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an Jose officials and developers agree that more incentives are needed to boost multifamily construction. The city's recent tax cuts, aimed at "unblocking" the pipeline, may not be enough to meet its state-mandated housing goal of 62,200 homes by 2031. This year, no market-rate project with over 20 apartments broke ground in San Jose.

    To address this issue, the city approved a 50% tax cut for projects in designated growth areas that applied by June 2022 and received building permits by the end of next year. The incentive applies to up to 1,500 units. Additionally, the city reduced park fees in North San Jose by nearly half and delayed tax payments until occupancy.

    However, only about 35 projects qualified for the incentives, including 7,357 market-rate and 2,276 other units. Developers and officials say this is not enough to meet the housing goal, which requires an average of 7,775 units per year. They argue that the policy needs to be expanded further.

    The streamlined process includes minimum qualifying criteria, such as a density of 40 units per acre in growth areas near transit stops or corridors. Exclusions include parcels with planned development zoning, airport influence areas, and proximity to creeks or city landmarks. The policy change allows qualifying projects to bypass public hearings, reducing the review time from 20 months.

    San Jose Mayor Matt Mahan agrees that the process needs to go further, calling for expansion of ministerial approvals to more areas, including the airport and Downtown.