Letters from the public - 3 of 3 — San Jose City Council, March 15, 2022

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This message is from outside the City email system. Do not open links or attachments from untrusted sources. 3/15/22 Council Meeting Item 3.3 Mayor's March Budget Message Safer Streets Alan Williams <
Sun 3/13/2022 1:01 PM
To: The Office of Mayor Sam Liccardo < District3 <
Cc: City Clerk <

Some people who received thi mes age don't often get email from Learn why thi i important

I'm a re ident of di trict 3 and have enjoyed eeing the build out of the many treet for afer biking and walking. I have 2 area of concern/comment :

While a lot ha been done with regard to improving walkability/bike ability I don't ee any tati tic that reflect treet fatalitie and injurie are decrea ing due to the e mea ure . I feel we need tronger metric a ociated with the e to not only help elect future area for improvement but al o how how dollar are being pent toward the overall goal to reduce fatalitie .

I love the new bike lane , marking , and protection barrier (pole , cement, parked car ) but I feel bike lane maintenance get completely overlooked. Car can ea ily go over garbage, wet leave , and even broken gla without an i ue. The air movement by the car al o pu he garbage into the bike lane . Bike lane need to be maintained AT A HIGHER RATE than normal treet cleaning. If you want the general public to feel comfortable in u ing bike lane , keeping it clean MUST be a priority. Sure I can report broken gla and other ob truction when I ee it but whenever I report that wet leave need to be wept up more frequently, SJ DOT tell me it' done twice a month and reject my reque t for more frequent cleaning. I recommend adding a maintenance line item a part of every capital bike improvement project imilar to how other citie fund thi . SJ DOT houldn't have to maintain more bike lane with the e i ting budget they hould have more $$ identified with the improvement .

Quick hit bike improvement are great but quickly become a hazard if maintenance i n't allocated at the ame time. A king citizen to report i ue i n't the an wer it hould be a rare occurrence.

Thank you,
Alan William

3/15/22, 11:36 AM Mail - Agendadesk - Outlook
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3/15/22, 11:35 AM Mail - Agendadesk - Outlook
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Agenda item #3.3
Randy Musterer <
Mon 3/14/2022 5:23 PM
To: City Clerk < Mossing, Mackenzie <
Cc: < Randy Musterer <

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Honorable Mayor Sam Liccardo & City Council Members City of San Jose 200 East Santa Clara Street, 18th Floor San Jose, California 95113
Re: March 15, 2022, Mayor’s Message - City Council Agenda Item# 3.3 Dear Mayor and Council Members,
As a small business owner in downtown San Jose, I respecully request that the City Council approve the mayor's memorandum and support funds to help create a safer downtown San Jose.

In 2015, I opened up my second locaon (Sushi Conﬁdenal) in San Pedro Square. I was extremely excited to be located in the heart of downtown San Jose, walking distance to SAP Center and the San Jose Convenon Center. I invested an extremely large amount of funds in the buildout to connue the growth of the downtown San Jose core. Quickly, I realized a number of limitaons and challenges with downtown San Jose.

First and foremost, our staﬀ did not feel safe walking to and from work, just to get to their car. We have had repeated thes from Sushi Conﬁdenal San Jose, from ipads, to employee purses, to broken windows, to graﬃ, just to name a few. Second, the homeless populaon keeps our customers from coming down to San Jose.

Starng our ﬁrst business in downtown Campbell, we were excited to share our new San Jose locaon with our customers that live in Campbell, Los Gatos, Saratoga, and other South Bay communies. Unfortunately, one drive to our downtown San Jose locaon prevented them from wanng to return again. Lastly, our corporate catering clients shy away from having events on our beauful pao because of the homeless and lack of safety in the downtown core. I am only one business, but I know many others feel the same.

The environment in downtown is now worse due to the pandemic. There is a reduced number of corporate employees downtown since they can work remotely. Once they return to work, they will also be shocked by the homeless and mentally ill that run the streets and prevent those of us that want to make the community feel safer from doing so. I urge the City Council to be proacve now and help provide funds for oﬃcers to work the streets to minimize crime, help the homeless, and help create the vibrancy that we are all working so hard to achieve.

I'm doing my part to run a small business to add to the vibrancy of downtown San Jose. Please help the rest of us in doing the same. You have a business community right now that is willing to help, lets keep the ball rolling and make downtown San Jose even beer for all of us.

3/15/22, 11:35 AM Mail - Agendadesk - Outlook
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Sincerely
Randy Musterer
Founder/CEO Sushi COnﬁdenal

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FW: Support for Police Foot Patrol
City Clerk <
Mon 3/14/2022 5:24 PM
To: Agendadesk <

From: Steve Borkenhagen <
Sent: Monday, March 14, 2022 4:56 PM
To: City Clerk < Mossing, Mackenzie <
Cc: Eric Glader < Chief.sjpd <
Subject: Support for Police Foot Patrol

Mayor Liccardo and City Council Members:

Aer being a retailer downtown since 1975, I think police foot patrol is crical for our currently struggling downtown. It is one of the few meaningful things we can do together quickly to improve the trajectory of our disrespected community immediately. Suburban residents of San Jose and throughout Santa Clara County sll believe we are a degraded urban center—they do not come downtown! The best days I remember during my me downtown were when we had an acve foot patrol. The oﬃcers had a sixth sense, knew business owners, and oen solved problems before they developed. They give owners, workers, and customers a feeling of care and safety that is currently missing.

