Accept the Task Force Recommendation on Citywide Opportunity Housing
San José City Council
San José City Hall
200 East Santa Clara Street
San José, CA 95113
Re: Citywide Opportunity Housing
Dear Mayor Liccardo, Vice Mayor Jones, and Councilmembers Arenas, Davis, Esparza, Peralez, Jimenez, Mahan, Carrasco, Cohen, and Foley,
I strongly urge the City Council to direct staff to study citywide Opportunity Housing in San Jose, allowing duplexes, triplexes and fourplexes to be built in single-family neighborhoods throughout the city. As recommended by San Jose’s General Plan 4-Year Review Task Force, Opportunity Housing can help lay the foundation for a community where more families can live, work, and thrive.
By sharing the cost of land among multiple smaller homes, Opportunity Housing can create the next generation of starter homes for middle-class families to save on rent or buy into the city they grew up in in a neighborhood they love. This policy will create more broad based economic prosperity for San Jose as more people will be able to move into high-opportunity areas with good jobs, and will allow more residents the opportunity to find housing they can afford, making it easier to support their families.
To create a more inclusive community, San Jose must eliminate exclusionary zoning that continues to divide our city by race and income. Exclusionary zoning also fuels our housing crisis by constraining housing choices and options, and threatens our environmental sustainability by increasing urban sprawl, long polluting commutes, and displacement of communities into areas at great risk of climate hazards. Opportunity Housing is a climate-smart tool to help keep growth on currently developed land, prevent sprawl, use water and power more efficiently, preserve natural and agricultural land, and reduce long commutes that burn greenhouse gasses.
Legalizing smaller homes is a modest step towards inclusion, expanded economic opportunity, and environmental sustainability. Opportunity Housing — crafted to protect against displacement of existing residents — will enhance neighborhoods and strengthen communities throughout the city. I support citywide Opportunity Housing in San Jose, and I strongly urge the City Council to direct staff to study this proposal.
Sincerely,
In Favor of Citywide Opportunity Housing
San José City Council
San José City Hall
200 East Santa Clara Street
San José, CA 95113
Re: Citywide Opportunity Housing
Dear Mayor Liccardo, Vice Mayor Jones, and Councilmembers Arenas, Davis, Esparza, Peralez, Jimenez, Mahan, Carrasco, Cohen, and Foley,
I strongly urge the City Council to direct staff to study citywide Opportunity Housing in San Jose, allowing duplexes, triplexes and fourplexes to be built in single-family neighborhoods throughout the city. As recommended by San Jose’s General Plan 4-Year Review Task Force, Opportunity Housing can help lay the foundation for a community where more families can live, work, and thrive.
By sharing the cost of land among multiple smaller homes, Opportunity Housing can create the next generation of starter homes for middle-class families to save on rent or buy into the city they grew up in in a neighborhood they love. This policy will create more broad based economic prosperity for San Jose as more people will be able to move into high-opportunity areas with good jobs, and will allow more residents the opportunity to find housing they can afford, making it easier to support their families.
To create a more inclusive community, San Jose must eliminate exclusionary zoning that continues to divide our city by race and income. Exclusionary zoning also fuels our housing crisis by constraining housing choices and options, and threatens our environmental sustainability by increasing urban sprawl, long polluting commutes, and displacement of communities into areas at great risk of climate hazards. Opportunity Housing is a climate-smart tool to help keep growth on currently developed land, prevent sprawl, use water and power more efficiently, preserve natural and agricultural land, and reduce long commutes that burn greenhouse gasses.
Legalizing smaller homes is a modest step towards inclusion, expanded economic opportunity, and environmental sustainability. Opportunity Housing — crafted to protect against displacement of existing residents — will enhance neighborhoods and strengthen communities throughout the city. I support citywide Opportunity Housing in San Jose, and I strongly urge the City Council to direct staff to study this proposal.
Sincerely,