Early Help from City Pays Off for Machine Shop Owner – James Machathil didn’t take a leap of faith in relocating his company, A-1 Jay’s Machining Inc., from Milpitas to San José.  He did his homework and it’s paying off. Read More...

 ‘Vision North San José’ Awarded for Excellence – The local chapter of the American Planning Association (APA) selected the City’s Vision North San José planning effort as the winner for the 2007 Comprehensive Planning: Large Jurisdiction award. Read More...

California Catches Up With Nine Years of Code Changes – Are you ready? On January 1, 2008, the new 2007 California Building Standards Codes will go into effect. Read More...

“Burn Down” Letters Among Others Now Available in One Hour
You can schedule a one-hour appointment with a planner who will research the zoning and issue a Zoning Verification Letter verifying that your property is properly zoned for the particular type of business or use. Read More...

Sony HQ, Flea Market Sites Being Considered for Mixed Use – The Planning Commission and City Council are now scheduled to consider the rezoning requests for the former Sony Headquarters and the current San José Flea Market. Read More...

Valley Fair Mall Expansion Continues to Proceed Smoothly – On June 5th, the City Council approved the General Plan amendment which allowed additional height for new buildings and parking garages along the Stevens Creek Boulevard frontage. Read More...

Recommendations Forthcoming for Medical Center Site’s Future – The Advisory Committee for the San José Medical Center site has been meeting monthly since June 2006 to assess the need for health care services in Downtown San José and evaluate alternative land use scenarios for the 13-acre site. Read More...

Regional Conservation Plan to Protect Species, Habitat – Over 30 animal and plant species native or unique to our valley, like the Bay Checkerspot Butterfly, are being protected through the regional planning and conservation efforts known as the Santa Clara Valley Habitat Conservation Plan/Natural Community Conservation Plan (HCP/NCCP). Read More...

Two Historic Districts Approved, One Conservation Area Proposed – Because of their special historical and architectural interest, San José recently added two new City Landmark Historic Districts – Reed and Lakehouse. Read More...

City to Host National Building Code Expert for Training – Save the dates! San José will host Ken Larsen, a nationally recognized code consultant, for two, all-day training seminars open to the public. Read More...

New Resource for Code Change Explanations – There will be many changes when the newly adopted 2006 codes go into effect on January 1, 2008. Subsequent editions of this newsletter will feature more detailed explanations of specific code changes. Read More...

I would like to express my appreciation of your staff’s cooperation and performance on our Cisco Systems Fleet Power Upgrade project. The project consists of a campus wide upgrade of the existing UPS systems and network infrastructure power distribution. [Several City divisions were involved], and each, with guidance from Anthony Thornberry, was cooperative in expediting and streamlining the plan check and permitting process.  [excerpt from letter from CH Reynolds Electric]

We recently had a yard and house clean up performed by a crew on behalf of the City due to complaints by neighbors. This was arranged for and managed with professionalism by Code Enforcement Inspectors Roger Falkowitz and Rafles Warners. We appreciate all the hard work that went into this endeavor, and the sensitive, dignified manner in which we were treated. We were told exactly what to expect. All in all we were made to feel comfortable and treated respectfully.  [excerpt from letter from San José residents]

Read more letter excerpts:

San José’s Robust On-line Permit System Just a Click Away
Those who already use it know that sjpermits.org is a wealth of information available around the clock for all of our customers. Read More...

Don’t Wait in Line! Go On-Line for Wait Times First – Before you make the trip to City Hall, check our wait time clock on-line . Read More...

New Case Search Feature Puts Enforcement Info at Public’s Fingertips – If you are itching to know the status of that blighted property down the street, you can now access the latest information through Code Enforcement’s newest on-line feature – Case Search. Read More...

Building Permit Activity for April – Residential activity reached its highest level in over a year; commercial and industrial activity was moderate. Read More...

Population, Housing Data Reveals Controlled Growth for San José – The City’s population growth rate has been notably higher in the last two years and is on pace to exceed one million people by 2009. Our analysis of new housing unit data demonstrates that growth is occurring in areas where the City planned for it to occur and reflects a higher-density, transit-oriented infill development pattern. Read More...

Customer Satisfaction Survey Results Are In – For the first time, a scientific customer satisfaction survey of development services customers now establishes reliable customer service data. Read More...

Fourth Annual Survey to Compare Local Costs for Development – How do San José’s costs for development compare to other cities in the region? Read More...

June Winners of the Director’s Customer Service Award – Congratulations to Dionne Early, Tod Devlin and Debbie Morales and thank you for jobs well done! Read More...

Former Planning Deputy Named Assistant Director – Laurel Prevetti recently was named Assistant Director of the Department of Planning, Building & Code Enforcement.  Read More...

Familiar Face Returns to Manage the General Plan Update – SNI veteran and jazz band drummer returns to City. Read More...

Combo Training Boot Camp Graduates Eight Inspectors – Our congratulations go to eight Building Inspectors who graduated in April from our rigorous Combination Training Academy. Read More...

LEED Certified Staff Keeps Growing Beyond Green - Joyce Liu, AIA, LEED AP, represented San José in May at the 2007 AIA Convention in San Antonio, Texas. Read More...

Recruitment Underway for Planning and Building Officials – Two national recruitments for San José’s next Planning and Building Officials are underway with candidate interviews to begin in July. Read More...

• June 27th,  Joint Study Session with the Planning and Parks Commissions - Riparian Corridor issues, , City Hall Tower, Rm T-332, 5:00 PM.
• July 13th, Developer’s Roundtable, City Hall Tower, Room T-332, 8:00 - 10:00 AM.
• July 17th, Neighborhood Roundtable, City Hall Tower, Room T332, 7:00 AM.
• July 20th, Construction Roundtable ,City Hall Tower, Room T332, 8:30 - 10:00 AM.

Planning Director’s Hearing – Held every Wednesday (excluding holidays)

Planning Commission – Meets the 2nd and 4th Wednesdays of every month (excluding holidays)

Historic Landmarks Commission – Meets the 1st Wednesday of every month (excluding holidays) 

For more upcoming meetings, hearings and events, visit our Master Calendar.

Neighborhood Clean-up Days – Nearly every Saturday of the year, Code Enforcement employees take large dumpsters to designated locations in San José’s neighborhoods to help residents dispose of their large, unwanted bulky items. Call (408) 277-4528 for a schedule of clean-up events for your Council district.