City of San Jose, CA City Council, 8 Feb 2022

Previous Meeting Next Meeting

⏯

youtube image

►

From YouTube: FEB 8, 2022 | City Council Evening Session

Description

City of San José, California
City Council Evening Session of February 8, 2022

Pre-meeting citizen input on Agenda via eComment at https://sanjose.granicusideas.com/meetings.

This public meeting will be accessible via Zoom Webinar. For information on public participation via Zoom, please refer to the linked meeting agenda below.

Agenda https://sanjose.legistar.com/View.ashx?M=A&ID=925956&GUID=6299B49A-8495-498C-B12D-7794E54EE184

A

A

A

B

B

B

B

C

B

Perales, here cohen,.

C

B

Corrosco here davis here esparza here, arenas.

B

Foley mayhem.

D

B

Jones president ricardo.

E

B

E

All right, thank you, tony all, right. Let's uh start with the item that I know many members of the community are waiting for. That's 5.2, the community forest management plan, we're going to a presentation I'll just one of my colleagues will be strictly enforcing the 10-minute limits, so we can try to make sure we can all get to the finish line, having completed our work at midnight. uh So thank you and welcome john and rick. I'm not sure.

F

Who's taking this yeah thanks mayor john risto, director of transportation good evening, uh mayor and council today, we are very pleased to present the community forest management plan, a plan to protect, preserve and plant trees in san jose to improve our urban forestry canopy with me today. To present the plan is rick: scott deputy director infrastructure management in department of transportation, russ hansen with the cd arborist in d.o.t and ryan allen with dudek. He was a principal author of the report before we get started.

F

I just wanted to provide a little bit of background and also thank our many partners that helped us with this. First, the city dot proactively, initiated this independent evaluation of the city's entire tree program.

F

The evaluation was purposely scoped to take a hard look at what the city does well and what needs improvement. We didn't shy away at all from taking this hard look at our practice practices, because we knew we needed to make changes and improvements to reverse the decline in the city's urban forest.

F

We're actually very proud of the work done on the plan and look forward to implementing these changes over the next months and years. Secondly, I do want to thank the many stakeholders and partners who, through their involvement, suggestions and comments, we were able to really strengthen the plan. In particular, thanks goes to our city, forest cal, fire, open space authority, audubon society and many others. So we look forward to working with all of these partners to.

C

F

Preserve plant our way to a robust urban forest for city san jose. So with that, I think russ. Are you ready to start presentation and we're ready to go? Thank you mayor back for the presentation.

G

Sure, thank you, john. I appreciate it. Thank you, mr mayor and the members of the council for letting us kind of have some discussions with you this evening, but uh go ahead and get started with just some basic information here that I think we're all somewhat familiar with. But um you know the slide above is really just meant to represent the many benefits that we receive from our trees.

G

They clean their air by capturing air pollution. They combat climate change by lowering energy demand and reducing co2 in the atmosphere. They capture and clean storm water, reducing the demand on other public infrastructure they've been shown to both improve or improve both physical and mental health and, most critically, for us. You know. Recent studies have shown that the urban environment across california has got 3.3 billion dollars in economic value within its forest.

G

So bottom line is trees, are an integral part of the public infrastructure that provide a significant benefit and increase in value when they're properly maintained over time. Rick. Next one please.

G

Excuse me sorry.

G

So the next slide again just kind of present um the benefits of trees that, when we start to take a little more closely, look a little bit more closely at the benefit. Our trees provide it's important to note that there's a significant difference in the benefits provided by large trees when we compare them to our smaller trees. In fact, for large trees, the benefits can be six to ten six to seven times greater than those provided by small trees.

G

So it really reinforces to us that it's important not just to plant more trees but to ensure that they thrive to maturity and provide the maximum benefits, provide maximum benefits possible me next. One right.

G

So this side here is kind of represents the current composition of our urban forest within san jose. You can see in looking at it in a little bit of detail here that about 90 percent of our commun current community forest is comprised of mostly small to moderately sized trees. That really only 10 of the forest is the large trees that provide that maximum benefit.

G

So this means overall that really we're getting less shade, less storm water, less pollution mitigation and less value from our trees than if we were maintaining them and growing them into maturity where they can provide those benefits. So the key takeaway for me- and all of this is that you know it takes.

H

G

30 years or more for most trees to reach maturity, so it really is critical that we properly design plant and maintain our trees to maximize the benefits that they're providing.

G

G

So this slide here is kind of a uh overview of the community forest management plan itself.

G

It was initiated by the department of transportation in alignment with the strategies I identified in our strategic framework for the san jose community forest master plan.

G

The plan itself was funded by cal fire using climate investment funds and consists of really three major components: a swot or strengths of weaknesses and opportunities and threats, analysis, a strategic work plan and then updates to our tree policy and best practices manual.

G

So the plan itself is meant to provide some guidance for improving the overall city tree programs and is the support document to keep city policies and goals such as the 2040 general plan, climate, smart, green storm, water and dot's vision, zero plan. So, lastly, I just wanted to note um the the current plan itself is viewed by cal fire as one of the biggest steps that we've taken in san jose towards property, foreign.

G

So the overall project itself, um of which the management plan is one component, was a multi-year effort with certain key deliverables that included again the strengths, weaknesses, opportunities and threats. Analysis for the citywide tree programs, an update to the tree policy manual and then other deliverables include. Excuse me a project to plant 200, trees in underserved communities, the development of a tree management database within dot and the completion of a full inventory for the city maintained trees, so findings and recommendations of the swot analysis strategic plan.

G

Our work plan- excuse me, are what we're here to kind of present to you guys today um at this point I'll kind of turn, it over ryan allen with dodec environmental. To present some of those findings from the swot analysis, ryan.

I

Thank you russell and uh council members. It's a pleasure to be here this evening. um Speaking with you all about the community force management plan, as mentioned earlier, um I'm a consulting arborist at urban forester with dudek, I'm an isa certified arborist. I've been doing uh community and urban forestry work for the last 13 years and uh and the lead author for this community forest management plan.

I

As mentioned, the community forest management plan was developed using a very thorough swat analysis of all aspects that relate to management of the community force. The approach that we undertook is very similar to that that we've used in other management plan development projects like the one that we completed for the city of los angeles, the process began. We conducted 15 interviews with representatives from council offices, dot, prns public works planning, building and code enforcement, the office of the city attorney and our city force.

I

We reviewed city ordinances and policies that govern trees on both public and private property. We reviewed related city documents like envision san jose 2040, general plan, climate, smart, san jose urban village plans and the green storm water infrastructure plan to understand how goals of the cfmp can be integrated into those plans as well.

I

We analyzed the city inventory data against urban forest sustainability, metrics like species diversity, age, distribution and health composition to understand the city, managed inventory is resilient to emerging threats and prepared to meet climate change conditions.

I

We analyze the budget, staffing and management practices to discern to determine if the necessary resources are directed towards developing and maintaining a sustainable urban forest and then, finally, we engaged the community through various online meetings and surveys, social media and met with key stakeholders to learn more about the values and priorities of san jose residents.

I

The key findings presented on this slide are the main challenges and opportunities facing the city and progressing towards a sustainable urban force. First, we see that tree count. Tree canopy cover has declined from 15.3 percent to 13.5 percent um over a six-year period from 2012 to 2018..

I

We found that economically disadvantaged communities have fewer trees and an increased vulnerability to environmental and health impacts. Tree staffing and maintenance is underfunded and very low compared to equivalent cities. Urban infill and development practices like limit space for tree canopy growth. There are opportunities for the city and our city force to strengthen and expand its partnership.

I

And, finally, a complete inventory for public space and street trees is needed.

I

This figure represents canopy cover across the city's 10 council districts.

I

20 canopy cover can be considered a baseline for a city like san jose that was developed on land. That was once grassland and chaparral. Otherwise, an area that was not already forested or heavily treed and, as this figure shows, all council districts are below the 20 percent baseline with council districts, 4 and 7 having the lowest canopy cover.

I

This graph represents the canopy cover change by council districts from 2012 to 2018.. The gray line on the chart is 2012, canopy cover and blue line is 2018 canopy cover.

I

This figure represents that all council districts have experienced a loss of canopy coverage during that time period with council districts, 10, 1 and 5 having the greatest loss of canopy cover.

I

The strategic work plan is led by the vision statement and guiding principles that were developed based on consultation with the city and through the community engagement process, to reflect the values and priorities the city and residents have for the community force.

I

The strategies and objectives are directed towards various guiding principles, so the actions the cities takes will meet and establish priority.

I

The strategic work plan identifies the following strategies for creating and maintaining a sustainable urban forest, one streamlining the governance structure, ensuring community for sustainability, supporting diversity, equity and inclusion, funding, the community forest efficient and effective management and standardizing, and improving planning and development, and with that we'll turn it back over to russell.

G

Thank you, ryan. I appreciate it so this side here.

H

Is really kind.

G

Of documenting the various roles that uh the departments and and our nonprofit kind of play within the community forest and managing of the the trees in our forest, as you can see, the management is scattered across multiple departments, creating confusions for both residents, as well as staff alike. So it should be noted that, while many departments have responsibility for trees, dot is currently the only department which has arborists on staff and they're, frequently called upon by these other departments to kind of support their tree related concerns.

G

So we also want to make special note of our non-profit tree planting partner here, our city forest and the role that they play with getting that community outreach and engagement for us, as well as planting trees and helping to get them stewarded so that we get them established really really well. So last thing we would kind of point out on the bottom of the graphic here. Is that noted within the cfmp or the management plan, is the the need potentially for a community forest advisory committee?

G

Among the many things this committee would be taxed with is supporting the review of the structure of this organization as well as kind of determining if consolidation is appropriate or if other governmental agencies have identified a more successful model and then using that to kind of vision, our own model for the city of san jose.

G

So next slide here again talking about our city forest, our city forest was founded in 1994 to advance urban forestry in san jose they've, assisted us by obtaining over 15 million 15 million dollars in urban forestry grants. They've leveraged another 25 million dollars in volunteer time through their planting efforts and otherwise they've educated over 40 000, elementary and middle school students, they've planted over 80 000 trees and shrubs city-wide, and also they operate a community nursery that really supports our tree diversity or our tree species diversity.

G

Efforts that we're trying to accomplish here so next friedrich. Thank you. This one here is really talking about sustainability of the forest through proper maintenance. When it comes to caring for the community forest industry, research has shown that regular pruning is one of the most critical maintenance activities that can be formed. That can be performed to improve sustainability, that regular maintenance leads to a healthy and structurally sound trees that have an opportunity to grow into those large trees.

G

We kind of talked about earlier, and it helps us to identify problems much earlier in the process, reducing both the risk of limb failure, as well as complete tree failure when they're identified much earlier in the process. So while the industry best practice for pruning, excuse me practice for tree pruning on an established tree is about five to seven years. The current estimated pruning cycle for san jose's, trees and public spaces is over a hundred years. In many cases, meaning many of those trees are not going to be proactively pruned or maintained in their lifetime.

G

So, as you can see from the left side of the chart above, there are some other public agencies that we took a look at in california that are closer to the industry standard of five to seven years. In particular, it mentions you know san francisco and sacramento that are very close, if not exceeding that kind of goal, and then los angeles, which is a little further down towards the 10-year cycle.

G

But what really is significant to us when we took a look at this, is that both los angeles and san francisco have previously struggled with issues similar to us and have gone undergone, similar reviews and evaluations and then subsequently received additional support through either their general fund programs or special about special excuse me special ballot measures to improve the sustainability of their forests.

G

So when we dig down into the details of it all and start talking about those maintenance spending needs, this table really kind of breaks it down as to what we see are the current estimated funding, um that's going to be required to adequately implement a comprehensive tree program that includes regular inspection, pruning removal, planting of replacement trees as needed and then as well emergency responses when they do still have failures or otherwise.

G

So if we were to break that down into a little bit more manageable pieces, we can focus currently on the responsive, the trees for which the city of san jose is currently responsible.

G

Those are kind of the blue and yellow columns on the left-hand side there, and we estimate that it's going to take about 3.6 million to four million dollars in annual funding um to deliver this comprehensive and proactive tree maintenance program on about a six year cycle is what we're anticipating right there between the five and seven.

G

So if we take that a little bit further, if the city wishes to take back responsibility for maintenance of the existing street trees, for which they are currently responsible for um it's estimated that an additional, almost 16 million dollars in annual funding would be needed to achieve a six-year cycle for that portion of the program as well.

G

When we talk about tree planting, um you know, ryan had mentioned the the 20 canopy cover goal earlier in the presentation here. What this table does is really kind of show us the the varying sizes of trees that could be used to kind of accomplish that, as you can see, as the tree size increases, the quantity of trees that needed to be planted are is going to decrease. So you know again the larger the tree, the fewer that will need the more benefits that those larger trees are ultimately going to provide.

G

So you know in practice, city of san jose, expects really that we will have to plant both a wide range of small and large species, given the the growing conditions that they would be planted in we've got to be. We need to recognize that and appreciate that and plant appropriately.

G

So we feel like an an aggressive goal, would be to plant between two and five thousand trees on an annual basis to kind of reach that 20 percent canopy in about 30 years.

G

So go a little bit further in terms of the cost to plant and establish a tree. We've taken an opportunity to kind of break that down here for you and show you the current cost that we're paying for tree planting and establishment services.

G

It's really important to ensure that every tree that is planted is able to grow to maturity, because it's more than just digging a hole and planting the tree and providing some occasional watering.

G

Once we've planted a proper species in a good location, it is imperative that we establish establishment services such as watering mulching steak adjustments and young tree pruning on a regular basis for at least the first three years to set this tree up for future success.

G

So, as you can see at the top, as we kind of have broken it down here, depending on the quantity of trees that we're planting and the locations that we're planting them in, we pay anywhere from about 425 to get a tree planted and established to upwards of a thousand dollars or more when we have to plant or establish a new tree in these high traffic, medians and other areas where it takes a little bit more coordination on our park. So when all factors are considered, ultimately, staff needs.

G

Excuse me when all factors consider staff fields of current pricing under the existing ocf master agreement, it is competitive to what other agencies are experiencing, but we will continue to kind of evaluate that approach and to tree planting and we'll return to the neighborhood services and education committee in april to provide an update on what we have found at that point.

G

So beyond that, the outreach that we conducted for the plan, um this is kind of a quick summary of that that, while we obtain substantial insight through our outreach efforts and surveys, it must be noted that covidid protocols had a significant impact on our ability to directly engage a large portion of that community.

G

As such, the community engagement has and will continue to adapt to the changes as staff organizes and collaborates with elected officials, the advisory committee and other key stakeholders, as we move forward with this plan. So as such staff expects to provide annual updates to the t e committee, which will incorporate this feedback and provide updates for our work plan items.

G

So next one here we get into um is kind of our road map that we've developed using the strategic work plan. um This is the primary or preliminary roadmap that was developed um to protect mature trees, where possible, preserve and maintain.

G

Our current inventory and plant, where necessary, the column on the left in yellow text is kind of what we previously discussed in terms of strategies for this strategic work plan and then to the right-hand side are the individual key objectives that we've kind of identified within the plan to move us toward a more sustainable community for us. um You know to take this opportunity and point out a few key objectives there that are highlighted in the teal.

G

We expect to kind of focus on those over the next couple years, depending on the feedback that we're receiving, but ultimately just to mention a few of those. It really is about consolidating the tree maintenance responsibilities. It's about increasing the canopy cover in our underserved communities, our areas within the city and then improving the protection and preservation of our existing and mature trees.

G

So when we start talking about our next steps, the next slide rick. If we could thank you, um it really is to kind of wrap this all up for you. We have a plan in place to plant over 250 trees in east san jose that was funded during the fiscal year 2122.

G

We have to finalize procurements for the prns inventory and establish a master agreement that will also allow us to update our street tree inventory.

G

We, we have already kind of allocated some funding set aside within dot to add an assistant arborist, that's going to support these early work plan efforts, including the formation of the community forest advisory committee and review of some of our policies and procedures. So beyond that again, if we want to try and get that community forest advisory committee formed so that we can get some feedback from the community, we want to be able to evaluate the funding options to expedite these work plan items, including the potential of obtaining yet another cal fire grant.

G

They have another grant cycle in july that we hope to apply for that and get some additional assistance and then, ultimately, we would use the fiscal 22 23 budget process to seek some additional increased funding for the city of san jose, maintain trees.

G

So at this point I'll kind of turn, it back over to john to wrap this up a little more and then we'll get back to everybody with questions.

F

Thanks russ, I just want to acknowledge the memos submitted by mayor ricardo and council members, carrasco, davis, esparza and cohen, and another memo submitted by councilmember. Mahan administration has reviewed those memos and we support all the recommendations that were included in both of both of those memos and thank you mayor. That concludes our presentation. Great.

E

Thank you. Thank you, john. Thank you russell and ryan. Thank you for presentations. Let's go now to the public, rashi sharma.

H

Good evening, mayor licardo and council members, my name is rashi sharma, and I am a member of the environmental action committee for the santa clara valley, audubon society. As a local high school student, I feel a sense of urgency to protect our trees and the ecosystem services. Trees, provide native and some other suitable trees provide habitats for native birds and beneficial insect species.

H

The san francisco estuary institute studied protecting biodiversity in urban areas. Finding that protected public lands are not enough to stop our mass extinction crisis. We must create habitat patches within urban areas and integrate greenness into our cities. The effects of climate change and loss of local biodiversity will only get worse for mine and the following generations. If we do not enact real solutions now, thank you for your consideration.

B

Juliana pendleton.

H

Good evening, mayor loccardo and council members, my name is juliana pendleton and I am the environmental advocacy assistant for the santa clara valley, audubon society. We have participated in the process that resulted in the report in front of you all today, as well as met with meeting with staff all along. We expressed the need to address the urban forests beyond street trees and to protect and increase use of native trees to promote biodiversity.

H

We see a great need for continued engagement with stakeholders, including mayor licardo and council members proposal for a representative advisory group and additional funding to support implementing a cfmp.

H

However, the cfmp in front of you all today does not adequately address habitat value nor emphasize native trees, such as oaks, which support up to 100 other species. The google downtown west project plans to use primarily california native trees, and we hope san jose will embrace this throughout the city. Thank you. For your time.

H

Sarah billings.

H

Good evening, everyone, my name, is sarah billings, with the san jose downtown association, I'm here to speak in support of the community forest management plan. The value of trees appreciates over time, as laid out in the plan, and we recognize the importance of vegetation to areas such as public health and combating the effects of climate change. We appreciate all the time and effort that was put into this document. We also appreciate the desire to improve san jose as a whole, and we look forward to working together with our partners to implement the plan.

H

Thank you to all who contributed and thank you for your time today.

B

C

Good evening, mr mayor council, members mark landgraf santa clara valley, open space authority. We support approval of the cfmp and the items in the memo from mayor le cardo and council members, carrasco, esparza, davis and cohen. We agree with the staff memo that there's a need for immediate action to reverse the trend of declining canopy cover.

C

Also, the factors that have the greatest impact on the reduction of canopy must be identified and a zero net canopy loss policy created investment in san jose's tree canopy to fight urban heat island is crucial, especially for its most vulnerable residents. We know resources are tight, but funding should be allocated in next year's budget to steward trees in the public realm and reduce the burden on residents.

C

We would like to participate in the advisory group. Those specific objectives need to be defined. We strongly encourage partnership with the county office of sustainability, urban forestry alliance and open space authority to pool resources and jointly attract outside funding and, importantly, highly effective organizations like our city. Forest must be part of plan implementation. Thank you.

B

Irma balderos.

H

Board, chair of our city forest, thank you for mentioning tree equity. Our city forest could use the city's help with its decade. Long efforts on this. I became an our city forest volunteer in 1997 and saw firsthand our city forest work, planting trees throughout east san jose parks and schools all paid for with state grants. We recently completed planting 1 500, shade trees for this initiative and will soon begin another to plant 1500 more again with state funds, but we need your help.

H

We care deeply about tree equity and about the future of trees in san jose. Every dollar you invest in our city forest leverages many times more to address the tree equity gap. Please work with us and support us, don't adopt a document that is afraid to give you these facts. Thank you.

B

Rhonda berry.

B

Good evening, honorable mayor and council, the draft in the mayor's memo recommends a dot managed advisory committee. We believe this would be the weakest form of public participation and wouldn't provide accountability.

B

These groups are just too easy to ignore. The department would be advising itself without objective input. Other cities have a tree commission with greater responsibility, more authority and was staffed reporting to the mayor or city manager. These tree advocates would be dedicated to reaching your goals around tree protection and a 20 canopy.

