SAN JOSE HOUSING

A
Affordable Housing
AMI – Area Median Income

B
Blight
BMR – Below Market Rate

C
Community Development Block Grant (CDBG):
CEQA – The California Environmental Quality Act. In general, CEQA requires that all private and public projects be reviewed prior to approval for their potential adverse effects upon the environment.
City Council: A city’s legislative body. The City Council is comprised of the Mayor, who is elected by the community at-large, and ten councilmembers who are elected by districts. They are responsible for enacting ordinances, imposing taxes, making appropriations, establishing policy, and hiring some city officials. The Council adopts the local general plan, zoning, and subdivision ordinance.

D
Disinvestment
Displacement

E
Environmental Impact Report (EIR): A detailed review of a proposed project, its potential adverse impacts upon the environment, measures that may avoid or reduce those impacts, and alternatives to the project. 
Extremely Low Income (ELI): zero to 30% of Area Median Income (AMI)

F
Fair Housing
Fannie Mae
Federal Housing Admnistration (FHA)
Freddie Mac

G
General Plan: A statement of policies, including text and diagrams setting forth objectives, principles, standards, and plan proposals, for the future physical development of the city.

H
Historic Preservation
Hope VI
Housing Element Law
Housing Project (“the projects”)

I
Inclusionary Zoning
Infill Development

J

K

L
Land Use: Description of what physical structures are actually on a piece of land, as well as what types of activities commonly take place on it. Some land use examples are housing, commercial activities, industrial uses, and parkland. Land use planning determines where specific structures/activities should be located.

M
Mixed-Use Development
Multi- versus Single-Family Housing

N
New Urbanism
Nonprofit Housing Developers

O

P
Planning: The process by which public agencies, mostly local governments, determine the intensity and geographical arrangements of various land uses in a community.
Planning Commission: A group of seven residents appointed by the City Council to consider land use planning matters. The commission’s duties and powers are established by the City Council and might include hearing proposals to amend the general plan or rezone land, initiating planning studies (road alignments, identification of seismic hazards, etc.), and taking action on proposed subdivisions.
Public Housing:

Q

R
Redevelopment Agency
Redlining
Restrictive Covenants

S
Section 8 Housing
Single Room Occupancy Hotels (SROs)
Slum Clearance and Urban Renewal (Housing Act of 1949)
Smart Growth
Specific Plan: A plan addressing land use distribution, open space availability, infrastructure, and infrastructure financing for a portion of the community. Specific plans put the provisions of the general plan into action.
Subdivision: The division of one piece of property into more than one piece of property. The primary purpose of subdividing land is to be able to sell one piece of land to multiple people.

T
Tax Credits

U
U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD)
Urban Planning

V
Variance: A limited waiver from the property development standards of the zoning ordinance. Variance requests are subject to public hearing, usually before the Director of Planning, Building, and Code Enforcement, but sometimes also by the Planning Commission and/or City Council. Variances do not allow a change in land use.

W

X

Y

Z
Zoning: Local codes regulating the use and development of property. The zoning ordinance divides the city or county into land use districts or “zones” represented on zoning maps, and specifies the allowable uses within each of those zones. It establishes development standards for each zone, such as minimum lot size, maximum height of structures, building setbacks, and yard size.