Please fund a robust foot patrol!

Thanks,

Steve Borkenhagen

3/15/22, 11:35 AM Mail - Agendadesk - Outlook
https://outlook.office365.com/mail/ AAMkADUxOWI4ZjE3LTRkNDEtNGUzMS04MjAwLTIzNzdiYTdkMjc5NAAuAAAAAAC… 2/4 The City’s Vision Zero Program and Better Bike Plan 2025 are key plans to reduce vehicle speeds throughout the city Staff’ analy i indicate that peeding i the primary factor in traffic fatalitie Even modest reductions in a vehicle’s speed can be the difference in surviving a collision with a car. Making progre on the e plan at a fa ter pace can truly tran form San Jo é and lead to reduction in death and greenhouse gasses and lead to hitting the mobility metrics as described in the City’s important Climate Smart San Jo é plan
The Mercury News quoted the Mayor saying this is a “constrained budget”. While that may be true, this March Budget Message calls for additions of up to ~$3 million in ongoing funding for 15 additional officers, and calls for more in the next 5 years. This will be $15+ million over just a 5 year time span. It calls for the renewal of a $7 million PD hire ahead reserve (one-time funding). It dedicates $1 million in other one-time PD initiatives. These additions don’t suggest that it is a constrained budget. As Councilmember Peralez noted in the last T&E committee meeting, traffic deaths are almost 2 times the amount of homicides in San José and the city should start to invest a similar level of resources in combating traffic violence. For comparison, the quick-build treatment at Tully & Ruby came at a price of about $7,500. For $3 million, 400 intersections could be funded. For $3 million, 13 corridors equivalent to the improvements at Hillsdale Avenue could be done. The Vision Zero Program and the Better Bike Plan 2025 are underfunded, both capital dollars and staff to implement them quicker.

I agree with Councilmember Peralez’s sentiment. We need to be prioritizing traffic safety as much as other high priority issues in the city. Property crime has been decreasing, about 7% from 2020 to 2021, and yet our Mayor wa in front of Oakridge Mall ho ting a pre conference on retail theft He wa on America’s Newsroom, a national show on Fox News, to talk about the same subject. In a search of the Mayor’ Twitter over the la t fi cal year, he ha tweeted about the record level of traffic death once I hope this serious issue can one day get as much attention as the Nordstrom in Valley Fair. The whole

3/15/22, 11:35 AM Mail - Agendadesk - Outlook
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3/15/22, 9:20 AM Mail - Agendadesk - Outlook
https://outlook.office365.com/mail/ inbox/id/AAQkADUxOWI4ZjE3LTRkNDEtNGUzMS04MjAwLTIzNzdiYTdkMjc5NAAQA… 2/2 Too many people die on our streets because of cars every single year.

We URGENTLY need to reprioritize funding to changing the mode share away from cars by funding bus lanes, separated and protected bike lanes, scooter and bike share, and more coverage/service frequency for bus and light rail.

This message is from outside the City email system. Do not open links or attachments from untrusted sources.

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FW: 3.15.22 Council Meeting Agenda Item 3.3 Mayor's Budget Message Increase Funding for Safer Streets
CMOAgendaServices <
Tue 3/15/2022 8:55 AM
To #WebSubmittal Clerk < Agendade k <
Cc CMOAgendaService <
Letters for 3.3

Thank you,
Rachelle

From: Webmaster Manager <
Sent: Tuesday, March 15, 2022 7:58 AM
To: CMOAgendaServices <
Subject: FW: 3.15.22 Council Meeng - Agenda Item 3.3 Mayor's Budget Message - Increase Funding for Safer Streets

Hi CMO Agenda Services,
Please ﬁnd public comment below on Item 3.3 for today's City Council meeng.

Best,

-ma

Ma Opsal
Communicaons Team - COVID-19 Recovery
Senior Execuve Analyst
City Manager’s Oﬃce of Communicaons
City of San José
200 East Santa Clar
a Street, San José, CA 95113

From: Robert Gonzalez [mailto ]
Sent: Monday, March 14, 2022 6:05 PM
To: City Clerk < >; Webmaster Manager < >; Liccardo,
Sam < >; Jones, Chappie < >; Jimenez, Sergio
< >; Peralez, Raul < >; Cohen, David
< >; Carrasco, Magdalena < >; Davis, Dev
< >; Esparza, Maya < >; Arenas, Sylvia
< >; Foley, Pam < >; Mahan, Ma
<Ma >
Subject: 3.15.22 Council Meeng - Agenda Item 3.3 Mayor's Budget Message - Increase Funding for Safer Streets

