environmental Planning Commission.

San Jose reportedly had one of its most significant years in housing the homeless, but advocates said the efforts are barely making a dent, according to a city report published this month.

Seeking to cement a tax exemption for faculty homes on its campus, Stanford filed a suit against Santa Clara County contending that these residences should be treated like other educational facilities.

The city of Mountain View next housing element draft will propose some new programs to ensure it meets the state's expectations.

Pro-housing groups filed the lawsuit after Palo Alto missed the state’s deadline to plan for over 6,000 new homes in the next eight years.

Community members came together to mark the start of demolition work at 525 E. Charleston Road to make way for Mitchell Park Place.

The Mountain View City Council voted unanimously to allocate more than $18 million to two fully affordable housing projects that will together add nearly 150 new units.

Residents of Buena Vista Mobile Home Park face the prospect of temporary displacement as the Housing Authority prepares to build an apartment complex to replace existing homes.

State regulators set the regional’s target of new units based on a formula meant to determine how much more housing is needed for the current and future population. The Association of Bay Area Governments then divvied up that number among local cities and counties.

Sen. Scott Wiener wants to expand and extend SB 35, which forces cities to approve certain developments with affordable units.

One year after a state law aimed at increasing housing supply went into effect, the destruction of single-family neighborhood character that many opponents feared has not yet come to pass.

The Crestview, a housing project in Mountain View that will convert a hotel into 48 affordable units for extremely low income individuals and families, will begin construction this spring.

The Mountain View City Council brought the city’s housing element draft one step closer to completion after approving key zoning amendments to allow for residential development on shopping center sites while still requiring retail uses.

Palo Alto senior Judy Ousterhout had been pondering her future as a healthy older adult: Where would she retire? How could she generate extra income? Her backyard was the answer.

A status update given to the Cupertino City Council revealed the city is significantly behind in submitting its state-mandated housing plan.

In the past decade, about 1,000 rent-stabilized units have been lost in Mountain View, leaving their occupants displaced. The city is ramping up efforts to address the issue.

Welton Jordan of the nonprofit EAH Housing expresses gratitude for the “opportunity and privilege to deliver the first 100 percent affordable housing development to Los Altos and its residents.”

A coalition of local groups is calling on the San Jose City Council to prioritize policies preventing displacement of renters amid the ongoing housing crisis.

Saratoga-raised Belal Aftab says traffic, housing and crime are top three issues.

Days before Christmas, Zayna Herring, her 4-year-old son Alex and her roommate sat in the courthouse, worried they'd soon be homeless. "It's a lot of stress," Herring said. “Everything takes money, and that’s what we don’t have.”

A group of residents came out to ask for the city’s help in saving one of the few affordable housing “gems” in the community.

Hundreds of affordable homes are poised to be built at a Christian megachurch in central San Jose. Mayor Sam Liccardo announced plans for an affordable housing complex in the parking lot of Cathedral of Faith on Canoas Garden Avenue.

The five-story, 85-unit project located at 1265 Montecito Ave. is aimed at low-income families with children who make between 30% and 60% of the area median income.