San Jose City Council

The San Jose City Council is the city's main legislative body. They pass the laws, approve the budget, and set policy direction for San Jose. What passed, what changed, and what this means for you.
21
Apr

San Jose hears two hours of pushback on data center plans (+ fixes living wage)

San Jose City Council: Council accepted a data center status report after two hours of public pushback and replaced a living wage formula that delivered a $0 raise last year.
6 min read
20
Apr

Four San Jose council members move to streamline housing approvals

San Jose City Council: Study session on permitting. Four council members filed a memo to expand rules-based housing approvals citywide. No votes.
4 min read
14
Apr

San Jose adds 89 interim housing units at Arena Hotel for $6.4M

San Jose City Council: Council approved $6.4M for Arena Hotel interim housing (89 units) plus bonds for 195 affordable units at Berryessa TOD.
4 min read
13
Apr

San Jose stares down a $2.6B backlog with no near-term fix

San Jose City Council: Deferred maintenance backlog now $2.6B plus $259M ongoing. GO bond timing slips to 2028. City Hall water intrusion repair: $45M. Storm sewer jumped to ~$900M.
5 min read
07
Apr

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

San Jose City Council: A 6-5 vote gave San Jose police a preference for 50 units in a new workforce housing program. Plus $8.4M for 204 affordable homes by VTA Capitol Station.
5 min read
24
Mar

ICE investment ban fails 4-4 in San Jose; study ordered instead

San Jose City Council: ICE-linked investment ban for Alphabet, Amazon, and Microsoft failed 4-4; council ordered a study of peer cities. $6.1M waiver cleared for Gateway and Bank of Italy.
5 min read
17
Mar

San Jose budget message advances 8-3 amid $56M shortfall

San Jose City Council: FY 2026-2027 budget message advances 8-3 amid a $56M shortfall, and 5 industrial hubs win an exemption from SB 79 housing rules. Plus historic resources direction 10-1.
4 min read
10
Mar

San Jose keeps Flock cameras, but only stores plate data for 30 days now

San Jose City Council: ALPR data retention cut from 1 year to 30 days in 11-0 vote, with new no-camera zones and $8M annual police overtime reduction.
5 min read
03
Mar

San Jose rewrites encampment sweep rules (+ 516 miles paved)

San Jose City Council: Personal Property Impound SOP for encampment sweeps revised 11-0, cutting storage from 90 to 30 days. Plus Measure T paving at 516 of 420 planned miles.
6 min read
24
Feb

PayPal Park gets 15 concerts a year, with new neighborhood noise rules

San Jose City Council: PayPal Park approved for up to 15 concerts a year with new monthly noise reporting, plus $11.2M Lower Income Voucher Program passed 8-3 pending fair housing review.
6 min read