Housing For All (Part 7)

Since my last housing post in July 2025, Gilroy has made strides to plan and promote housing opportunities for our community that are typically more affordable. The State recently released new income guidelines, a household of one whose income is $113,700 is considered low income. The same is true for a household of four who earns $162,400. We continue to lag behind other cities in housing supply and we need to be taking advantage of the many tools before us. We are in a housing crisis and the dream of owning a home is not a realistic opportunity for everyone. We need to continue to promote all housing options and solutions that benefit everyone. 

Gilroy must continue to promote the development of more housing for all income levels while looking at creative policies and funding through our local control to make them more livable, access to transit, bikeable, and walkable. I support Gilroy's accessory dwelling unit (ADU) program in single-family and multi-family residential lots, while having the additional option for junior accessory dwelling units. As more residents want to age in place, having the option to move into a smaller unit on your property while being able to rent out the larger home, allows income and stability for you to stay in your neighborhood. The building of ADU’s in multi-family developments like in single-family lots provides additional needed housing by infill. Our housing crisis is not going away soon, while our unhoused population continues to rise. Around the Downtown area there are many examples of 2-5-unit complexes and these types of units are needed for the “missing middle" income earners. I am proud of the housing plan that Gilroy City Council, Planning Commission, Staff, and the Public approved in 2023. It will create programs to build rental/owner opportunities like duplexes, triplexes, and fourplexs. 

Now is where the true work and evaluation will take place. Empowered through our local control, we will implement these programs and follow through with what we have promised to our residents. Approved in 2021 through our local control, we have an objective design standards policy that provides applicants and developers with a clear understanding of the City’s expectations for mixed-use and multi-family residential project design. We have 40 opportunity sites identified in our Housing Element where we will build multi-family units, Downtown Expansion District and First Street Mixed-Use Corridor flexibility program, 429 corner lots for the middle income housing program, housing for farmworkers program, inclusionary housing ordinance, and each program listed here. Through incentives, funding, local control, and programs we offer with our partners, this will allow us to further a Gilroy that’s livable for all. Improving our infrastructure is always on my mind, and that’s why year-to-date my office has worked with our state and federal legislators to secure $5.2 million for project funding that directly benefits our residents, from a bike/ped trail extension on the westside, San Ysidro Park on the eastside, and an enhanced crosswalk for senior housing on the southside.

We have identified programs where the city will go farther with incentives to develop residential units in our Downtown Expansion District and First Street Mixed-Use Corridor. In exchange for this flexibility, the city may require that a certain percentage of units are dedicated to extremely low-income households, farmworkers, persons with disabilities, or other identified groups. We have the current capacity to build over the next five years and align with our State and region's long-range plan for housing, transportation, economy and the environment, known as the Plan Bay Area 2050. It calls for creating compact walkable communities by promoting high-density housing and mixed-use development near transit stations and in existing urban areas. 

We can't grow or consider ourselves equitable and diversified in housing type when 75% of our land is zoned for single family homes. This may have worked in the past, but now that these homes are out of reach for most families, we need to continue our course correct. We can continue to create a diversified housing stock to meet the needs of our residents. Our Housing Element 2023-2031 contains programs to build missing middle housing (this translates to rental opportunities, duplexes, triplexes, and four-plexes, a technical way for saying smaller homes that are more naturally affordable). 

Gilroy's Planning Commission and City Council approved 40 Opportunity Sites that we are planning to build housing on. (See above and on Page 320 of the 6th and Final Draft) 

The Opportunity Site selection process examined zoned capacity, existing uses, and recent development trends to determine which parcels to include to meet the remaining RHNA after considering pipeline projects and ADUs. Both vacant and non-vacant sites are included in the Opportunity Sites Inventory. The opportunity site selection process took site characteristics, surrounding uses, and development constraints into consideration when evaluating each site’s development potential. Housing Opportunity Sites on Google Maps

The City of Gilroy's Housing and Community Services Division focuses on housing efforts, public service grants, unhoused efforts, below market rate home ownership programs, and is a resource to connect Gilroy residents to homebuyer assistance programs, accessory dwelling unit (ADU) programs, emergency housing, unhoused services, rental assistance, tenant/landlord services, and mortgage relief assistance. The Division implements the Community Development Block Grant (CDBG) funds from the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development of Housing and Community Development (HCD), and the City's Housing Trust Fund (HTF). These funds assist Gilroy's vulnerable communities and create safe and healthy neighborhoods for all.  