B

These goals cannot be achieved, doing business as usual, and we urge you not to spend more funding at what is not working. There are excellent models for tree commissions, but they are not presented, and you deserve better information to make positive change. Please don't adopt as a plan a document that doesn't guide you. Thank you.

B

C

Thank you, mr mayor members of council. My name is bob levy, I'm a former mining commissioner and parks. Commissioner, this document has a tremendous amount of valuable information and recommendations, more recommendations. The city can complete in a decade.

C

If the document is a report and not a plan, a plan contains concrete tasks, resource requirements and timelines for obtaining a specific goal. In order to complete the steps required to implement a no net loss policy, we still are missing some basic information, such as. Why are we losing the canopy, the true cost of replacing and maintaining trees, and how to mitigate the loss of overgrown trees?

C

I would like to see the document evolve from a report to a plant by completing the collection of data and making and prioritizing recommendations and identifying the staff requirements needed to complete specific measurable tasks. In today's motion, I'd like council to ask ask them to come back with prioritized lists.

B

Susan butler, graham.

H

Good evening, mayor and council, thank you for looking at this issue. Mothers out front urges you to protect our climate and cool our city by voting no on this plan, which is more of a preliminary study until significant corrections and changes are made and there's a clear path forward for the city to partner with key stakeholders.

H

Why are the trees disappearing? Where are funds for tree maintenance? Coming from? How do other cities with great urban forestry plans manage their trees? Who will coordinate tree planting planting maintenance and enforcement between all the different departments?

H

We can't keep planting trees without a plan to care for them, because residents will be burdened with the cost of maintenance or the or the risk from unhealthy trees. The trees won't survive and the city won't reach its canopy goal. Equity must be centered in this plan, so we can focus reforestation in the districts with the least amount of tree canopy. We need a coordinated plan for urban forest integrated into the climate.

H

Nick cawada.

C

Good evening my name is nick kawada. I am the policy director for spcn um and much like the speakers who have spoken before me. We are also in support of the memorandum issued by uh the mayor council, members, carrasco, davis, esparza and cohen. uh Thank you so much for focusing uh your efforts on experts in the field, substantive experts, like our city forest, who are trying to address issues that um definitely have equity aspects to it.

C

As we know, uh climate change has disproportionately affected those uh people of color on the east side, and we need to test this as so. uh Thank you again for including the nonprofits. We uh stand ready and ready and and willing to uh service the community. The best we can. Thank you.

B

Stephanie morris.

H

Yes, hi, I'm with mothers out front silicon valley and I'm also a landscape architect. This report is focused primarily on city land or rights away, and about that's about 15 percent of the tree canopy. Without stopping the destruction of mature trees on the 85 percent of the rest of the land, we will never recover, let alone grow. Our urban forest nutrient tree planting is simply not enough, since it takes decades to form a tree. Canopy tree protection and enforcement is the biggest challenge for our urban forest.

H

The city department, such as the transportation planning, building and code enforcement parks and police departments needs resources and coordination laws need to be clarified, and enforcement consolidated and funds allocated. City leadership needs to establish a tree commission within this calendar year as part of tree accountability. Our city forest simply cannot protect the city's mature trees. The city needs to do that. Please establish a tree commission with an eye toward equity funding for mature trees and priority for native trees, such as oaks for their critical habitat victoria, moore hi. My name is vicki moore. Thank you.

H

One of the many deficiencies in this report is the false implication that the city has never provided tree maintenance or sidewalk repair. It has done both at times in the past, the city provided regular street tree pruning until 2008., the entire city was set up in tree maintenance zones on a 10-year cycle, and that was improved every seven years just before the program was put on hold before adopting a tree management plan, and this draft is in no way a plan.

H

Let's find out how the city did this before what lessons were learned and then figure out how to resume street tree pruning, stopping it has affected people's willingness to plant trees, reviving. It is a concrete way to show that the city values trees. This is another of many examples of a lack of baseline data in this report. There's no history, no context. The new plan has to be informed by past experience.

H

Thank you very much.

B

Suzanne raymond.

H

B

Okay, I'm gonna move on to barbara marshman.

J

Thank you, I'm barbara marshman. I live in willow glen and I.

C

Know many of you from my former life.

H

As editorial page editor of the mercury news.

C

I want to thank mayor lecardo and the council members who've submitted memos on on this plan, especially yesterday's memo calling for the city auditor to figure out what money is or isn't coming into the city for trees and how it is spent. And I.

B

Have to thank former councilman david pandori for his.

I

B

Is attached to the agenda, which I hope.

C

You've all read outlining his own investigation of what's happening to tree dollars and enforcement. It's pretty scary! I'm really surprised that you're still looking at adopting this report as a draft plan with so much missing or misleading information.

I

Involving not only finances.

C

But causes and as much as we need more money for our urban's forest, I think you need to first understand. What's.

J

B

Blair beekman.

K

Hi uh blair beekman here um it's mid-february and we just have a lot of public comment today. Thanks um uh it's an interesting report, I'm I didn't seem to have any planning for uh the next few years. What can we expect in 2023 and 24 compared to 2025.?

K

I hope we could start to make some honest, open plans about those sort of issues uh in san jose and and that we can be clear what we can start to be expecting in 2023 and in 24.. So good luck on how we can talk about such issues.

K

The california office of emergency services services was a a big part of this process. uh Can they be spoken about as well and what was their contribution and how we can talk about a future planning issues at this time. Thank you.

C

Linda ruthruff.

H

Hi, linda ruth ralph, california, native plant society, we are in a worldwide biodiversity crisis plants, birds and animals are teetering on the brink of extinction. Our community forest can and should be part of the solution. It should encourage the planting of native trees, trees that support birds, butterflies, insects and other creatures. It should especially encourage planting the greatest habitat heroes, our native oaks. We wrote four comment: letters about this plan asking for specific, easy changes that would support biodiversity.

H

We had a meeting with the city arborist. None of our suggestions were incorporated. The san jose general plan has specific requirements to plant more native trees and especially native oaks. Please do not approve this plan until it is in compliance with the san jose general plan and incorporates the feedback of the many stakeholders who wish to be involved.

B

Christina egan.

B

Christina egan.

B

I'm sorry my name is christina egan, I'm on the board of our city, forest, honorable mayor and city council. Thank you for listening to us tonight. We appreciate your acknowledgement.

H

Of ocf as a key partner, but we ask that you do not adopt this draft plan.

B

Ocf's previous comments seem to be ignored and the inaccurate information has been unfair and damaging to the organization's reputation. Rather than reinvent the work of ocf within city hall. We ask that you consider costs. Ocf has saved the city, tens of millions by leveraging outside funding, but we need more city support.

H

Our americorps members train and develop projects for resilience corps members who make two and.

B

A half times more money, your investment in ocf helps a hundred percent of the.

H

Urban forest, not just the fifteen percent under your purview,.

B

Calling user two.

L

All these ideas are great, aren't they always they need money and the trees that the city usually wants you to plant aren't any good. Neither they either have these really bad things that fall off of them, use, spiky, balls or bad fruit.

L

You can't eat they lift up the sidewalks, they have to be maintained, since when is it you to dictate where I plant a tree anyway, it's ridiculous the things that you people come up with when there's potholes there was just an armed robbery at a house in my neighborhood the other day and you're worried about a tree canopy, you guys have a lot more to worry about they're stolen, you know many stolen cars. It just happened in the last week, hundreds, but we need a tree canopy. Is that going to get rid of the crime?

L

Is that going to get rid of the raised up sidewalks? No, it's only going to make it worse. I don't think you realize what kind of maintenance.

B

Carol watts.

B

Oh, yes, I'm carol, watts president of the league of women voters of san jose santa clara. We urge you to pass the resolution approving this plan, including the memorandum by mayor licardo and council members, carrasco, davis, asparas and cohen as a start toward a healthier city.

B

We agree with the formation of an advisory group which should include representation from varied groups and experts in best practices for maintaining a healthy community forest. We're particularly pleased to see that the two to five thousand trees to be planted annually will be distributed, prioritizing underserved communities, and we applaud your effort to minimize impacts to the general fund by leveraging groups such as our city forest for improvements. We recommend do not lose tree canopy when development occurs, provide the public with frequent reports on progress and actions. Thank you very much jill morters hi. Thank you.

B

I actually um want to echo a little bit about what the last caller just said. Briefly, as far as developers go, I believe we're at least losing our trees, literally just one tree at a time.

B

In addition to losing quite a few trees, when we had these big development projects, for example along winchester in the uh urban village there, when grey star, you know, had to cut down all of those huge magnolia trees and no matter what I said about it, wouldn't matter that huge six foot building was going to go up and all those trees were going to come down, and so I'm so grateful that the report discussed how important those large trees are, because, if we're going to get serious about saving our tree canopy, we actually need to focus on those really big trees that are hard to replace, and we should ask developers to please try to preserve um any large trees on developments if at all possible.

B

Thank you, kristen lee.

B

Kristen lee hello, honorable counsel and mayor and honorable mayor, I'm representing the forest protection committee of the loma prieta chapter of the sierra club. We urge the city of san jose to do more, to protect mature trees and to plant locally native trees.

B

As you know, mature trees store and absorb more carbon than young trees, and they do more to offset the harmful effects of pollution and greenhouse gases.

B

The city of san jose should require detailed analysis of which mature trees have disappeared and why it should also commit to creating an ongoing method to expose and reduce future mature tree removals. Based on that analysis, the cfmp should also include specific actions or requirements to support the planting and maintenance of local native trees in line with the letter from the california plant society.

B

Finally, it will be very helpful to owners to receive proactive education on how to maintain trees, paul soto.

M

uh Yes, fossil horseshoe. I looked through this document. Remember get it remember some. I read every single document. You guys produce every single one of them and I agree with 100 with what joe borders was saying about, having some respect for the trees that have been planted here. Do you know that we can only survive four minutes without oxygen, but that tree can survive without us?

M

That tree doesn't need us. We need that tree through the process, the beautiful process of photosynthesis that tree breathes out the minute. I walk out a door. I have a relationship with the tree. How? Because it needs carbon dioxide to process photosynthesis, so it spits back out into the atmosphere, tada oxygen. This is basic. This is these are basic native american teachings to show you that you have a relationship with the environment that you're in. But what happened was manifest. Destiny came over here and just decimated everything.

B

Suzanne raymond.

B

Suzanne you need to unmute ah there we go. I'm sorry, I'm also representing the forest protection committee of the loma prieta chapter of the sierra club. My background includes being on the california urban forestry council advisory committee.

L

B

Is advises the director of the california department of forestry and fire protection, cal fire on the state's urban forestry program and as an arborist for valley water for over five years, the sierra clubs there are some finds there are some major emissions in this plan. If you're going to solve a problem such as the decline in tree canopy in san jose, you need to know the reasons why the decline is happening. Arborist russell hassan has pointed out some of these issues. It was 2008 when residents were informed that they were responsible for their street trees.

B

It's obvious. This decision has caused a great loss of canopy. If you look at the city of san francisco and their proposition a it created a process.

H

David pandori.

C

Good evening, uh council members, I know it's been a long day so I'll keep it short. I did send you an email. I hope you had a chance to read it. I I it shows some specific issues in the north, san pedro neighborhood and I've asked for some specific recommendations to be included among all the other recommendations you're looking at tonight.

C

I think these are important to take a look at.

I

Because what's missing from this humongous report that you've been submitted, that's.

C

Been submitted to you is: how have we lost these trees and in this case, in our neighborhood, the city didn't follow through on an adopted plan for street trees.

C

It didn't enforce tree mitigation requirements for a huge private development and it hasn't replaced mitigation lost trees, so it's important to make gains in every neighborhood, and this is an important one too. Thank you.

B

Back to the council.

E

Thank you. Thanks to all the members of the community who came to speak, uh I want to thank you. Dot staff and everybody's been working together on this, not just the utv across the organization um as well as cal fire for sponsoring the work and um many community organizations. Of course, starting with our city forest and and the whole constituent tree coalition, vicki, moore and ronda berry and melinda rizzotte and bart marshman, and all the many nonprofits have engaged with us. Now save the bay open space authority or cf.

E

uh I mentioned them just a minute ago. uh Also since david pandor just spoke, I want to thank him for his email, which I think has spurred some important conversations as well. um I I know there have been several memoranda that have been submitted. uh uh I think I'll I'll refrain from making any specific comments. I know we've got a lot to talk about councilmember carrasco, I think you had a bit of a presentation. Is that right.

J

uh Yes, mayor, if I I think I don't know, if it's going to be henry or.

J

And I'm going to zip right through it, because some of it has been covered from staff's presentation. But I think pictures are worth a million words, and so I really wanted to make sure that uh we looked at some of the things that I've been talking about over the last uh year or so.

J

And I know some of the other comments.

E

Just one moment: councilmember uh tony: do you have that the screenshot just give me a second okay. I'm sorry go ahead. Councilman.

J

And I know some of the other council members have also talked about greening and uh in the canopy in one way or the other. This is a particular importance to me because of uh what I'm experiencing with my own residents and my family members on the east side of san jose. So as we're talking about this policy uh and we're talking about moving forward uh keeping in mind uh really that uh equity lens or that lens of equity, uh uh I think it's uh is- is critical.

J

How we move forward, uh how we plant our trees, how we remove pavement, how we maintain trees- I mean uh the entire city- is- uh is incredibly important, but uh we'll see here as soon as tony uh I'm ready honey, you're running like.

B

Yeah I just I didn't want to um interrupt you get up.

J

Put it up put it up next slide next slide next slide. uh I want to draw your attention uh and uh and russ, or someone went through these very quickly, but if you look at these, we went ahead and put them in order, and this is the the tree canopy that we're experiencing in the districts in this you see uh as we go through the different districts uh you go from the least to the most. We don't have a lot of canopy anyway throughout the city, but uh here is uh our lowest.

J

Let me remove my face from this, so that I can see my own numbers just a second uh and, of course, uh the those uh districts that suffer the least are between uh 10 and 12 and those who have the highest. It's not very high either, but it's between 14 and 19.

J

uh So this gives you a little bit of a visual. uh You know I love to understand why district four has such a low, canopy uh uh and uh district. Seven. Of course, uh besides having such a a a small percentage in its canopy has all of the other issues that we've been talking about during covet. You know it's an underinvested uh district. It's a district that was hit very hard during uh covet, a very densely populated district district, five as well district, three as well next slide. Please.

J

Is it tony yeah? Thank you. I wanted to break down. uh I wanted you to look at those census, tracts that are most impacted, and these are the 10 most economically disadvantaged uh census, tracts and- uh and this is what's most alarming, there's a couple here that are are outliers and if you look at the most disadvantaged uh census, tracts you'll see an outlier here, you'll see actually two outliers there's a 52.6 um uh percent. I mean that correlates with the 22.22 and right underneath it it's 19.05.

J

Please don't be fooled by that, uh because that actually takes into account uh tr uh parks that are nearby, which I think is a real. It's really misleading and it really skews the our numbers, but of those very impoverished census, tracts those are taking into account um nearby uh parks. So the 22.22 uh takes into account coyote, creek and williams street park.

J

19.05 uh is happy hollow park um and uh kelly park in history park and then the 17.26 percent, which is at the very bottom, is bakasto and watson park. And then, if you go into the greener columns, those two at the very top also uh have uh uh the los gatos creek and the los gatos memorial park.

J

So those outliers uh take into account uh the parks that are nearby, but nonetheless, even if you were to remove those uh you still have in the more affluent areas, a higher canopy versus those neighborhoods that are economically disadvantaged have a suffer from less canopy.

J

Next next slide, please!

J

So what is an urban heat island in san jose? Well, uh an urban heat island.

J

An urban heat island is uh is an area where structures such as buildings, roads and other infrastructure absorb and re-emit the sun's heat more than natural landscapes, such as forests or a nice little canopy, or where there's greenery urban areas where the greenery is limited. It becomes an island of higher temperatures relative to outlying areas.

J

These pockets of heat are referred to as heat islands and on the east side of san jose, we'll see in a little bit uh that we suffer from a heat island we tend to have our our our hot temperatures tend to be hotter than the rest of the city of san jose. Next uh next slide, please tony!

J

So how do urban heat islands affect our residents and how does it affect their health? Well, rising temperatures obviously have a greater impact on people's quality of life. Of course, the most vulnerable of our residents are the most impacted. That's children seniors those with pre-existing conditions between 2010 and 2019. The hottest decade on record uh california's official data from death certificates attributed 599 deaths to heat exposure.

J

When you add more trees or when you have a greater canopy uh tree, shade reduces uv the exposure by about 50, which in turn reduces residents chance uh to develop skin cancer.

J

Of course, you know my history, my mother passed a skin cancer, and so this is near and dear to my heart and- uh and I always talk about it- every chance that I get trees have a significant effect on improving residence respiratory health, and I will tell you that one of the most alarming things that I heard when I first came into council was of a mother who approached me and said to me that her child who suffers from asthma was kept home during those very very hot days, because the school on the east side of san jose didn't have air conditioning, and so it was very bad for her child's asthma.

J

He would have asthma attacks so at least one week during very hot weather. She would keep him home the rest of the days when it was very hot. She would take her own fan to help him in order not to have those asthma attacks uh by the way.

J

This also happened when it got very, very, very cold uh if, uh if it dipped, she would actually uh take him home because uh uh the lack of also canopy impacted the weather conditions in the winter, so exercising in the canopy area has been shown to reduce blood pressure and stress related hormones such as cortisol and adrenaline.

J

But of course, in good conscience. I will tell you, colleagues, I have a very hard time telling my families to go out and exercise out in the sun for the same reasons that I've uh I've expressed in the past next um next slide. Please.

J

I wanted to show you this, because this is my reality, and this is the reality of my children. This is the reality of my residence. This is one of the many streets in my district on your right hand, side, that's la porta avenue. That is not an unusual street. This is very, very typical of the blocks in my district. If you haven't come out to district five, I invite you to come out and take a stroll with me. uh Summers are wonderful to come and hang out this.

J

uh On the left hand, side you're, probably familiar with it uh vice mayor- is a street in uh in your district next slide.

J

Here's another uh another block, um I know it well, uh this is balboa, and this is in the plata arroyo. Very uh it's a historic uh uh community. uh We have a skate uh park there. A lot of kiddos hang out there, especially a lot of teenagers. uh It's uh it. It borders, actually, uh council, member paralysis, district, it's uh it's part of a little portugal, but this is common. This is this is my district and you could see why we don't jog.

J

In the middle of the day, we don't even jog at four o'clock in the afternoon. We wait until it's either very, very late, very very early or we don't jog at all. So what does that do to our health and check out? What's going on on harrison street next next slide.

J

So I'm almost done and here's a little bit of the same next slide.

J

um A study was done by san jose state university human rights institute, which found that 5.2 degree. There was a 5.2 degrees difference in fahrenheit uh the average temperature between rose garden and alum rock neighborhood. In this picture we can see clearly the difference in the canopy.

J

Next slide, although only six miles apart rose garden is predominantly wider and wealthy has three and a half times more tree coverage and 27 percent less pavement in comparison to the alum rock neighborhood, predominantly a working class neighborhood in a neighborhood. That is predominantly people of color next slide.

J

Over the last six years, the east side has lost 3.17 percent of its canopy cover, going from close to 16 in 2012 to about 12 percent. Now I uh I had 250 trees approved last at last year's budget uh cycle.

J

It's been a little frustrating trying to figure out where to plant them, uh how to plant them when to plant them uh and partly because we're paved over and russ has been wonderful. His team's been wonderful working with dlt. It's not staff's fault. We under uh under invested neighborhoods, are completely paved over.

J

We've got to start looking at our policies that uh that prevent us from doing exactly what we want to do, which is increase our canopy and, uh and we have to start thinking outside of the box when one of the things that uh that portland has done is uh they have a pavement removal program that uh that allows them to do exactly this. Remove the pavement and plant thousands of trees.

J

If you look at uh the right hand, side, that's my district!

J

Really! I love it okay, so I think it's the last slide.

E

Because I think we're getting toward the end here, yeah.

J

Last slide, so this is an opportunity that we have here to create pocket forests in pocket. Forest, of course, is, uh is taking a little tiny piece of land and creating your own uh micro uh uh forest, a pocket for us. They call it uh which is uh greenery and shrubbery, and uh really changing uh the microclimate of a tiny little area, but really does make a huge difference.

