In a move aimed at quickly expanding interim shelters in San Jose, the City Council on Tuesday unanimously passed an emergency declaration that will allow tiny homes to be built more rapidly by removing bureaucratic red tape.
In passing the declaration, the city will now eliminate barriers that have slowed down development, including land use provisions, building codes and procurement decisions — potentially cutting down the construction of interim sites in half from up to two years to a year.
“What this allows us to do is it sort of opens up the top of the funnel,” said Deputy City Manager Omar Passons during Tuesday night’s meeting. “Instead of looking at this many sites, all of a sudden we get to stretch that out and look at a bunch more.”
Under the changes made by the council on Tuesday, the city will be able to consider sites that don’t have running water. The sites, however, will be supplemented by portable toilets and mobile showers. In addition, safe parking sites for RV dwellers will no longer require vehicles with functioning heating systems. The city maintains minimum public health and building safety standards will be adhered to.