Residents on all sides of San Jose’s housing debate are spoiling for a protracted fight, after the City Council advanced a plan to increase density limits across the city’s sprawling single-family neighborhoods.
The policy framework approved Tuesday in an 8-3 vote will guide deliberations over the coming year, as San Jose planners craft an update to the city’s general plan that would meet state housing mandates requiring it to make room for denser homebuilding. Councilmembers Domingo Candelas, George Casey and Bien Doan voted against the measure, echoing residents’ concerns that a glut of new developments in single-family neighborhoods could create traffic problems and strain infrastructure.
The vote leaves open tough questions about where the city will focus new housing growth. In the face of intense pushback from residents, councilmembers declined to fully endorse a controversial recommendation to quadruple density limits — from eight homes per acre to 32 — across the 85% of San Jose’s residential land zoned for single-family homes. Instead, they directed staff to study several density options before returning to council with a finalized proposal next December.
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Over the course of a marathon public comment session Tuesday, the proposals met with an outpouring of condemnation from suburban residents who warned loosening housing controls could “destroy” San Jose’s single-family neighborhoods. Some even raised the possibility that councilmembers who support high density plans could face recalls…