Dwellings

Episode 30: Housing Element 2024 Goals and Strategies Oct 28, 2024

• Visit the Housing Element website to learn more.

• San José's Envision 2040 General Plan

• Learn about Chapter 3: Housing Goals and Strategies

• Check out the Housing Catalyst Workplan Dashboard to keep up with the progress made in San José.

Episode 29: A Conversation With The Housing Director Sep 12, 2024

Please visit our Housing Department Website to learn more about the work we do for our community.
Sign up for The Housing Department Newsletter
For all the updates, follow us on Social Media:
Housing Element - State law requires that every City and county in California adopt a Housing Element as part of its General Plan. The purpose of the Housing Element is to ensure that local governments adequately plan to meet the housing needs of all people within the community - regardless of their income.
Soft Story Retrofit Program - Modern building codes developed by the State of California and enforced locally by the City of San José include standards for earthquakes that have resulted in buildings that are resilient to most earthquakes. However, buildings constructed before these earthquake standards went into effect may not be as resilient unless they have been retrofitted.

Episode 28: Do you really know what affordable housing is? Jul 25, 2024

Affordable Housing - The U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development defines “affordable housing” as housing on which the occupant pays no more than 30 percent of gross income for housing costs, including utilities.

Learn more about EAH Housing
Apply for Affordable Housing
Visit the Doorway Portal in your language:
Visit Santa Clara County Housing Authority to learn about the Section 8 Housing Choice Voucher Program.
Visit the US Department of Housing and Urban Development to read the Housing Choice Vouchers Fact Sheet

Episode 27 - Envision San José 2040 Jun 03, 2024

To learn more about Planning Building and Code Enforcement, please visit CSJ Planning Building and Code Enforcement home page
Learn more about the 2040 General Plan
Learn about the 4-year review
General Plan - In California, cities and counties are required by State law to have a General Plan. It is the local government's long-term blueprint for future development. Pursuant to State law, the General Plan must accommodate the required amount of projected population growth the State of California estimates for each city.

Episode 26: Renting Has Its Rights Apr 26, 2024

To learn more about Renting Has Its Rights, please visit sanjoseca.gov/rentalrights.
To learn more about San José Housing Ordinances, please visit - Housing Ordinances
Visit our Eviction Process Page to learn about resources and steps involved during the eviction process.
Petition - Petitions are written request to appeal actions taken by landlords or tenants.
Apartment Rent Ordinance(ARO) - Landlords may increase rent one time in a 12-month period, and the increase may be up to 5%. The City has a petition process in place to resolve landlord/tenant disputes regarding rent increases.
Tenant Protection Ordinance(TPO) - There are 13 “just causes” for which landlords may evict tenants. When a landlord notifies a tenant of their intent to terminate a lease, the landlord must cite one of the 13 just causes, and must provide the City with a copy of the notice within three days.
Ellis Act Ordinance(EAO) - When landlords remove an apartment from the rental market under the Ellis Act, they must provide tenants with 6-12 months notice, and they must provide tenants with relocation benefits.
Mobilehome Ordinance(MHRO) - Mobilehome park owners may increase the rent for mobilehome spaces once a year. A formula is used to determine rent increases, which are at least 3% but not more than 7%.

Episode 25: Eviction Prevention Programs in San Jose Dec 21, 2023

Visit our page to learn more about the Rent Stabilization Program
Received a Notice to Vacate? Understand what they mean on ourUnderstand Eviction Procedures
Eviction Help Center
Sacred Heart Community Service – Rental Assistance
Unlawful Detainer - If the tenant does not voluntarily move out after the landlord has properly given the required notice to the tenant, the landlord can begin the court eviction process. In order to evict the tenant, the landlord must file an unlawful detainer lawsuit in Superior Court in the county where the rental unit is located and then properly serve you with a summons and a copy of the unlawful detainer complaint.

Episode 24: Heading Home Program - Ending Family Homelessness Dec 14, 2023

Visit the Heading Home website to learn more.
Continuum of Care (COC)
Santa Clara County Rapid Rehousing
Bill Wilson Center – Here4You – Hotline (408)385-2400
Emergency Housing Voucher(EHV)
Casitas de Esperanza
Youth Homelessness Demonstration Program
Family Supportive Housing prioritizes shelter services for families facing urgent need - Call (408)926-8885
Functional Zero - the number of housing placements for families is greater than the number of families entering homelessness.

