Housing Preservation Pilot & Residential Anti-displacement Initiative
Overview: Preservation is a Community Need in San Jose and the South Bay
The Bay Area region is confronting a severe affordability and homelessness crisis. As rents, sale prices and land values rise, a great deal of displacement is taking place in small-site properties, especially privately-owned, where there is limited capacity to preserve the existing affordability. At present, there are no other CLTs and very limited small-site development and preservation-oriented Community Development Corporations in Santa Clara County.
Why this matters:
- 64% of the housing stock in San José is small-site properties between 1-19 units.
- Larger percentages of people of color reside in multifamily properties and are at higher risk of displacement.
- Preservation and land acquisition strategies are critical elements of anti-displacement policy and produce limited-equity and ownership opportunities for low and moderate-income residents.
South Bay CLT is looking to acquire small, multi-unit residential buildings (less than 25 units) in partnership with existing tenants and property owners near Downtown and/or East Side San José as a means to prevent displacement and permanently preserve affordability.
Community Engagement:
- Do you live in a small multi-unit building in San José (approximately 4-25 units)?
- Is your building currently for sale? Or are you at risk of being evicted or displaced from your home?
- Would you and your neighbors like more control over your housing situation?
If you would like South Bay CLT to evaluate the possibility of converting your building into resident controlled cooperative housing, or would like to get involved with our initiative, please fill out and submit the building evaluation form below:
Policy & Funding Advocacy
In response to fervent community push back around the sale of public land near the Diridon Station to Google, the City of San José created an Citywide Anti-displacement Strategy Plan and Diridon Affordable Housing Implementation Plan. Before this, San José had never developed a preservation program or fund.
South Bay CLT’s members developed a thorough rationale for why a CLT and preservation efforts are critical in San José as listed below:
- Development without displacement: The City, County, and private sector should invest in local capacity to avoid gentrification and displacement of lower-income to the greatest extent possible.
- Permanent affordability: The need for affordable housing is only increasing. More units and access to affordability must be available in perpetuity.
- Retaining the Public’s investment: There are limited dollars available; CLTs are an opportunity for one-time subsidy capture and retention.
- Stewardship of affordable housing: Investing the residents and community in the occupancy and maintenance of housing overtime.
- Assembling land for a diversity of development: Thriving communities need housing that is affordable but also require multiple types of development including commercial, cultural, and agricultural uses.
- Enabling the mobility of low–income people: CLTs provide additional ladders to homeownership for people with limited access to the market.
- Securing first time homeowners: CLTs step in to cure defaults and prevent foreclosures protecting the homeowner, the bank, and the community.