Jerry Strangis, San Jose land use consultant since 1975, comments on the City's attempt to get its Housing Element certified. Hand-wringing City officials worry—should the State reject their plan—developers will keep using the “builder's remedy” loophole to avert zoning restrictions. Strangis praises SJ's efforts toward a compliant Housing Element, while recognizing key economic benefits of the builder's remedy. An Opp Now exclusive.
Read MoreCalifornia finance expert Tom Rubin analyzes MTC's proposed $10–20 bn bond measure, which would chuck some greenbacks at jurisdictions in the name of developing/preserving affordable housing. Not only does the measure lack clear performance metrics (um, are we talking 100 or 10,000 units produced?), but it neglects key market problems—suggesting instead we hand gov't (more) cash to figure everything out. An Opp Now exclusive.
Read MoreIn sprung verse as elastic and effortless as resupine lines of code stretching over black screens, past Board of Equalization candidate Peter Coe Verbica ponders the implications of widespread AI developments—for our daily strivings, our grasp of beauty and wonder, and our uniquely human search for truth. An Opp Now exclusive.
Read MoreJohnny Khamis wonders if we start using the word “The” and the number of the highway (like our fellow CA citizens do) when describing our transportation infrastructure, will our daily “trafficgedon” garner the political respect and attention we deserve? An Opp Now exclusive.
Read MoreDave Rand, local land use attorney specializing in CEQA regulations, exclusively chats with Opp Now about all things California Environmental Quality Act. He analyzes why it first came into being, what loophole encourages cities/interest groups to logjam projects—as well as new reforms to mitigate this—and his suggested solution (warning, it's pretty “surgical”). Plus: how do carpenters' unions fit into the puzzle of ridiculous CEQA overrregulations, even for exemption options?
Read MoreSJ's Citizens for Fiscal Responsibility and Silicon Valley Leadership Group chime in on Senator Cortese's controversial bill to jack up our sales tax from its existing cap of 2%. Rather than worsen residents' fiscal burden, they point out, shouldn't San Jose look into balancing its budget better and cutting the fluff? Or is that too radical a concept? An Opp Now exclusive.
Read MoreA forest walk at twilight. Amber storefront lights. A rare find in a curio shop. Piano keys. Peter Coe Verbica muses on navigating what is lost, what is found, as we kick off our Holiday Season. An Opp Now exclusive.
Read MoreIn his exclusive report for Opportunity Now, Randal O'Toole of the Thoreau Institute explores how New Urbanist thinking and misguided anti-market policies created one of the most unaffordable housing markets in the world—and how to fix it. First posted on 11.19.2020.
Read MoreRandal O'Toole of the Thoreau Institutes outlines how to start undoing the failed policies of the past that led to Santa Clara County's current affordability debacle, with an eye toward increasing tax revenues as well. Originally published in November of 2020, O'Toole's sharp analysis—and conclusions for urban-growth boundaries and CEQA—is more relevant than ever today. An Opp Now exclusive.
Read MoreElizabeth Brierly—Silicon Valley Taxpayers Association board member and lifelong SCC resident—criticizes Sen. Cortese's proposal to increase the sales tax rate by 33% from its current cap of 2%. SB 335 proponents say the extra cash would fund “vital” core services; but aren't those already covered in our regular budget? Brierly calls for gov't prudence and prioritization (a much-needed “financial diet”) in this Opp Now exclusive.
Read MoreLocal political watchers have a warning for SCC residents: All those nice-sounding words in ballot initiatives could be camouflaging their real intent. Why the subterfuge? Maybe pols “think we're too stupid to understand what's good for us... like how you give a dog a pill and cover it in peanut butter,” says Manhattan Institute's Tim Rosenberger, Jr. Or perhaps they're simple money/power grabs, according to taxpayer advocate Jon Coupal and SCC Libertarian officeholder Brian Holtz. Below, more insights in this exclusive Opp Now series.
Read MoreIn an exclusive Opp Now interview, Adam Mayer—a Bay Area architect/designer specializing in adaptive reuse—explains why converting offices to apartments proves an elusive endeavor that isn't usually profitable for developers. Mayer suggests that local gov'ts focus less on cutting red tape for conversion projects, and work more to revitalize their downtowns by encouraging commercial activity.
Read More
