https://www.americancityandcounty.com/wp-content/themes/acc_child/assets/images/logo/footer-logo.png
  • Home
  • Co-op Solutions
  • Hybrid Work
  • Commentaries
  • News
  • In-Depth
  • Multimedia
    • Back
    • Podcast
  • Resources & Events
    • Back
    • Resources
    • Webinars
    • White Papers
    • IWCE 2022
    • How to Contribute
    • Municipal Cost Index – Archive
    • Equipment Watch Page
    • American City & County Awards
  • About Us
    • Back
    • About Us
    • Contact Us
    • Advertise
    • Privacy Statement
    • Terms of Service
American City and County
  • NEWSLETTER
  • Home
  • Co-op Solutions
  • Hybrid Work
  • Commentaries
  • News
  • In-Depth
  • Multimedia
    • Back
    • Podcasts
    • Latest videos
  • Resources/Events
    • Back
    • Webinars
    • White Papers/eBooks
    • IWCE 2022
    • How to Contribute
    • American City & County Awards
    • Municipal Cost Index
    • Equipment Watch Page
  • About Us
    • Back
    • About Us
    • Contact Us
    • Advertise
    • Cookie Policy
    • Privacy Stament
    • Terms of Service
  • newsletter
  • Administration
  • Economy & Finance
  • Procurement
  • Public Safety
  • Public Works & Utilities
  • Smart Cities & Technology
  • Magazine
acc.com


LOCAL COLOR/City living made easier

LOCAL COLOR/City living made easier

San Jose eases its housing crunch with 6,000 affordable homes.
  • Written by Wendy Angel
  • 1st October 2004

San Jose, Calif., is not an easy city to live in. Because of the city’s median home price of more than $560,000, many who work there are priced out of actually living where they spend much of their time. With that issue in mind, in 1999 Mayor Ron Gonzalez committed to build 6,000 affordable homes within five years. The city surpassed that goal in July with a total of 6,099 units.

For years, housing has been a huge issue in the city. “There has been a long-time recognition of the need to increase affordable housing to help economic development and ensure we have a diverse and vibrant population,” says Mike Meyer, an assistant director in the Housing Department. From 1988 to 1998, only 4,000 affordable homes were built. With housing prices rapidly increasing as hordes of people moved to the area during the dot-com boom, the city realized not enough was being done to assist moderate-income families.

The next year, the city started a housing program that serves as a gap lender to area home developers — both nonprofit and for-profit — so they can finance affordable housing projects. The city finances land acquisition, construction, predevelopment costs and permanent financing. “Developers will identify properties they are interested in developing and will come to the Housing Department to see if [it] is interested in providing funding to buy the land,” Meyer says. The Housing Department also will directly buy surplus government land and later sell it to developers.

Since 1999, the city has spent more than $195 million in city funds, which has leveraged $740 million to build affordable homes. The city generated funds through redevelopment area tax increments, 20 percent of which are required by state law to go to affordable housing. San Jose also received a small amount of federal funds.

As San Jose marketed the program to builders, it found an apprehensive audience. “It’s one thing to put money into a project,” Meyer says. “It’s another to make developers understand that affordable housing can work.” Once developers saw the city’s commitment to the program, it was easier to convince companies to participate. The city also had procedures to fast-track affordable housing through the planning and entitlement process, which helped secure cooperation, as well.

The units built include multifamily apartment complexes, townhouses, senior citizen developments and single-room efficiencies. The city works closely with developers to identify the best design for each project. “When you see them, not only are they indistinguishable from private, unsubsidized development, but they appear as very attractive, high quality [homes],” Meyer says. Although the city does not get involved in the rental process, it refers potential renters to properties in the program.

As a result of the program, the historically suburban city has been able to further its land use plan. Because the city can control where affordable housing is built, commuter traffic has been reduced by placing new construction along mass transit corridors. “The city has made very conscientious efforts to encourage development that doesn’t contribute to sprawl but rather intensifies existing residential areas,” Meyer says.

The program’s most recent development, a 100-unit apartment complex, is targeted to teachers who work in the city. The developer marketed the housing by sending notices to teachers and visiting schools to answer questions. San Jose used similar means to market its Teacher Homebuyer Program, which gives teachers deferred-interest down-payment loans of up to $40,000 as long as they own their homes and work for San Jose public schools. The program, aimed at attracting and retaining the best staff possible, has helped 400 teachers buy houses since 1999 — and so far only one of those has left San Jose. “We’re aiming to be the most teacher-friendly city in California,” Gonzalez says.

