Leslye Corsiglia

Rent Control Fight Goes before City Council

With the rental market heating up, more people are asking for the city’s help to mediate lease rate hikes. The City Council on Tuesday will decide whether to pay more for a program to mediate and arbitrate cases between landlords trying to keep up with the market and tenants getting priced out of their homes. Other items on the agenda include a code enforcement audit, a historical landmark designation for a fruit stand and a trash-reduction plan.

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Census Shows Growth in Homeless Population in San Jose, County

The South Bay homeless population appears to be pooling in San Jose, as a new study estimates an 18 percent increase in the number of homeless people in the city since 2011. Overall, Santa Clara County’s homeless population grew by 8 percent—7,361 total—in the last two years, according to the county’s biennial census of the homeless population.

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Council Takes on Annual Housing Report, Samsung Incentives

The dissolution of redevelopment agencies and state budget cuts to municipal housing funds have made it tougher for San Jose to meet its goal of building more affordable homes in recent years, according to an annual housing report going before the City Council on Tuesday. Other items on the council agenda include an incentives package for Samsung, a commendation for a police officer who never clocks off and a North San Jose cemetery that is running out of space.

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How to Save the General Fund $10 MIllion

A housing report revealed last week at the oversight board meeting for the Successor Agency to the Redevelopment Agency (SARA) shows that the city has $10 million in funds that have yet to be allocated. While some people would like to direct these funds to affordable housing, which isn’t taxable and doesn’t create revenue, a better plan would be to direct the $10 million toward RDA debt. If this occurs, the exact same amount can then go toward the general fund, which pays for police, libraries and other community services.

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San Jose Has Highest Rent Increases

Despite having a reputation for sprawl, rent in San Jose increased at a higher rate than anywhere else in the nation, according to a city memo distributed Tuesday. A 3-percent increase is the highest allowable under the city’s ordinance, and many of the people targeted by recent rent hikes include mobilehome owners who rent land for their homes.

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