August 1st: Advocate for Proposed North 40 Development at Los Gatos Town Council!

After more than 10 years, hundreds of public meetings, a lawsuit, and a court order, the fight over building housing in North 40 is still not over. Last night, the Los Gatos Town Council held a public hearing on whether to reconsider the 320-unit development, which includes 50 affordable homes for seniors, that was initially proposed by Grovesnor, Summerhill Homes, and Eden Housing in 2006. An estimated 100 members of the public packed the Council chambers for the special meeting, and dozens of speakers on both sides of the debate testified in front of Council. SV@Home, the… Read More

Santa Clara Jurisdictions Take Action on Housing Impact Fees

Over the last few weeks, three jurisdictions – the County of Santa Clara, the City of Los Altos, and the City of Santa Clara – took steps toward adopting housing impact fees for both non-residential development (AKA commercial linkage fees) and residential development (both rental and for-sale housing).

SV@Home and many of our partner organizations have advocated for new housing impact fees in these jurisdictions for several months, and these recent actions bring us one step closer to our goal.

Housing impact fees generate new sources of much-needed funding for the creation of new affordable housing – which is critical, as the County is forecasted to… Read More

Update on State Legislation

Although we had hoped for resolution on this year’s Legislative Housing Package, we are heartened by the commitment to a comprehensive housing package articulated by Governor Edmund Brown, Senate President pro Tempore Kevin DeLeon, and Assembly Speaker Anthony Rendon via a joint statement issued last week.

For the first time in this Administration’s history there is agreement between Governor Brown and the Legislature to act on a comprehensive housing package that includes both funding sources – potentially Senator Jim Beall’s SB 2 and Senator Toni Atkins’ SB 3 – as well as a streamlining bill, possibly Senator Wiener’s SB 35.

The entire housing community will need to work hard to get this legislative package over the goal line after the summer recess. In particular, we will need to push for the inclusion of AB 1505 – the Palmer Fix legislation. Stay tuned for opportunities to help advocate for a comprehensive housing package; this may finally be the year when we get real action on housing issues at the State level!

New Resource for Housing Data & Information: Not Just for Policy Wonks!

Have you ever wondered what housers mean by “the Missing Middle”? Or what the County is doing to implement the Measure A housing bond that voters passed during the last election?  SV@Home’s new Resource Hub has the answers to these questions, along with lots of information on policy solutions, data on every city in the County, and much more!  Find it on SV@Home’s website, and check back regularly for new updates!

SPUR and SV@Home Bike Ride Affordable Housing Tour

Saturday, August 12th at 10 AM
San Jose 95113 (register to receive exact meeting location)

What makes for quality affordable housing? Is it how it’s designed, how it holds up over the long term or a combination of both? For a firsthand answer, grab your bike and join SPUR and SV@Home for a tour of affordable housing in San Jose. We’ll meet the people behind the projects and get an inside look at some of the city’s newest housing developments. Sponsored by Kaiser Permanente and co-presented by SPUR, SV@Home and the Silicon Valley Bicycle Coalition.

Speakers:
David Baker / David Baker Architects
John Onken / David Baker Architects

Space is limited, so register here today!

Photo by Peter Miller on Flickr