J

So at this point, it's using every tool that we have in our toolbox, addressing policies looking at finance structures and and as some of the callers uh uh mentioned, is uh really looking to see how we, how we bring in different stakeholders and making sure that we hold each other accountable.

E

uh Councilman krauska, I think we just lost you if you're trying to speak you're, muted, oh, she just lost her signal, she's going. Okay. I think she just lost a connection. So why don't we do this? Why don't we go to council member mayhem while she comes back and then when councilmember may heads down we'll come back cancer mayhem.

D

Thank you, mayor um I'll, just start by quickly thanking everyone who put together the report that we're receiving here um and thank you to cal fire, in particular for the funding uh d.o.t.

D

All the other departments that collaborated our city forest and the many many stakeholders who sent in letters and and otherwise participated in the process. I've certainly learned a lot. um Thank you. I also want to thank councilman carrasco for the follow-up presentation and reinforcing the point that we don't have equitable access. I think we are all treat efficient, but certainly, and predictably, parts of our city are more treat efficient than others and having taught middle school and east uh side and specifically district five and having coached soccer in the summers in district five.

D

I have not only seen but felt that um that disparity there. So I appreciate the point and very much know it to be true. um I I wanted to. I had a series of hopefully relatively quick questions, um john or or maybe it's better for russell or ryan.

D

What I was unable to get this out of your report, what what is our leading? What is your leading hypothesis for the biggest driver of canopy loss and I'll just say I would have guessed development, but I noticed that district 10, which I represent actually had the largest percentage decline over the period studied and, I believe, has had significantly less development than many other parts of the city. So what what is? What's our current state of understanding on that question, council.

F

Member john riso, director of transportation- and I think russ and ryan are actually teed up to respond to that. Okay,.

I

Yeah I'd be glad to help answer that um it's it's very difficult, given the existing data to pinpoint precisely one root cause of one leading cause of tree decline across the city.

I

um There are there's information available for when trees would be removed from for a development project, but then there's also instances where a tree is requested for removal, because it's dead and in those instances it's not necessarily listed that the tree died because of drought or a pest or disease, or you know some other factor so to to differentiate within the specifics of individual trees.

I

It's very difficult about having more clear data as to the root causes of those issues, but I think it's definitely something like moving forward um that could be implemented in within the reporting and data gathering. So the city can help point more specifics.

D

Yeah right so another hypothesis, I mean one would be that development removes larger trees and then we we replace them with with young trees that take 30 years to grow another. You know, they're, not mutually exclusive. I'm sure there are many causes, but you just pointed to the trees dying. Do we did we do we know of any patterns to that? By any chance I mean our a hypothesis might be that street trees where it's not. You know somebody might not even realize it's their responsibility or they may be harder to maintain.

D

Do we see higher failure rates in any particular locations or based on who owns who's responsible for the tree.

I

um We didn't, or we weren't able to analyze, like specifics of who uh who would be managing the tree that would be removed, whether it's private, public or private property. um We have the the data that shows where the specific um canopy cover changes have occurred. um So some further analysis could be done um by extrapolating property lines. It wouldn't be 100 accurate, because canopy covers would cross over between public and private space, um but you could be able to help differentiate that a little bit more clearly.

D

Okay, I think kind of a related question. I you know I thought um the mayors and and and council colleagues group memo made made some excellent points, including just the basic resource constraints that we face. Where you know it seems to me we're unlikely to, in any short time frame, find 16 million dollars to suddenly do you know what we would ideally do.

D

Can we talk a little more about roi and where you see the biggest opportunity, if we said what could you do with a million extra million dollars a year? Where would it where would it be and and one you know just again- to throw out a hypothesis that could be totally off base, given the difficulty of coordinating with a with a counterparty here say a resident who may not be up to the the cost of installing maintaining the tree?

D

Is there more low-hanging fruit in on public lands, and maybe even other agencies that have a lot of land within the city, water districts, school districts? Is that a line of thinking you all went down very far.

F

Yeah um uh compliment director uh john rush again we're actually looking at all those things is that now that we've really teamed up with a number of partners, you heard some of them speak tonight that we certainly want to investigate how we might be able to do uh planting in areas that maybe we didn't have control. We don't have control over or never never never thought of before. So that's definitely something to think about. I think, in terms of some of the other questions you had were low-hanging fruit.

F

Well, we know we've got to do some organization changes and that's not a not necessarily a big dollar item, but it is an organizational change. We're going to need to go through just better managed, and then I think also. We also recognize. We've got to stop or slow down the loss and that's going to be multiple areas of work, whether it's developer or you know, individual property owners, whether it's street tree public property or private property trees, just how many are being taken out either illegally or unnecessarily so so they're.

F

I think those are some areas if we do have funding funding to do more planting. That's definitely what we want to do, but we don't want to plant them and not maintain them. Sure. Does that also.

C

I think councilmember brought up uh and something we've really been advocating for within dot. Also is this concept of pocket forests? I do think there's a lot of roi uh in that concept, where you find a localized area. That is probably not a street. You know, and it's probably not too difficult to access where many trees. I'm sorry. I have two kids downstairs um where many many trees could be planted at once to kind of provide a lot of the benefits of council member classical laid out.

C

So I think that's one immediate area and again um just kind of getting a handle on our our city, trees. You know whether they're in parks or city, medians and stuff, like that, I think, we've mentioned there are some areas that can be maintained. I think setting an example for the city would be a good place to start and kind of scaling out any future program, but ultimately I do think a quick win. You know good idea as those pocket force. I think that's a great way to get started.

D

Yeah I find that idea compelling thanks rick, and I um I I guess, I'm partly reflecting you know the comment I heard from a few folks in public comment about this feeling more like a report than a plan and just in the spirit of- and I think again, my colleagues memo basically points in this direction as well. Just you know what what is? How do we hone in on the highest roi investments or or changes that we might be able to make?

D

um I know it's getting late, I'm going to try to move quickly here, a couple more. um I was this. This came up mayor referenced it. I was um interested and and pretty dismayed by the letter submitted by mr pandorian, and I don't know if we're able to get any greater clarity in this meeting or I know there was a supplemental memo that that may get at this over time, but you know.

E

D

Identified three examples that were concerning: do we think this is a widespread uh occurrence? Is this something that just needs more study? What are you able to add anything at this point.

F

Yeah I've turned that it's really uh matt kane was probably better able right a question than I am sure.

C

Sure sure thank you, councilmember mckinnon public works director. um Thank you for the question and, and um you know it's it's a combination of things for this one. um You know and- and it probably does require further study to to to be the quick answer, and I know there's a recommendation to work with the city auditor to look into this and we're definitely welcome that recommendations accepted tonight. I'm just a quick example on like the san pedro development, typically for new developments like that on the big san pedro area.

C

We do have conceptual plans, there isn't necessa, but a lot.

C

Sometimes a lot of the decent amount of trees aren't necessarily able to be installed because of utility conflicts and driveway conflicts and other things like that, and there isn't and then, ever to my knowledge, there hasn't really been a loopback process to tell everybody or we planned x, trees and x, trees, um weren't installed and a lot of that, isn't necessarily a mitigation or a formal seque, a requirement, um and so that is a process that we'll continue to take a look at as we move forward, and I can provide some other thoughts on that.

C

If you like as well.

D

Okay, great I mean, presumably in those situations we could be asking developers to help us fund investments in other parts of the city where we could, we could kind of concentrate our resources. Those pocket parks, for example, is that part of your thought process.

C

Yeah and and uh silvery the the one specific question on a specific development as well. um We we also recognize, as was in that email, that there is a gap uh likely a gap between what was required for mitigation efforts on that specific development and what was installed and we're working planning, building code enforcement and others are looking into what that gap is, and it may end up into us collecting mitigation fees that then could be used for other treat for more tree development elsewhere.

D

Great- and I I recognize I'm at times so out of respect, I'm gonna- I'm gonna pause. I I did uh one at some point. We can do it offline talk about native trees as part of the plan, and then how do we move from this being more of a comprehensive report? Very I mean great data, appreciated the charts and graphs, but also to more of a strategic plan that kind of fits our resource constraints, which again, I think, is the spirit of my colleagues memo so I'll leave it at that mayor. Thank you. Okay,.

E

Thank you, councilmember uh councilmember carrasco. If you could very briefly uh wrap up, because I know we've got other folks in the queue.

J

Thank you. I ran out of juice. No, I I'm all done mayor. I just wanted to make a motion to accept uh to move our our memo, along with the supplemental and council member mayhem's uh memo as well.

E

Second, thank you cast member. uh Thank you both. uh Let me just say a quick word about whether we adopt the plan or not, obviously, the recommendations we adopted. I know several advocates have heard that we declined to adopt the plan and I think you could tell from the text the memorandum that several of us co-authored.

E

We all have some pretty significant concerns about whether or not we really have a plan. um I don't think we have a plan. I think we have maybe the start of a plan. We've got a lot more work to do to really understand how do we find resources and how do we most cost effectively? Invest those resources to actually get what we all want, which is uh more beautiful trees and a great urban forest.

E

So what I've been told is that if we don't adopt a plan of some kind, we have a hard time getting any grant money uh is is. Is that accurate? I think that came from you rob.

E

Is that a fair statement or john.

F

Well, yeah. We we believe this is a good plan with a with a strategic list of actions that we want to take some near-term, some longer-term and so I'm very dependent on resources. We know that and seeking resources is going to be a big deal, but we are recommending to adopt the plan to your question. Yeah.

E

Well, I think it would be on that. I just want to understand yeah.

F

Between damaging to our future ability to work with calp fire, if we use their funding to do a plan and then it's not adopted by the council, that's I guess my answer to that.

C

John, can I also chat a little something you know. I think we have attachment b as the strategic work plan and that's why we had a slide in the presentation called the road map which really does highlight some of the higher level objectives and truthfully.

C

We do believe that engagement with the community is important and the establishment of this committee will really guide the implementation of that strategic work plan. We didn't want to be too prescriptive. You know because we know that uh council makes policy ultimately and we needed to kind of lay out recommendations to move ahead and the things we know we needed to excuse me accomplish, um and I think it's also important to note. You know working closely with the cal fire urban forester.

C

The sponsors of this grant uh the very clear that this is the the largest uh step any city has taken on a similar plan from where we are to where we need to go so.

L

J

N

C

You said it right mayor, it is, it is the first step, but it is a. I think it is a first step on a very long path, but it is a road map and it gives staff and the community guidance as far as what the focus on in the coming years.

E

Okay, I I appreciate steph's uh insistence that this really is a plan. I I still struggle to find. uh What is he in here that is going to tell us where we are going to maximize our investment where we're going to find significant, ongoing resources? I I don't see that, but anyway, councilman cohen.

A

I thank you mayor and I don't think it's worth the semantic argument over whether what's the plan and what's a report yeah a lot of it to be a report and a useful report, because it gives us a lot of the data that we need to figure out where we need where we have gaps and what we have to do address. And I think that that we, the mayor that the memo that we worked on, um looks at some of those gaps and thinks about ways. We can invest them and I think, there's there's a.

A

There are five major areas that I see in terms of the tree: loss tree, maintenance, um urban, dreaming and and uh the audit of oh all, those pieces are the five major issues that I think need to be addressed and I'm glad that we've addressed all those in the memos. um I have a few first, I'm gonna, I'm gonna comment about district four. um It was obviously I think surprising to all of us to find out that district four had the lowest troop cover in the city, but actually it's not as surprising as you think.

A

If you drive around north san jose so I'll just point out that there's two parts of district, four and parts of it have a good tree cover, but really north san jose is is a wasteland as far as trees, except for river oaks, which is a nice little pocket. The rest of north san jose is pretty devoid and that would point to potentially development as the culprit in that part of the city, not in other parts of the city, and that's why we've been talking with our business partners up there.

A

Our high-tech companies about this problem and we've alerted them just recently, and many of them are now stepping forward and saying that they're willing to fund and help us maybe do some treatments on their campuses and in that part of the city, and so that's actually really exciting. We're going to start working with them because a lot of it's these tech buildings and tech campuses that are big parking, lots with very little tree color. And we need to fix that problem.

A

We're excited that google's campus in albiso, which is a old cisco buildings, with big parking lots before they open they're, ripping out parking lot to put in treat put back to trees because that's important to them as a company, but we need to encourage that more in our future development. So this is the kind of thing we have to be looking at across our city.

A

um I want to thank commenter victoria moore, who brought up the comment about how the city used to maintain street trees, um and I do have a question I don't know who might know the answer about the history of. I think I've asked this before in other private meetings. But what is the history over over that transition from the city maintaining screw trees to relying on residents? For um that's true, true maintenance.

B

Maybe I can help uh since I've been around for a while and used to be the budget director, um jennifer maguire city manager, the uh for a long period of time. We did not fund those um for the sidewalk repair and tree trimming, and then there was a period. I believe it was during mayor gonzalez's years, where we did actually fund the fund that for a period of years with trying to make our city more walkable, we had a lot of sidewalk problems and and also tree care.

B

Ultimately, the sidewalks and the trees are in our. I think it's in our municipal code, our responsibility of the homeowner and when budget times got really bad and we went through. You know you know, years and years and years of budget cutting. We once again cut that out of the budget. It's never been restored.

A

Yeah, so this is this point: the.

B

One that we stored for that I mean it wasn't when under many organs also it wasn't around that long.

N

That that the homeowners got to benefit from that right.

C

N

Could also add the.

C

The tree crews in particular, I think that I saw that comment brought up a few times um and russ. In fact, I don't believe any of our staff will hear back when that occurred, but um the tree crews there was no 10-year cycle. There was no, um you know prescriptive or predictable uh method of maintenance. It really was to clear street lights uh for paving things like that, so it was really a supplement. um The resident responsibility for the overall maintenance of the trees. It was.

D

C

Intending to take away that responsibility from the resident.

A

As far as I know, we also contracted to a third party who did our street tree maintenance.

A

um In fact, I learned that last year, at the cal cities conference, when I was talking to some of these companies- and one of them asked about san jose- and I said you know, don't we don't maintain trees and they say well, you used to because we used to have the contract, um so it this is one of those cases where sometimes I think we make short-sighted decisions on what we think are less important, only to be paying the price many years later for mistakes that we make.

A

You know an example when I was on the school board, we were fixing replacing all of our fields because, back in the in the down budget years, a past administration decided to stop watering fields to save money. Well, the result is that you end up spending millions of dollars later to replace all your fields.

A

I suspect that a large part of our loss in certain parts of the city is residential tree loss. People who take out trees, who don't replace them, there's probably two reasons for that. One is this issue of maintenance problems. The other is that I'm not sure whether we have much enforcement of the rules about when you take out a tree. You got to replace it.

A

So I do want to see in that item on our motion about the audit that we are looking at that question about how we're um monitoring and promoting and continuing to make sure that our residential tree loss or trees are replaced and that people are getting permits for tree removal. I know my somebody a neighbor on my street removed two trees just last month and I'm not sure that they they had a permit for that. um I don't think they replaced them.

A

People just do that when they, when they decide they don't want trees anymore or there's a something other other work. They're doing um the other part about development, though I know we do have a policy about tree replacement for development, where it's like a three to one tree replacement. If you remove something so um hopefully we'll find out, if we do some more auditing about how we're enforcing that is, it actually happening? Are we checking up on it?

A

Are we making sure that when people take out 20 trees, they put back 60 somewhere um so that we make sure that we're not falling behind on that work?

A

um My last question, or it's not really it's more of a of a philosophical question about what's the right place in the city for the for this tree function to be, and this isn't an indictment of d.o.t and all the great work that d.o.t does, but whether there's a mission conflict or a question of what's the right mission for the right department. As far as um you know, the work that dot is responsible for and versus where's the right where how we would be focused on tree maintenance and tree planting.

A

So it's just a kind of a question general question for the city to think about how do we? What how do we do this in the right way? um And obviously I appreciate comments from councilmember carrasco and others who have talked about concrete removal.

A

um You know a great example from portland that councilman crasco showed um how do we? How do we incorporate that kind of work into the work we do as we do our pavement projects so we're doing things all at the same time. It's interesting. You know even even forgetting about not just trees, but the green strips that you could have between a bike lane and the road. You know we're going in we're putting in bike lanes, but because we're replacing pavement we have a paved strip, that's just a paved strip.

A

Ideally we would be using that opportunity to get some greenery back in those strips since we're not going to be using them for driving or biking and they're just a buffer. But again these are all expensive things to do and just questions about how we really think about this moving forward.

A

um So I think that's most of the points I wanted to make. I'm appreciative of all the the uh studies that were done and all the work that my colleagues in the council have done to try to address this issue. I know this is something that we're universally behind and I'll want to see and prove thanks.

E

uh Casper venice.

I

Yeah, thank you, I'm not going to be too long. um Let me just first say that I appreciated uh council members cohen cohen's comments about where this issue should reside. I had one some similar question right uh and it's not one that I expect to be answered today, but uh just really whether this function is the you know if it resides within d.o.t if it's the most appropriate location.

I

um So that's one of the things I wanted to say. The other thing is, it seems to me.

K

I

This just comes down to a very basic issues, and one is: how do we reduce or stop the reduce or stop or just reduce the removal of these trees, and the other part is just simply how we plant more and I think fundamentally those that's the way. I see this issue and I know, there's challenges even though it seems very simplistic.

I

You know even the photo that was shown by councilmember carrasco. It reminds me you know, I grew up in east san jose and I I remember seeing neighborhoods like that, as you know, growing up, and certainly it's not new to me, but something that stood out to me in one of her photos. I think it was one of the last photos she showed where um she touched on the fact that they were over.

I

You know they were over they're over paved essentially, and I think it showed maybe about two or three houses where there's just tons of concrete in front of the houses and so for me, one of the things that that prompted for me is what I'm wondering is. Are there- and I imagine, I'm not sure who to address this to or who to ask this of, but it seems to me that there may very well be certain city policies that help facilitate the over pavement of some of these places.

I

Right uh and and and what comes to mind as well- is that it may not be that straightforward, because I suspect some of the pictures she showed, for example, maybe folks that maybe are paving over the green space taking out a tree because they're having parking issues. For example, they want more vehicles to fit on their driveway or or what I see quite often as well in my district as well.

I

But I think more prominently in east san jose is there's a lot of folks running their businesses out of their homes right, and so they they naturally pave over some of their driveway and maybe take out their lawn and things of that nature dig out a tree. And so I just like to just plant that seed to to figure out and really explore the idea. If there are certain city policies that we really need to review and and modify in order to reduce the incentive for folks.

B

I

Take away the ability for folks that really take out some of the green space that naturally resides in on their on their property in their front lawn or taking out trees, and so that was one thing I wanted to share.

I

The other thing that um came to mind is, I know, a big function of trying to resolve this and fix this situation is money, um and I, and- and this is one of those larger sort of existential questions that I'll put out there, knowing that you know whether this is a report or a plan that whoever hears this can carry it forward and really explore it, because and even the city manager right, because I really do think that this is.

I

This is something that we should as a city should think about, but you know sort of marrying the idea of the the function that these trees present and that they serve in our community right, creating shade taking out carbon, uh reducing sea heat islands and things of that nature.

I

It seems to me that they quite possibly could reside very well in climate, smart, san jose and- and I think that currently it doesn't reside that that plan doesn't necessarily touch the urban forestry or trees generally, and so what I'm curious about is if someone has any thoughts or just immediate sort of reactions to whether this issue. This idea, this challenge can reside in in a space of that nature, and maybe that can help facilitate the application of grants and things of that nature.

I

Knowing that there's some money coming from the federal government as it relates to the environment and things of that nature is, I don't know if that, um if there's anyone that wants to just touch on that uh on.

F

Yeah councilmember john risto again and yes, uh although this is complementary to climate's corner um yeah, it's not. I don't believe that uh it's calculated into the climate, smart emissions, so there may be a little difference there, but working together with both the general plan and and our our planet.

F

Smart plan, they're they're, all working in the right direction and yes, we're going to be seeking all kinds of different ways to fund these activities that we're recommending to move forward, whether they be coming out of a you know, some sort of air quality or climate, smart type of grant or more of a transportation related or other infrastructure or equity. Grant. That's out there so now that uh a lot of different grantor agencies are kind of getting with the program on that we're going to be aggressive and going after those.

I

Well, well, I think if we as city leaders and as a city are saying that this is an issue that we want to tackle right and uh I think it's worth having a discussion.

I

Maybe I don't know if carrie's on the call, but even just because I think esd uh is the one that you know quite frankly manages a lot of that climate, smart san, jose stuff, but to the extent um you know if we think this is important enough to lift up as one of those strategies that we're going to utilize to then move us forward to a more uh resilient future as it relates to the environment. I think it's a worthwhile discussion to have, and so just.

