Skip to content
San Jose Meetings

City Council, January 27, 2026

Approves Downtown Residential Incentive Program Expansion, unanimous

8h 56m79,179 words
174 mentionshistoric preservationdeferredcommercialzoningresidentialindustrialdensityland useapprovedpublic hearingaducomprehensive plandeniedSan Jose, CA
View agenda
Just researching this meeting? Get free San Jose alerts

What happened

San Jose City Council held a lengthy meeting covering ceremonial items, housing policy, and mobile home rent ordinance changes. The council approved expansions to the Downtown Residential Incentive Program to include office-to-residential conversions, extended the Multifamily Hou…

Meeting key facts
Jurisdiction
San Jose, CA
Governing body
Final authority
Date
January 27, 2026
Decisions
6 zoning decisions
Outcome
Approved, unanimous

Free sample: decision 1 of 6

Downtown Residential Incentive Program Expansion

Council approved expanding the Downtown Residential Incentive Program to include office-to-residential conversions with Phase 1 targeting 500 units and Phase 2 targeting 1,000+ units. Incentives include waiving in-lieu fees, deed-restricted unit requirements, construction taxes, and parkland in-lieu fees. Phase 1 deadline set for December 2027.

  • Phase 1 deadline of December 2027; prevailing wage and apprenticeship program incentives included; staff to explore healthcare in-lieu fee similar to Berkeley

The other decisions are listed below by title. The full write-up, verbatim conditions, and the audio at each vote are in Pro.

Meeting Summary

San Jose City Council held a lengthy meeting covering ceremonial items, housing policy, and mobile home rent ordinance changes. The council approved expansions to the Downtown Residential Incentive Program to include office-to-residential conversions, extended the Multifamily Hou…

Get email alerts for new San Jose meetings

Key Decisions (6)

Approved

Downtown Residential Incentive Program Expansion

Vote: unanimousConditions attached
Approved

Multifamily Housing Incentive Program Phase 1 Extension

Vote: unanimousConditions attached
Amended

Inclusionary Housing Ordinance Amendments

Vote: 9-2 with Candelas and Campos voting againstConditions attached
Deferred

Mobile Home Rent Ordinance Changes

Vote: 10-1 with Dwan voting against deferralConditions attached
Approved

Soft Story Seismic Retrofit Pilot Program

Vote: unanimousConditions attached
Approved

SB 79 Transit-Oriented Development Implementation

Vote: unanimousConditions attached

Zoning Changes (2)

Six areas totaling 250+ acres
Over 40,000 parcels affected

Development Activity (3)

Downtown Office-to-Residential Conversions

Residential

Multifamily Housing Incentive Program Projects

Residential

Secaway Farmhouse Relocation

Other

Market Signals (5)

Housing Demand

Cost of residential development study shows high-rise residential won't pencil…

Commercial Demand

Downtown office vacancy creating conversion opportunities; multiple office buildings identified…

Housing Demand

San Jose named least affordable city in world by Remitly…

Meeting Intelligence Preview

Ask this meeting anything

Ask who voted, what conditions passed, and what staff recommended for "City Council - 2026-01-27", with every answer cited to the transcript. Included with Pro.

Learn about Meeting Q&A

Get every San Jose meeting with full decisions, votes, and zoning details, within hours of each session.

Just want to know when new San Jose meetings are posted? Get free email alerts below.

Follow San Jose

Get the agenda when a meeting is posted, plus decision and analysis alerts.

We'll email you an activation link — one click, no password, unsubscribe anytime.

or