Cupertino City Hall could move from its decades-old location — but it may not be long term. The Cupertino City Council voted 4-1 last month, with Councilmember Kitty Moore as the sole no vote, to open negotiations on moving city departments into an empty office building while the nearly 60-year-old City Hall is renovated or rebuilt. The decision follows years of concern over seismic safety, aging infrastructure and inadequate space at the 10300 Torre Ave. location. The city will explore the practicality of purchasing or renting a more than 20,000 square-foot building as its governing head ..read more

An autism nonprofit will pay Cupertino thousands of dollars after settling a monthslong dispute over the closure of a group home for children. The Cupertino City Council unanimously approved a settlement between the city and nonprofit Pacific Autism Center for Education (PACE) last month after PACE stopped operating the group home at 7576 Kirwin Lane, roughly two years short of its 30-year agreement restricting the property to affordable housing uses during that time. PACE signed a $100,000 loan with the city under those terms and has to funnel $50,000 into the city’s below-market-rate ho ..read more

Backyard homes are now even easier to build in San Jose after amending some conflicting rules. The San Jose City Council earlier this month unanimously approved an amendment to the city’s local building code, also known as a reach code, allowing any new home under 1,200 square feet to meet energy standards if it certifies it’s an all-electric build. The amendment streamlines the energy approval process for accessory dwelling units (ADUs), also known as granny flats, which were previously held to the same standards as larger homes. Some of those standards included solar panels and extra insulat ..read more

Land is California’s new gold, and the rush for a piece of it online might raise eyebrows when browsing the real estate listings. This month, a seven-bed, two-bathroom home on a 4,000 square-foot lot is on the market for nearly $700,000 in San Jose’s Burbank Neighborhood. It may sound like a bargain, but that’s because the home has been condemned by Santa Clara County — unsafe to live in by government standards. And while its multiple kitchens, exterior staircase and neon teal paint job bemused locals online, realtors say it’s not nearly the most expensive condemned home one can find in Silico ..read more

“Backyard homes” are about to get easier and faster to build for residents living in unincorporated Santa Clara County. The Board of Supervisors on Tuesday unanimously signed off on providing residents within its jurisdiction two sets of pre-approved plans for building accessory dwelling units (ADUs), also known as granny flats or in-law units, on their residential property by the end of the year. One model is 800 square feet and another is 1,200 square feet. Officials said the streamlined process could make major inroads toward opening up more affordable housing supply in the highly expensive ..read more

After decades of residents requesting historic status, San Jose is starting the process to create a new city landmark district — the first since 2007. The San Jose City Council earlier this month voted unanimously to nominate Alameda Park/Schiele Avenue as a historic district, with Councilmember Omar Torres absent. The designation would protect homes in the tree-lined neighborhood west of downtown along Schiele, Harding and Pershing avenues between Stockton and Hoover avenues. The area includes Queen Anne, Tudor and Spanish Revival style houses built in the 1800s and bungalows built in the 192 ..read more

A new restaurant is opening in downtown San Jose at the site of a former meeting hotspot for local politicos. Home Eat, a Chinese restaurant chain with locations in Cupertino, Sunnyvale and Fremont, is slated to open sometime next week under a five-year lease with the city. The restaurant will fill the vacant site on Fourth Street where Flames Eatery & Bar used to be, giving politicians and students another option for a quick bite. Home Eat owner Marcus Yang said the San Jose location will help expand the restaurant’s footprint throughout the Bay Area. He aims to bring authentic ..read more

It’s been three years since a fire raged through the Lawrence Hotel building in downtown San Jose, but it looks like the fire happened just a couple of days ago. Since the four-alarm fire on Jan. 7, 2021, the historic building on San Fernando and Third streets has been in disrepair with burn marks on the exterior brick wall, debris and a chained fence between the boarded up building and sidewalk. San Jose officials have tried to work with the property owner to get started on demolition and repairs, but their efforts have fallen flat — and owner Eagles Hills Property LLC is at risk of incurring ..read more

Nationwide changes in the way real estate agents are compensated might not make a difference in Silicon Valley. A pending settlement from the National Association of Realtors (NAR) could be an industry game changer that upends the commissions homebuyers pay real estate agents. The key changes could come as soon as July. This includes real estate agents no longer seeing commissions on the multiple listing service, and having a written agreement with the buyer showing form of payment. Michelle Perry, president of the Santa Clara County Association of Realtors, said these changes are unlikel ..read more

An empty commercial space in downtown San Jose where a Safeway was previously located is still vacant nearly five years later, after an oral wellness company backed out of a deal to move there last summer. Downtown advocates and residents remain hopeful another grocery store can fill the space, but officials say that could still be months or even years away. “Having conversations with our small business community and residents, they want more options for grocery stores downtown, as we haven’t had an official grocery store downtown since Safeway left,” District 3 Councilmember Omar Torres, who ..read more