The Housing and Community Services Division collaborates with Santa Clara County Office of Supportive Housing (OSH) and other partners to develop affordable housing such as the one at 8th/Alexander St, including partnering on community outreach, communication, and development processes from beginning to completion. The Division works with OSH on Permanent Local Housing Allocation (PLHA) funding process, allocation, and implementation of grant funding for nonprofit service providers to assist Gilroy's vulnerable communities, unhoused individuals, and families who are experiencing, or at risk, homelessness. Through conducting monthly meetings with Gilroy's Unhoused Service Providers Network, the Division works to increase collaboration and partnership among service providers and the City of Gilroy to connect the unhoused with services. To expand community outreach and education on housing resources, the Division partners with Community Based Organizations (CBO) to host workshops to inform residents of assistance programs and funding opportunities, on a monthly basis on average.  

The City places a high priority on providing quality housing opportunities for all residents. The creation of this focused Division within the Community Development Department, and establishing the Housing and Community Services Manager position, will enable the City to make more concentrated efforts on affordable housing production, preservation, and protection of residents. The Housing and Community Services Manager will provide a higher level of expertise and lead a Division focusing on housing functions. With the Division consisting of the Manager and Technician position, the Division will implement projects and programs to address housing needs for a diverse community and provide assistance to families and individuals that are experiencing, or at risk of, homelessness. 

Several plans and policies including a Transportation Demand Management (TDM), Vehicle Mile Traveled (VMT), and Climate Action Plan are currently being drafted. These will help enhance all of our developments to shift modes of transportation and connect them to transit in line with our General Plan 2040. Gilroy’s multi-modal transportation infrastructure consists of buses, trains, bikes, scooters, and walking. While there might be portions of our city that are isolated from transit, there are many ways to continue to draw residents towards transit. Gilroy has a fully connected bike network and transit options. Many residents are employed outside of Gilroy, but we have a large population that work, play, attend school, and are retired in Gilroy. They benefit from local transit and rideshare. Gilroy has the vision that the glass is half full, and we have the ability to innovate and adapt to programs that will further reduce our VMT. We are providing year-round education and encouragement through County Measure B funds. We have programs and policies that promote our community leaving their car at home and choosing to walk/bike/roll/ and take transit. This helps teach our residents safe walking and biking skills, reduces traffic and air pollution, and helps you get more physical activity.  

In 2026, the Area Median Income (AMI) for a four-person household in Santa Clara County, as defined by the California Department of Housing and Community Development (HCD) is $205,500. Based on this, the following are the income limits for the 5 affordable housing categories (family of four):

                                         • Acutely Low Income (ALI) 0–15% AMI $0– $30,850

                                      • Extremely Low Income (ELI) 15–30% AMI $30,851– $61,650

                                         • Very Low Income (VLI) 31–50% AMI $61,651–$102,750

                                         • Low Income (LI) 51–80% AMI $102,751– $162,400

                                         • Moderate Income 81–120% AMI $162,401- $246,600

                                         • Above Moderate- Above 120% AMI $246,601 +

Above is an updated chart that shows our progress in meeting our RHNA numbers. This is year 3 of our 8 year housing plan. While 29 ADU's (105 overall) is good progress, our production of much needed housing for all continues to fall behind schedule. Data comes from our March 16, 2026 City Council Agenda. 

Every March city staff presents to City Council our General Plan 2040 and Housing Element Annual Progress Report (APR) before sending it to State HCD. This is the third year reporting on our Housing Element (2023-2031). After reviewing the City of Gilroy Annual Progress Report (APR) 2025, my office remains concerned that we are failing to implement programs and aren’t making enough progress towards our housing goals. I have several concerns about this APR being accepted by the State Department of Housing and Community Development (HCD) that are also shared by Community Based Organizations (CBO’s), residents, and local leaders. We are decades behind in our housing production because of current constraints, lack of programs, policies, and funding. Memo my office drafted for the APR 2025.

