San Jose is throwing down the gauntlet to developers, pushing back on applications for housing projects that attempt to get around city development standards and goals.
The city last week rejected 14 different housing proposals filed in the latter half of 2023 by developers asserting rights to build what they want where they want, under a provision of state housing law known as the builder’s remedy. The city’s actions could set up a series of legal challenges.
“It’s highly aggressive, I think it’s a really aggressive reading of the law,” Bryan Wenter, a land use attorney who represents developers with several builder’s remedy projects in the city, told San José Spotlight. “I think it’s inviting litigation.”
San Jose last week finally gained state certification for its long-term housing plans, known as a housing element, one year late. Prior to the state’s approval, developers took advantage in 2023, using the builder’s remedy to submit a bevy of new or revised housing projects across the city that bypass local zoning and development standards.