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SV@Home congratulates Santa Clara County on receiving certification of its 8-year plan to meet housing needs in unincorporated lands! SV@Home has engaged with County staff during both stakeholder and multiple individual meetings to provide support for the county’s efforts to comply with state law. With this state action, county lands are no longer at risk of builder’s remedy development proposals, which are able to bypass most of the County’s development standards. Learn more about the County’s Housing Element certification.
SV@Home congratulates Santa Clara County on receiving certification of its 8-year plan to meet housing needs in unincorporated lands! On February 5, 2025, the California Department of Housing and Community Development (HCD) certified the County’s 2023-2031 Housing Element to be in compliance with State Housing Element Law. The Housing Element is an 8-year plan to meet the housing needs of a jurisdiction’s residents at all income levels and accommodate future growth, while addressing the harmful effects of segregation. It is required by the state for every city, county, and town in the state. Santa Clara County’s Housing Element covers unincorporated lands, which do not fall within the boundaries of any of the county’s cities and towns. The County is the final jurisdiction within Santa Clara County to be certified, nearly two years past the deadline for state certification.
SV@Home has engaged with County staff during both stakeholder and multiple individual meetings to provide support for the county’s efforts to comply with state law. We also met with officials at HCD, and submitted a letter in support of the certification of the County’s Housing Element in November 2024. With this state action, county lands are no longer at risk of new builder’s remedy development proposals, which are able to bypass most of the County’s development standards.
Although developers can no longer submit new builder’s remedy proposals, the lengthy period of time the County’s Element remained uncertified led to significant exposure to builder’s remedy projects. Dozens of these developments have already been submitted for approval. Some cities in Santa Clara County received builder’s remedy proposals for projects that would increase density in places that are great for housing- close to transit, jobs, stores, and services. However, many of the builder’s remedy proposals received by the county are for sprawl development in outlying lands that were previously undeveloped, would increase vehicle miles traveled (VMT), and in some cases are in high fire risk areas.
Some of these proposals have already expired: developers submit a preliminary application to “vest” a proposed builder’s remedy project, and then must submit a full application with all the information required on the city or county’s application checklist within 180 days to stay vested. However, dozens more proposals still remain viable.
Development planned for in the County’s Housing Element is generally just beyond the edges of incorporated cities, or in unincorporated pockets within cities. When development applications come forward for these parcels, the land will be annexed into the city, which will provide services such as utilities and public safety services. Development in these areas reduces VMT, protects open space and agricultural land, and minimizes the vulnerability to wildfire while positioning future residents closer to jobs and services.