The annual SB 423 (formerly SB 35) list based on past housing performance was published June 2026 and contains cities and counties subject to SB 423 streamlining provisions when proposed developments include ≥ 50% affordability. Gilroy is one of the jurisdictions that has insufficient progress toward their lower income RHNA (Very Low and Low income) and are therefore subject to the streamlined ministerial approval process (SB 423 Streamlining Chapter 778, Statutes of 2023) for proposed developments with at least 50% affordability.  

The State Department of Housing and Community Development (HCD) reinforced the fact that they no longer consider the Housing Element Update to be a paper exercise, but instead a contract between jurisdictions and the state on housing commitments for eight-and-a-half years. To this end, HCD’s Housing Accountability Unit will be monitoring implementation and will hold jurisdictions to the commitments laid out in the Housing Element’s plan. HCD detailed how they will not accept the rationale that the lack of subsidies for affordable housing development is an insurmountable impediment to fulfilling housing commitments. Instead, they advised jurisdictions to find ways to spur development through land use reforms and additional financing mechanisms. These might include adopting a strong local density bonus program, an inclusionary housing ordinance with a robust in-lieu fee structure, or other impact fees as a mechanism to support affordable housing development. HCD also recommended looking into ways of lowering costs by deferring or waiving fees and taxes, which we have done.

The City of Gilroy and Gilroy City Council have made huge steps towards housing for all residents since I took office in December 2020. Data from our Housing Element shows 21% of households are considered extremely low-income, making less than 30% of AMI. Thirty-eight percent of our population is 24 years old or younger and they live, play, go to school, and work in Gilroy. The consequences of failing to effectively and aggressively confront this crisis is hurting thousands of our residents, robbing future generations of the chance to call Gilroy home, stifling economic opportunities for workers and businesses, worsening poverty and homelessness, and undermining our environmental and climate objectives.

Moving Gilroy Forward 2026

To my council colleagues, city staff, and the public I am very excited to be a part of the many changes coming to Gilroy this year. Legislating policy in house often doesn't require budget allocations, and many of the best practices are already open sourced. We have many policies and practices that will continue to be updated to 2026 standards. The entire community was a part of the Gilroy General Plan 2040 process in late 2020. It was approved by the General Plan Advisory Committee, Planning Commission, and City Council, along with a full Environmental Impact Report (EIR). We planned for growth and have detailed plans to address everything inside the General Plan 2040. The General Plan 2040 represents the City of Gilroy’s view of its future, expresses the community’s vision, local control, and guiding principles for development. The Zoning Code Ordinance is the script of how those visions will unfold.

With our 2026-2027 legislative work plan already established, the Gilroy City Council will dive right into many items that need to be completed in 2026. Once the new City Council is seated after the November 2026 election, a new legislative work plan will be established. Along with several new housing laws that make it quicker and easier to build all types of housing, I will be focusing on our Zoning Ordinance (Bike Parking, Noise Impacting Residentially Zoned Properties), Smoking Prevention, Inclusionary Housing Ordinance, Accessory Dwelling Units, Opportunity Sites/Programs in our Housing Element 2023-2031, Gilroy Blue Skies, Safe Storage of Firearms, Community Plan to End Homelessness, Transit Priority Policy, Plan for the Multi-Generational Center and Civic Center Master Plan, and State Legislative Bills. 

I am in full support of laying the groundwork for a Civic Center Master Plan and building a civic center park and multi-generational community center that is for all ages. The focus on a free safe place for our youth to have after school and on the weekends is a top priority for me. The City of Gilroy and Gilroy Unified School District have many facilities that are and can be used by the community for free, and that’s why I established a Joint Use Facilities Working Group. At our Joint Meeting on February 4 we moved forward with the direction provided back to our agencies to work on two upcoming expiring facility agreements at the former MACSA Gym on IOOF and Christopher High School Gym, GUSD’s Cross County Regional League at Christmas Hill Park, draft a master joint use facility agreement, and explore several new opportunities. 

We have the opportunity today to continue this partnership and come to a mutually beneficial agreement for the community at-large. With in mind that both of our agencies want to remain fiscally strong, while potentially placing future district and city facility bonds on the ballot for our voters. All while balancing the District's declining enrollment and a growing overall population in the City. We have the opportunity to develop programming and provide spaces for the public with no barriers now.