Hello Mayor and Council,

3/15/22, 9:20 AM Mail - Agendadesk - Outlook
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I agree with Councilmember Peralez’ entiment We need to be prioritizing traffic afety a much a other high priority i ue in the city Property crime ha been decrea ing, about 7% from 2020 to 2021, and yet our Mayor wa in front of Oakridge Mall ho ting a pre conference on retail theft He wa on America’ New room, a national how on Fo New , to talk about the ame ubject In a earch of the Mayor’ Twitter over the la t fi cal year, he ha tweeted about the record level of traffic death once I hope thi eriou i ue can one day get a much attention a the Nord trom in Valley Fair The whole premi e of Vi ion Zero i that it hould never be acceptable for people to be killed or eriou ly injured within the tran portation y tem

3/15/22, 9:19 AM Mail - Agendadesk - Outlook
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FW: 3/15/22 Council Meeting Item 3.3 Mayor's March Budget Message Safer Streets CMOAgendaServices <
Tue 3/15/2022 8:55 AM
To: #WebSubmittal.Clerks < Agendadesk <
Cc: CMOAgendaServices <
Letters for 3.3

Thank you,
Rachelle

From: Webmaster Manager <
Sent: Tuesday, March 15, 2022 7:58 AM
To: CMOAgendaServices <
Subject: FW: 3/15/22 Council Meeng Item 3.3 - Mayor's March Budget Message - Safer Streets

Hi CMO Agenda Services,
Please ﬁnd public comment below on Item 3.3 for today's City Council meeng.

Best,

-ma

Ma Opsal
Communicaons Team - COVID-19 Recovery
Senior Execuve Analyst
City Manager’s Oﬃce of Communicaons
City of San José
200 East Santa Clar
a Street, San José, CA 95113

From: Jeﬀ Boissier [mailto ]
Sent: Monday, March 14, 2022 10:02 PM
To: City Clerk < >; The Oﬃce of Mayor Sam Liccardo
<TheOﬃ >; Webmaster Manager < >;
District1 < >; District2 < >; District3 < >;
District4 < >; District5 < >; District 6 < >;
District7 < >; District8 < >; District9 < >;
District 10 < >
Subject: 3/15/22 Council Meeng Item 3.3 - Mayor's March Budget Message - Safer Streets

Dear San Jose City Council,

My name is Jeff Boissier. I am an avid bicyclist and member of the Silicon Valley Bicycle Coalition. I respectfully ask that you dedicate more money in the general fund budget for additional quick-build

March 14, 2022

Mayor & City Council
City of San José
200 East Santa Clara Street, 18th Floor
San Jose, CA 95113
Sent via email

Re: Mayor Liccardo’s FY23 March Budget message: Support for Continued Food Distribution in FY23 Budget

Dear Mayor Liccardo and City Council:

We appreciate Mayor Liccardo’s recognition of the importance of the City of San José continuing to support food access for our hungry neighbors. We appreciate his direction to City staff to work with the County and community based organizations to address this challenge. And we appreciate the Mayor’s direction to allocate funding through the budget process “to leverage our collective impact to address the food insecurity of thousands of our families.”

We strongly encourage the City Council to support continued City funding to address food insecurity and for the City of San José to work in partnership with the County and CBO food providers. San José constituents make up the largest population of food - insecure residents in the County. While we’re working to ensure residents know about CalFresh and other resources, many simply still need groceries and meals.

As members of the Nonprofit Food Network, we stand ready to work together with the City, the County, and Sourcewise, to address hunger in the City of San José. Food is not solely the responsibility of any one entity; we must work together.

Discontinuing or significantly decreasing funding at a time when the need remains so profound would have devastating consequences on the families, children, older adults, veterans and people with disabilities being served. They have been severely impacted by the pandemic, skyrocketing food, fuel and transportation costs, and simply cannot meet all of their needs without food assistance.

While we all hope that the population of residents needing food decreases this year, many of the food CBOs are not seeing a downward trend in demand.

Let’s work together now so that food assistance continue smoothly as we enter the new fiscal year and no City resident goes hungry.

Sincerely,

Members of the Nonprofit Food Network

Gregory Kepferle, CEO, Catholic Charities of Santa Clara County Gisela B. Bushey, CEO, Loaves & Fishes Family Kitchen
Cayce Hill, Executive Director, Veggielution
Michele Lew, CEO, The Health Trust
Tracy Weatherby, VP, Strategy & Advocacy, Second Harvest of Silicon Valley Leslie Bacho, CEO, Second Harvest of Silicon Valley
Bill Lee, Executive Director, Martha’s Kitchen

March 14, 2022

Mayor Liccardo and Members of the San Jose City Council 200 E. Santa Clara Street
San Jose, CA 95113

Re: Mayor’s Budget Message for FY 22-23

Dear Mayor Liccardo and Councilmembers:

On behalf of the Coalition to Advance Urban Forestry in San Jose, we were pleased to see the proposed Climate and Seismic Resilience program in the Mayor’s Budget Message. We support the priority described in section D(1)D to direct the City Manager to guide successful growth and management of San Jose’s urban forest to reduce heat islands and create a greener, more beautiful city with priority given to sparsely canopied neighborhoods in City Council Districts 4,5 and 7. We also support the creation of a Resilience Officer to lead these efforts and the other important elements of resiliency listed under the overall Climate and Seismic Resilience priority area. Seeking funding from a combination of grants and the General Fund is a good and realistic approach.