Episode 23: Preparing Your Home for an Emergency Dec 07, 2023

Please visit The Office of Emergency Management websiteto learn more.
Sign up for AlertSCC
For guides, alerts and more information visit CalOES.ca.gov
Tips on how to prepare Ready.gov
Be Prepared
Be Informed
Be Trained
Request an Inspection
Emergency Operations Center(EOC) - the City, the Emergency Operations Center (EOC) is a location from which centralized emergency management can be performed during a major emergency or disaster. This facilitates a coordinated response by the Director of Emergency Services, Emergency Management Staff, and representatives from organizations that are assigned emergency management responsibilities.

Episode 22: The Bay Area Housing Finance Authority (BAHFA) - Tackling the Housing Crisis at a Larger Scale Nov 30, 2023

Impact fees - one-time charges assessed by a local government against a new development project to help pay for new or expanded public capital facilities that will directly address the increased demand for services created by that development.
Learn more about the Committee to House the Bay Area(CASA) and the 3 P’s.
BAHFA Doorway Housing Portal
City of San Jose Doorway Portal
Learn about the Regional Bond Ballot Measure – Bay Area Housing For All
Sign up for the BAHFA mailing list – BAHFA Mailing List

Episode 21: Association of Bay Area Governments(ABAG) Nov 16, 2023

Builders Remedy - The builder's remedy is a mechanism in the Housing Accountability Act that prohibits any city that has not adopted a compliant housing element by the required deadline from applying its general plan and zoning standards to reject certain housing development projects.
Housing Accountability Act - empowers the State of California to limit local government's ability to restrict the development of new housing.
Housing Methodology Committee
Regional Early Action Planning (REAP) Grant
Learn more about the RHNA
Learn more about the Housing Element

Episode 20: Ministerial Approvals Nov 09, 2023

To learn more about Planning Building and Code Enforcement, please visit the City’s Planning Building and Code Enforcement home page
CEQA Review
SJpermits.org
Learn more about the San José General Plan
AB-2162 - require local entities to streamline the approval of housing projects containing a minimum amount of Supportive Housing by providing a ministerial approval process, removing the requirement for CEQA analysis and removing the requirement for Conditional Use Authorization or other similar discretionary entitlements granted by the Planning Commission.
SB 35 - allows qualified multifamily infill projects to go through a simplified and expedited housing approval process in jurisdictions that are not on track to meet their housing production goals.

Episode 19: The January 2023 Storm Event and Homeless Rehousing Nov 02, 2023

To learn more about the HomeFirst, please visit https://www.homefirstscc.org/.
To learn more about the AmericanRed Cross, please visit - https://www.redcross.org/
To learn more about the Office of Emergency Management, please visit - https://www.sanjoseca.gov/your-government/departments-offices/office-of-the-city-manager/emergency-management
Beautify SJ
The Bill Wilson Center

Episode 18: The Lived Experience Advisory Board Feb 23, 2023

Thanks so much, Chad and Greg, for joining me on today’s episode. To learn more about the Lived Experience Advisory Board, please visit https://leabsv.org/.

Homebase

Destination: Home

Continuum of Care (COC)

Info on Interim Housing Communities

Lived Experienced Advisory Board(LEAB) - The board is a leadership development community created and operated by individuals with current or past lived experience of homelessness. Members make recommendations for improvement and assist with the implementation of programs and services. LEAB is a platform to evaluate and shift power from traditional systems of care to those with lived experience.

The United States Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD) - one of the executive departments of the U.S. federal government. It administers federal housing and urban development laws.

Episode 17: How does affordable housing financing work? Feb 16, 2023

To learn more about Affordable Housing Financing, please visit our website at www.sjhousing.org.

Bond Funding

Inclusionary rental compliance

Developer Fees and Charges

Learn about Rent Stabilization

Commercial Linkage Fee

Requirements for City Funding

SOMOS Mayfair – their mission is to support children, organize families, and connect neighbors to uplift the dreams, power, and leadership of the community and address systemic inequities.

Episode 16: Project Homekey Feb 09, 2023

To learn more about Project Homekey, please visit the State website at https://www.hcd.ca.gov.

The California Environmental Quality Act (CEQA) - CEQA requires public agencies to “look before they leap” and consider the environmental consequences of their discretionary actions. CEQA is intended to inform government decision-makers and the public about the potential environmental effects of proposed activities and to prevent significant, avoidable environmental damage.
If you are just beginning to learn about CEQA, visit their Getting Started page.

Continuum of Care (COC)

Santa Clara County Community Plan to End Homelessness 2020-2025

Jamboree Housing

Lifemoves

Notice of Funding Availability

Episode 15: How the Apartment Rent Ordinance Impacts Rental Housing in San José Feb 02, 2023

To learn more about the City’s Apartment Rent ordinance and other housing ordinances, visit our website at www.sjhousing.org.

