After an 11-hour meeting and a tense 6-5 vote, the San Jose City Council voted Tuesday to water down provisions to its rent control laws in an effort to please developers who say that such measures place a burden on housing projects.
Previously, demolishing a rent-controlled building meant that any new building constructed in San Jose had to include at least as many rent-controlled units as the building prior or that at least half of a new structure’s units be rent-controlled, whichever number was greater.
But after this week’s vote, building owners can apply for a waiver if their new building has just 15 percent affordable homes and the owners offer old tenants the chance to return paying the original rent price.