We would like to see greater definition to the Urban Forest priority and recommend that the urban forest efforts be broadened to include other resilience efforts including restoration and protection of riparian corridors and green infrastructure including bioswales and other stormwater capture projects both of which includes the planting of trees and other native plants. This broader definition of urban forestry can also include pocket forests which include more densely planted trees with layers of shrubs and trees.

In addition, we request that the City of San José increase its operational support for Our City Forest (OCF). The City’s operating grant, originally set at $150K back in 1994, remains just under $200K 27 years later (50% decrease in value), and should be increased to $300K per year. We also request that the matching contribution for OCF’s Urban Forestry AmeriCorps program be increased to help support a corps member stipend level of $25,000 per year vs $20,000. (CSJ Resilience Corps members receive more than twice this amount). The $120K partial matching grant set in 2007 is just $130K now 15 years later and should be increased to $175K.

This $145,000 overall increase would enable OCF to implement and administer more planting grants (such as its new CAL FIRE grant to plant 1,500 trees in East San José) and add critical staff positions that have remained frozen: a FT community outreach and education manager to promote plantings and tree adoptions, a FT volunteer manager, and a first-time grant writer.

OCF has been hindered by the fact that the stagnant operating grant has long supported just one staff person, an annual audit and accounting operations.

This relatively modest increase in the City’s investment of OCF’s award-winning community- based service model will leverage a substantial return: an increase in new trees being planted and successfully established, and the creation of a more informed and engaged community committed to growing a healthy city.

Sincerely,

Rhonda Berry
Rhonda Berry
President and CEO, Our City Forest

Vicki Moore
Vicki Moore
Chair, Santa Clara County Planning Commission

PO Box 611435, San Jose, CA 95161

March 14, 2022

City of San Jose
200 East Santa Clara Street, 18th Floor
San Jose, California 95110

Subject: March 14, 2022, City Council Agenda Item #3.3

Dear Mayor and Council Members,

I respectfully request that the City Council approve the mayor’s memorandum and support funds to help provide relief to help continue providing opportunities for communities to gather, establish community policing efforts in the downtown corridor and high crime areas and also to clean and beautify our city. To that end, I recommend the following:

1. COMMUNITY POLICING/FOOT PATROL
To help enhance public safety in areas affected by high crime rates, I support and ask that the City Council approve ongoing funds so that 15 full-time officers can join the force and these officers can be deployed and the Downtown Foot patrol can be fully reinstated with routinely assigned community policing walking beats as Ill as other high crime areas in San Jose. Creating a permanent budget now will allow San Jose to not only keep this program funded but allow it to grow in the coming years to ensure its success as the city grows. I ask that sufficient ongoing funds be allocated to fund community policing efforts so that the downtown corridor and the rest of San Jose’s areas experiencing higher crime rates can be protected. The safety of San Jose’s Downtown and city neighborhoods, in general, should be a top priority so that I ensure that all families feel safe where they live, work, and play.

2. SAN JOSE ABIERTO FUNDING
Abierto funding allows for programming that creates vibrancy while celebrating different events, arts, music, and cultures throughout the city. Community gatherings also help the local small businesses who have been hurt hard by the pandemic by creating a mass of people around their establishments who, hopefully, provide some business for the various establishments. I support and

[email protected] | 650 -380 -3460 | 30 E SANTA CLARA ST, SAN JOSE, CA 95113 March 12, 2021
Honorable Mayor Sam Liccardo & City Council Members City of San Jose 200 East Santa Clara Street, 18th Floor San Jose, California 95113
Re: March 15, 2022, Mayor’s Message - City Council Agenda Item# 3.3 Dear Mayor and Council Members,
We respectfully request that the City Council approve the mayor’s memorandum and support funds to help provide relief to help continue providing opportunities for communities to gather, establish community policing efforts in the downtown corridor and high crime areas and also to clean and beautify our city. To that end, we recommend the following:

1. COMMUNITY POLICING/FOOT PATROL
To help enhance public safety in areas affected by high crime rates, we support and ask that the City Council approve ongoing funds so that 15 full-time officers can join the force and these officers can be deployed and the Downtown Foot patrol can be fully reinstated with routinely assigned community policing walking beats as well as other high crime areas in San Jose.

Creating a permanent budget now will allow San Jose to not only keep this program funded but allow it to grow in the coming years to ensure its success as the city grows. We ask that sufficient ongoing funds be allocated to fund community policing efforts so that the downtown corridor and the rest of San Jose’s areas experiencing higher crime rates can be protected. The safety of San Jose’s Downtown and city neighborhoods, in general, should be a top priority so that we ensure that all families feel safe where they live, work, and play.

