Two obscure, harmful provisions from San Jose Mayor Matt Mahan’s March budget message are coming back to City Council in the near future. Both will lead to unacceptable rent increases for tenants.

Because these were minor points in a 35-page document, the community was unable to mobilize opposition to them at the time. One is a proposed revision to San Jose’s inclusionary housing ordinance that comes to the council possibly as early as Nov. 18. The other is implementation of a utility pass-through program for master-metered rent-controlled buildings. That will be heard early in the new year.

It is ironic and cruel that the mayor is promoting both of these schemes in the name of addressing San Jose’s affordable housing crisis. High housing costs consistently rank in the top two concerns o

See Full Page