The City recently approved and funded the Recreation Assessment and Parks and Trails Master Plan with direction to include the current Joint Use Agreements with the District's feedback. We want to increase the size of our recreational opportunities to the community, increase the size of the recreation guide we all receive in the mail, and support you all on the Parks and Recreation Commission, who are aligned with this direction and many of our initiatives have begun with you all. 

Gilroy has a once in a generation opportunity to shape what they want to experience in their Civic Center. Gilroy deserves this opportunity to transform the Civic Center outdoor space, build a state of the art Community Center for all ages, build a state of the art City Hall, and we need input from all ages. Gilroy is in need of a central location for youth services; gathering spaces for large groups or events; and a year-round space to offer recreation and community events. We need a City Hall where our city staff can thrive in their workspace and a place where our elected officials and city commissions can host their meetings and public events in a state of the art Council Chambers. Our residents and customers deserve a state of the art experience when they come into City Hall for permits, plans, pay a bill, or interact with staff and elected officials. I encourage residents to think big in your input for future Civic Center recreation and a Civic Center Park and outdoor spaces.

In 2026, we have many public and private partnership opportunities coming before the council. I’m very confident that staff will continue to find grant funding opportunities that directly benefit all of our residents. I’d like to find some common ground when it comes to housing for all, climate action, planning our multi-generational community center/civic center, updating master plans, further streamlining of the permit process, and most important our human capital or our employees. Many of these issues we can’t solve alone, and we need to leverage partnerships that currently exist and be flexible when it comes to new partnerships. 

The consequences of failing to effectively and aggressively confront our housing crisis is hurting thousands of our residents, robbing future generations of the chance to call Gilroy home, stifling economic opportunities for workers and businesses, worsening poverty and homelessness, and undermining our environmental and climate objectives. Thankfully millions of dollars in funding have continued to pour into Gilroy to help our most vulnerable address their rent burden. We continue to use our local control in streamlining the development process, implement our General Plan 2040, and streamline a process making it predictable to those that want to develop and invest in Gilroy. 

I am proud of the future housing plan that Gilroy City Council, Planning Commission, Staff, and the Public have approved. We commit to advancing the 40 opportunity sites for multi-family homes, downtown expansion district and first street mixed-use corridor flexibility program, 429 corner lots for the middle income housing program, housing for farmworkers program, and our inclusionary housing ordinance. Through incentives, funding, local control, and programs we can offer with other partners, this will further a Gilroy that’s livable for all. 

After a year of negotiations and a continued lawsuit by the developer against the City of Gilroy for violating state housing law rights, we have approved a Project Processing Agreement and Architectural & Site Review Application for 315 Las Animas Ave. Builder's Remedy Residential Project. The developers lawsuit dropped, City of Gilroy will receive $4,000,000 as a public benefit that's unrestricted, and the developer will pay for a Murray-Las Animas Neighborhood Master Plan. This allows Gilroy to receive critical infrastructure dollars and workforce housing.
The City of Gilroy is participating in a multi-city initiative to explore new affordable housing policies to be applied to new development projects. These policy studies include some combination of residential affordable housing impact fees, inclusionary requirements and in-lieu fees, and commercial linkage fees. 

After reviewing the City of Gilroy Annual Progress Report (APR) 2025, my office remains concerned that we are failing to implement programs and aren’t making enough progress towards our housing goals. I have several concerns about this APR being accepted by the State Department of Housing and Community Development (HCD) that are also shared by Community Based Organizations (CBO’s), residents, and local leaders. We are decades behind in our housing production because of current constraints, lack of programs, policies, and funding. State HCD reinforced the fact that they no longer consider the Housing Element Update to be a paper exercise, but instead a contract between jurisdictions and the state on housing commitments for eight-and-a-half years. To this end, HCD’s Housing Accountability Unit will be monitoring implementation and will hold jurisdictions to the commitments laid out in the Housing Element’s plan. 

We reached the end of the fifth year of my Student Internship Program, and I am incredibly proud of what they have accomplished. The work they do is essential to my platform, and I could not do it without them. From the OP-Ed’s they write to defend the defenseless, hold the powerful accountable, and attend meetings on behalf of my office. They are all maturing to make this community a better place. Young people are essential to our civic discourse, and I am proud to have my students lead the charge.