K

I

That the other thing that john, I would say for you or rick, but uh what are your thoughts about this this? um This comment or statement about whether dot is the best place for this to to sort of reside and that's.

O

A loaded question.

I

You don't have to tell me where you think it should go, but uh let me know if you think that it is it's the most appropriate place.

F

As we pull out our crystal ball and we're going to work through that, that is one of the work programs and so no we're we're going to try to find the best location or locations for the city's tree program. And I I don't know that we figured that out yet, but there's a lot of other examples out there, cities we're going to use that and we are going to be using. You know um the community force. You know the advisory committee to actually help us through that as well.

F

So we're going to be looking hard at it to see what's where's the best landing spot for a tree program.

C

Okay, all right.

I

Yeah, you know I would just end with this. Is, is that um you know- and I don't say this slightly, but I I know- and I don't think I'm speaking out of turn or saying something that folks don't generally understand to be true, because because I think district too often is really a microcosm of the city, we get a little bit of everything. When we see some of these graphics, we often fall in the middle as.

P

I

To you know, trees or.

K

I

Whatever it may be, and so um I wonder- and this is just to throw this out there- I don't need a response, but I also wonder how much.

I

How much really, how much of community involvement and engagement really impacts the growth and the proliferation of trees right? So, for example, um I know that you know having started a neighborhood association in the past. It's very challenging to get people active. uh But when you look at parts of the city where folks are working, two or three jobs scraping by trying to raise kids, uh they don't always have time to be civically engaged.

I

um But- and I know.

C

I

A challenge, that's very real- that I think we need to think about as it relates to some of these disadvantaged parts of our city. And, conversely, if you think about other parts, say district 10, because I know there's a lot of active folks out there, there's often folks that there's very active neighborhood associations that are taking up the issue of planting trees and spending their saturdays doing this, and that which I think is wonderful right.

I

I think it's what we all aspire for our residents, but I think just acknowledging that this lack of engagement may be contributing to some of this uh lack of activity. Right, and I know it's a complicated thing where you know, I suspect, that's not the silver bullet, but I think we just need to make sure that everything's in play as we're discussing this and for the city to do everything possible to try to address all these different little pockets of issues that that lead to what we see today. So thank you.

E

B

E

Casamayor cross.

P

Yeah, thank you very much, and I just want to echo some of the comments that my colleagues have made. First off. Thank you to staff on the the report, and um I think I would. I would agree that it is. um It is indeed uh likely not a a a full, comprehensive plan that we would all want.

P

It is likely more um a very detailed analysis of where we're at and it is the beginning of a plan, and I recognize there may be some difference of opinion from city staff there on what they've put together in regards to to the plan. But I know that this is a really really good.

P

First, look and analysis, deep analysis of uh something that that we all as a council, have needed to uh to be educated on and our community as well, um and I do think it puts us down uh the beginning of a great path to be able to actually um understand how we will will make change uh and invest in addressing these concerns.

P

I know that I was very both impressed and depressed in looking over the the plan um and and understanding much better, where some of those challenges are and historically uh and then both prospectively looking forward how we can make a difference.

P

I also uh just in regards to what councilmember jimenez was just saying. I also uh don't feel as though d.o.t and no offense uh john, but I don't feel d.o.t- is the best place to house this work and maybe it it doesn't belong in any current department.

P

Maybe it's sort of got a need of its own and I'd look to what we just did recently with addressing homelessness um and how we understood that the housing department may not be the best location for that work and ultimately have shifted a lot of that work to the beautified team, and I think that was appropriate and, and you look across other cities and look at the departments that they have, whether it's dealing with issues like homelessness and they have robust and unique departments to to really focus on those efforts.

P

I think, similarly, here we have uh something that we have, unfortunately not invested in uh at the level. We should be- and we know that- uh and thus it's it's sort of tucked in and under the responsibility of a department that likely um it shouldn't, be a responsibility of, and I do think that that's something that hopefully, as we talk to the advisory group and and understand how we can can change and make better investment, that's something that will come out of that as well.

P

uh Lastly, I will say I I've heard from both david pandori, as well as a number of other constituents over the last week in regards to the north san pedro area, in the specific challenges that we have there, and I appreciate them uh on overturning and really highlighting some of the potential challenges that we had there. Thank you matt for responding that today.

P

I don't think it's appropriate to include those individual trees in that individual area with an emotion here, but I will say that I have already reached out to our city staff to understand that particular area better and where we can, if there were deficiencies and where we can, as a city, be able to step in uh and make right there in that area. So I will be supporting the motion and again appreciate all the work from our my colleagues.

E

Thank you cast member. um I want to offer one suggestion as we're contemplating how we're going to actually pay for what we, whatever we'd like to actually do paragraph five. I I suggest we suggest that the colleagues and I also co-signed this memo, uh exploring something that would be prop 26 compliant, and I would just suggest perhaps as you're talking to the attorneys about that that clearly, what we need to be able to do is accept liability.

E

I would assume for trees in addition to responsibility, in other words, not just the cost of pruning, but for every property owner to be out actually be able to say they benefit I'm guessing. We probably need to do more than that, um and so I would just ask if we could explore that, not simply assuming the cost, but also assuming the liabilities, so that I would hope that would be more likely to be prop 26 compliant.

E

I I don't know if you have any view on that yet, nor if you would like to take time to study it.

B

um We'll look at that mayor, but in terms of liability, do you.

C

Mean for a sidewalk uplift, do you mean for a.

B

A tree branch, injury.

E

Exactly if a tree branch falls on somebody or if there's a sidewalk that lifts up because of a of a route um one way or another, if we're gonna be able to demonstrate benefit to the property owner, I'm guessing probably means the city's gonna have to take on something.

B

Yeah, I'm I I'm not sure that that's accurate, but we will definitely look at it and and, as you know, we've we've uh litigated a few years ago. um Our sidewalk ordinance and um it prevailed on that. But we will.

E

I understand it, it's upheld, I understand what we have is legal. The question is: if we want somebody else to pay for it, we might have to think about changing the rule yeah something.

B

E

B

I I understand um so we'll look at it and uh see what we might be able to pull together.

E

Okay, great uh and then I just want to ask staff, as you look at uh direction number three in the original memo about responding. I think these are questions that have been posed in the past and I think we're trying to really understand get our arms wrapped around them. I did see a slide about the cost of planting versus in the cost of maintaining that's an a, um but it would be helpful to know if there are.

E

I I don't know what cost exactly was. um Let me go back to to the staff's uh estimate. I think it was somewhere around uh 250 000 for the uh 250 or so trees that were to be planted in san jose, and I don't know if that estimate included the cost of maintaining the trees, or that was simply the planting. That was all the above. It was all the above, okay, so rick, then the slide that you offered relating to the establishment of the tree.

E

That is the explanation for why the cost got to a thousand dollars a tree correct.

C

The the planting is a small piece of it in the three years of maintenance, including watering and pruning, uh makes up the majority of the cost.

E

Okay, um all right, I I guess it. You know perhaps another time, I'd love to offline, understand that a little better.

F

Yeah we are going to be going back to one of the committees. I can't remember which one neighborhood service or something that's right, yeah we're in a couple months we're going to be there, so we'll certainly be able to break that down further, but yeah that'd.

E

Be great uh and then, secondly, um the issue around waiving liability, if we're trying to encourage folks to accept trees, particularly in low-income neighborhoods, is that something we've explored.

E

I know we talked about ways to try to motivate um john. I think it came up in a conversation. We've had at council a couple times.

F

Yeah, I remember you asking this question more more than once and um it it may be the same type of question that nora was trying to answer with grant look at it. You know it's a matter of like uh what's the practical and what's the financial liability that the city is going to take on, if you want to. If you want to take on those things, and I- and I think that is something that, as as nora and and our teams look at this together, I think that they they can't be separated.

F

You know if we're gonna rely on a property owner to do the maintenance, where we that would be risky for us to take on liability. It may be a different question if we take on full responsibility to plant, preserve and maintain those trees and and or sidewalks. That may be a different question, but I think you're asking about as we might plant them in lower income neighborhoods, that's kind.

E

Of a needle of.

F

E

And specifically, if we're restricting the species of tree to be a tree that you know does not typically have roots that would pull up sidewalks, for example, or have a lot of low branches, I would imagine we could mitigate risk through the species selection, but um okay and then, finally, um in terms of having resilience corps members participate in three planes. I think I heard different views already, just in public comment about whether they're already doing it in partnership with our city forest, is that happening.

F

I I don't um maybe is avi on here. I think avi was going to maybe they'll address some of this with what's going on with parks, but um go ahead. Albee.

C

Thank you for the question mayor obvio tom deputy director of parks. Yes, we are coordinating with our city forest and uh in partnership, we've evaluated a number of park, locations in communities and neighborhoods with high heat or urban island index, and we're looking to do a planting of about 200 trees within the parks.

C

With the support of the resilience corps. Members.

Q

So we're we're planning that uh and we're looking to execute that in the next couple months.

E

Could I just you know going back to where councilmember carrasco really painstakingly demonstrated us is you know, as we think about the most direct impacts of trees, most direct benefits? It's where people live. um You know, including you know, every every family that's going for a walk along the sidewalk, uh including reducing the incredible cost. uh To and most of us don't have air conditioning, but obviously costing to keep a a home cool in the summer time and so forth.

E

It seems to me that street trees um are really what's so dramatically missing in low-income, neighborhoods. Okay, just ask: why aren't we focusing on the street trees? Since that is I what I hear from my my constituents? I hear that to be. The greatest concern is that there are no trees on my street.

F

Yeah, I think we would love to. We would love to take on a program like portland and be able to plant more street trees, as councilwoman just goes slightly.

E

Could we start with the 250 we've already budgeted? That's my question I'll be just describing we're going to yeah, we've got looks and it's not going to address council members.

C

That's a different. The the 250 on the east side is a separate bd mayor. We will be putting those in and.

F

They are going into locations that.

E

Okay, so then, if we have resilience corps members who are able to help provide some of the labor, why wouldn't they also be helping with street trees?.

F

I guess I'm trying to say in what sense me planting them.

E

Yeah abby just said that they would be in parks. So I'm trying to understand. We have an intense need along street in in the uh in the park strips where many streets um in central san, jose and east san jose simply lack trees. Why wouldn't resilience corps members? Go there.

C

I don't think, there's a reason they can't mayor.

E

C

Know that the there's actually like logistically, there was a spin-up period where resilience corps was working with pr and s directly and that was kind of how the program was was conceived.

C

um You know, and again I've been both speaking with avi and dorsey moore, and I think there is a possibility for us to explore planting uh street trees, both ocf and resilience core. um I think the resilience course staff will need some training. You know, as far as how to work in traffic and how to work safely in the streets, but I don't think those obstacles are insurmountable for us. So I do think it's something we can absolutely explore. It's more a function of capacity and experience, not that it's something that can't be done.

C

So I think it's absolutely something we can explore uh very soon.

E

Okay, I would encourage it because we're talking about the trees that are most impactful to our residents, particularly in canopy, deprived neighborhoods. It's it's, the street trees, it's the trees by their homes, and I really think that that's where we can make an impact, uh councilman crosstalk. I saw you raise your hand for a moment.

J

I I just want to chime in on this, so so this is where some of my uh my confusion, I guess, comes in as we're trying to figure out where to put trees and um and and sometimes I I feel like uh we're all we're all on the same page, uh but also talking in circles a little bit, uh because, as you see those pictures say my my I have the same thought processes.

J

We need to figure how to remove whatever obstacles are before us and I think that sometimes we're our own worst enemies as we set up these. uh These reasons why we can't do the things that we should be doing and and we're trying to solve a problem, and what is the problem? Well number one: it's just increasing the canopy, that's the over our teaching goal, but the other is.

J

If we're going to do it anyway, let's do it where it's most impactful, as the mayor had said, uh but but the other issue is, uh we know where we own the land and the land is in parks in uh mediums and uh in certain uh you know, sidewalks and areas.

J

My issue is, I I don't necessarily want trees in mediums because people don't walk in the middle of the street, so I don't want the trees in the mediums. Don't give me a map of the mediums that has that should be like your last resort. In my opinion, because if I'm sitting in a car I I enjoy going underneath a tree in a car, especially if I'm stuck in traffic, but that's not the greatest benefit.

J

I want a single mom or a mom who doesn't have a car and is pushing that stroller and it's walking down the sidewalk because we're trying to encourage people to get out of their cars or because people don't have a car and they need to get to that bus stop and we want them to have uh cover, and so we want them in walkable communities, because that's been the goal right.

J

So, let's integrate the plans that we've been talking about, that we've been boasting about that we've been encouraging and we've been selling these plants to our communities. We've been encouraging them in our urban villages, so this is where we should. Urban villages should be packed. Full of beautiful trees and neighborhoods, you saw the neighborhoods they're, woefully uh scarce in terms of the trees. So those are my preferences. I don't want them in the mediums.

J

That's not my preference and- uh and I keep anyway.

E

I have a feeling: we've got confusion. Confusing here is, I think, rick said something about them. Working in the streets and rick. I assume you didn't mean literally putting the trees.

J

No no, but I'm getting maps where my 250 trees are going to go and some of them are being designated in the mediums.

E

J

This is where why 250 trees, who that have been designated since since june of last year, have not been planted yet.

G

Right so if I can just add a little bit more clarity to that one of the biggest challenges we face, if we really truly want to put these trees along our sidewalks to get them so that they're, more walkable and enjoyable and so forth, is really it's that equity issue of the maintenance responsibility not just for the tree, but the related sidewalk damage that they may ultimately cause that it's a tough sell to those those property owners when they already know that this tree is likely to cause problems for them in the future.

G

They really don't want to take that jump and put that tree in there and because the majority we probably got 30 000, plus vacancies along frontages for property, owner locations, residential neighborhoods, etc. When we talk about our medians, our landscape, backups and so forth, you're only talking about a tenth of that, we only have probably three four five thousand trees that we can put into those city controlled areas. So it really is about addressing that equity issue and convincing property owners.

G

What we can do to help them to maintain these trees in the long term, because they know ultimately they're looking at thousands of dollars, potentially in costs long term, as these sidewalks need to be repaired, as the trees need to be pruned every five or six years it just that's. Our biggest challenge with the majority of our street tree locations doesn't mean we can't do it. We just got to figure out how we can do that and address those equity issues.

E

Okay, thank you uh councillor. Costco. Did you have anything more? No, okay, all right. I think we have a motion.

E

B

C

B

B

A

B

Carrasco, hi davis, yes esparza, yes, renus.

B

B

D

B

Jones bye, lecardo hi. Thank you.

E

All right uh we're on to the uh item 3.3, which is approval, mid-year budget review report. We have a presentation, jim.

R

Yes, mayor, thank you. I will try to have a brief presentation here.

R

Because I know, council still has the number of policy issued to go over here tonight, so we will um try to keep this um uh brief anyway yeah. So my name is good evening. My name is jim, shannon the city's budget director um I'm joined here tonight by bonnie duong, our assistant budget director and claudia chang, our deputy director, to uh walk us through the 21 22 mid-year budget review um through its budget policies.

R

The city council has designated mid-year as the appropriate time to perform a comprehensive assessment of the current year's budget and the mid-year review report as a vehicle for consideration of any necessary budget revisions to prepare this report. The city manager's budget office, working with all city departments, analyzed the status of the city's operating capital budgets contained in over 135 different funds. Based on that analysis and the receipt of some several new grants or reimbursements budget adjustments are recommended in the report for city council consideration.

R

So we are super proud of this report. There's a lot of information in it. The other senior managers on my team are listed here in the budget office. Work really really hard on it. That said, we're going to do a really quick overview and hit the high level points of of this report in the next few few minutes.

R

So uh from a big picture perspective, this is a good news. Mid-Year review on the our operating capital funds are generally performing as expected, mostly um uh with those few significant exceptions in the positive realm. So that's really good news. We are still you know, obviously working and struggling through the pandemic, which um is is taking longer to get through than anyone had hoped, and we also know that it has pretty disparate in uh impacts on the different aspects of our community, but the recovery in many areas has been swift and revenue.

R

Growth in a lot of areas has rebounded more quickly than expected, so we've got some budget actions that are recommended in our various various funds to reflect that as well as to make some other adjustments hitting a couple of the economic conditions we have, our employment levels are, you know, took that really big drop with the pandemic start, but we are on the right path to getting to back to where we were. I'm still not not.

R

Quite there, yet, when we look at the unemployment rate, we have an unemployment rate in san jose metropolitan area about three percent as of december, which is just above the 2.6 percent we had in february of 20 2020, so so definitely creeping up up there. um It's not a surprise that when we talked about it previously, the real estate activity um is is very hot. Still.

R

This is a chart showing the residential activity where you see the dark line or the sales price which never really has gone down, and the sales which is the dash line, had a little bit of a dip, but then has been at pretty strong levels, which means that we get some pretty good revenue growth for some of our transfer taxes we'll touch on a little bit later, um a not so bright spot and a lagging area are, is our hotel activity.

R

We are rebounding from where we were in 20 2020 as of december, but we're not back nearly to where we were pre-pandemic levels and we're actually trending below forecast in the current year. So we have some adjustments to reflect that uh sales. Tax we've, you know again. We talked about this. We saw a pretty strong surge of sales tax at the end of last fiscal year.

R

The first quarter payment we have- which is all we got at the moment, which is july august and september, were really strong, and this chart here compares the first quarter of sales tax, this fiscal year with the first quarter sales tax last fiscal year, um and we can see that we've got some pretty solid revenue growth in all of the different categories, especially general retail and food food products, which were impacted by the loosening of the public health orders and then transportation.

R

Those high prices of cars definitely uh impacts that that category as well, along with inflation generally, is typically positive for um sales tax. One of the things that we're going to look at you know on a going forward basis. We have definitely shifted.

R

You know um our the amount of of purchasing power that has gone towards services versus taxable goods is definitely swung in the taxable goods direction, and so we want to evaluate how that's going to continue on a going forward basis as we sort of uh get out of the most immediate impacts of the pandemic from a general fund assessment. Our revenue growth in the first six months is really strong. um We're on pace to exceed budget level levels by year, end of approximately 100 million dollars.

R

Of that amount, 50 million is due to the real property transfer tax. The measure e ballot measure, which was approved in march of 2020 2020, those are generated by real property transactions. Both residential and commercial. We've had a lot of commercial activity in the first six months, especially a lot of high dollar value commercial transactions that really drives up the um that revenue category quite a bit, um and so we're probably uh we're going to see revenue growth of the above.

R

The original budget estimate of 40 million going to 90 90 million we're going to allocate our recommending allocation all of those to the existing measure, e reserves in accordance with city council policy, to have all of those funds um dedicated to construction of affordable housing and homelessness prevention.

R

um But we do have an action as, as we talked about earlier today um on next week's council agenda to re-look at how that policy is, has the different buckets of allocation, which is the first step in sort of a many months process to to uh to change how those monies could be could be allocated. But today we're just recommending allocation in accordance with the existing policy, and then we have 30 million dollars allocated to a revenue loss reserve.

R

As we had mentioned in previous meetings, we were informed by the state um uh that that they dispute some of the some of the tax revenues that we have been receiving. um It is, you know, with limited exceptions, um the uh information about um tax records. They are confidential under state law, so we don't say too much.

R

We can't be much more specific than what we have here, although we will touch on a little bit later in a couple of slides, so we want to make sure that money is put in a reserve and not available to be spent against. Our expenditures are tracking about uh to have savings of about five to seven million dollars, or I expect that number to grow a little bit by um as we as we get closer toward the end of the year.

R

And finally, we have a recommendation to establish our ending fund balance reserve for 21 22 of 12 12 million, which is about half of what we had uh included in our four forecasts. So as part of our ongoing forecast, we always need to have some amount of money that we expect to get either from additional revenue or some expenditure savings such that com, combined they're about 20, 25 million or so for 212.

R

We had estimated that at 23 million, so we're estimating to establish that here we have a number of of general fund adjustments allocated to various cash categories. As you see reflected here on the slides. um The first category is urgent: fiscal program needs, you know, as city council policy really is to the mid-year budget is not to really do new things or do new policy.

R

It's really about truing up the budget based on new information and to implement city council direction, but we do have a couple of items that we want to bring bring forward for things that that probably should not wait until the proposed budget process is when we normally would do things. We have two items here: they are net zero impact to the general fund. The first one is a recruitment and retention action to provide some temporary staffing to the human resources department over an 18-month period to focus on recruitment and retention to get at our vacancies.

