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Rezoning would only grow housing demand

Re: “San Jose holds off on bump in density” (Page A1, Aug. 20).

Homes next to mine are being demolished, and monster two-story homes with ADUs are being built. The result: lost privacy, more gridlock.

Higher density is being pushed on us without our consent. Politicians are trying to fulfill the demand for housing by creating more density, which creates more demand, resulting in more density. It’s a loop that feeds on itself. You can’t keep meeting the demand without affecting our quality of life. I can no longer have friends over for a quiet barbecue. Now I have three two-story homes with ADUs peering down on us.

There is a solution. Stop feeding the demand. Politicians don’t like that because it means less revenue and less growth. So what? They’re a revolving cast of characters on an old, rotting calliope, turning and squeaking with doom — devoid of maintenance, desperately in need of a total renovation.

Thomas Sutton
San Jose

Many neighborhoods can’t take more homes

Re: “San Jose holds off on bump in density” (Page A1, Aug. 20).

When a builder plans a development, the supporting infrastructure is designed specifically for that neighborhood and the type of buildings approved. Squeezing more homes onto a lot where the surrounding area is single-family units is insane.

The roads, parking, electrical projections and expected water use don’t magically expand because a parcel is rezoned. The city is trying to convert a 5-seat sedan to a 12-passenger van by merely adding seat belts. The quality of life for everyone goes down — the new tenants, as well as the original homeowners.

David Wilkins
San Jose

City fails accountability test with animal shelter

Mayor Matt Mahan campaigned up and down the state telling voters that the city of San Jose is a great model for the state because the city holds staff accountable.

However, after a Maddie’s Fund audit of the San Jose Animal Care Center in 2022, a scathing 133-page City audit in 2024 and now a Civil Grand Jury investigation and report in 2026, not to mention a civil lawsuit filed against the city earlier this year by a volunteer and former partner of the shelter, the city manager has never fired a single shelter director, nor has any disciplinary action been taken after a dozen ethics violation complaints were filed with the city manager focusing on director incompetence, negligence, malfeasance and even a violation of the Hayden Act.

Shockingly, the city of San Jose refuses to hold highly paid directors accountable.

Michael Wagner
Morgan Hill

CSU should streamling return of native remains

San Jose State University continues to maintain a large collection of human remains. The process for non-federally recognized tribes leaves a difficult process that should be streamlined so returns can be more easily done across the entire California State University system, which consists of 23 campuses, most continuing to have remains.

All individuals deserve a dignified burial of their choosing, regardless of their ancestry.

Dylan Singletary
San Jose

Federal bill on retail theft takes wrong tack

Organized retail theft is a real problem, but the Combating Organized Retail Crime Act (CORCA) takes the wrong approach. It would create a new coordination center within Homeland Security Investigations, expanding DHS’s role in domestic law enforcement and raising legitimate concerns about surveillance, civil liberties and oversight.

We should distinguish sophisticated criminal organizations from ordinary shoplifting. The Council on Criminal Justice reports that reported shoplifting in 21 cities was about 4% lower in 2025 than in 2019, and most incidents involved only one or two people.

Rather than expanding federal surveillance and punishment, we should target organized theft rings through focused law-enforcement cooperation, regulate online resale marketplaces, and invest in effective prevention. For individuals whose theft is connected to poverty, addiction or other circumstances, diversion and support may prevent future harm more effectively than incarceration.

Anthony Villano
Scotts Valley

Chances abound to make the world better

“Great opportunities to help people seldom come, but small ones surround us every day,” Sally Koch said.

We saw this when Minneapolis citizens helped drive children to and from school, and brought meals to families afraid to leave home because of ICE; and again when individuals banded together to protest conditions at ICE detention facilities and construction of AI data centers.

Let’s exit our protective shells to help ensure free, democratic elections. Reach out to family, friends, even strangers. Encourage them to exercise their right to vote. Remind them they can freely vote; many cannot. Work with groups trying to keep state control of elections. Volunteer to monitor a polling place.

If you’re unwilling or unable to engage in these ways, then visit the elderly or work at a food bank as ways to do good. Let’s take a novel approach, working in small ways to make America a better place for everyone.

Lorraine D’Ambruoso
San Jose