Envision San José 2040 Initiated by City Council – On June 26th, the City Council formally initiated the Envision San José 2040 General Plan Update by approving a set of guiding principles, work plan and community outreach program. Read more...

San José Wins “Blue Ribbon” for 3D Buildings in Google Earth – San José is now “on the map,” – the Google Earth map. This cutting edge technology is taking hold worldwide as cities race to have their skylines built on the Web. Read more...

Stay Connected with Development-related News and Updates –You can update your subscription information, to include changing your mailing list selections and profile information, any time by visiting our subscription page.  Read more...

Downtown High Rises Continue to Sprout – Construction began in June with pile drivers working on the new 360 Residences project by Mesa Development. Read more...

County Island Annexation Program Enters Second Phase – With twenty annexations now complete, San José is 160 acres larger and has about 480 more people. The City is now preparing for the second of three phases of annexations. Read more...

First Three Residential Entitlements Approved for North San José – Development in North San José is well underway with 717 residential units entitled out of 8,000 allowed in the first phase of development. Read more...

New Codes Bring Sweeping Changes to Building Areas and Story Limitations – When it becomes effective on January 1, 2008, the 2007 California Building Code (CBC) will offer some sweeping changes to building area and story limitations. Read more...

City Prepares for Code Adoption with Ordinance and Customer, Staff Training – Over the coming months, the City is preparing to adopt the new codes and offering training courses for the public. Continue to look here each month for the latest on the Code Adoption schedule. Read more...

We’re writing this letter to express our extreme satisfaction with your junior planner, Avril Baty. During the last several months, she has shown us several qualities that any employer would be proud of, such as:  a strong work ethic; attention to detail; and a clear and precise knowledge of planning issues. Avril’s wonderful work qualities are a credit to the Planning Department and to you, Lee Butler, as her Senior Planner.  [letter excerpt from Rockwell Homes Development Manager]

My husband and I would like to thank your department, particularly [Code Enforcement] inspectors John Hernandez and Lynn Romano, for helping to clean up our street in Willow Glen. The neighbors directly across from our home had collected four non-functioning cars that were becoming a blight to our neighborhood. Inspector Hernandez [did a wonderful job and was always very professional when he called to update us]. Inspector Romano personally towed away one of the cars during the clean up efforts. We were very impressed with your inspectors and the speed with which they helped us beautify our neighborhood. Keep up the good work!  [letter excerpt from San José residents]

Read more letter excerpts.

Improved Service in Mind with Consolidation of Long-range, Current Planning – The next phase of a department-wide reorganization was completed this week with the merger of two planning divisions into one. Long range and current planning functions have now been combined and will be headed by a new Planning Official, the recruitment for whom is underway. Read more...

Early Contact with Applicants to Improve Project Review – Planning project managers are now contacting customers within three days of filing their development permit applications to introduce themselves and give the applicant an opportunity to describe and discuss their project. Read more...

SJSU, Planning Partnership Yields Spanish Version of Community Planning Guide – The City’s award-winning guide to land use planning and development is now available in Spanish through a continued partnership with San José State University (SJSU). Read more...

First Anniversary of Zoning Code Change Celebrates Time Saved – Building additions of up to 5,000 square feet are now allowed with a permit adjustment, saving months of time. Read more...

Building Permit Activity for May – Commercial activity was moderate and industrial activity dipped to its lowest point in three years. Read more...

Expedited Zoning, Tree Processes Show Quick Results – Customers are being saved weeks of processing time with two new expedited services. Read more...

July Winners of the Director’s Customer Service Award – Congratulations to Suparna Saha, José Federico, and Cleon Eccles. Thank you for jobs well done! Read more...

Promotions Bring New Leadership to Plan Check and Inspection Divisions – The Building Division has promoted Kathryn Sedwick and John Ruch as the two new Division Managers to lead the Plan Check and Building Inspection Divisions, respectively. Read more...

‘Yin-Yang’ Experience Touring China Impresses Senior Planner – “This was a truly amazing professional and personal experience,” raves Juan Borrelli about his recent visit to China. Read more...

County Mediators Graduate 300 Employees From Dispute Resolution Course – “Our employees, whether out in the field or behind our public counters, work continually with customers to resolve project challenges,” says Joe Horwedel, Department Director for Planning, Building & Code Enforcement. Read more...

HR Recruiter Brought On Board to Help Fill Vacancies – Delanie LoFranco joined the Department in early June to manage and expedite the employee hiring process. Read more...

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