Settlement clears way for new homes near Santana Row

SAN JOSE – Residents of Winchester Ranch Mobile Home Park and developer Pulte Homes reached a settlement Thursday in a long-running dispute over the re-development the 16-acre park adjacent to the Winchester Mystery House.

The agreement will guarantee housing for more than 100 senior residents — many retired teachers and public workers — and clear the way for the construction of nearly 700 new apartments and condominiums.

San Jose Mayor Sam Liccardo said in a statement the settlement “protects the residents of Winchester Ranch Mobile Home Park, while also allowing development of additional housing amid our city’s housing crisis.”

The project could add hundreds of homes to the bustling commercial corridor near Santana Row, helping San Jose officials push toward an aggressive goal to build 25,000 new homes by 2022. It also would be a rare new, large residential project in Santa Clara County.

Nadia Aziz, directing attorney at Law Foundation of Silicon Valley who represented the residents, said the agreement could be used as a template if other mobile home parks are redeveloped. San Jose has 59 parks, the most in the state, which are home to about 35,000 residents.

In the middle of a shortage of affordable housing in the Bay Area “here’s a way for us to build additional housing but prevent displacement,” Aziz said.

Vice Mayor Chappie Jones, whose district encompasses the property, said the agreement will offer a roadmap for future redevelopment “while adding to San Jose’s much needed growth.”

Under the settlement, residents will be allowed to move into on-site replacement housing at the same rent, she said. Rent increases will also be limited under state guidelines.

Pulte Homes has proposed building four-story condos and townhomes on the property, with seven-story apartment buildings along Winchester Boulevard. The plans include parks and pedestrian and bike trails. The developer has met with residents and held public meetings on the development.

Dan Carroll, a vice president at Pulte Homes, said the collaboration was an important milestone. “This community is now one step closer to beginning its development,” he said in a statement.

The project needs city planning and environmental approval. Construction is not expected to begin for at least another year. The building will be done in phases, and should allow for park residents to gradually move into new housing.

Residents choosing to stay can move into new, two-bedroom, 1,200 square foot condos at the same cost as their current rent, Aziz said. Residents choosing to leave will be given moving costs and two years of rental assistance, she said.

Bob Staedler, principal executive with the land-use and planning consultancy Silicon Valley Synergy, said the settlement seems fair.

“San Jose does need to grow up and not out,” Staedler said, “and this settlement hopefully will show a path forward.”

While the concessions from Pulte Homes are “remarkable,” he continued, the land near Santana Row is “an A location.”

Winchester Ranch is the city’s first conversion of a mobile home park into residential housing, according to the law foundation.

Residents have been fighting displacement for more than six years, and have been negotiating with Pulte Homes since 2016.

Dave Johnsen, president of the Winchester Ranch Senior Homeowners Association, said many residents, some in their 90s, struggle to make rent payments of $900 to $1,000 a month.

The settlement prevented many from becoming homeless, he said. “We’re ending up with the residents of the park getting replacement housing,” Johnsen said. “I’m very happy with the agreement.”

Staff writer Emily DeRuy contributed to this report.

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