San Jose carves out 50 housing units for police, 6-5

San Jose
City Council Meeting
April 7, 2026

TL;DR

• The council voted 6-5 to give San Jose police officers a preference for 50 units in a new workforce housing program at the Faye. A competing version that would have included firefighters and teachers failed for lack of a second.
• An $8.4 million city loan cleared the way for 204 affordable apartments next to the VTA Capitol Station. Construction is expected to start in November.
• A new Story Road Business Improvement District in Little Saigon was established. It's the first new BID in San Jose in 16 years.
• San Jose Clean Energy signed up for a 20-year, up to $79.2 million share of a compressed-air storage project in Kern County, online by 2030.
• The GovAI Coalition, started in San Jose's IT department, will spin off as a nonprofit with a $150,000 Packard Foundation grant.

What happened

1. Police officers get a preference for 50 units in a new workforce housing program, 6-5
   1. The council voted 6-5 to give San Jose police officers a preference for 50 units when openings come up at the Faye. The Faye is a workforce housing building the city took over to house public employees. Vice Mayor Foley voted no and said the proposal "violates the spirit of fair housing." She added that the city has thousands of employees across many job classifications. Councilmember Doan tried first to expand the preference to include firefighters and teachers, and his motion failed for lack of a second. The version that passed was authored by Councilmembers Casey, Cohen, Ortiz, and Candelas. A separate piece directs the city manager to study the housing needs of the broader city workforce.
   2. What this means for you: The program targets households making 80 to 110% of the area's median income. Councilmember Tordillos said that band would only fit a small slice of sworn officers. He named new academy graduates and step-one officers without overtime as the most likely qualifiers. Councilmember Cohen said the preference does not hold 50 units empty for SJPD. Qualifying officers who apply when units open get priority, and the rest fill in the normal way.
2. $8.4 million loan clears the way for 204 affordable apartments at the VTA Capitol Station
   1. The council approved an $8.4 million loan to MidPen Housing for an affordable development in District 2. The site is on the southwest corner of West Capitol Expressway and Narvaez Avenue. The city's contribution works out to about $41,000 per unit, roughly 5% of the total cost. Every $1 of city money leverages $19 of total project value. 71 of the apartments will carry project-based vouchers from the Santa Clara County Housing Authority, including 51 for permanent supportive housing. The vote was 11-0.
   2. What this means for you: Construction is expected to start in November and take about 24 months. Rents in the deeply affordable tier will run $1,000 to $1,500 a month. Those units target households making about $42,000 to $63,000 a year, or 30% of the area's median income. About 80% of the project's funding comes from public sources.
3. Story Road gets a Business Improvement District, the first new one in San Jose in 16 years
   1. The council established the Story Road Business Improvement District in Little Saigon. It covers the corridor in District 7. The vote was unanimous, and no businesses filed a written protest. The new BID will fund cleaning, safety, marketing, and events along Story Road. Businesses inside the district pay a self-assessment that covers the work.
   2. What this means for you: The Story Road Business Association will run the BID. Last year's night market on the corridor drew more than 20,000 people. The association also runs a banner program with the San Jose Sharks. Jen Baker, the city's economic development director, said four other neighborhoods are in early conversations about forming their own BIDs. Those are Cambrian/Willow Glen, Alum Rock Village, Winchester Row, and Evergreen.
4. San Jose Clean Energy buys into a 20-year compressed-air storage project
   1. The council signed off on a contract worth up to $3.96 million a year and $79.2 million over the full 20-year term. The deal buys the city into the Willow Rock project in Kern County. Willow Rock is an advanced compressed-air storage facility being built by HydroStor. It's the company's flagship project in California. The vote was 11-0.
   2. What this means for you: The technology stores energy by pumping compressed air into an underground granite cavern filled with water. Releasing the water sends the air back up to generate electricity. It's less efficient than lithium-ion batteries, about 60-65% versus 80-85%. But the facility is expected to last about 50 years, compared with 10-15 for batteries. San Jose Clean Energy pays nothing until the project comes online, expected June 1, 2030. If it never gets built, the city's only exposure is finding a replacement.
5. The GovAI Coalition spins off as a nonprofit
   1. The council unanimously authorized the city to set up the GovAI Coalition as an independent nonprofit. A $150,000 grant from the Packard Foundation covers the transition. The coalition started in San Jose's IT department in 2023. It now has more than 3,000 members across 900-plus government agencies in seven countries.
   2. What this means for you: There's no impact on the general fund. The coalition will operate under an interim fiscal sponsor for roughly nine months while the nonprofit paperwork is processed. Its annual summit runs December 9-11 at the McEnery Convention Center, with about 700 attendees expected.

What residents brought up

• Concerns about an upcoming encampment sweep dominated open forum. Several speakers said residents of "the Jungle" still did not know where they would be placed before a sweep scheduled to start April 15. They also said the city has not provided bus passes to people being relocated to a site near the Milpitas border. One speaker said people are losing access to recycling, day labor, and other income sources where they currently live. The speaker also asked for an observation access point during the sweep. A Spanish-speaking organizer presented a petition with 40 signatures from Jungle residents and said many have pets and no way to reach the proposed relocation site.
• A speaker on the GovAI item asked the city to use AI to triage constituent email. He said he had drafted a script for harvesting information from incoming messages to council inboxes. He added that many constituents who write, call, or email rarely hear back, despite city websites promising a 72-hour response.

Also happened

• San Diego Community Power resource adequacy trade approved 11-0: a 10-year purchase from a new solar-plus-battery facility (up to $43.2 million aggregate) and a 10-year sale from a natural gas combined-cycle plant (up to $47.7 million aggregate), both starting no later than January 1, 2029.
• The LS Power Grid California franchise ordinance received final adoption on the consent calendar.
• A $2 million pass-through grant from the California Natural Resources Agency to the School of Arts and Culture at Mexican Heritage Plaza was approved.
• A contract was awarded to G. Bortolotto & Company for $2,601,480 to repave local streets in 2026, plus a 10% contingency.
• The DKS Associates contract for the Bascom Avenue Highway-Rail Traffic Signal Project was extended by one year and increased by $74,768.
• The federal Community Development Block Grant (CDBG) action plan was amended to add a Veggielution agreement worth up to $750,000, retroactive to April 1, 2026.
• Mayor Mahan was cleared to attend the Bloomberg Harvard City Leadership Initiative in Cambridge, Massachusetts, April 12-14.

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