My work making the City Council accountable continues with a publicly available voting record, so that we can all see how your council member voted on issues that matter to you. You can find this on my website at www.zachhilton.com located under the legislative section. In addition, you can try and change the law as you see fit. For the first time in Gilroy history my office created a program called “Their Ought to Be a Law”, where residents have the opportunity to get involved with the legislative process. The Gilroy City Council should not be cloaked in an aura of secrecy, it should be a matter of public participation. Residents don’t feel a sense of community and belonging if they perceive members of the City Council as an exclusive club. We commit to offering transparent paths to leadership positions, along with inviting and seeking different perspectives. 

Gilroy City Council made history by transitioning from At-Large to District Elections. Gilroy will get to directly elect through Districts on the November 2026 ballot, where Districts 4, 5, and 6 will be open for candidates to file from July 13-August 7. 

The progress and accomplishments of my office are available on my website under the about section and I will continue to engage with you in English/Spanish. My office sponsored, tabled, hosted a booth, and attended over 100 community events in 2025. Provided free resources, bike lights, bike helmets, and listened to constituents, at events including La Ofrenda Festival, Registrar of Voters High School Education Events, Free Bike Repair and Bike Days, Nueva Vida Community Election Candidate Forums, and School Family Resource Fairs. There were numerous press releases and Op-Eds issued and published to keep the public in the loop. There was endless support and testimonies on many important state legislative bills that decreased the cost and time of much needed affordable housing (SB79). 

Gilroy City Council committee assignments have a regional participation, and my position as Director for Silicon Valley Clean Energy allowed me to be a part of developing programs that will benefit all in Gilroy. Safe communities are climate resilient communities. Since 2017, Silicon Valley Clean Energy, or SV Clean Energy, has served our residents and businesses with clean energy while saving them money. In total, more than 96% of Gilroy residents and businesses served by SV Clean Energy have collectively saved more than $11.6 million on their electricity bills since launching. And this number will continue to grow as SV Clean Energy is a not-for-profit public agency that reinvests net revenues to the community through competitive rates, unique offers and services, rebates, community grants and scholarships. The Board of Directors is made up of electeds from each community, and I have been our appointed Gilroy representative since 2021. 

SV Clean Energy launched $12 million dollars of program funding for our Multi-Family Direct Install Program and built into the program are tenant protections referred to as "renovictions". Gilroy has the largest number of 100% deed restricted low-income units at 1,770 in SV Clean Energy’s affordable housing stock. I look forward to continuing this work with SV Clean Energy, consultants, and local community based organizations in completing their project in Gilroy. 

I have been serving on the Valley Transportation Authority Policy Advisory Committee since 2023. I have brought funding or collaboration opportunities back to Gilroy through their Transit-Oriented Communities Program and Transit Signal Priority. This new program seeks to maximize mixed-use and mixed-income equitable Transit-Oriented Development projects on both public and private sites around VTA transit stations and high capacity transit corridors. Local jurisdictions have the power to improve travel speed, reliability, and overall appeal of public transit by adopting transit signal priority policies that prioritize transit at intersections along VTA’s Frequent Network routes or Gilroy's VTA Frequent 68 route along the Monterey corridor. The FTA and VTA funded a combined $1.125 million dollars that will fuel a community-centered Station Area Plan, focused on planning out the downtown area where the Gilroy Transit Center is located. The plan will prioritize multi-modal transportation, pedestrian and bicycle access, and mixed-use development.

VTA has an active Transit-Oriented Development (TOD) program, which partners with developers to build TOD projects on VTA-owned properties at transit stations. These TOD sites serve as gateways to the VTA transit system, offering significant potential to attract new transit riders. To ensure the future developments preserve and enhance station access from the surrounding community, VTA conducts access studies for station sites identified in the TOD pipeline.

Gilroy Transit Center is a key hub for multiple transit options, including VTA bus routes, San Benito County Express, Monterey- Salinas Transit (MST), Greyhound, and commuter shuttles. The VTA-owned 7.8-acre site on the west side of the tracks is identified for future mixed-used, mixed-income TOD, will be a critical component of transforming the future station site and contribute to Gilroy’s Regional Housing Needs Allocation (or RHNA) of 1,773 units by 2031.