R

Looking at some classification compensation studies, some better uh out outreach to our schools to our improve our employee pipeline, and then we also have that that, although that particular action is fully offset by vacancy savings in other departments, so of of the amount of funding that we're recommending there for the recruitment retention of about 800 thousand dollars, that's fully offset by vacancy savings and other departments.

R

So we're taking down budgets in the city, manager's office, the it department and the transportation department to fully offset that that cost and we're recommending uh to start early on our budgeting software upgrade. We have to upgrade the platform and, in addition, there's just some improvements. We really have to make to improve the accuracy of the system and to really save folks time, both in the budget office and throughout the departments.

R

We spend really too much time on our budgeting software, so we want to get that going before the start of the 23-24 budget year in august of 2022, um then we have a number of required technical rebalancing actions that we'll get into in a moment which is just to true up some budget based on some new information and to implement city council direction. We have a number of grants, reimbursements and fees, that each of those individual actions are offset by a corresponding increase to revenues for grants or to reimburse for costs.

R

And then we have a few cleanup adjustments that are technical transactions, such as a fund balance, reconciliation or closeout, or moving money between appropriations to accomplish the same task.

R

I'll just hit a couple of the required technical rebalancing actions on the revenue side before turning it over to bonnie. For a second, we already talked about the measure e actions, so those 50 million dollars of revenue is offset by the allocation to the reserve. We have the sales tax increase, which we talked about. Sales tax is doing quite a bit better.

R

We get our second quarter of sales tax receipts in a couple of weeks, so we'll have a little bit better idea, but but we we do feel confident in increasing the estimate to 20 by 20 million dollars to get to 300 million dollars of sales tax revenue. We do have some new information from the county on our property tax revenue, as estimates, in particular our e-raf allocation. Our education revenue, augmentation fund is going up by about seven million dollars and general security is going up by another four.

R

I do want to point out that there is litigation that the school districts um have levied against counties for their allo for their calculation of the iraf revenue, um so um that is potentially at risk. But it's likely that litigation process is going to take um a little while so we're going to need to still count the revenue as it is coming in and then business taxes are are doing well.

R

Card rooms are mostly back to full operations, so we can see some additional revenue there of six six million and then another million a piece for cannabis. uh Taxes in our disposal facility tax, a few transfers and reimbursements we're bringing in the largest is um the portion of our construction and conveyance tax revenues. That's largely in the capital funds, but there is a small portion that that goes into the general fund.

R

So that's about a two million dollar uh bump up there from the cnc funds and then uh 1.4 million dollars as a transfer from the american rescue plan to the general fund, um which is in accordance with the u.s treasury department guidelines on calculating revenue loss for the city as a whole that we're recommending to allocate per council direction to office of equality assurance software that'll be shown on the next slide and then prns fee activity which had been really low um because of the public health restrictions are starting to rebound and so we're starting to see the the little bit more normal use of the typical happy happy hollow and other fee activities that prns engages in and so want to recognize that revenue there.

R

And then we still do have the downward adjustment of the tot fund, um the the tot and the general fund, a million dollars, and we also have some corresponding actions in our tot special fund, as well as our convention center cultural facilities. District special fund um as well we'll have to keep an eye on that as we go into the proposed process.

R

H

Thanks jim, um so here on, this slide is a list of the required technical rebalancing actions. It's just a continuation, so I'm not going to go through every single item. That's here on this slide, but I just want to highlight a few of them. um The first one which jim had mentioned earlier was the revenue loss reserve, we're establishing it for 30 million dollars, and it sets aside funding in response to the state's recent initial determination that a portion of the city's uh previous and current tax revenues could be significantly lower.

H

um So while the city disputes it and will appeal the state's initial determination, this reserve will set aside the disputed revenues in 2122 to address the potential negative impact um to the general fund um if the determination is is adverse.

H

uh The next item is the establishment of the 21 22 indian fund balance reserve for 12 million dollars, um and so, like jim, had mentioned. You know we always assume a certain amount of fund balance. That's going to be available at the end of the current fiscal year, which will be available um beginning of next fiscal year. um So this 12 million dollars gets us about halfway there. We had assumed 23 million dollars in balance that would be available at the end of 2122 for use of 22.23.

H

uh The next item is the community and economic recovery reserve in the amount of 8.8 million dollars. This reserve supports the recovery work streams, initiatives that will support the recovery, worksheets and initiatives that unexpectedly arise and will be considered as a funding source in the upcoming budget process for the potential continuation of existing work streams into 22-23.

H

So this reserve is offset by several other recommended actions in the mid-year report. One of them is a decrease of 9.2 million dollars in the fire department's personal services appropriation to reflect the shift of eligible emergency medical services, support expenses from the fire department out of the general fund and into the corona virus relief fund, which is being closed out.

H

This reduction in the fire department's appropriation will offset the recommended actions to provide an additional 300 000 for consulting and planning support services also to establish this reserve.

H

The next item is a net increase of 2 million across various workers. Compensation claims appropriations. This aligns the funding with anticipated activity and also to fund one-time settlements.

H

The next item is the establishment of the hazard mitigation mitigation grant program for 1.4 million dollars, of which about a million dollars is offset by um revenues from fema and then there's a city match in there of 350 000.

H

This program is for seismic retrofit, so we'll fund the development and designing of the program, help identify and locate parcels and then implement the program, and then we are. um There is a recommendation to establish the office of equality assurance labor compliance system for 1.4 million dollars.

H

This is funded through a transfer from the american rescue plan fund, which jim had mentioned earlier. This funding will provide for the implementation of the new software system to assist the office of equality assurance labor compliance efforts, and this was directed by city council with the approval of the memo that went on november 30th regarding the covet 19 pandemic response and community economic recovery budget adjustments.

H

Lastly, the last thing I wanted to note is that there is a hundred thousand dollar increase to provide funding for redistricting outreach efforts um by informing the affected residents of the district boundary changes, and with that it will turn it over to claudia good evening. I will highlight three capital funds that are major revenue streams for the city's capital program. The three tax taxes listed on this slide are levied on construction and property.

H

Resale activity, construction and conveyance tax, which is the one represented by the gold bars, is an economic indicator of the real estate market. Through december cnc, tax collections totaled close to 30 million dollars, which is 78 of the 2122 adopted budget estimate of 38 million and is anticipated to end the year at 60 million dollars.

H

Building and structure construction tax, which is the green bar, are tracking lower than expected. Through december, this tax receipt totaled 6.9 million, which is only 34 of the 2122 adopted budget estimate of 20 million dollars. There have been lower than anticipated development permit activity in all land use categories such as residential, commercial and industrial.

H

This collection level is below the prior years collection level of 16.9 million dollars for the same period and is anticipated to end the year below the budget estimate of 20 million by 1 million dollars.

H

Construction and excise tax, which are the blue bars, are also tracking lower than expected, through december tax receipts, totaled 6.1 million dollars about 34 of the budgeted estimate of 18 million dollars. There have been lower than anticipated residential and commercial development permit activities.

H

This collection level is below the prior year's collection of 12.4 million for the same period based on collections through december, and a look at projects in the pipeline for the remainder of the fiscal year. Tax proceeds are expected to end the year below the budget estimate of 18 million dollars by 2 million.

H

We'll continue to monitor these revenue sources as the fiscal as the fiscal year continues.

H

Next, I'd like to highlight the airport funds through december airport and planned and deplaned 4.8 million passengers, an increase of 192 from the prior year's level of 1.6 million passengers, yet still 42 below year-to-date levels in fiscal year, 20. passenger operations, takeoffs and landings are 61.2 percent. Above last year's levels, given activity to date, passenger levels are tracking to exceed the 2122 projection of serving 7.5 million passengers, lending fees, terminal, rentals and airfield revenues.

H

These are revenue categories associated with the number of flights rather than the number of passengers are tracking, just below estimated levels and largely due to lower than anticipated airline landings and use of common gates and ticket counters.

H

The airport continues to work with concessionaires airlines and other tenants to help mitigate the pandemic's impact, including providing financial relief when necessary. The city council recently approved giving the city manager the flexibility to amend agreements with airport tenants where the amendments would provide financial relief through december 31st 2023, a total of 59.6 million of federal relief funding is allocated in 2122.

H

The timing and use of the federal relief funding will be determined by revenue performance.

R

Thanks, claudia so that was just a taste of all the great information that is in the mid-year budget. Re review this looking forward, you know. After you know, approval of the mid-year report really sets the stage um for the budget process um for 22 20 23, and so um we are going to uh transitioning now to working on the budget request and the five year forecast that will release at the end of the month. The mayor's march budget message will be heard in the middle of march and then april.

R

We get to creating the proposed budget documents and have city council budget study sessions and community budget meetings in may, where we have the final public hearing in june and review and approval of the mayor's june budget message, which then formally adopts our budget for the 2223 process, so really want to thank all the staff for the work on the report and all the departments that contributed to it and we all stand ready for any questions. Council might have.

E

Great thank you very much. Let's go to the public tony sir beacon.

K

All right, thank you, guy beekman, uh thank you that the beginning of the pandemic, the mayor, had already mostly prepared a balanced budget program for the future of san jose and that I assume we are still relying on at this time and has possibly become a model for this country and, at the same time, council person, raul perales, was also working much for these balanced budget practices to have an important focus with the deeper concerns of equity issues, an important reminder that the initial intention of subsidies is to help people of low and extremely low income.

K

Please learn how to always want to work towards and honor the simple, the simple idea and concept and finally, openness, accountability, transparency and clarity are incredibly important in upcoming budget planning are the ways of positive sustainability and looking out for the other person in the next few years. These are simple, honest ways towards innovation and better public health and community safety as well. Thank you.

B

Ryan jones.

C

Did you get mayor and council members? My name is ryan jones and I'm a plumber pipe fitter with ua local 393. I support.

D

C

Items for 1.4 million for the office of equality assurance this was identified identified as a critical need back in 2017. So it's long overdue.

K

Our city needs to do more to protect and empower.

C

Working people to uplift the responsible businesses workers fairly and to prevent and prosecute wage sets what the.

K

City, what the city should do with the next year's budget is add additional positions to the oea.

C

Team to work directly with businesses, workers and the county office of labor standards enforcement to form a collaborative community-based.

K

C

By doing this, workers will have a resource not only to file complaints but be educated on wage theft, which will prevent these harmful acts from even happening.

B

Forrest peterson.

C

This comment is in favor of the proposed budget adjustment for the office of equality assurance. My name is dr forrest. Peterson. I have a phd from stanford engineering.

C

I have led an internationally recognized engineering research center collaboration with the santa clara county wage theft coalition. I gave a year of public service as the county's first labor standards investigator in the office of labor standards enforcement. Today I'll comment on the technology and software side. The key points I want to make first look forward to a new generation of artificial intelligence.

C

Second, provide your office professional development in the use of advanced data analysis such as python and r. The epa now requires before eligibility for some investigator roles. The difference is real in my doctoral thesis, which in infrastructure heavy construction usually involves certified payroll. Just by the situation and as a concrete, labor and labors union, I used to be subject to certified payroll.

C

Thank you. Paul soto,.

M

Yes, paul soto from the horseshoe. I disagree with the past callers. We ain't going to the artificial intelligence that quick homeboy um with the 42 4.2.

M

In taxes in the construction- and you got nerve to come here and begging for more money, you want to reduce that 4.2. No, if that was maybe 15, maybe but at 4.2 you're gonna ask to take a cut out of that. I'm gonna just leave that one there and then uh let me see uh the reason why there is good revenue is because the coveted money that's been coming in which the deaths on the east side paid for and all the coveted infections on the east side they paid for it with their lives.

M

That's why you were able to stabilize the economy. It was on their bodies, so be be very cognizant of that. Where is the racial equity office? They need to be here. In this conversation.

B

Erica valentine.

B

Good afternoon city council, my name is erica valentine. I am a resident of san jose and the political and development director for ua local 393. We represent over 3000 members in santa clara and san benito county as part of the building trades coalition. We stand in support and ask the city of san jose to stand together with local 393 to support this budget adjustment as an act of your commitment to fight against wage theft.

B

I support the budget item for 1.4 million adjustment for the office of equality, as mentioned by my other colleagues, it has been since 2017 that this has been a priority, but yet there has been no action and no budget to reflect the commitment from the city to enforce this, as well as put towards the effort of additional positions so that we can fight against wage theft. Thank you for your time and we appreciate your support.

B

C

Hi good evening, my name is brian poors, with ua local union 393.. I'm here supporting working partnerships; usa, I'm in support of the 1.4 million dollar budget for the office of equality assurance to provide necessary resources and technology that the oea staff requires to be successful. This critical need has been a long time coming and should allow to begin a more proactive approach rather than a reactive approach to maintaining labor compliance.

C

It's time to stop pulling bodies out of the river and go upstream to see why they're falling in wage theft affects our entire community, and this would be a great start to protecting and empowering our local workers and their rights. History shows that when labor is thriving, our entire economy thrives right. Along with us. I hope that city council utilizes this budget to establish a solid foundation to prevent wage theft and continue to build upon this foundation for years to come.

C

I urge the council to consider future budgeting and funding for additional positions at oea to focus on working directly.

B

Christa delatorre hi, my name is christa deletory and I'm the political organizer with.

S

The south bay labor council, we represent over a hundred thousand working or sorry hundred thousand working people in both santa clara and san benito counties. I'm calling to support.

B

The budget adjustment of 1.4 million dollars to the office of quality assurance these funds will allow oea to integrate a much needed software for labor compliance and certified payrolls, which will help free up valuable staff time. This is a great first step in the right direction.

S

But there's still more work. The city can do to support working people to elevate.

B

Responsible businesses who fairly compensate the workers and to prevent and prosecute wage theft for next year's budget. The sophie labor council urges the city council to fund additional positions at oea that focus on working directly with workers and businesses to prevent wage theft and to fund collaboration with the county's office of labor centers enforcement for community-based outreach. The creation of this pilot program will enable the city to build a proactive force for outreach and education that prevents workers from being harmed.

B

Corey caveto.

F

C

My name is cory: cobado, I'm a member of local union 393.. I support the budget item for 1.4 million for this office of equality and insurance. The copa 19 pandemic has exposed extreme vulnerability of essential workers to illegal treatment. Workers of color immigrants and women in particular, have been hit with everything, from stolen wages to health and safety violations that can expose them or their families, to serious illness, to being forced to go to work, sick or illegally fired for trying to take care of sick family.

C

We need to beef up the oea to help ensure workers rights are protected. Thank you.

B

Louise auerhan, uh thank you and good evening, mary council members, louise auerhan, with working partnerships. I'm also calling a strong support of the budget item for 1.4 million for the office of office of equality assurance.

B

It's long overdue, and I want to thank all of the council city council members who responded to our calls last fall and voted on november 30th to move this forward and to include at least a small down payment on wage theft, prevention and workers rights in the recovery budget. This is this is critical, but it's just a first step.

B

This will create the foundation free up some staff time in oaa, but we really need to build more on that foundation to protect and empower working people to uplift all the responsible businesses who do pay those workers fairly and to prevent and prosecute wage theft when it happens.

B

So I urge you to support this item tonight and for next year's budget. Look at funding additional positions at oaa, as well as david bieni,.

C

I am speaking on behalf of the members of the building trades council in support of this item. Part of the budget review report is a recommendation to fund new labor compliance software system to assist the efforts of the city's office of equality assurance.

C

The purpose of prevailing wages is to ensure that the public dollars support our communities and residents by upholding local standards for wages and benefits, and this safeguard is only meaningful when there's an effective labor compliance practice to ensure that prevailing wage and other labor laws are being observed.

C

The use of reputable labor compliance software will free up staff from the basic functions of collection and organizing and will flag errors for, or violations for staff. This will allow staff to focus on investigation and enforcement and reduce the chance of missing important information.

C

The approval of this item will be a solid step toward giving the office of equality assurance the tools it needs to protect workers, though much more is needed. Thank you.

B

Frank austin.

C

Yes, I thank you. My name is frank austin and I'm speaking on behalf of over 3 000 members of ua local 393, which serve the santa clara and san benito counties.

C

I'm speaking in support of the budget item for 1.4 million for the office of equity assurance with these funds, the oea will be able to redirect valuable staff resources away from doing cumbersome paperwork by implementing software systems, to help streamline the verification of wage compliance and certified payrolls.

C

This valuable software system will allow the staff of the oea to be more product proactive by seeking out offenders of wage theft, rather than only being reactive, to claims that are brought to them. Bringing charges and prosecuting the offenders will help to create an atmosphere and an understanding that wage theft will not be tolerated in our community.

C

Approving this budget will be a great first step and help create a foundation to build on, but keeping.

B

Maria maldonado.

C

uh Hi, my name is maria and with 5.15 in the union and.

T

I support the budget item for 1.4 million for the office.

B

Of equality assurance first of all, I want to thank the city council.

T

To include west death prevention and workers, rights in the recovery budget.

C

B

Much more as an organizer, I usually say I could find wasted cases any day of the week. It's very important to prevent waste death, especially during the pandemic. Workers, have been more vulnerable.

J

B

C

B

Working overtime, not taking breaks not getting paid sick leave.

C

B

Even worse being.

C

Forced to work seek for fear um to face retaliation. Some workers can get fired for taking quarantine if they will stick with kobe. I believe the city could do more to prevent this con to continue happening, and probably a good way to do. It is focusing on it if the office of equality assurance worked directly with workers and employers in next year to fund collaboration with the.

B

Countries call it user too.

L

If you have a good union, you may not need to have these kind of things. I know I've had problems with wage theft in the past, the california industrial relations board is the one that is able to help you out. They always have they're, always really helpful. I don't know what the city is going to do, because the city really doesn't do anything I mean.

L

Would you want them to do this? I mean they're. They they, the city, messes up everything.

L

So I don't know what the reason is to spend millions of dollars when, if you have a problem with your employer with with any types of issues, whether it's breaks or being you know, wage theft or tip theft or whatever the caliper industrial relations board is amazing. So I don't know why this is a city issue when you get when you need to go to the state to get this, to get to get it fixed and and in the labor unions, god bless you guys should be able to take care of this internally.

B

Back to the council.

E

All right and return to council uh council member as far as uh move approval.

B

For a second second, second.

E

There is okay, that's.

B

It thank you. I.

E

Appreciate your succinctness uh counselor awareness.

S

Thank you. um I want to thank everybody for um calling in all those folks who um talked about the oea's.

S

Software that we're finally securing after a number of years- and I'm really happy that this is coming through. This- is something that will help prevent um folks from taking advantage of workers that um that have been hurting um because of this pandemic and the recovery, and um and thank you um matt for for the work that you've been doing to lead up to this.

S

um The the other piece I wanted to talk about is the recovery task force that I know, uh council, member um paralysis is guiding and leading, and, and hopefully when that process is in full swing, to hear back from them um some of their recommendations um that can assist our local economy, our workforce.

S

um It would just be wonderful to hear some of those recommendations in the future. I hope that can line up um before um everything's firmed up for this future budget season. Thank you.

C

E

You uh just a quick question about the 300 000 or so we're spending on the budget software. I know we spent several millions of dollars on a budget software upgrade in 2017 or so, and I know there were challenges in implementation, that why are we? Why are we spending more now.

R

That's a great question mayor so yeah, so the budget upgrade to the hyperion platform was part of our overall sort of um payroll hr um budget sort of project, which was a very, very large project.

R

um We and so hyperion is the system that we that we have and we took it as far as we could take it in this in its current iteration that it was rolled rolled out. So there's so there's two things that are going on. One is we we need to transition to the cloud right now run on on-premise server, so we need to to go to the cloud, but to really to take advantage of all of those um benefits of the cloud.

R

We need to redo how we calc, how we use the budgeting system for our personal services budgeting.

R

um What what we use when we first got the system was what oracle had provided and sort of built, and so- and that was the that's the biggest angst for us, and so we feel the hyperion is a good budgeting platform and we've spent you know bonnie and bryce, and I have spent you know- probably a good uh 40 hours or more over the past month and a half working with um with some of our consultants to figure out how we could redesign the personal services budgeting component to make that more effective.

R

Because that's what we've learned in our x explorations is to get that right. You have to sort of build it yourself within the hyperion platform, so we feel pretty good about that and if we take that on, then we think we're going to see a lot of improvements in the time it takes for departments to do the budgeting for us to do it and we can access some of the the better functionality once we spend less time doing the data entry portion.

