Where Did the Students Go? Housing & the School Enrollment Crisis

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Silicon Valley is becoming too expensive for families and our schools are paying the price. Enrollment is dropping, campuses are closing, and beloved school communities are being torn apart.

At the same time, teachers and staff face grueling commutes from far-away cities, while districts struggle to hire and keep the talent our kids deserve.

Join us for an inside look at SV@Home’s exclusive research on Silicon Valley’s enrollment crisis—and discover how affordable housing can keep families in our neighborhoods and strengthen schools across our region.

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September 10, 2025

From Local Grocery Stores to Housing Plans: Why AFFH Is More Than a Mandate

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In this personal reflection, Reva Konduru examines the implications of Northern Sunnyvale’s ongoing transformation through the lens of her own immigrant experience, community connections, and California’s Affirmatively Furthering Fair Housing (AFFH) mandate, which requires equitable planning that serves the needs of existing residents and expands opportunities without displacement.

Written by Reva Konduru

When my husband and I moved to the Bay Area in 2019, we lived on one income. Even with a salary considered “above moderate,” we were living paycheck to paycheck—renting a one-bedroom in Milpitas, paying student loans, covering my coursework at San José State University, and saving what we could to visit family in India, which is no small expense. Like many, I quickly learned to keep track of affordable retail stores and, importantly, where to find affordable groceries.

One of the places we shop is Taj Mahal Fresh Market in Northern Sunnyvale. We found it while looking for fresh meat and kept going back—onions and vegetables cost nearly half of what other nearby stores charged. But it wasn’t just about price. It was about familiarity—seeing other Indian and immigrant families, older couples, and students shopping for essentials in a space that felt welcoming and accessible.

For a long time, I struggled to connect deeply with the Indian community here. Most of our friends and acquaintances work in the tech sector, live comfortably, are relatively insulated from rising living costs, and do not actively engage in local issues. 

But in local grocery stores, salons, and restaurants, I noticed another side of our community: immigrants running small businesses, often women-led, offering more than food or services—offering affordability, culture, and connection. Over the years, they have built their lives in the Bay Area through local entrepreneurship.  When I read the August 2024 San José Spotlight article about the Taj Mahal store and other immigrant-owned stores in Northern Sunnyvale, which are at risk of being replaced by townhouse developments, it hit home. 

The changes happening in Northern Sunnyvale are worth paying attention to. Working in affordable housing, I track the policies shaping them—but I also see them through my own experience as an immigrant, living in the Bay Area. 

Sunnyvale’s Village Center Master Plan (VCMP), adopted in July 2025, sets a new zoning framework for seven village centers. It raises residential densities, requires mixed-use projects with ground-floor retail, and sets design standards meant to promote walkability. The plan has evolved to include language acknowledging the risks of small business displacement and acknowledging the challenge of requiring retail in 100% affordable developments. 

But policies on paper don’t guarantee outcomes. The VCMP doesn’t ensure that existing local businesses will survive—or that new commercial spaces will remain affordable to the community anchors residents depend on. The real challenge is for local jurisdictions to take up responsibility for balancing housing growth with protecting essential local retail and businesses run by people of color that make neighborhoods accessible and livable. It’s not an easy balance. But it’s a necessary one.

As the vision of well-thought-out VCMP begins to come to fruition and shapes the growth of Northern Sunnyvale, the key question is whether the growth serves current residents. Because this isn’t just a zoning issue. When redevelopment displaces the only affordable grocery stores, it fractures small businesses and networks of belonging. It forces low-income and immigrant families to travel farther, spend more, and feel less at home. These are not minor inconveniences—they are forms of direct and indirect displacement. As someone who drove from Milpitas to Sunnyvale just to buy affordable groceries, I know these spaces matter. They anchor communities and meet real needs.

That’s why California’s AB 686—the Affirmatively Furthering Fair Housing (AFFH) mandate—is critical. AFFH is not just about producing housing units. It requires strategies to prevent displacement and ensure growth expands opportunity for existing residents.As cities designate growth corridors, they must keep boots on the ground and truly implement the AFFH mandate. Developers should engage meaningfully with residents, and cities should invest in anti-displacement strategies to ensure development doesn’t strip away essential services that serve community needs. Cities should invest in what they value. As advocates, we must keep asking: Are we building up the village—or breaking it apart?