FAQs

Q. Does SB9 eliminate single family residential zoning?

A. Yes. SB9 allows a fourplex to be built on lots currently zoned for single family use. [Read more]

Q. Will SB9 create more affordable housing in San José?

A. No. All multi-unit housing constructed on single family lots would be sold or rented at market rates set by the owner/developer. No units would be subsidized or subject to rent or price controls.

Q. The Planning Department and SB9 promoters claim 94% of residential land in San José is reserved for single-family homes—is this true?

A. No this is not true. The 94% number originates within the Planning Department’s little-understood distinction between land “zoned” for single-family and land “designated” single-family. When the planning department made this claim to a local residence group, they were confronted with a detailed analysis of the planning department’s own zoning map. A very large chunk of land that planning claimed was ‘designated’ single-family was actually covered by street, schools, churches and vast areas of open space! According to this citizen audit, single-family homes ACTUALLY covered something closer to 63% of the land in their sample.

When confronted with this detailed analysis, planning personnel quickly admitted that ‘the 94% number’ was not a fair representation of actual San José land use. Yet the Planning Department and SB9 promoters continue to make this false 94% claim in their public presentations.

No one really knows how much land in San José is actually dedicated to single-family homes today, but it is abundantly clear that it is much less than 94% of the residential land available. Plenty of land exists for San José to build new, properly zoned multi-family housing under the city’s Urban Village strategy.

Q. Will SB9 reduce San José tree canopy?

A. Yes. Low density urban growth will remove trees by design. [Read more]