C

And if I can add two things, uh mayor and jim alluded to it, but we are required because of the version we're on. We have to do an upgrade so with that, there's an opportunity to go to cloud and take some of the lessons that we've learned over these.

A

Last five years to make the processing.

C

Part and the input part more efficient and just by way of memory, the city's adoption of iparian. We have the largest chart of accounts that I'd ever seen and there were some difficulties that went through that. But we've learned a lot over the last five years and the budget team is, I would dare call them experts at this.

C

So there is some improvements to the process and more precision that they can do with less input. Work. Jim, I'm not sure if you want to add on to any of that.

R

No yeah, I think that's you, you said it well right and I think we are um offsetting this with a reduction to the I.t sinking fund reserve to keep this sort of a cost neutral item. Okay,.

E

Great all right, thanks jim thanks, rob uh and thanks to your whole team to bonnie and claudia and selena and everybody's worked so hard to get this together. I know this is just the start of the hard work in the next few months ahead, uh but thank you all all right. Let's vote on the movie.

R

E

Oh yeah, thank you. It was a motion from councilmember. As far as maybe I should ask her first, if she's willing to incorporate that memorandum as a friendly man.

B

Yes, I'm willing to incorporate your memo. Man.

E

Thank you uh is that, right with the seconder, thank you for the for the nudge, jim.

B

I think I seconded it. I also.

S

Seconded it, whoever.

E

Got it all right, fabulous one of those seconders got it. Okay, let's vote! Oh no,.

S

Mayor, I have one more comment. My hand is raised. Yeah go ahead. uh Wonderful, so I wanted to ask. um I didn't see on the screen of matt. Kano was still on it. Okay,.

E

S

I see you uh matt, could you can you talk a little bit about the next steps? Just for those folks who who um called in and you know, waited until 10 p.m, to figure out like what? What are those next steps? What can we expect in terms of I know the rfp is next um and uh if you can just uh outline that, for us.

C

Sure thank you councilman for the question. Matt canon director of public works and and thanks also to everybody who stayed with us tonight. We definitely appreciate your partnership and support um and making sure that our workers get paid properly and fairly. um This is about a nine month process to secure um to secure the software um and there's a a lot of you know.

C

We need to we're gonna work really closely internally with finance um and it as well um to scope out the scope out the um what we'll be in the rfp there um and then we'll be putting that rfp out on the street, probably in about three month time frame or so assuming the funding gets approved, and then it's about a nine month process to put the rfp out, get the responses.

C

Do the evaluations and get to council before we are able to procure, and it's like julia may want to add the coupon. If you want to add anything to that or.

H

No, it it'll go through our process of prioritizing against other projects in the queue right now as well.

S

Okay, well, where is that? How how would that compete? Because this this uh this project has been in the works for gosh? I don't know four years now: yeah we have. We have an internal.

B

uh Procurement.

H

Prioritization board and there's a there's, a formula: there's a analysis.

B

That's prepared and matt's team is already working through that, so the the committee will look at it next week and um you know, as usual, we're challenged by staffing vacancies across the organization so we're we will work as hard as we can um to get this done, but um it will.

S

Be live yeah. Thank you for the insurance julia. I know. I know that you all will um this this this particular one. I don't know how the scoring works, but if there's anything that can um reflect how this will be um just really crucial for the well-being and the and the protection of salaries for the workforce. Now that's out there.

S

um I know that you understand the some of the the the the delicate uh um balance of keeping the workforce that we have, and so part of that is is with salary and, of course, um there's folks who are not uh being protected right now, and so um I'm I'm hoping that that could really count for something and and move this really up this priority.

S

Aside from that, we've already explored um previous um software or an attempt to uh for a software uh development for this uh particular um purpose and it didn't work, and so you know our workforce out. There can't wait uh another another year before there's this this level of protection and and um an ability for our folks to be freed up to to do more of that um uh in-field work.

S

um So I I'll I'll take this this conversation off line, but I really hope that you you've heard from uh the wage theft coalition. That's called in about how important this really is for everybody, and I I I know that you can hear that um in their voices and and then their requests to you, um but we can take this offline and um and if there's any any additional information that we can provide to help make that case, please let us know I'd also like to see a met.

S

King matt, if we could um work with the wage theft coalition and david beanie, for these are the folks that know this field a lot better than I do uh in terms of those level of details that may um make a difference, and so um I'm just hoping to really drive that through we've, we've waited for. Oh, my gosh four years. I think it's been since we've been working on this, so thank you.

E

B

Vote um before we vote, I just wanted to note that on the last vote, arenas was absent, but she texted me that she had computer problems and couldn't unmute. So she has a yes for the last vote and now I'm going to call the vote for this um jimenez.

B

Yes, peralez, yes, cohen,.

A

B

Crosco, yes, davis; yes, esparza! Yes, arenas!

B

Yes fully. I mayhem hi jones hi le cardo. Thank.

E

You all right uh item uh 5.1 is the local streets resurfacing multi-year project move approval, there's a motion. Second, second, any comments from the public.

B

M

uh Yes, thank you. um There was a pulsator from the horseshoe um last about two years ago. Councilman perales in one of the subcommittee meetings had mentioned, and he pointed out. He goes paul. You're gonna not gonna like this, and what he stated explicitly is what racial equity look like. With respect to pavement, you wouldn't think it's it's it's innocuous, yeah just just pass it pass it. No, he articulated beautifully about how the cars in certain areas of the city, their maintenance, is higher. Why? Because the roads are not paved. Why? Because of equity?

M

Now either the equity office is going to get over here and start doing their job, okay or they're, not okay. They need to consult councilman perales on what equity sounds like what it looks like and what it looks like reflected in policy, because if I don't see the oppression of my people reflected in a policy, then equity is not there.

M

Thank you, claire.

B

K

All right, uh blair beacon to try to quickly offer, uh uh I think measure t, can help with this uh funding ideas.

K

You know they're trying to explore what can be different options. How the future of the measure t commission process public process can work uh check it out. You know, I think the ideas of openness and accountability I do with technology can be a much help to their to what the questions are asking at this time. So I thought I would just mention it at this time and uh good luck in the efforts of the future of the commission. Thank you.

B

Back to council.

E

Thank you uh and uh john and rick I I know then pages two and three discuss how you've been uh implementing uh an equity screen uh focusing uh repaving and communities are concerned. I appreciate that I wanted to ask, um though, about uh quality- and I know john we've had some offline conversations about 10th street.

E

I think we had a bad situation there with a contractor. I think within a year we're seeing potholes. Now the potholes are back. What um are we doing anything different now in our contract? So we just make sure that the contractors are on the hook for repairing this stuff for more than a year out.

F

Yeah, thank you mayor john russell, director of transportation rick's here too, to fill in. If I miss anything, but um with this particular contract is our resurfacing. So it's the highest level of work that we're doing where we're we're grinding off a couple of inches and then completely resurfacing. So that's not the part you're referring to some of the other work. We're doing in the paper program is the ceiling work and that's where you noticed on 10th and 11th and then actually, I think, councilman mahan had an issue on.

F

I think it was camden or coleman yeah thanks councilmember 2019, where there is some delamination um of the layer that we put down from the original pavement layer. So when we noticed that and a lot of other people brought it to our attention, we've made a couple of changes. So the first one is we're actually rethinking some of some of the roadways that we're either going to do resurfacing on or a ceiling and determine whether or not it really needs a further level of treatment grinding with the resurface or not.

F

So that's the first thing as we went going forward second thing, since we did notice that there was some delaminating on this. We have changed our specifications for future contracts to actually add some sticky layers and some of the things that that, when the contractor puts it down, we think it's going to last longer.

F

But to get to your answer, what about quality from a current contractor? Well, that we do have in our uh specifications that there's a one-year warranty for work that uh the contractor would be responsible for um in some of those instances, especially the one in district 10. We had already passed that warranty period and then in some parts of what you're referring to on this on 10th and 11th, we're beyond it. So we're we're having to repair that.

F

So I think, with the changes we're making both in the specifications and just how we're applying uh the right criteria to decide, resurfacing or ceiling is, is going to help us out um rick. Did I miss anything on what we're doing with with that, to try to fix some of the warranty issues, and I want to mention also that we're it's pretty rare, we're actually pretty pleased with our whole payment program. It was a pretty rare occurrence when we're finding these. So it's certainly not an um a large-scale uh issue that we had.

F

We just don't know what happened on 10th street, why I was doing doing that. We're gonna have to take a harder look at that, but it's certainly not happening throughout the city. It's pretty rare, so.

C

I generally agree with john you know: 10th and coleman are both high used streets and sometimes you've just sealed the street so many times that it's due for something different. So um that's our team is taking that and kind of assessing what to do and making sure that we make those areas right. You know again, as john said, we we are generally happy with our contractors and that one year warranty you know for paying 250 to 300 miles per year.

C

We have very few very few issues and when we do, they fix them um generally very quickly.

E

We're going beyond the one-year warranty that'd be way beyond the industry standard I mean, I know warranty's coming to cost.

C

L

C

To be honest, that's within san jose, that's the only standard I've ever seen. um You know I could talk to matt and just kind of see what else is out there. There are some times where there's been a longer warranty if the qaqc is a little bit on the edge of satisfactory. Maybe we'll get an extended warranty from the contractor, just to kind of make sure we're good, because we do have our our inspectors doing material checks and making sure things are going out the way the specifications uh outline, but we could explore that.

C

You know it might raise the costs in the end, but we could definitely explore that because we do want to make sure that the roads last you know where they're supposed to last.

E

Okay, I appreciate you asking the question um all right, uh any other questions. Let's vote on the motion. Yes,.

C

P

A

B

B

Crosstalk davis, yes, esparza, yes, uranus, yes,.

B

Hi jones hi ricardo hi. Thank you.

E

All right, uh we've got uh a little more than two hours left and we've got a lot of items to go so we'll all try to be. As as we can be item 8.1 our objections on the hazardous vegetation, commencement report, removal reads: weeds of refuge, there's no presentations or a motion.

B

E

I see no hands up from the public. Let's vote.

B

Q

B

Corrales, yes cohen,.

C

B

Crosstalk hi davis, yes esparza; yes, yes, holy hi, mahan, hi jones, hi, ricardo, hi,.

N

E

All right item 8.2 is the envision san jose general planning, your performance review report. uh I'm told that the presentation will be passed in the interesting times. Is that right? That's.

A

E

Okay presentation all right, but chris and michael, are here for questions. uh Let's go to the public also.

M

I don't get paid one cent pulsating from the horseshoe. I don't get paid one cent. I've been doing this for almost four years now. It's affiliated with four years and you're gonna tell me that, in the interest of time that you're just gonna pass this along, my ancestors were swinging in the short-handled hole in the fields of sasi puedes.

M

Their time was uh yeah yeah, we'll just take up all their time, because it was taking up all of their life force in their energy. For what to to to to fortify both will glenn and rose garden, and in the interest of time, though, we're just gonna pass this stuff up, because we're tired we're tired of city businesses, I'm not, and I never will be tired- and I will do this in the until the day that I go, and I will do it for free. Why?

M

Because I would rather do what it is that I do for free than to accept the penny for doing what it is. That needs to be done.

B

B

Thank you and back in march of 2018 there was a memorandum uh put out anyway. It's about the mobile home park overlay and then two years later, in march of 2020 city council voted to yes put a new land use, designation called mobile home.

B

um That would then add stricter oversight and so forth to all of the remaining 58 mobile home parks, and I just want to let you know that when you're looking at the envision general plan this this review each year, I just want you to know that pretty soon a lot of you won't be there and all of those stories and all that emphasis on getting that mobile home land use designation, put into the general plan um it's essential to have it happen within two years of you voting for it, and it hasn't been done yet so every couple weeks I type it in onto the land use map, and it's not there.

B

um So I realize it costs money, but it's an important piece of what we were told. What happened? Thank you. Blair, beekman,.

K

All right, thank you, blair, beekman. uh I think it's uh there's a bit of trouble, a bruin uh in the future of the urban villages, ideas I think the subs I keep trying to say the subsidy plans.

K

That's trying to help local low-income housing needs at this time is, I think, going to want to start to be used for these urban villages ideas in the next year or two, and I I think we have to be prepared for that, and we have to have real discussion about the future of subsidy use and how it's meant for low-income people and not for high-end developers, and if you are going to use it for high-end developers, please use it for extremely low and very low income concerns.

K

Don't don't sell it out and uh it's important thing. I hope we can learn to more openly talk about uh the future of development and subsidy use and keeping it at the extremely low levels in its initial ideals. Thank you.

K

B

L

It's amazing how late you guys go on one day. You can't stretch it over a couple days and then, all of a sudden, you start slamming through legislation that affects people's taxes lives, maybe even real estate values. It's shady you're, a shady crew there at city council, you really are, it should be called. It should be called a real estate office. Really, but it's you, you guys use a lot of tricks. This is the kind of stuff they used to do in the southern states.

L

By the way you guys are like a southern city with uh with a rainbow flag.

L

uh It's um it's amazing how you guys do things how you're you're, not in with what the most the residents really want and there's a reason why you go till midnight on a tuesday every single week, because you don't want people to know what you're doing you're shady you're underhanded.

B

Back to the council, thank.

K

E

uh Is there a any question, move approval? Second, all right motion. Second, let's vote menace.

I

B

C

B

Crosstalk hi davis, yes, barza, yes, marinus yes holy. I meehan jones, all right ricardo.

N

E

All right, 10.1 is land use, consent, calendar.

E

It's your motion, boov.

B

E

Tag it all right on consent, comments specifically on this item.

M

Paul soto from horseshoe land consent, um all of the all of these items that should be discussed are not being discussed, but yet you want a mouth equity.

M

You want to mouth that oh there's been historical injustices that have been done to people, but when it comes time to center it within the context of policy, all of a sudden we become amnesiac.

M

Where is the racial equity office? They need to be here? They need to listen to these conversations and be taught because obviously they couldn't come up with the definition. You know who was given the most succeed, powerful definition, councilman prowls.

M

I only have one minute dude, so let me finish now that I can times run out. I guess you won again.

B

M

B

L

I agree with paul: you guys are real short with with these items, land use and everything this is once again. This is this is the shadiness of what you people do. Real real, real, real cunning would.

E

You like to speak about items.

E

All right, let's move on. Okay uh is there. There is a motion. Let's vote, jimenez.

P

B

Morales, yes cohen,.

K

B

Crosco carrasco, hi davis, yes, esparza, yes, uranus, yes,.

E

Thank you, okay item 10.2 is the general plan amendment conforming rezoning on the center road property.

E

Right uh chris.

Q

Sorry, man, it's having a little trouble getting off mute there. um I think, uh similar to 8.2 we're prepared to just be available for questions on the language size.

E

Okay, you don't want to make any presentation at all on a recommendation for denial.

Q

Well, I mean so we're happy to make a couple of comments. um We just sort of had a discussion uh previously about trying to keep things moving along, so um jennifer.

A

Q

Okay, all right, let me uh let me have michael just say a couple of words. It is a fair point. Now there are a couple of these items that um obviously staff had recommended denial uh and the planning commission uh had come up with a counter recommendation. So uh michael jordan just give us a couple of uh quick thoughts on this one.

T

Yeah, so the applicant is proposing to change the site at center, road from neighborhood community commercial, to mixed use, commercial and with conforming rezonings.

T

The general plan and and therefore staff are not wrecked- did not recommend this, because um the general plan very much focuses housing into growth areas, and so we acknowledge, though this is a case where it would allow both jobs and housing, but particularly in the context of density bonus law where the site can convert all to housing, even a market rate project providing some limited amount of affordability.

T

We think it's really important to retain the commercial lands that we have within the city and focus um the residential growth within our planned growth areas. The planning commission, of course, had a different recommendation, seeing a need for housing uh in the city and and and and and and acknowledging that you know at least according to the applicant, that the site would be developed consistent with the general plan, both with commercial and um and housing.

T

I just was just quickly note: there is no project on file, so this is only a color change on the map. So um you know whatever happens, will happen it. May it may be a mixed use project. It may be all residential using density. Bonus law. That's you know, that's not really certain.

T

E

Thank you, michael all, right, let's go to the applicant.

O

Good evening, mayor licardo, members of the council, my name is eric schnauer and I represent the applicant on this item. If we can put a mostly vacant under utilized site into productive use, that's a good thing if we can get both more jobs and housing on this site. That's a good thing.

O

If we can bring balance to housing production in district 7 by building market rate, housing, that's a good thing, and if we can create more commercial space for small businesses, that's a good thing.

O

For all of these reasons, we hope you will support this general plan amendment and rezoning, as recommended by the planning commission, including the district 7 planning, commissioner and council member esparza. Thank you for your.

E

All consideration, thank you. Let's go to the public.

B

M

Paul sultan for the horseshoe, I knew it. I knew I smelled something how you doing now, mr schonauer glad you can uh gracious with your company. um I need this tape. I need this video and I need what chris burton said. I caught that you think I'm dumb, you think, I'm stupid, I caught exactly what he's just said that the there was a memo or an email, something that went out by the city manager. That said, keep moving it along that right.

M

There democracy has been circumvented, that's going to be part of that case, because this city is guaranteed that they are going to be in court and we are going to have a judge.

M

Impartially. Judge what's been happening here in these meetings. Don't you do anything to this tape because I got you, I got you right. There.

B

Calling user two.

L

Wow man slamming it so late at night- unbelievable, I mean at least he has a at least he has a guy come in and talk a little bit, maybe because you had to by law but yeah, we'll we'll see how wonderful this development is going to be on center road. I look forward to the traffic the the the orange cones and all the stuff that goes along with quote development in this town. We'll see we'll see how nice it is. I mean I hope, they're not going to be selling any single beers over there.

L

You know carrasco doesn't like when they sell single beers on center road. Maybe oh, who knows, maybe you guys are gonna, sell some pot there to get money for the city. Who knows what you're gonna do, but it seems very really really shady so late on a tuesday night as usual, the city council should be ashamed of themselves.

B

K

Hi, uh thank you for the words of paul soto. I mean it was kind of nice to see that this project has been uh rejected.

K

Eric schoenhauer has offered his usual interest in good logic, for a situation and with that city government has still cancelled it and then said no to uh ending uh pedestrian use practices uh more better as but I don't know the depth of this issue, but uh I feel it's off to a good start and and how to and how to address it, and uh I hope we can continue in those good efforts of how to view this issue and uh in the end, maybe it needs to be rejected.

K

uh Pedestrian issues should say precedence in a way and uh sorry, I don't know this issue better, but uh it was nice to read on those good terms. Thank you.

E

Back to council, thank you. Councilman sparsen,.

B

Mayor um so thank you to the planning staff and to the planning commission for their analysis. I I understand the planning has made the recommendation based on the letter of the general plan. um This site is underutilized with 6550 square feet of commercial space, and the remainder of this site sits vacant.

B

uh The proposed change, the general plan, designation and rezoning would require nearly 23 000 square feet of commercial, which would nearly triple the amount of existing commercial space and serving the need in the area, especially for office in retail locations, with the surrounding commercial properties already offering a healthy mix of neighborhood serving retail and services, including a neighborhood market. Several restaurants and a mix of small businesses serving this community's needs. This change would not result in a loss of community serving businesses but expand upon the employment space.

B

It would also allow for residential housing units to be built at this site for a maximum of 50 dwelling units per acre or a maximum of 54 units, and then, obviously, once a specific project is proposed, analysis is required to consider impacts on traffic congestion. As I understand that might be a concern.

B

Although there is a bus line right here, this land use designation would actually allow for greater density of housing units, while also allowing the applicant to remove the requirement for commercial space analyzing. The proposed general plan amendment and rezoning for this site, specifically, I believe, would be beneficial for the area. As you know, I have been a defender of um employment lands.

B

There are employment, lands um that nearby that we're working on intensifying um and and this site would have an increase in the commercial space, um and I also wanted to add that I really appreciated the discussion within the planning commission. In fact, there were several members of the planning commission who said it. The process benefited from having commissioners from all over the city um participate in the discussion, many of whom actually knew this site and they felt that it made sense for this location.

B

So, given that I'd like to move my memo, which was to approve the planning commission recommendation, that's my motivation.

E

All right other comments, questions um michael, uh could you do you have a map or something in this street, because I think this is an important context.

E

I'll just explain if I can um briefly.

T

That's the ariel. We also have a zoning and general plan map now.