Episode 14: Addressing Homelessness Among Transition-Age Youth Jan 26, 2023

To learn more about the Bill Wilson Center, visit https://www.billwilsoncenter.org.

John Burton Advocates For You

Rapid Rehousing

Runaway Homeless Youth Act

United States Department of Health and Human Services(HHS)

Youth Homelessness Demonstration grant

The United States Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD) - one of the executive departments of the U.S. federal government. It administers federal housing and urban development laws.

Handbook for HUD - Housing for Youth Aging Out of Foster Care

Transitional Housing Program - provides funding to counties for child welfare services agencies to help young adults aged 18 to 24 years find and maintain housing, with priority given to those formerly in the foster care or probation systems.  

Point-in-Time(PIT) - count is an annual effort led by the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD) to estimate the number of Americans, including Veterans, without safe, stable housing.

Episode 13: Increasing Our Supply of Housing Jan 18, 2023

To learn more about the Silicon Valley Leadership Group, please visit https://www.svlg.org.

Terms and topics discussed:

Regional Housing Needs Assessment(RHNA)
The National Association of Realtors shortage tracker
L.A. Times Article
FactoryOS
Measure E
Bill AB 2234
Deed-restricted affordable housing - refers to housing units, such as apartments, that have a use restriction that limits the rent or purchase price and requires occupancy by low-income households for a set period of time. Without deed restrictions, affordable housing can rise with the market, pricing out residents.
Joint Powers Authorities(JPA) - a term used to describe government agencies that have agreed to combine their powers and resources to work on common problems.

How the Pandemic Impacted Landlords in San José Feb 24, 2022

Read Elijah's Working Paper: https://www.elijahdelacampa.com/research

San José’s ADU Program Feb 10, 2022

To learn more about the City's ADU program, please visit the ADU program website.

Visit the Mayor's website at SJBackyardHomes.com

Building Disability-Forward Housing Jan 27, 2022

In the state of California, developers are required to build a certain number of apartments and housing units following ADA accessibility requirements. But do those requirements actually make a difference? Is there more that can be done? On this episode, we sit down with Allie Cannington, Manager of Advocacy and Organizing for The Kelsey, and Jacky Morales-Ferrand, Director of the Housing Department, to learn about building inclusive housing for people with (and without) disabilities.

To learn more about The Kelsey and the work they're doing on building affordable, inclusive housing, please visit their website.

Review the Kelsey's Housing Design Standards for Accessibility and Inclusion

Learn more about the Curb-Cut Effect from the Stanford Social Innovation Review.

Priced Out (Technical Assistance Collaborative)

Learn more about the various local funding mechanisms for affordable housing:

San José’s Housing Element Jan 14, 2022

To learn more about the City's Housing Element process and review past Housing Element plans, please visit the Housing Element Update webpage.

To learn more about the Housing Element process in other cities in Santa Clara County, please visit LetsTalkHousingSCC.org.

Jargon glossary:

Regional Housing Needs Allocation (RHNA): Identifies the total number of housing units for a region, separated into four affordability levels.
Association of Bay Area Governments (ABAG): Regional planning agency for the nine-county Bay Area of California.
Assessment of Fair Housing: In-depth analysis of residential segregation and access to opportunity. State law AB 686 (2018) requires all cities and towns in California include an Assessment of Fair Housing as part of their Housing Element updates. Learn more about the City's draft Assessment of Fair Housing in a recent June 2021 memo.

Opportunity Housing Part 2 Dec 08, 2021

To learn more about opportunity housing, please visit the Planning Department's Opportunity Housing webpage.

Interim Housing: Is it A Game Changer for Housing the Homeless? May 19, 2021

Learn more about the City's interim housing program: https://www.sanjoseca.gov/your-government/departments/housing/ending-homelessness/bridge-housing-communities

Check out SV@Home's Affordable Housing Month: https://siliconvalleyathome.org/events/#affordable-housing-month

What Could the Future of Housing Look Like? Apr 01, 2021

2020 was a whirlwind year, challenging our collective notions about what the world around us should look like. Housing, already top of mind in California, became a national conversation. On today’s episode, we’re joined by David Friedlander, CEO of the Change Order Group, a climate and innovation-focused development company. We talk about what needs to change in the world of planning and development to ensure fewer people are unhoused, and what the future of housing might look like in the wake of the COVID-19 pandemic.

Episode Transcript

San José Housing Department: www.sjhousing.org

Research by Issi Romem: