The San José community and San José City Council discussed future legislative efforts and priorities of the administration for 2024 on Tuesday afternoon.
Planning out what sort of strategic support will be provided to continue to improve the harmonious safety and livability of the city.
Sarah Zarate, director of the Office of Administration, Policy and Intergovernmental Relations said the office published a report summarizing all the work the administration has actively done since July 2023.
“Our work is about partnerships, networks and collaboration,” Zarate said.
Zarate said since July, working with both internal and external teams, the city of San José received over $390 million in various forms of federal, state and regional funding.
She said the office is currently tracking over 395 state and federal bills, many of which, the city of San José has taken an active position on.
Zarate said the office is hoping to jump into new project endeavors striving from the success they gained passing the city-sponsored bill Assembly Bill 645.
Assembly Bill 645 is a bill involving the implementation of automated speed enforcement through a speed safety system pilot program, according to a California Legislative Information website.
Zarate said the Office of Administration, Policy and Intergovernmental Relations aims to help the administration identify the top legislative priorities that best align with potential policies in the legislative program for the upcoming year.
The legislative priorities that the administration hopes to focus on for 2024 are based on policy work, budgets and the anticipated strategic support available, according to a Nov. 17 memorandum from the city of San José.
Supporting Unhoused Residents and Increasing Affordable Housing Supply
This priority plan category will focus on supporting and increasing flexibility in affordable housing and housing services, according to a Nov. 6 memorandum.
It will also focus on local control of land use and ensuring that all communities of color and low-income communities have access to safe and stable housing, according to the same document.
An estimated 764 children and young adults are homeless in Santa Clara County, according to a Nov. 2023 article by the Mercury News.
The legislation aspect of the plan involves current bills such as Senate Bill 1557 and House Bill 3238, aiming to expand and strengthen low-income housing tax credit, which Mayor Matt Mahan has signed a support letter for, according to the same Nov. 17 memorandum.
Councilmember Sergio Jimenez said the housing crisis is one of the most important ongoing issues in San José and deserves legislative attention in hopes of finding tactical solutions.
“This is a very big deal, I really do think that it’s going to remove the key barriers for folks getting into housing, which I think is very important,” Jimenez said.
Rachel VanderVeen, assistant director of the housing department for the city of San José, said the housing department is prepared to meet at the roundtable to pragmatically brainstorm.
“We want to get the word out to everyone that we have a forum ready to go communicate in and come up with solutions,” VanderVeen said.
Enhancing Community Safety
Enhancing community safety is a priority plan for 2024 that aims to support funding and policy change that helps to reduce crime and foster safety in all San José neighborhoods, according to the same Nov. 6 memorandum.
The plan advocates reducing violence as a whole on the streets by implementing traffic safety, further funding pedestrian and bicyclist safety through infrastructure projects and supporting Vision Zero.
Vision Zero is a government-based program by the Metropolitan Transportation Commission with the goal of reducing and eliminating traffic and transportation-related fatalities and increasing safe and equitable mobility for residents, according to a website by the Association of Bay Area governments.
Councilmember Domingo Candelas said he hears and understands public outcry for different forms of safety enforcement in San José and he looks forward to working with, supporting and bolstering different city departments like the San José police department to collectively foster a safe community.
“I think this is huge and can’t be underplayed,” Candelas said. “When we talk about funding for the retail theft prevention and state dollars that bolster our local dollars, to make a difference in our community, I think that's where we have that magnification effect.”
Candelas said he believes proactive teamwork hindrances in the ability to create a safe community can be reduced.
This priority plan will be implemented in San José’s most vulnerable neighborhoods.
Candelas said despite the priority plan’s goal being mitigating the negative impacts of city issues on residents, some residents still have concerns.
Councilmember David Cohen requested a motion to push voting on many of the topics within the priority plans until late December or January
He believes such a big report describing each topic warrants more organization and more time to study and discuss it amongst each other council members and constituents.
“I appreciate the effort and advocacy and I look forward to the conversation that we will have in the future, knowing that there will be agreements and disagreements,” Cohen said.
