On March 18th, San Jose’s City Council voted 7- 4 in a contentious meeting to accept the Mayor’s March budget message for the 2025-26 fiscal year. Although we are pleased that the final budget message contains proposals to remove barriers to housing development broadly, we are deeply disappointed that it fails to bring any real plan to address the housing needs of nearly half of the city’s residents. Read SV@Home’s letter to the City Council. The approved budget message directs the City Manager to incorporate Council priorities in the proposed operating budget, which will be released on May 1st.
Creating a San Jose where everyone has a home is critical to the success of our city, which is tied to the wellbeing of its residents. We will need a wide range of housing and non housing solutions to effectively address the housing affordability crisis that San Jose residents list as a top concern. We are encouraged by Council’s continued focus on homelessness prevention, a tenant protection targeted to those most at risk of losing their homes. However, this 2025-26 budget message did not identify funding the construction of affordable housing as a priority, which leaves low-income people in our city struggling to find stability. There is a continued need for a plan and funding to address the housing needs of San Jose’s residents earning less than 80% of the area median income, and we believe that the people of San Jose are invested in creating staying power for themselves and future generations.
San Jose has almost 420,000 people – 43% of San Jose’s current residents – with low incomes (less than 80% of the area median income). Many are living in overcrowded living conditions or paying more than half their incomes on rent. This city needs dedicated funding for affordable housing to meet the needs of these community members, allowing them to stay here in this community. Additionally, the budget message proposes to reduce the extent to which policy tools such as the inclusionary housing ordinance and surplus city-owned land serve residents in this income range. These are people that our communities and our economy depend on. These are our teachers, our childcare workers, our grandparents living on a fixed income, our medical assistants, people working in grocery and retail stores and many small business owners and employees. A family of four would need to work at least 3 full time minimum wage jobs to reach 60% of the area median income and qualify for housing at average rents in San Jose.
The City needs to work together with partners to identify and create the resources we need to move the full continuum of housing solutions forward. These are challenging times, but San Jose is up to the task! San Jose is known for innovation – when we are faced with a challenge we don’t shrug our shoulders and walk away, we find solutions. We need to apply San Jose’s talent and leadership to making sure every San Jose resident has a safe, stable, and affordable place to live.
The next step in the budget process will be the release on April 25th of the proposed Capital Budget and 2026-30 Capital Improvement Program (CIP), a multi-year plan which will identify and prioritize the City’s investments in infrastructure and major assets, including projects like buildings, roads, and utilities.