Tags:

Most Recent


  • $52B semiconductor investment intended to rejuvenate American manufacturing
    Three decades ago, American manufacturing dominated the semiconductor industry, producing about 40 percent of the global supply annually. But over time, companies shipped business overseas looking to cut costs, and today, the nation produces only 10 percent of all semiconductors. It’s something the Biden Administration is trying to change through CHIPS and Science Act. “There […]
  • How capital improvement project prioritization helps secure infrastructure funding
    Trillions of dollars in federal infrastructure funding have been made available to state and local governments across the U.S. since early 2020. This money has been allocated to address the nation’s aging infrastructure, much of which is at or near the end of its useful life, and to bolster the U.S. economy in the wake […]
  • Climate bill lauded; predicted to reduce nation's carbon footprint by 40% within decade
    Amid yet another punishing heat wave, the sweeping Inflation Reduction Act, which was approved along party lines Sunday by the Senate, represents a historic step in the nation’s fight against climate change by drastically reducing its climate footprint—while injecting billions of dollars into cities and counties. Along with provisions that cap prescription drug costs for […]
  • Partnership launches no-cost wastewater monitoring service for local governments
    Of all the important lessons cities and counties have learned since the pandemic began, high up on the list is the value of working together. No one community can solve cross-jurisdictional challenges alone—that’s a concept that’s at the heart of a new initiative launched by the National League of Cities (NLC) and WastewaterSCAN that brings […]

Leave a comment Cancel reply

-or-

Log in with your American City and County account

Alternatively, post a comment by completing the form below:

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *

Related Content

  • Public procurement can be transformative for stakeholders in a community
  • The 10 Most Sustainable Large U.S. Cities
  • How local governments can get ahead of the infrastructure wave: Strategies to mitigate risk
  • Rebounding from Message Fatigue: Emergency Alerting in a Post COVID World

White papers


Modern American Perspectives on Law Enforcement

14th July 2022

Reimagine the Employee Experience

12th July 2022

How to Assemble a Rockstar Website Redesign Steering Committee

7th June 2022
view all

Events


PODCAST


Young Leaders Episode 4 – Cyril Jefferson – City Councilman, High Point, North Carolina

13th October 2020

Young Leaders Episode 3 – Shannon Hardin – City Council President, Columbus, Ohio

27th July 2020

Young Leaders Episode 2 – Christian Williams – Development Services Planner, Goodyear, Ariz.

1st July 2020
view all

Twitter


AmerCityCounty

How capital improvement project prioritization helps secure infrastructure funding dlvr.it/SWLQB7

9th August 2022
AmerCityCounty

Climate bill lauded; predicted to reduce nation’s carbon foot print by 40% within decade dlvr.it/SWHGQL

8th August 2022
AmerCityCounty

Partnership launches no-cost wastewater monitoring service for local governments dlvr.it/SW7N74

5th August 2022
AmerCityCounty

Investing in America’s onsite wastewater treatment systems for equity and sustainability dlvr.it/SW4Mb9

4th August 2022
AmerCityCounty

With passage of PACT Act, veterans service officers are preparing for an influx in applicants dlvr.it/SW4KTg

4th August 2022
AmerCityCounty

The 5 Procurement Superpowers Shaping the Future of Public Procurement dlvr.it/SW4DqT

4th August 2022
AmerCityCounty

This exclusive whitepaper presents the most recent nationwide data that give an unbiased view of how residents real… twitter.com/i/web/status/1…

3rd August 2022
AmerCityCounty

Capitalizing on hybrid work, these 10 cities are ready to take advantage dlvr.it/SW0cjT

3rd August 2022

Newsletters

Sign up for American City & County’s newsletters to receive regular news and information updates about local governments.

Resale Insights Dashboard

The Resale Insights Dashboard provides model-level data for the entire used equipment market to help you save time and money.

Municipal Cost Index

Updated monthly since 1978, our exclusive Municipal Cost Index shows the effects of inflation on the cost of providing municipal services

Media Kit and Advertising

Want to reach our digital audience? Learn more here.

DISCOVER MORE FROM INFORMA TECH

  • IWCE’s Urgent Communications
  • IWCE Expo

WORKING WITH US

  • About Us
  • Contact Us

FOLLOW American City and County ON SOCIAL

  • Privacy
  • CCPA: “Do Not Sell My Data”
  • Cookies Policy
  • Terms
Copyright © 2022 Informa PLC. Informa PLC is registered in England and Wales with company number 8860726 whose registered and Head office is 5 Howick Place, London, SW1P 1WG.
This website uses cookies, including third party ones, to allow for analysis of how people use our website in order to improve your experience and our services. By continuing to use our website, you agree to the use of such cookies. Click here for more information on our Cookie Policy and Privacy Policy.
X