3. BEAUTIFY SAN JOSE CONSOLIDATED MODEL
We recommend the BeautifySJ funding become permanent with an emphasis on maintaining or expanding programs that empower the unhoused to become part of the BeautifySJ solution, such as San Jose Bridge and Cash for Trash. The City Manager should identify one-time funding to pilot a two-year expansion of the BeautifySJ encampment management team to include

[email protected] | 650 -380 -3460 | 30 E SANTA CLARA ST, SAN JOSE, CA 95113 therapeutic specialists who can coordinate behavioral health and other services for unhoused residents, and respond effectively to their crises. This work along with the Homeless Response Team will be great assets to the city. We also fully support the fight against blight and the efforts BeautifySJ makes to improve the city as people come to visit, work and live. BeautifySJ’s work will help present a clean city that is also taking care of all its inhabitants.

Again, we request that the City Council approve the Mayor’s message to help establish community policing efforts downtown and in other high crime rate neighborhoods, to fund efforts that create vibrancy and culture in our city, and to fund clean/beautification programs in downtown and other areas of San Jose. These areas of focus can also assist employers in attracting existing and new workers back to the office while adding to the appeal of living downtown. Our City San Jose is at a crucial point in its recovery and community policing foot patrol units, vibrancy, and beautification programs will help San Jose recover quicker so that the community as a whole can move forward and thrive.

Sincerely,
Eric Glader
Executive Director, Urban Vibrancy Institute

March 14, 2022

Dear Mayor Liccardo and the San Jose City Council,
We are delighted to learn of your proposed support for Open San Jose in your March budget message for Fiscal Year 2022-2023. We at San José Spotlight are honored to be anchor tenants of this collaborative and innovative space for San Jose’s leading media and arts nonprofits.

Your investment will go a long way in helping partner organizations like us meet our financial goals to ensure Open San Jose can provide reduced and free spaces to community groups, especially those who need a space to convene, create, rehease and innovate.

In addition, supporting this project will help activate a longstanding vacant block of downtown and help activate the neighborhood with lively arts, education, and civic engagement activities.

Open San José is a truly once-in-a lifetime project, and having the City of San Jose use the space will encourage other community groups and members to take advantage of its services while connecting elected officials and employees to the diversity of partners and participants that Open San José will serve.

We applaud Mayor Liccardo’s pledge of support for this initiative and we ask for the full council’s approval of this item in the Mayor’s Budget Message to further enhance innovation and opportunities for all who live and work in San Jose.

Thank you for your time and consideration.

Yours in Community,
Josh and Ramona
Co-Founders
San José Spotlight

March 15, 2022
San Jose Mayor and City Council
200 E Santa Clara Street
San Jose, CA 95113
Re: 3/15/2022 Council Item 3.3 : Approval of the Fiscal Year 2022-2023 Mayor's March Budget Message Dear Mayor Liccardo and Councilmembers,
The Guadalupe River Park Conservancy submits this letter uplifting speci ﬁc initiatives below that have
strong alignment to the priorities and concerns of our members and neighbors. We also bring forward additional items for consideration.

Homelessness and affordable housing - we commend the commitment to immediate and long term solutions to addressing homelessness in our communities. The past few years, perpetuated by the pandemic, rising housing costs, and systemic disinvestment in health and social services has resulted in nothing short of a humanitarian and environmental crisis. We echo points highlighted by the Silicon Valley Council of Nonpro
ﬁts, in consultation with the Race Equity Action Leadership (REAL) coalition. We hope that these initiatives, in addition to current City strategies, continue to make progress towards ending homelessness.

Pedestrian and traf
ﬁc safety innovations - we support action to address the alarming increase in pedestrian fatalities in San Jose this year. Critically questioning our City’s “antiquated, suburban roadway designs that encourage high-speed driving and pedestrian-challenged streetscapes” is a strategic ﬁrst step. Many pedestrians and cyclists along the Guadalupe River Trail start and end as pedestrians and cyclists on our streets. We echo points made by the Silicon Valley Bicycle Coalition to look at improving safety through safer and pedestrian-
ﬁrst street designs through more quick-building safety projects, additional investments in capital improvements, and City staff capacity for project implementation, management, and maintenance would help achieve these goals.

Additionally, this same rigor needs to continue into our trails network. The number of Guadalupe River Trail users and Conservancy supporters commenting on increased vehicular presence along the Trail has increased in the last 12 months. We are concerned that without action, spaces speci ﬁcally designed for
pedestrians and cyclists to enjoy without the fear of cars, will impact broader goals to promote environmental sustainability, active transportation, and improved public health.

