\u201cWe got a little bit of what we wanted,\u201d resident Travis Galdieri told San Jos\u00e9 Spotlight. \u201cWhere we are not happy is the grandfathering clause.\u201d<\/p>\n
Galdieri and about 20 other residents have\u00a0banded together to hire an attorney, Richard Drury<\/a>, and are considering legal action against the city to stop the projects that are already approved, which would add 108 homes in the city. They contend the new law requires properties to be vacant before developers start the approval process.<\/p>\n \u201cFor these 16 projects in the pipeline, they are not grandfathered in. You cannot grandfather in an unlawful activity,\u201d Drury said at the council meeting. \u201cNone of them are qualified (under the new law) because none of these parcels were vacant at the time of the application.\u201d<\/p>\n The uproar is the latest tug-of-war between municipalities and the state Legislature, which is pushing for solutions to California\u2019s housing crisis. The result has cities navigating complex new laws, often in face of opposition from residents who don\u2019t want big changes in their communities.<\/p>\n At issue in Campbell is the Starter Homes Revitalization Act, first passed as Senate Bill 684 in 2023 and strengthened by Senate Bill 1123 in 2024, which allows starter homes \u2014 each no bigger than 1,750 square feet \u2014 on vacant lots zoned for single-family homes.<\/p>\n The law, which took effect July 1, 2025, defines vacant lots as \u201chaving no permanent structure, unless the permanent structure is abandoned and uninhabitable,\u201d with a few additional protections for rental property. It deliberately doesn\u2019t specify when the lot must become vacant. If developers can purchase habitable homes to demolish later, then the starter home law would open virtually all California single-family neighborhoods to higher density redevelopment.<\/p>\n Jim Sullivan, a housing developer and Campbell resident, said\u00a0the city faces a tough choice between supporting more housing and avoiding high-density projects that could \u201cstick out like a sore thumb\u201d in the middle of residential neighborhoods.<\/p>\n \u201cStarter homes work, but at certain locations such as corners,\u201d Sullivan told San Jos\u00e9 Spotlight.<\/p>\n The most active pursuer of starter home projects in Campbell is\u00a0AlphaX RE Capital<\/a>, a Cupertino developer, and its affiliated companies, which are behind seven of the already approved projects.<\/p>\n In March, AlphaX organized a formal ribbon-cutting ceremony to mark groundbreaking for a six-home structure called Mercury Lane Townhomes at 300 Redding Road in Campbell.<\/p>\n The townhomes appear to be the first project under the starter home law to break ground anywhere in California, AlphaX said in a news release.<\/p>\n \u201cThis moment is about proving a scalable pathway for starter-home production across California,\u201d CEO Stephanie Yi said in a statement. \u201cOur goal is to help demonstrate that missing-middle housing can move from statute to shovel \u2014 and be replicated in communities throughout the state.\u201d<\/p>\n Campbell is also coping with other state laws that mandate more housing construction, including provisions for high-density housing near public transit stations<\/a> and reduced environmental reviews<\/a>.<\/p>\n![\"\"](\"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ca\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/04\/Campbell-300-Redding-Road-site-1024x768.jpg\")
Mercury Lane Townhomes, at 300 Redding Road in Campbell, is a six-home development being built under the state\u2019s starter home law. Photo by Mike Langberg.<\/p>\n
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