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San Francisco

Still no applications in San Jose to split lots under SB9

Several other Bay Area cities also report lack of action on adding rentals in single-family neighborhoods

Governor Gavin Newsom (Getty, iStock)
Governor Gavin Newsom (Getty, iStock)

It’s early, but SB9 hasn’t gotten any actual traction so far in San Jose and other Bay Area cities.

The region’s biggest city and several other have yet to receive a first request under the three-month-old SB9, the law meant to spur more housing by making it easier to split single-family housing lots, the Mercury News reported. Planners for San Jose said they have not heard anyone expressing interest in lot-splitting, despite about 95 percent of the lots in the city designated as single-family housing and eligible under the law, which overrides local zoning laws.

The lack of applications under SB9 thus far could be a telling sign of what’s to come. Redwood City, Cupertino and Concord have also not received any formal applications, just some inquiries. Palo Alto received an application — which was then withdrawn.

San Jose had previously conducted an analysis that found the law would have little impact, with city spokeswoman Cheryl Wessling saying to the publication, “the prediction of that report appears to be holding true.”

“Basically, planners say what we’re experiencing is that homeowners find it will be expensive and likely not financially feasible for most of them,” she said.

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Housing advocates say it’s still too soon to worry about whether SB9 will have the intended impact. The Terner Center for Housing Innovation at UC Berkeley had found that SB9 would lead to 714,000 new units of housing statewide.

Matthew Reed, policy director for the housing advocacy group Silicon Valley at Home, told the newspaper that the market is still trying to figure out SB9. He said potential developers still have to consider the financing of homes under the law.

“I don’t think anyone should be surprised that three months in, it’s not a tidal wave, and I don’t think that was ever the expectation,” he said. “We believe this will take some time.”

SB9 has run into opposition since it went into law, as more than 30 cities have proposed ordinances that would water it down. The wealthy enclave of Woodside had said it was a mountain lion sanctuary, a move that would’ve limited SB9 but was soon after shot down.
And four Los Angeles County cities have filed a petition against Attorney General Rob Bonta over the bill.

[Mercury News] — Gabriel Poblete

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