Battling blight, supporting parks, and environmental stewardship - we commend the inclusion, continuation, and expansion of a number of initiatives in the Mayor’s budget message that have shown growth and value, particularly those
ﬁrst introduced in the 2021 Mayor’s budget.
● Beautify SJ continues to be an invaluable service that has reduced trash and blight and increased response times for hazards such as illegal dumping. Their role has been pivotal in our

community’s ability to enjoy a clean and welcoming outdoor and public environment. As public health professionals forecast the COVID 19 transition from pandemic to endemic, we anticipate outdoor spaces continue to play a role in the health of our communities. Efforts to bolster Beautify SJ and aligned initiatives are strategic actions worth supporting. ● We commend the inclusion of the Parks Rehabilitation Strike Team for the same reasons identi ﬁed
in the Mayor’s budget message. If Beautify SJ’s efforts are to keep parks clean, the Strike Team’s efforts help make parks welcoming. This initiative would enable PRNS to address rehabilitation and maintenance concerns throughout the City, and increase the overall quality of our parks system. We ask that the City consider ways to sustain this program in the future, and address systemic issues around parks maintenance.
● Support for Clean Creeks through clean ups efforts by Keep Coyote Creek Beautiful and South Bay Clean Creeks Coalition will continue to be a necessary component in enhancing environmental stewardship, trail activation, and civic and community health. Their work, along with other organizations and the many volunteers we have hosted, have been vital in reducing the volume of trash and debris from polluting our natural resources.
● The Resilience Corps initiative has been invaluable to our efforts in promoting and ensuring that the Guadalupe River Park is a clean, well-cared for, and inviting open space for everyone to enjoy.

We can attest personally to the milestones highlighted in the budget message - some expressing interest in working for PRNS, others returning to school in open space management, and others just enjoying working outdoors and hoping this program will continue. In addition to the capacity the Corpsmembers have provided the Conservancy to address a number of parks maintenance and environmental stewardship issues quickly, we have seen incredible growth in their professional and personal development. We believe extending this program would help expand the goal of employment development through parks to become a promising pipeline for gainful employment around climate resilience and parks management. ● A robust Urban Forest will play a critical role in our efforts to address climate change. They also promote safer streets, access to nature, and improved community health. We ask for efforts around the management of our urban forest to include trees in parks (also highlighted in the District 6 Neighborhood Leadership Group letter), and uplift ways our urban forest connect communities to our parks, open spaces, and natural environments. These efforts will provide broad improvements to our climate resilience and help achieve greater health equity. ● Additional support to address Citywide infrastructure backlog prioritization and funding is timely given the needs experienced by our communities, and the Federal and State aid currently offered for pandemic recovery. Investments here would provide ampli ﬁed beneﬁts by increasing the
capacity to apply for and manage grants, implement projects, and engage community in the process. The Conservancy has seen where prioritization and capacity has yielded new resources for our City, and where opportunities are missed due to a collective lack of grant-writing and lobbying capacity. Our City would be remiss to not allocate efforts to best position ourselves for temporary aid to address ongoing community priorities.

San Jose Abierto and cultural funding portfolio - the arts play a key role in ongoing activation, tourism, and community-building efforts of our parks. The pandemic continues to disproportionately and negatively impact arts and culture organizations and local artists and creatives in their ability to survive and thrive in our City. We have also seen many arts initiatives take advantage of programs like San Jose Abierto to pivot and prototype their programs in our parks, which has spurred new connections between artists, parks, and community. We support the extension of programs like San Jose Abierto and hope that efforts such as these are seen as ways to cultivate emerging arts initiatives within a broader strategy of promoting civic pride and tourism through arts and culture. We also support additional funding to ensure the health and long term sustainability of our arts and culture organizations, particularly as funding from transient-occupancy taxes continue to lag in recovery.

Given that so many of these programs are based in parks, we also ask that parks organizations be involved in the grants distribution process. Last year, the Conservancy provided permitting, logistics, and outreach support for San Jose Abierto initiatives in the Guadalupe River Park, and we believe parks organizations offer additional insight for those seeking to program in parks.

Additionally, we propose the following items for consideration:
● Explore ways to support long term cherishment of our parks, open spaces, and environment - given the demonstrated need of our outdoor spaces through the pandemic, and to address them with an equity lens, we need to look at how the maintenance of our parks, open spaces, waterways, tree canopies, and public gathering places are funded. We have an opportunity to leverage recovery efforts to lay the foundation for long term improvements to the health and quality of our ecology and community. We ask that investments be made to look at potential parks ballot measures, value-capture mechanisms, cross-sector partnerships, City grant-writing and measurement capacity, and others be made to ensure one-time efforts have lasting impacts. ● Incorporate into broader Recovery strategies the role of parks and outdoor spaces as reimagined places for business, education, and enrichment - these efforts currently exist individually, such as San Jose Abierto, Resilience Corps, and others. Our City also bene ﬁts from a welcoming climate
that supports outdoor activity. As businesses and schools return to in-person formats, efforts to incorporate their new operations and program models to include the use of outdoor spaces would be strategic actions towards economic and civic resilience in still uncertain public health outlooks. ● Increase park maintenance and stewardship for the Guadalupe River Park and Gardens, and efforts to achieve the full vision for the River Park - we propose that the City consider completing the buildout of the Guadalupe River Park and Guadalupe Gardens Master Plan as part of our broad recovery efforts. We also share and uplift comments made by the District 6 Neighborhood Leadership Group for additional maintenance staff for the Guadalupe Gardens and park maintenance.

