PBCE NEWS
February 2026
Updates from the Department of Planning, Building & Code Enforcement
Get your permits faster—right in your neighborhood
If you’ve been thinking about a home project but aren’t sure where to start with permitting, check out Pop-Up Permits. City staff issued several permits on the spot at our last event at Almaden Ranch Library. Building Inspectors and permit specialists spent time answering neighbors’ questions, reviewing project plans, and walking through the permitting process step by step.
What’s in it for you?
You get clear guidance that can save you time, money, and stress. Whether you’re replacing a water heater or planning a small home improvement, understanding the permit process upfront can help your project go smoothly.
The next Pop-Up Permits is March 21 at the Berryessa Community Center.
Help shape the future of San José: General Plan 4-Year Review
Have you ever wondered how the City plans for housing, transportation, parks, and jobs? San José’s General Plan guides those decisions and residents play an important role in shaping it. City planners are currently in the middle of our General Plan 4-year Review, taking a closer look at several parts that may need an update since it was first adopted in 2011.
We want you to understand the process and have created a new set of short, easy-to-watch videos that explain:
- What the General Plan is
- Four focus areas including Urban Villages, Residential Capacity, Missing Middle Housing and Jobs to Employed Residents Ratio
- Why these topics matter to your neighborhood and daily life
- How you can share input and help guide future planning decisions
Your input in the review process will influence how our community grows—where housing is built, how streets and transit work, and how services are planned for the future.
New rules are changing where housing can be built. We’re exploring what that means for San José.
As San José grows and receives more housing rules from the state, PBCE’s Planning Division is exploring how to create a more accessible and sustainable city for everyone. Planners are looking at how requirements to put more housing near major transit stations will impact neighborhoods, residents and the city as a whole.
These changes are guided by new state laws designed to make it easier to build housing close to transit, jobs, and everyday destinations. One of those laws, Senate Bill (SB 79), was passed in October and takes effect July 1.
So what does this mean for our city?
SB 79 requires San José to allow taller, higher-density housing near major transit stops like BART, Caltrain, and VTA Light Rail. Within a half-mile of many of these stations, new residential buildings could range from 5 to 9 stories, bringing more homes within walking distance of reliable transit.
The new housing options could mean better access to transit, and communities designed to reduce long commutes and transportation costs. PBCE Director Chris Burton and our team recently presented a memo to City Council about the challenges and opportunities legislation like SB 79 pose for our city.
Code Enforcement champions better service to our community
Our Code Enforcement Division is taking steps to better serve the city through a new operations assessment focused on improving overall operations and service delivery including how cases are handled from start to finish. As this work moves forward, we’re already seeing positive results, including more consistent progress in resolving cases and supporting compliance.
By identifying what’s working well and where processes can be improved, implementing the assessment recommendations is expected to help create clearer pathways to compliance, faster case resolution, and a more sustainable approach to managing code enforcement citywide.
These efforts are already making a difference. Over the past year, inspectors have shown measurable improvement in responding to customer complaints and moving cases through the enforcement process (with compliance orders up 30%). They are working with property owners on resolution and closing cases quickly. The services are critical to the safety and wellbeing of our community.
