Last month, jurisdictions across the county continued to work toward producing Housing Elements that comply with state law. Morgan Hill and Sunnyvale each submitted the third iteration of their Housing Element to HCD for review, while Cupertino and Santa Clara County submitted their second and Los Gatos its fourth. 

The City of Santa Clara received a deficiency letter from HCD in response to the draft submitted in August. Santa Clara’s letter was more sweeping in scope than expected, but city staff began to work right away to address the concerns highlighted in the new letter.

Meanwhile, the City of San Jose is still planning to submit an updated draft in time for certification by the end of the year, after over a month of work with stakeholders to address HCD’s concerns. The City’s delay in achieving certification is creating dire consequences that may cost thousands of homes- read on for more details on the gross misuse of Builder’s Remedy in San Jose.

Until their Housing Elements are certified by HCD, these and other local jurisdictions with noncompliant Housing Elements are subject to penalties including loss of access to state funds and the Builder’s Remedy- a provision that streamlines project approvals that contain affordable homes, regardless of whether they comply with the city’s plans. You can track your city’s Housing Element progress in SV@Home’s Housing Element Toolkit.