The Guadalupe Gardens, which rests in the middle of the city, is limited by the ﬂight path on many
use options, and is the last thing arriving passengers to the Mineta San Jose International Airport sees. There is a compelling opportunity to meet multiple community priorities: enhance urban agriculture, create more platforms to showcase our arts and culture, enrich and expand the adjacent ecology, offer employment and workforce development opportunities, offer additional education and recreation options, and create a destination for residents and visitors alike.

It would be a milestone for San Jose to ﬁnish the build out of the “Grand Park” as designated in San Jose’s Envision 2040 General Plan, and do so in a way that supports many other priorities. As we plan to use these funds to provide signiﬁcant relief to our city and community, we can also accelerate transformative projects that can redeﬁne our triumph.

We thank the Mayor for the thoughtful and ambitious budget message that addresses so many priorities, and where possible, the Conservancy looks forward to supporting.

Sincerely,
Jason Su
Executive Director
Cc: Kelly Kline, Mackenzie Mossing, Christina Ramos, Mary Anne Groen, Diana Alanis, Patricia Ceja, Jon Cicirelli, Nicolle Burnham, Marguerite Lee, Andrew Sandler

[email protected] RG | 650 -380 -3460 | 30 E SANTA CLARA ST, S AN JOSE, CA 95113 March 14, 2021
Honorable Mayor Sam Liccardo & City Council Members City of San Jose 200 East Santa Clara Street, 18th Floor San Jose, California 95113
Re: March 15, 2022, Mayor’s Message - City Council Agenda Item# 3.3 My wife and I are 35 year patrons of Downtown San Jose and as of this coming August will be have been residents for 5 years.

We are in full support of the three initiatives outlined above. First and fore most budgeting for Police Foot Patrols. We would add that the value of Police Foot Patrols goes beyond the direct crime prevention component of such patrols. The positive police public relations that such patrols would bring should be considered in the decision as well.

Sincerely,
Mark & Cheri Lewis

San Jose, CA 95110

March 14, 2022

Mayor & City Council
City of San José
200 East Santa Clara Street, 18 th Floor
San José, CA 95113

Re: Mayor Liccardo’s FY23 March Budget message

Dear Mayor Liccardo and City Council:

This letter was prepared by the Silicon Valley Council of Nonprofits, in consultation with the Race Equity Action Leadership (REAL) coalition.

REAL Coalition

The REAL community of nonprofit leaders and allies has been meeting since June 2020 to use our positional power to advocate for a more racially -just and equitable society; to establish a peer network of leaders committed to fighting white supremacy and systemic racism in ourselves and our institutions; and to hold each other accountable to the promises we made in the Nonprofit Racial Equity Pledge. The REAL coalition is broadly representative of the nonprofit community including human and community services, behavioral health and health, arts and culture, domestic violence, older adults, food distribution, education, environmental, farming, legal, disability rights, LGTBQ rights, ethnic, immigrant rights, housing and homelessness, criminal justice reform, urban planning, and intermed iary organizations, and others. Over 125 organizations have participated in the REAL coalition.

Please find attached a letter signed by 63 nonprofit and ally members of the REAL coalition addressing the Mayor’s Fiscal year 2023 Budget Message and proposals by Councilmembers Arenas, Esparza, and Carrasco.

Background

In June 2021, over 90 nonprofits REAL leaders conveyed a letter to the Mayor and City Council requesting that the City of San José use its American Rescue Plan (ARP) funding to advance the recovery of those who have been hardest hit by the pandemic ; the proposal was called an Equity Investment Agenda for Recovery . In October 2021, these same leaders submitted a list of more specific, detailed proposals for Council and the Mayor’s consideration.

REAL Letter to City of San José Mayor and City Council
March 14, 2022

Page 2 ends

2 First, we appreciate that a number of the proposals in the Mayor’s March FY23 Budget are complementary of some of the priorities in our Equity Investment Agenda for Recovery. In that context, we would like to provide some specific comments related to the message and the proposals by Councilmembers Arenas, Esparza, and Carrasco.

Racial Equity
We appreciate that the budget message contains several explicit programs that focus on racial equity as well as a number that implicitly contribute to equity including:
• The disparity study of procurement for contracts.
• Investment in the School of Arts and Culture’s (SOAC) acquisition and CreaTV’s new space. First, investment in the sustainability of nonprofits (particularly nonprofit arts and culture organizations that have been slow to recover from the pandemic) is an equity magnifier. Second, the SOAC acq uisition also presents a great indicator of the potential impact of adopting a Community Option to Purchase Act (COPA) policy that would facilitate future nonprofit - and community-owned land acquisitions. Lastly, investment in the East Side should be one of our City’s most important equity approaches and, as such, we support investments like funding for the SOAC acquisition and the East Side Education Initiative.
• Continued funding and program proposals for housing, homelessness, childcare, food security, and workforce programs that serve communities of color most harmed by the pandemic.