E

If we go, let's stay on the aerial, as you can see, saint maria goretti is uh almost across the street here right. So this is a busy street lots of lots of folks driving on center road to understand that you've got commercial. uh The next two parcels south of this side along center and then commercial all the way up the entire block of center uh on the other side of louis. Is that right?

E

um uh Yes, so this would interrupt that string of commercial and it's a site, that's right on a corner correct. This is a poster child for the very site we don't want to convert. This is a commercial site. That's serving the community on a very busy road on a corner, that's very visible!

E

I have heard every single developer, who has pleaded with me to ask for a conversion say this site is underutilized. I've heard that every time and- and this is exactly the kind of site we don't want to convert, um I understand uh that there's all kinds of momentum to go ahead and convert it. I think this is very bad planning and this is going to set a very proud bad president.

E

For the city- and it undermines the very spirit of our general plan um and chris or michael, do you have any uh anything to offer in response to whatever the applicant said, any information.

T

um Hang on, I can't find my microphone. Can you hear me we can hear you fine yeah. I mean I think right, so I I understand their arguments and you're getting both, but I think you know just being thankful that um you know I think, we're precluding other opportunities down the road for other commercial and and again I mean we don't have a project tonight. So there's really no guarantee here about what we're going to get down the road, and I think it's really important that you know once you do residential.

T

It takes a lot of other opportunities off the table for future. You know commercial uses down the road so and- and we don't really have a project here- that we're really analyzing understand what we would actually get as a city.

Q

I think merit just add to that. You know we know that mixed-use development can be really challenging. um We know that the sort of commercial component is probably the hardest part, and so you know when you take a site on this and think about all the pieces that need to go with that, whether it's parking, whether it's access, um you know it it does make sort of the development of these types of projects on these sites. You know less likely, I think, and also in the current context, with state law.

Q

What we've seen is is any opportunity around housing just opens the door wide to you know: uh housing only proposal, um obviously without a specific project on this site. Those are the types of concerns that we're uh wrestling with on this one.

E

Okay, so chris, what I think I hear you saying is it's essentially a conversion of commercial, the housing in a mixed use, uh sheep's clothing; in other words, they get the mixed use, they get density, bonus and all of a sudden becomes housing. Only is that right.

Q

Yeah, that's definitely the potential for what could happen right and I think we've just heard a lot about this conversation. Lately, um it's tough because it's sort of polarizing a lot of the opinions on this. um You know where it's becoming sort of one or the other, and it's making it really hard for as us as a city to really think about how we get that sort of good development. How we get the right kind of development that incorporates different uses. Okay,.

E

Well, I think sites like this can provide critical jobs uh for a community and we have the worst jobs, the housing balance of any major city in the country and that's a key reason why we have the most thinly staffed city hall in the country, and I think we need to be concerned about that, particularly on key sites like this council member davis.

H

um Kind of along those same lines chris, can you explain a little bit? Doesn't mixed-use commercial require that commercial component, or are you saying, state law which has been taking our land use? Decisions away from us for years may may make that commercial requirement moved.

Q

So it could right um what we've seen most recently so just to address your first question: uh the mixed use- commercial, michael you'll, correct me: if I'm right, it requires up to a 50 dwelling unit per acre density with a minimum of a 0.5, far commercial requirement as part of that. So that's how we wrote the general plan um to sort of think about that that mix of uses and the contribution we'd see to the site.

Q

The challenge with uh state law is that in allowing housing, certainly any housing project that comes through um more likely with a an on-site, affordable component can utilize state density, bonus law to concession out their requirement for commercial, um and so certainly this was the conversation we had around the four-year review at the end of last year. um So you know nothing certain. Obviously you know the specifics of any project will have to be deemed through the application process, and um I think this is part of the challenge.

Q

When we see just the general plan amendment um come on its own, is we don't always have that context for what will happen in the future?.

H

Okay, understood on so here's what I'm wrestling with, and I completely understand all of these, and I I tend to agree with the mayor on these issues. I know we haven't agreed on a lot lately, but I do tend to agree with amir on these issues.

H

My concern, though, is I have a site that asked for a mixed-use commercial and would have built housing and ended up with a very large parking lot and a and a smartin final that has tons of air space above it that could have been housing, and so I feel like that site, even though it's a brand new building is completely underutilized where it is on uh west, san, carlos, and so I'm I'm that's what I'm grappling with chris is.

H

If we leave it ncc, are we missing that opportunity for redevelopment? That could be a much denser use.

Q

Right and- and this is the sort of ongoing challenge that you know we're doing a lot of very site-specific planning in the general plan- um and part of that is just that- that's kind of where we've ended up um the general plan is not intended for that very direct look um at specific sites. It's intended to give us these broader categorizations in which we can work um and then, as we work through zoning into specific development proposals, um you know that that's when we get into those specifics.

Q

um You know the challenge we have especially around kind of any mixed use project um is that when we open the door to uh that residential potential um that you know, uh state housing laws are just really favorable to that development, um and so we can. We can miss that opportunity, michael interview, so.

H

I just want to point. I just want to point out. Let me put a fine point on that: if not for this threat from the state, would you be okay with this change to mixed-use commercial.

Q

We'd still likely recommend denial, just in the context of the general plan right, um you know, we've, I think, to the mayor's point, just looking at corner lots in particular that provide an opportunity for a future commercial development. I know it's difficult to think about that in the context of the current market for that development, but um you know when we lose this these sites sites like this to residential, we never get them back right even to mixed use.

Q

To some extent it's really hard to dial back the residential use, um so we would still likely come forward with a recommendation for denial on that.

H

Okay, I'm going to trust your judgment. Thank you.

E

Councilmember mayhem.

D

Thanks uh sort of along similar lines, but I wanted to ask two quick questions of the applicant uh if mr shane hour is available, um mr shane, first of all, I'm sure you, uh you know, can't make us uh uh ironclad commitment, but what is the? What is what is your client's intention for the site? Is there a vision for it at this point, because I I liked what councilmember esparza laid out? I guess I'm concerned that may not be what we actually get.

O

In this case, um this is not a developer proposal. This is the current land owner, a local, a local family who would like to improve their property and they think a logical development is to build market rate housing above and commercial on the ground floor, they're, not an affordable housing, developer.

O

And I should point out that the city's general plan right now allows 100, affordable housing on this site, with zero commercial.

O

Right, you have general plan policies, h, 2.9 and and fi and ip 5.12- that allow no commercial, but you can build affordable housing. So that's what you'll get. If you were not to approve this, then the only path the landowner has would be to sell this site to a non-profit, affordable housing developer, who would build 100 affordable with a zero commercial?

O

So if you want a guarantee of no commercial, let it stay, as is because that will be the outcome.

D

And then I'm just thank you, I'm just curious in terms of procedurally. Is there a? um Is there a reason that, or is there a possibility of the applicant coming forward with a plan, in addition to the general, a more specific plan and maybe engaging a potential partner prior to asking for the underlying zoning change.

O

Well, no, the general plan and the zoning have to be changed at the same time under state law so and because the planning department opposes every general plan amendment that ever comes forward, no one's going to invest in designing and entitling a project without the basic question of general plan land use being answered.

O

D

O

I guess we get these in inane debates about preserving dilapidated patches of commercial land while we're in a housing crisis. The city approved only 1200 housing units last year.

E

We can hear you it's a shame or we can hear you don't need to yell.

O

Yeah, well, it's real frustrating that we're in the biggest crisis in the history of our city is housing and homelessness, and we keep for 11 years, preserving shitty pieces of land.

E

How are you now that are suitable for having an hour you'll, stop speaking counselor mayhem, you have anything more to say.

D

I'll leave it at that for now. Thank you, mayor.

E

Thank you, uh councilmember cohen,.

A

uh Actually, I see councilmember as far as his hand up but I'd like some more of her perspective few questions, but I want to see what she has to say: counselor.

B

Thank you mayor. um So there were a few things I was trying to be succinct. I was going for succinct earlier, and so um so mr shane hour is correct. This site could be built for housing right now. It could be built for housing.

B

The fact is: district 7 has the least number of market rate units out of any council district in the city, so there's an imbalance and furthermore, district 7 has the highest number of eli units. Second, highest number of total, affordable housing units out of any council district just down the road along lewis. Road there are over 250, affordable housing units within a mile uh down center road is one of the nation's largest permanent, supportive housing developments, um and so so I get that, but also you know this site.

B

I have defended employment lands many times before this council. Many of you know that I'm working on an area a stretch nearby a monterey.

B

um The uh we have worked very hard to lay the foundation for an economic development grant that we got to study how we can intensify or use opportun opportunity, zoning to intensify job jobs along that stretch of land. That is within the radius of this site, so I wouldn't be supporting this. If I didn't think it made sense, there is housing nearby, there's housing along the stretch of center, it's already there. It is not completely changing the character of this area.

B

I do think that there it's also an equity need for folks to be able to uh for middle-income folks who want to live. There will be able to live there. There are amenities within walking distance. There is bus service there and, furthermore, it is an equity issue because, as um as you all know, that the market rate development fees go into improving our parks and funding our school districts, which uh district 7 has ended up with the most imbalanced um land use really in the city that has led us to this point.

B

Bottom line is again: I have defended employment lands many times before you. I do feel that this site makes sense, and I wouldn't support it. If I didn't feel that way, I think that's why the planning commission supported this site because they know this area as well and had a lot of debates about the community needs here and that's why I'm supporting this? This set of change.

E

Thank you, uh councilmember khan,.

A

um Yeah, I I thank you councilmember esparza, for more context, uh it's helpful for for those of us who don't know the corner as well and um you're not familiar with the street. Obviously, but this is a tough one.

A

Obviously you know it's a main corner, and so we want to make sure we do what's right there and it's a little like councilmember mayhem, I'm more compelling if I had seen like a mock-up of a plan or something from from the uh from the owner to say here's what we're intending here, because it's it's difficult to make the land conversion decision before knowing a little bit better about what would be coming.

A

But I am a big believer in new approach of of as councilmember davis said, you know, building a more vibrant density, building things up, housing on top of res of commercial and not you know, even if you preserve the commercial space, not going vertical is really not the way the future, especially along main corridors. So anyway, that I just wanted to sort of give this perspective. I think the questions I was going to ask were answered. um I'm a little bit.

A

I was a little bit torn, but I think it was helpful to hear the reasoning behind your support for this specimen for responses. So thank you.

E

P

Yeah thank you and appreciate the discussion here. I think we are all aware of the jobs, housing and balance that we have and how that impacts, um our city and our revenues, and that's something that we certainly, I think agreed upon and and then attempted to to find ways to continue to to grow that that job space, uh but at the same time, with that imbalance, we also recognize. The other side of the conundrum.

P

Here is that we have a significant housing shortage, specifically affordable housing, but but just in general, just a tremendous housing shortage, and so because of some of our unfortunate land use decisions.

P

In the past of this, this tremendous single family sprawl um we find ourselves having lost a lot of developable land and, in fact, even housing land that is just not dense enough um and and thus we have very limited availability of land and a need to be wise with the decisions, but also a need to be able to to ensure we can maintain and create job space, but also create dense housing and councilman. Davis brings up a great example actually prior to her joining the council.

P

But one of the first debates that I had along this these same lines and that was uh the development site where the former male cottons used to be um a hundred year, business in the in the city of san jose, a family, long time, uh property owners there and business owners and um and in a very similar application, where they had an interest to be able to redevelop the site to rebuild male cotton's on the ground floor, but then create housing up above the site.

P

Now, in that case, we actually know what the outcome was. As councilmember davis pointed out, the outcome was a smart final that is, unfortunately right across the street from a safeway and the smart final doesn't have anything built above it. um So in essence, uh we traded out a san jose homegrown based 100 year old business. um That could have potentially still be existed.

P

Is it existing today with housing above it um and and we traded it out for a smart final, and um I think I I I fought at that point in 2015, because I also felt as though we could get the best of both worlds on that site.

P

And ultimately, we didn't- and I think that we have to be both good stewards of preserving jobs land while at the same time being conscious and intelligent about the opportunities where we can achieve both of our goals of of jobs and housing specifically dense housing. And I think this is a prime example of doing that. I think we've failed and been able to do that in the past because of how stringent we've been and and we've seen, those failures in uh projects like that mel cotton's, uh former male cotton site.

P

So I I will be supporting this and and um hopeful that we can continue uh to have these discussions, but also come to conclusions at times uh that may go against um some of the the recommendations of the staff or where we feel our our jobs um focus needs to be and where we can achieve again. Both goals thanks.

E

Thank you uh councilmember. I'm sorry vice mayor jones,.

N

Thank you mayor, so um I think council member spars actually made some very good points uh about the utilization of the site and the opportunity to have a mixed use, development, which I actually am very supportive of and excited about that possibility.

N

But um I think the core issue here is, I guess, is there an element of trust that the property owner will actually build a project that is a mixed-use project as opposed to utilizing some state law that will allow them to just build all residential.

N

So I'm going to actually direct this question to eric eric you. I I have a similar uh again project coming up later on, where we had to have a certain comfort level in terms of the developer meeting their commitment to um build the project the way their they promise to build it.

N

So my question to you is: is there a process or a way for us to get some type of assurance or commitment that the property owner is going to build the project? That's been proposed.

E

Tony, I think you need to bring eric uh into the uh to the panel.

E

If you're able to see find him there.

C

I've, given him permission to talk, can you.

O

Hear me now yeah, did you hear my question uh yeah I did um well. I don't. I don't know how you do that. uh Mr vice mayor.

O

I mean the the landowner is the proponent. The intent of the landowner is to develop their property and the landowner is not a an affordable housing developer.

O

So building affordable units is detrimental to the feasibility of the project, so their intent is to build market rate apartments. Above with ground floor commercial and under the general plan designation, that's proposed to do market rate housing.

O

You must build a minimum of 0.5, far of commercial space within the mixed use building and that math works out to about 22 000 square feet of commercial space within the building. That's the requirement of the mixed use: commercial general plan, designation.

O

So, that's all that we can say about that. Okay,.

N

So what would be the timeline um if we approved this general plan amendment? What would be the timeline in terms of coming back with some type of design sort of project.

B

He's coming in as a panelist, so there'll be a just a brief moment where he can't speak. Okay,.

O

I'm being quarantined, I'm too emotional tonight. Did you hear the question which I apologize for um you know I heard the question: uh well, the city's entitlement process. uh The next step here is would be if, if approved, is to get a site development permit for a project and to do the associated sequa project, specific sql, and nowadays that takes the planning department.

O

uh You know six to eight months to review once the plans and the application are prepared, and it would take a number of months to prepare the plan so you're talking about a year at least a year of process before we could bring the project forward.

O

Okay, well that best case scenario, best case inheritance.

N

Case scenario: okay, um again, I'm struggling with this as well. I've been a big proponent of preserving commercial land, but I also understand the benefit of having a high quality market rate mixed use project on that corner.

N

So um I'm going to support um this moving forward or approving this this project, but this is one again that we're going to really struggle with and grapple with, because if we don't have the opportunity to actually see the project and what it's going to look like and whether it's going to actually move forward, you know there's always that risk that the developer is going to do something totally different.

N

So this is one of those where we're going to have to have a leap of faith in and trust that you know your client is going to do the right thing and have a project that we're all going to be proud of. So that's it uh mayor. Thank you, council, my friends.

S

um I have a question about that site. I know that site because I drive by it every time I need to go to um costco on center road, um but now that I have one in my district, I do go there, um although they're slightly different, so I still go to to d7 uh councilmember. As far as I and every time I drive by, um I see this building and it's a house. It's basically like a ranch style home a little bit bigger than that, but it is.

S

It is a yellow, um like a lemonade, uh neon, yellow with brown and- and I believe, the reason that that is um it was painted like this was because over the years as I've seen this over the years, um the owner, I think, is desperate to sell it or for somebody to buy it and- and I and the owners put like signs on there, you know uh providing some kind of compensation if you're able to sell this home to sell this this this place.

S

I've never seen that in other places like that, and so I could always tell that it was. You know family owned, um and so I I get that you'd want to have that place sold because it's um it used to be a shop where you could buy mirrors um and they would lay out all kinds of mirrors in the parking lot how they were never broken. I don't know, but um you can find any size of mirror inside now. That's not it's a specialty kind of uh a shop. You don't really find it anywhere anywhere.

S

You don't really buy these kinds of mirrors uh anymore um and so and it's on the corner, where the rest of where most of the the remaining um uh shop there. I think there's only one like cafe um on the other side, but this is my question there between the cafe.

S

There's this like a little cafe shop and and the in the corner home. There's like a lot an empty lot in between does that belong. Is this going to be part of this project, not sure who can answer.

O

The the staff has the aerial photograph of the proposed site, so I don't know if that would help you.

S

You know the aerial one is not is very forgiving. We should actually take a straight level. Look at this um people would understand, what's the site that it is so there's.

S

I think it's this this extended um is: is the site right next to it, the the site that has the cafe on there, um uh mr chaneller or councilmember esparza you're, familiar with that.

S

And my and my point being is that there's a lot that is completely empty and um would be great for infill and that's the question I had is: is that lot going to be included? um So I on this aerial? Look I I don't know whether that's that empty lot, because it's gated and separate from the the actual home when you pass by it and here obviously you can't see if there's anything gated off.

B

This is not a cafe on this site; no, no! No next.

S

Door to it immediately, next door is a cafe, but in between the cafe and the in the corner home, there's like an empty lot. That's right, right, yep, who, who said that's right, is that you eric that was me.

E

uh Sam, oh.

S

Oh yeah there's another one here in.

E

The cafe in this site.

S

Yes, thank you is so is that is that empty lot, part of this site as well.

B

Hello yeah hold on sorry I'm having technical. I mean.

O

B

Answer is yeah the.

S

Answer is yes, okay, great great um and and listen the reason that I'm that I was asking about that is because I have a lot of infill. I have all of these little empty lots um that are next to either a a home or a business, and they are just magnets for uh the folks who love to dump and and and leave things there, and so it not only I mean it's an eyesore. It's you know it's a hazard for for the community.

S

um I I look forward to folks uh building uh infill and- and I have been an advocate for infill development, especially small development- that way, um because the the lots that are empty in my district are the ones that are difficult to build on, and usually it's because you know whatever mitigation, um it is just challenging, and so when, when uh an owner wants to take that on themselves, um I find that um that they're willing to take that challenge on um and and I and this owner it seems over the years.

S

I feel, like I, I kind of know this owner because of the the messaging that they put on. um You know uh their their their their level of want to really sell this and and to do something better with this piece of land and every time I pass by there was always a different message, and so um I've seen that struggle over the years. Personally, as I drive by um and so and and and because I understand that need to for it- um infill development within my own district, I'm gonna support this.

S

I'm gonna hope that that um the rest of my colleagues can also support it. I know that you know your district. The best councilmember esparza you've you've been uh a fierce advocate for your community and a defender when you think that there's something that's imbalanced and I wouldn't think that you would accept a development um very light-heartedly and I, I believe, you've, given it a some really good thought, and so I'm going to uh support you in this and um and look forward to seeing what this looks like in the future.

S

um Let's have help this owner uh move along and progress and and build something that can be really part of this neighborhood in a meaningful and beautiful way.

E

Thank you, casper menace.

I

E

I

Question for chris or or michael, is there. You know, because I feel like we've encountered some of these in the past. Obviously, and what I'm wondering is: is there any way that we go about tracking, whether folks fulfill sort of their their their promise? If you will, as some of these sites.

Q

Yeah thanks for that question, councilmember, it's a a good one, an appropriate one. I think um it's probably on us to do a a slightly better job of that, given the the sort of the time it takes for development to occur on sites like this, you know I think eric was was giving you the best case scenario. But obviously you know when we do a land use entitlement after we've done uh a land use change. It can be.

Q

You know several years, um so it's probably worth us doing some additional work around that just to identify those cases where it either has or hasn't, worked out uh and and provide a little bit more context.

T

I think also to keep in mind is that um housing projects we I mean they can promise that, but at staff we can't hold them to that promise um and per state law. If you allow house, if the site allows housing, they they can do housing. So um I mean I think it's done in good faith, but there isn't any teeth behind it. Just to be clear on that, but but but.

I

Curious, for example, you know earlier item of the evening was the general plan annual report review, and so would it be worthwhile, including something along those lines or along these lines of tracking some of these in some of those reports, whether you know every year, some may come up, some may be delayed, but I think it'd be instructive for us to during the course of some of these conversations to better understand where the, how things are happening, how they're playing out after some of these discussions, I think that would be helpful and instructed, but anyway,.