Year-to-date my office has worked with our state and federal legislators to secure $5.2 million for project funding that directly benefits our residents from the westside, eastside, and a senior housing project on the southside. We attended many more regional and local meetings representing an elected office from Gilroy, and in my absence, my student interns would take my place in these meetings. I attended every opportunity I got in order to gain professional development and training through both webinars, and in-person training. 

At our December 2025 City Council meeting, I was nominated by the Mayor and confirmed by members of the City Council to serve in the expanded role as Vice Mayor. I am excited to have this opportunity and to be in this supportive role. One of the first actions I did was convert an empty office in the Administration Wing of City Hall into a shared office space for City Council Members. This revitalized office next to the Mayor's Office offers a working space for Council Members, host a meeting, attend remote regional meetings, and have a more visible presence at City Hall.

The Arts are alive in Gilroy. Today we have a monthly Arts Roundtable, Third Friday Art Walk, Chalk Fest, La Ofrenda Festival, La Casa on 5th St and doors continue to open. The City of Gilroy celebrates the role that the arts and creativity play in helping us navigate a pandemic, amplify the need for racial equity, and highlight the power of the arts to change our lives for the better. The Gilroy Arts & Culture Commission and SV Creates work in partnership to support the arts and creativity in Gilroy as an essential part of our thriving community. 

SV Creates partners locally with the Gilroy Arts & Culture Commission and Gilroy Arts Roundtable to include the City of Gilroy with a network of leaders who care about the resilience of our arts ecosystem and its impact to our community. They are conveners, promoters, incubators, and funders of the arts with a mission to elevate Silicon Valley’s creative culture. The City of Gilroy recognizes that the arts and creativity support student success and life-long learning, provide key job skills, and bring joy to our community while strengthening our connections; and values partnering with SV Creates and State-level organizations to promote unified support for the arts.

The annual Downtown Gilroy La Ofrenda Festival brings together a cross section of sponsorships and partnerships from government, education, health, private sector, arts, transportation, culture, non-profits, labor workforce and more. I would like to personally invite you to join us in Downtown Gilroy on October 24, and travel to the festival by bike, bus, walk, or drive. My dreams for a bike/ped/walk/transit oriented festival have come true with the creation of Cycle, Health, and Transit Plaza. Thank you to all the volunteers, sponsors, and organizations that made it come true. 

On behalf of my office, my student interns, and my family, I am excited for the challenges that 2026 has to offer. There are still many things to be addressed, and I am taking them head on. Through the power of public participation, I am confident that 2026 can be one of the best years that Gilroy has ever had.

Traffic Safety, E-Bike, and Pedestrian Awareness Night

Come join us March 27 5:30-7:30pm at Brownell Middle School where the Gilroy Police Department, GUSD, City of Gilroy, Parks & Recreation Commission, and partners will be hosting an e-bike/traffic safety/pedestrian awareness community forum, townhall Q&A, free dinner, and more. Free community event open to all, and all City Council Members and Gilroy Unified School District Trustees invited. 

We have a renewed opportunity to encourage and educate the community on biking, walking, and traffic safety around Gilroy. Gilroy City Council Members, GUSD Board Trustees, GUSD Staff, City Staff, County Staff, and community partners were all on the planning group for this event and we will develop the program to meet the needs of the community. Thanks to the students and community members for volunteering and attending. 

We are actively advancing ideas and projects that promote the concept of free-range people in the City of Gilroy. We advocate for building and planning that considers future generations as well as current residents who don’t own cars. Advancing mobility options reflects what we are teaching the youth in our community through Safe Routes to School and why we are nationally recognized as a Bronze Bicycle Friendly Community from the League of American Bicyclists, as well as recognized by the World Health Organization as an Age-Friendly Community. The City of Gilroy is a Complete Streets and Recreation Destination community by resolution.

Public Invite at City Council Meeting 

Gilroy Moves Safely General Traffic Safety Tips

Gilroy Moves Safely

March 27 Instagram Reel

Gilroy Safe Routes to School Action Plan