Getting Inclusionary Housing Right

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Cities across Santa Clara County are considering this powerful tool to build more new affordable homes without subsidy.

But done wrong it can fall short, or even stop the development of new homes in its tracks. Learn how it works, and how to get it right!

Many of our local cities are joining forces right now in a shared nexus study, the wonky and in-depth analysis that assesses the feasibility of local residential development and the potential for developers of market-rate housing to add a share of affordable homes to their buildings.

If cities require too few affordable homes or affordability that’s too shallow, they leave public benefits on the table. Too much, and developers can’t build any housing at all.

Come hear about local cities that are getting it right: successfully using inclusionary housing policies to achieve mixed-income communities, generate funding to subsidize deeper levels of affordability, and gain valuable land for affordable homes!

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February 28, 2019

San Jose: Council Approves 582 New Homes at the Stevens Creek Promenade

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Late in the evening at Tuesday’s Council meeting, the council took up the approval of Stevens Creek Promenade, a large mixed use development proposed by FortBay at 4300 Stevens Creek Boulevard in the Stevens Creek Urban Village. The Stevens Creek Promenade is a Signature Project under San Jose’s Urban Village Planning process, which means that it can move forward before the Urban Village is approved. This project was allowed to move forward because it is designed as a mixed use development with office and commercial space, and 582 new homes, with 15% affordability. The 88 affordable units were included voluntarily, since the project was originally submitted before AB 1505 (the “Palmer fix”) was passed, and thus before the City of San Jose could require 15% affordable units or payment of an affordable housing fee. After reviewing the project through our Project Endorsement process, SV@Home endorsed FortBay’s Stevens Creek Promenade as a great example of mixed-income urban infill development.

Public comment was brief, with about 5 speakers, including a resident of the area and representatives from SV@Home, Silicon Valley Leadership Group, and Catalyze SV. One representative of the Stevens Creek Neighborhood Association spoke against the development, while the remainder were all in favor. After brief discussion and a few questions for the applicant, the remaining councilmembers voted unanimously in favor. Thank you to our partners Silicon Valley Leadership Group and Catalyze SV for supporting this worthy project, and to FortBay for building the affordable housing on site!

More details about Stevens Creek Promenade can be found on the developer’s website and the City of San Jose site.

Tuesday was a very busy day for housing in San Jose – with the afternoon meeting blending into the evening meeting, which lasted until just before midnight. See our posts on Safe Parking, Co-Living, and the Kelsey for more information.