T

Yeah, that is something we we could do. I think it'd be interesting to see what just for the accounts understand like hey. We approved that color change in the map. I wonder whatever happened that night and we correct back on that yeah.

F

Okay, all right, thank you.

E

Thank you any other questions.

E

Okay, um I I I obviously I see where the votes are going. um I just wanted to point out that you know mr shane auer argues that the owner's only option in the current general plan is to build affordable housing. That obviously, is not correct.

E

The owner could build commercial, which is exactly what this is in zone four and what the land use designation is for, and it happens to be really in a great commercial site, with great visibility and lots of traffic, and you can see full parking lots in the in the next shopping center over um what I'm concerned about is, as you look closer at this site, that the building's not in great shape that it's clearly not very well maintained uh in terms of the surrounding area and yard, um and the message is, if you're, a landowner or property owner, and you allow a psychophone to vacancy it's underutilized and falls into disrepair.

E

You got a better shot at getting a land use conversion because you can just say well, it's underutilized, and you know if mr shane howard tells us we have a homelessness or affordable housing crisis, and the conversion here is the answer for that problem is, of course, is proposing a market rate project, and if the argument is that district 7 deserves a market rate housing well, the answer the reality is: there's no assurance we're actually going to get it, because once you convert this, it could still be affordable, uh which, by the way, would be perfectly fine with me.

E

I think either housing is great. uh I just think it's important to have that housing in the right places. um So, in any event, I I appreciate many arguments that have been presented.

E

I know this is tough for the council to ever say no to housing, but the problem is is that we have really dramatically reduced our available employment lands in this city and as recently as when we took that vote on coyote valley, and we have to be cognizant about the fact that we are not giving the next generations a great shot at the future as long as they all have to get in a car and drive a long long way to get to a job.

E

All right. Let's vote on the motion.

C

H

B

I

B

K

B

Costco hi davis now esparza, yes, arenas, yes, holy hi mayhem,.

D

B

Jones aye lucardo, hello,.

E

Ocean passes. Thank you item. 10.3 is the general plan amendment performing rezoning on the east julian street parcels.

T

Sure I'll just go to this really briefly. So what what is before you tonight is a privately initiated general plan amendment to change the lands designation of a property at east julian street, from mixed-use neighborhood to urban residential, as well as conforming rezoning from r18 to urban residential zoning district on a 0.97 acre site. The site is roughly a thousand feet from the future uh five women's 28th street little portugal bart station, and it's just outside of the five wounds urban village plan initial study was done.

T

There was no um significant impacts on the environment identified. The planning, commission and staff made a recommendation to the city council to find the proposal, in conformance with ciga. I find the unit and approve the proposed general plan amendments and rezoning, and I am done.

T

E

Let's go to the public.

B

Caller 5931.

B

Star six to unmute.

L

Okay. Thank you, mr mayor members of the council. This is jerry strantos representing the applicant. uh Can you hear me.

F

C

Okay, uh I'll be brief, given the lateness of the evening.

L

The applicant supports the staff recommendation uh supports the planning. Commission recommendation looks.

C

Forward to a robust.

G

Process to develop the site along.

L

The lines of the urban village plan, which is adjacent, which is also adjacent to the new bart station available to answer.

G

Any questions, but we support staff and we.

C

Support the planning commission. Thank you very much.

H

M

uh Yes, paul soto from horseshoe um I would gloat, but no um with respect to this item uh the senora that just spoke, uh I'm going to be in contact with you and we're going to talk and I'm going to let you know what you're going to be able to do in this city because what's happening right now, I don't know if you've been paying attention, maybe when it comes to court you'll pay attention, but for right now, you're, obviously not paying very much attention to what's going on uh to mr schoenhauer, I want to thank you and the reason why- and I don't mean this in a smart aleck way- is that you are telling the truth.

M

You're being very, very honest, don't be afraid of your emotions. Emotions are good. That's what makes us human I just wish. There was more of it on this council, but it's at times very non-existent.

B

C

E

Right uh are there any questions, approval mayor action, councilmember? Second, from the vice mayor, let's vote jimenez.

H

B

Perales, yes cohen,.

K

B

Carrasco, yes, davis, yes, sparza, yes, arenas, yes, holy mayhem.

D

B

Jones hi lecardo hi.

E

Thank you. Thank you. 10.4 is the general plan, amendments for the property on sharon's drive.

T

Thank you mayor. So this this item is a privately initiated general plan amendment to change the land use designation of a property at 7246 sharon drive from neighborhood community commercial to mixed-use, neighborhood, landis designation.

T

It also would change they could the uh cr it would do a conforming rezoning from cp commercial pedestrian to mixed use. Neighborhood zoning district. um There was an initial study prepared, no impacts were identified.

T

Staff recommended denial of this privately initiated general plan amendment. For um many of the same reasons. You've heard already. This property is designated commercial. It's right off deanza, it's part of a grouping of commercial properties uh off of de anza boulevard that would present or do present us opportunities for significant redevelopment for a commercial intensification or just new development, so we're recommending denial. It's the general plan does not support housing outside of growth areas, not significant housing, and this is not a growth area.

T

The planning commission uh disagreed and is voting are recommending that council approve the general plan amendment again um uh due to the need for housing, but also because they that they felt that the site's location um was not a viable location uh for for commercial uses um and, as noted that it's an older um one or two story office building, that's that's uh kind of run down. um That concludes staff's presentation. We're available for questions.

E

Okay, questions: uh let's go to the applicant first uh tony: are you able to identify who is the applicant.

A

It would be odessa.

B

B

Let's promote to panelists, she just needs to accept it.

B

Okay, she's in.

B

Good evening tony, can you hear me yes, can you also promote a curve he's going to be um doing the powerpoint part of it? Yes, thank you.

B

Great thank you um good evening. Honorable mayor and city council, my name is adessa bitfidel owner of elevate now consulting representing ben wang, who is the applicant for 7246 sharon drive. We thank staff for working with the applicant. We understand that the resources are strained due to staffing. However, we do not agree with their findings and denial of the gp application for gp 21-004 from neighborhood community commercial to mixed-use, neighborhood and conforming zoning of c21-009.

B

I was approached by the owner of the property in february of 2021, when I came on site to see the existing building conditions and neighboring projects underway and approved. I agree to work with them, as it makes sense, not only that it will be a benefit to the city. As someone who has worked as an economic development, director and professional for four different cities for over two decades. I see no hope for this parcel to reinvent itself.

B

Under the current gp of commercial neighborhood ben has owned this parcel for the last eight years and has not been able to lease it fully. During the height of the economy, it was only leased at 60 percent, and now it is at 38, while all other offices on the as anza boulevard are at 93 to 100 lease. The reason is very clear and when you speak to any commercial broker, they would state the same thing. This building is class c and d office, which is hard to market.

B

While there are other newer products available nearby, it is also located within a neighborhood with no frontage to any major street and traffic. So from the visibility and signage standpoint, it is not located where it can be usable, we're also in a competition with the saratoga and cupertino markets, since, since it is enabling those cities not to mention sharon drive, is not a street or a drive, it is a cul-de-sac.

B

Surrounded by homes.

B

Ben over the years has tried to find other uses, and there is no luck. No use under the neighborhood commercial would survive such as retail and restaurant, or, as you can see, it is a lost cause with the current office use. Additionally, this parcel is now landlocked due to the proposed hotel development that is adjacent to the project, but fronting danza boulevard, with hotel being the most economically profitable use and its vicinity to the apple.

B

The approved hotel development will forever land lock the applicant with no hopes for a frontage to a major street. Also, consolidation of parcels for development of a larger project will never occur with this site.

B

The reason the applicant is seeking such change is that he is proposing to build 10 um work units that will be standalone much like a townhome with the business on the first floor and top two floors designated for living spaces.

B

An owner can own a business on the first floor of the building, while the entire living spaces would be at the second and third floors. These are the concepts that we have been working on and sharing with staff on council district one office. We respectfully disagree with the staff's assessment of the gp and here's why the concept of the workplace that we have been working on is the most sustainable format of development surpassing any other land use. Therefore, this land change land use change is 100 consistent with the following gp policies.

B

The staff has used to deny the change such as efficient use of residential mixed use. Lands policy reduces motor vehicle. Well, we are in conformance housing, environmental sustainability and policy minimizes greenhouse gas emission, we're consistent in conformance air pollution, emission reduction policy, minimizes automobile dependent development, we're in conformance commercial policy, retain commercial land to provide jobs, goods and services. For san jose's workers, residents and visitors, we're in performance, in fact, neighbors have agreed with us as well. We've walked the entire neighborhood and have gathered over 60 signatures of support.

B

They want to have a live work product within their own neighborhood. The petition of support has been to this has been submitted to the city council as well. Our proposal will not be the first successful concept, although you always hear that these products are not successful. There are other successful examples of live workplace. This is an example of a vibrant and innovative project and a neighboring city, as you can see, there's a startup company on the first floor, a hair salon and also an insurance company.

B

We believe that design for our project will surpass this current project, as you've already probably seen the design. The gp amendment to mun will allow us to have a win-win solution for innovative way of achieving much needed, housing retention of jobs and yet sustainable development in an area of the city that is already fully developed.

B

I want to thank you for your time and we respectfully request the mayor and city council to adopt a resolution for amendment of the gp 2040 from ncc to mun with conforming zoning. In closing, we would like to thank vice mayor, chappie jones and council member raul perales for their memo and support of the gp amendment. We also would like to thank vice mayor jones staff and, in particular, cassidy, iranian and onoli for their exceptional work with the applicant over the last year.

B

I am available to answer any of your questions and thank you for your time.

E

Thank you, mr doll. Let's go to the public now.

B

Pollen user two.

B

Calling user two.

B

Okay, I'm gonna move on to paul soto.

M

uh Yes, paul soldier from horseshoe. um Thank you for that report.

M

um One of the things that I had noted is that I'm gonna be glad that my time will be up here by the time like this stuff is built out like to its fullest potential and so I'll be gone by that time, and I'm glad I am glad because I don't want to live in a world that looks like that and the reason. Why is because I've done time in soledad state prison.

M

Okay. This looks like exactly like soledad state prison. If I showed you a picture of soledad state prison, the way it's laid out, how many floors the windows, and then I showed you that they would be the same.

M

So this is your barrio, uh councilman prowlers and you know, guess the show's yours on what.

B

C

A

Yes, um yes, uh I'm the neighbor of.

I

This person of the applicant- uh I have been living in this area for over 10 11 years, so I supported his uh initiative. I think this will break bring. You know the have a little bit contribution for the tight housing in san jose.

I

uh I know this is not affordable housing but you know, but it's add up for uh the city of san jose to solve. uh You know more housing.

C

uh Problems and beneficial for the residents.

I

As well as for commercial usage, um you know like first level of commercial, thank you, and this is my opinion. Thank you for your folks. I support it.

B

Daniel newton.

H

Good evening, mayor and council members, my name is danielle knutson and I live in the area as well um just wanted to voice my support of the applicant.

H

I think that um while I respect the desire to attract the businesses over the years, the space has really gotten less and less uh use, and I think this is just a more equitable and responsible use of the space in my neighborhood. So I support the amen or I support, support the applicant and the amendment, and I respectfully ask the mayor and the council to approve the general plan change to allow this to change into a live work development. Thank you.

B

Calling user two.

L

I mean all this construction. All this building, where's the water gonna come from the roads, the the electricity, your this city is not prepared for all this development, these stupid urban villages and then you're having to bean count. How much you know, affordable housing, you have and opportunity housing you have. The whole thing is just asinine, you know, and I don't you know I didn't totally agree with the other developer.

L

But what I really didn't agree with was sam shushing somebody because they used some foul language: hey sam, I think you're, uh your catholic school, that you went to in the grammar school.

L

They called they want their rules back, I mean, if you guys, can't handle a little foul language.

E

Sorry we're talking about item 10.4.

B

E

B

E

All right uh vice mayor jones,.

N

Thank you mayor. uh So when the property owner first came to me about this project, I had um the same reaction. I would have on any proposal that wants to convert commercial property.

N

Then they proposed a live work project that I was really skeptical about, and I know that staff is not feeling or loving the work projects because they turned out to be more or all live and no work.

N

So we asked the the developer and the property owner to come back with better designs that really enhanced the live work. You know model and particularly the ground floor. We didn't want to have a design that was going to be easily converted to all live, and I felt that the developer came back with a proposal and a design that met my needs in my desires.

N

So therefore, I shifted my position in terms of being opposed to the project, but I still had some concerns um similar concerns with the project in district 7.

N

If we approve the general plan amendment, will they come back with a totally different project, or will they come back with a all residential project? So the developer made a commitment that they will and actually they have already made an appointment with planning to submit an application on april 25th for their project.

N

uh It's not binding and that's why we had in our memo the expectation that they would fall through.

N

So we are making a leap of faith that they will live up to their commitment, but we are, we did put some parameters around it. We made sure that they had they scheduled their appointment. They made you know, firm commitments with us that they would move forward with the designs that they showed us in advance. So, therefore, I have the comfort level that they're going to meet that commitment and that's why uh myself, along with council member proles, are moving forward with uh the desire to approve this project.

N

So I'd like to make a motion to accept our memo to move forward and approve this project, or I should say the general the general plan amendment I'll second.

E

All right, a motion and second from councilmember perales other questions or comments.

E

Okay and miss uh with regard to the anticipated project is, is that correct and are you preparing to bring in a workload project to the planning department.

B

um um Yes, mayor the applicant over the last two months, he has been signing contracts with seven different consultants to get the projects for the site development process, and once the council approves the general plan, amendment they're ready to move forward to the next phase. They already have all the contracts ready to go.

E

Okay, thank you appreciate that the site development uh process is underway. um I also note that this is clearly distinguishable from the last project. This is a very poor commercial site, no visibility, it's not on a corner. It's in fact on a it is largely a residential road with a cul-de-sac, so very very little traffic uh we'll actually see it, and now, with the hotel redevelopment uh immediately adjacent, looks like it will be an orphan parcel or a remnant.

E

uh Ordinarily, I think we want these parcels to be consolidated for redevelopment, but it does not look like that's going to happen, so that makes the prospects for this as a traditional commercial parcel even worse, and so I'm going to support this for the z, an unusual exception, because this is truly something that is about as close to infeasible as it gets on pure commercial uh councilmember, jimenez.

I

Yeah, I agree with everything you said. I I sense this is different. I just.

A

Had one question for odessa: odessa.

I

I know when we met, I didn't ask you this, but was there ever any consideration as it relates to selling this property to the hotel developer and seeing if they could just expand the hotel did that ever come up? I I'm sure that was before your time, but I'd be curious. If that ever was a thing.

B

um Yeah, that was before my time, but I'm not aware of um any consolidation from that parcel.

C

I

And it probably is good anyway, because the sort of step down as far as the height into the neighborhood, I think it's it's a good progression, as opposed to just being a big six story or, however, it's all the building is.

F

So, okay, thank you exactly.

B

And um to that point we have a signature of support from our adjacent neighbors, who are one story, home owners.

O

Good. Thank you. Thank you.

E

All right, um let's vote on the motion. Jimenez.

C

B

P

B

Cohen hi crosko, hi davis, yes, esparza, yes, uranus, yes, foley. I mayhem.

D

B

Jones hi lucardo hi. Thank you. Thank you. All.

E

Right all right, thank you uh items. 10.5 is a general plan. Amendment conforming rezoning on keaton loop.

T

Thank you. So um this is the last one of this annual review. It's a privately initiated general plan amendment for a um 0.66 acre at keaton loop to change the latest designation from residential neighborhood to neighborhood community commercial. This is kind of going the other way. So it's a little bit of a change in what we've been hearing tonight and a conforming rezoning from agriculture to commercial pedestrian zoning district initial study was repaired.

T

uh No impacts were identified. The planning commission, as well as the uh staff, recommended that the city council find the proposal in conformance with sequa and approve the proposed general plan amendments and rezoning, and that concludes that presentation.

E

All right, thank you. Okay uh is the applicant with us.

A

What is the applicant's name.

E

Good question: maybe another caruso, oh sal, okay,.

B

I just click promote, he needs to accept it he's on his way over.

C

Welcome sal, hello, hello. Everyone uh thank you for letting me speak.

P

So hopefully this goes to balance a bit of the other general klan amendments tonight, uh adding tax base to the city of san jose and in this beautiful district in evergreen.

C

And what we look at in this parcel, this is going to be an owner, predominantly owner-occupied.

P

Business uh rigo bracamontes has been a member of this community for many years. I've worked with him now for about 15 years on various projects and he's looking to make this uh his one of his headquarters, and uh we feel that it's a very complimentary project. If you look at the general plan map, actually this particular parcel when you unite it with parcels kitty corner on either side, it actually consistently.

C

Creates the color that is indicative of the commercial district, so it really.

P

Completes the land use map in a positive direction and creates, I think, a wonderful attribute to the community.

C

Here to answer any questions that there may be.

E

Okay, thank you, mr crusoe. Let's go to the public.

B

M

uh Yes, paul's club from the horseshoe, mr crusoe, I like your back paneling door, that's beautiful! I I like that.

M

Stacking this these land issues at this time, where the public cannot really get the full impact, because I could feel the hurt.

M

As a matter of fact, there was actually a uh uh email that was generated to move it along, and so it's going to be interesting to see the reaction, because my attorney is going to get a copy of this particular meeting make sure, okay and also I would like to uh thank councilman jimenez, because he he has perfected the art of articulating his position into the form of a question, and that is a sign of a good attorney.

M

Okay. I wish that I could do that. I don't have that skill and you could get class.

E

All right returning to the council council, member ranas.

S

Thank you. um Well, we we are going to add some jobs uh to to our area with this uh development, and so um the applicant has um met with my community has heard my community in in terms of some of the uh things that they would like, um and because this is an empty lot hasn't been built, he's heard from us um that they want certain level of setbacks, um not having driveways access near some of the exits and entrances of folks um they'll have installation of sidewalks and curbs.

S

So this is something that's standard anyways uh when you're you're building up am I still oh there.

C

S

um And so so, I'm I'm going to support this um um and make a motion to approve. um I just asked mr caruso to continue to engage with our community um as the application once the application is submitted.

B

D

E

Any questions or comments hi, let's vote.

B

Jimenez, yes, perales.

A

B

A

B

B

Hi davis, yes, esparza, yes, uranus, yes, holy hi, hann,.

B

Thank you jones, bye, lecardo hi. Thank you.

E

All right, mr cruz,.

C

E

You for succinct presentation prevails.

C

E

End all right, how can we uh thank you? We now have time for uh for open forum, paul soto.

M

No, you don't have time, mr mayor you're, going to make time for it.

M

You will make time for open forum and what I'd like to say to this council is to look at the uh take a picture of the frontal part of santa clara university, the mission, okay and let your eyes go up above the door and focus in on the symbol that is at the apex of the mission, and what you will find is the answer to all of these issues that have been going on here.

M

St james park, reed street, all of it. So I implore you please do that and then I have another symbol: the same exact symbol sitting in back of of course, saint joseph's basilica, the same exact symbol. Look at the back door when the priests walk out the back door of saint joseph's church.

M

Look at that symbol! That's there and you tell me who's in trouble.

B

Claire beekman.

K

All right, thank you. uh Thanks for the meeting today, blair beekman here, uh I hope, you've been noticing with all the new law enforcement questions that have been going around all the major bay area cities of this time. San francisco is in a bit of a mess with what they have to figure out with their law enforcement questions.

K

At this time in san jose, I think we're in a better space, and I think, that's because we're trying to honestly address the questions of what can be open, accountable practices with our law enforcement questions and our technology questions. So thank you for these good efforts. uh It is reimagined in health and human services and and equity ideas that can really address our law enforcement questions. At this time and organize you know a good good practices for ourselves.

K

So good luck in that continued good work that can help define the law enforcement questions at this time. Thank you.

B

Calling user two.

L

Bravo, city council: bravo, how many hours and hours long-winded garbage we've had to listen to the open forum should be at the beginning, not the end, unbelievable. What you people have done today. It's disgusting! You all disgust me so much and yeah you're going to reimagine law enforcement, all right because who's going to take away the guns. You don't like, because it's going to happen, people aren't going to pay the fees or the insurance who's going to enforce it.

L

Pam fully. Sam mccarthy. Are you guys gonna go kick people's doors in carrasco? How about perales he's a cop? Oh that's right! He doesn't have to pay to have his gun or insure it right, but he thinks you should, if you're not part of his special little san jose pot dealers club think about.

E

All right on that enjoyable note: everybody have a great evening.

E