SAN JOSÉ, CA — The Housing Action Coalition, joined by SPUR, San José YIMBY, and Abundant Housing LA, praised the San José City Council this week for directing staff to study allowing six-story apartment buildings with a single staircase, a move advocates say could unlock thousands of new homes while maintaining strict safety standards.
The policy, introduced by Mayor Matt Mahan and Councilmembers Pamela Campos, Anthony Tordillos, David Cohen, and Arjun Mulcahy, positions San José among the first cities in California to explore Seattle’s single-stair model. The council approved the proposal with support from Mahan, Campos, Tordillos, Cohen, Mulcahy, Kamei, Candelas, Casey, and Foley.
“We can’t say we want more housing while layering on new processes that make it harder to build,” said Mayor Mahan. “Construction costs in California are already among the highest in the nation — driven by some of the most extensive, overly-complicated regulations anywhere. We should be focused on removing unnecessary barriers so we can build more homes faster, safely and affordably.”…