Land use and housing policies are complex with many stakeholders.  The City is exploring strategies to increase housing capacity, facilitate small multifamily housing, and streamline housing development approvals. 

What's going well 

The City has made faster, more predictable housing approvals a priority and is rewriting key rules to reach that goal.

Challenges     

City codes, local policies, and regional rules can delay the permit process and is difficult to predict. 

What the City is doing

• Guarantee a faster approval path. The City will create a “ministerial” permit process (approval by staff without a public hearing) for downtown and eligible multi-family housing, with a 90-day limit.
• Trim local rules. The City will review and recommend cutting local code add-ons that go beyond state standards and slow construction.
• Update the traffic review policy. The City will recommend changes to its Transportation Analysis Policy (Council Policy 5-1) so traffic review supports more housing while keeping streets safe.
• Simplify stormwater rules. The City will create a pilot “in-lieu fee” option that gives housing projects another way to meet C-3 stormwater rules.

There is an opportunity to streamline and improve analysis and communication of the City’s development services process. The development services process is how housing is approved, including: granting permission to build certain projects, begin construction, and for people to begin living in residential buildings.

What’s going well

The City is working to make its development fees clearer and its permitting service more responsive.

Challenges

Getting a permit in San José can be confusing — development fees, taxes, and the steps to get approved aren't always clear or easy to predict.

What the City is doing

• Show multiple different fees as one clear number. The City will create a Development Fee Framework which will simplify and delay fee collection to help developers quickly assess project costs and feasibility.
• Improve customer service for builders. The City will advance efforts to speed up permitting and give applicants ongoing support.
• Staff up for new state housing laws. The City will create sufficient capacity so the Citywide Planning team can put state and Council housing policies into action.

There is an opportunity to align City housing policy and financing opportunities to increase housing production at all income levels.   

What’s going well

The City already helps finance affordable and mixed-income housing and is looking for new ways to fund housing at more income levels. 

Challenges

The City’s current financing tools are limited and do not fully support building homes for people at every income level.

What the City is doing

• Finance mixed-income housing. The City will explore new financing tools to add homes across more income levels while keeping projects feasible.
• Encourage backyard homes. The City will explore partnerships and a homeownership pilot for Accessory Dwelling Units (ADUs) — small second homes on a property — including help for first-time buyers.
• Explore workforce housing. The City will explore a demonstration Workforce Housing project for residents that could be scaled and replicated through partnerships.
• Convert interim housing to permanent homes. The City will explore creative financing strategies to transition interim housing sites into Single Room Occupancy (SRO) housing, expanding long-term affordable options for residents.