San Jose City Hall, 801 North First Street, Room 500, San Jose, CA 95110 (408)277-5800

Mayor Ron Gonzales Names
San Jose Housing Production Team

San José, CA -- 9/28/00: Mayor Ron Gonzales named members of the San Jose "Housing Production Team" who will develop specific goals, recommendations and actions to increase housing production in San Jose [see list at bottom of news release]. "Although San Jose has led the region in the creation of housing that is so critically needed in Silicon Valley, we must do more," said Mayor Gonzales. "The Housing Production Team will help us find creative and practical ways to develop more homes in our city so that we can ensure the continuing economic prosperity and quality of life for the residents in our community."

The team includes community leaders, housing developers, housing advocates and environmental advocates. It will develop specific goals, recommendations, and actions to create more housing in San Jose and report back to the mayor by this December.

"I am challenging the members of the team to consider all ideas that could increase the supply of housing in San Jose," said the mayor. "It is essential that we look at the full spectrum of creative and innovative possibilities to help people and families who need to find homes in our city."

"I expect the members of the team to seek suggestions and advice from all parts of the community so that we can tap the expertise and experience of many people and organizations for more housing production.

"Finally, I want them to come back with specific actions and concrete goals for the production of new homes, both market-rate and affordable housing, and include both short-term and long-term objectives."

Potential recommendations could include specific proposals for mixed-use projects, denser development or higher buildings, identification of underused sites for development, and "smart growth" development that takes advantage of current and potential transit opportunities. In addition, the team could identify necessary changes in policy or law that could make real differences to increase housing production in the future.

The City of San Jose has already made major commitments to increase housing. More than 4000 units of new housing are built each year in San Jose, and there is capacity for the development of 40,000 more homes under the city’s general plan.

With nearly 300,000 units in the city already, San Jose is largest provider of housing in the entire region. The city last year also committed to create 6000 affordable units by 2004 using more than $240 million of redevelopment funds along with state and federal funds.

"As we identify new housing solutions and new housing opportunities, however, it is critically important that we focus these efforts within our established Urban Growth Boundary to protect our open space and hillsides and prevent costly sprawl," said Gonzales.

San Jose is the largest city in the nation to have established an "urban growth boundary," or greenline, that protects open space around the city while directing development to areas where urban services already exist or are planned. The city has also placed its greenline policies on the November ballot as Measure K to ask voters to give them long-term protection.

San Jose Housing Production Team

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