☆ Making it clear ‘n’ cost-effective to build (and live) in SJ

Image by “401(K) 2012”, CC BY-SA 2.0, via Wikimedia Commons

For the Valley to stop pricing residents out of housing, former Gilroy mayor Marie Blankley and SV Biz PAC’s Tracey Enfantino point to needed property tax exemptions; impact fee code revisions; and a straightforward, efficient Community Development Department to process building applications. An Opp Now exclusive in our affordability series.

Marie Blankley, past Gilroy mayor: About the only thing local governments can contribute is a well-run Community Development Department that efficiently and effectively processes building applications from the moment a complete application is received.

Local governments should support a building application process that clearly identifies from the beginning the information, documents, and fees necessary to form a complete application; provide a timeline within which local government will respond to a complete application; and identify (name and contact information) the lead person processing the application so that a clear line of communication remains throughout the process.

Go Deeper:

• Mayor Blankley on tackling CA's Housing Elemental Struggle via the free market
• Mark Burns: Why does so-called “affordable” housing cost taxpayers twice the market rate to build? (2/2)
• Opinion: Beware 2026, when developers will get free reign to build high-congestion Bay Area projects (2/3)

Tracey Enfantino, Silicon Valley Biz PAC chair: Most of the “solutions” would need to be implemented at the state level through legislative change. But at the county or city level, the two thoughts below would incentivize developers to build, and ostensibly benefit residents by way of reduced development costs:

• Create property tax exemptions or reductions in tax rate for a set # of years for affordable housing projects.

• Update the impact fee code, such as allowing a business to pay fees over time.

And to attract more commercial development:

• Update municipal codes to include linkage-fees for commercial projects/broaden in-lieu fees to include non-residential development.

Finally, to draw businesses here—which would attract talent:

• Encourage businesses, especially small to medium-sized businesses, to start or relocate here by allowing fee waivers and utility tax exemptions (though the City of Santa Clara, with its city-owned utility, has an advantage of lower utility rates than the rest of Silicon Valley).

• Streamline the permitting process and allow for business license reductions (San Jose currently exempts qualifying businesses from SJ business tax for the first two years).

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