Additionally, we suggest the following additional considerations:
• Traffic calming is an important alternative to policing that is both preventative rather than reactive and therefore an equity approach. We also suggest that the City conduct an analysis of the disparate deployment of traffic calming techniques and devote resources to address those disparities (e.g., Naglee Park’s residents historically funded the ir own traffic calming approaches that other neighborhoods do not have).
• The Parks Rehabilitation Strike team presents an opportunity to address park infrastructure and maintenance issues through an equity lens. This plan should also remind us that c ertain communities, like East Side, have a parks deficit that should be addressed. We support S í Se Puede Collective’s advocacy to find a park space for the Airport Little League to play since their current home is at the lead- contaminated airport.
• It has become all the clearer from our City’s experience during the pandemic that resilience (and disaster response) planning is much -needed. This is especially true for our more vulnerable communities ; after the Rock Springs flooding, many REAL Letter to City of San José Mayor and City Council
March 14, 2022

Page 3 ends

3 families continued to be displaced from not only their neighborhood but from the City itself. As the Mayor allude d to in his message, a major earthquake could destroy numerous soft -story apartment buildings, where many of our city’s lower income workers and their families live. An equity lens on resilience planning is needed.
• Consistent with REAL’s proposals around wealth -building (see below), we are eager to see the City make a meaningful investment in the African/African Ancestry community. REAL’s October 2021 proposals relat ing to ARP expenditures recommended an initiative that included funding for a displacement study, a UBI/reparations program, youth development, place - making, government employment pipeline, small business grants and support, and homeownership strategies.
• We support proposals from Councilmembers Arenas, Esparza, and Carrasco to change the pricing structure of PRNS programs and to assess the costs of improvements to City facilities in “high needs areas.”
• We also support the proposals of the se three Councilmembers to implement the City’s capacity to identify wage theft and hold employers who commit violations accountable. As the City prioritizes workforce development in this recovery period, it must also make sure that hard -earned wages are protected; employer s are also educated about wage and hour laws ; and education about these laws should be conducted in multiple languages so this information is accessible to immigrants who become business owners.

Disaster and Recovery Needs
We appreciate that the Mayor acknowledged the ongoing need for disaster relief and advancing the recovery of those who have been hardest hit by the pandemic , with some funding allocations as well as directions to the City Manager to evaluate what should continue going forward. We particularly appreciate the continued focus on providing groceries and meals to our community, including those who are unhoused, people with disabilities, those who are ineligible for CalFresh, and older adults. The nonprofit community stands ready to collaborate with the City and County to evaluate and address the City’s pre -existing and ongoing needs for food security, as well as to plan for the City’s food resiliency.

• Specifically, we applaud the Mayor for asking the City Manager to allocate resources to the community Recovery Task Force so that its recommendations can be implemented. Creating a body of community leaders to think through what the residents of San Jos é need to recover from the harms of the pandemic was a priority for the REAL members who signed our ARP funding proposals.

Ensuring that this brain trust of dedicated servant leaders has access to REAL Letter to City of San José Mayor and City Council
March 14, 2022

Page 4 ends

4 resources—to potentially launch new initiatives or to improve what we’re already doing—will make this process all the more meaningful.

• Obviously, childcare and early childhood education must be a strong component of our community’s economic recovery moving forward, so we appreciate the Mayor’s call for continuation of innovative and effective childcare workforce programming. Given the County’s strong early childhood and childcare priorities, we hope that the collaboration between the City and County , as indicated by the joint meetings that have occurred at the Neighborhood Services Committee , will continue. Special attention should be paid to the fact that by helping immigrant women launch childcare businesses, they can fill the gaps in our childcare workforce and s upport their families. A childcare entrepreneurship program for immigrant women funded in Houston in pandemic times has seen early success; more than 70 childcare businesses were started through the program as of July 2021.

Alternatives to Policing
We appreciate the earmark in the Mayor’s message for $800,000 for proposals that may come out of the Reimagining Public Safety (RIPS) process. Please consider these additional recommendations:

• It would serve the City well to internalize the fact that trauma -informed prevention and intervention is more effective and less expensive than down - stream reactions like policing and incarceration. Assuming that Council agrees that the City needs 15 addit ional police officers (which is not a one -time expenditure), it should be resourcing prevention and intervention to at least the same degree, year over year.
• On a related note, t he current strategic planning process for the Mayor’s Gang Prevention Task Fo rce (MGPTF), that will likely wrap in the middle of this budget year, is an opportunity . The City Council should consider earmarking funds that could be deployed to move forward the next three years of work; PRNS staff and the cross-sector planning group is working hard to incorporate community voices into what the MGPTF will look like moving forward and how best the City should support and work with youth to prevent violence and system involvement. The City’s BEST prevention and intervention framework is currently one of the City’s most effective but under-resourced alternatives to policing and is potentially a strong place for future such investment, consistent with RIPS proposals. • A report from The People’s Budget project —a series of focus groups and a survey conducted by the Human Rights Institute at SJSU and Sacred Heart Community Service, in which numerous REAL members participated —will be issued shorty REAL Letter to City of San José Mayor and City Council
March 14, 2022

Page 5 ends

5 and will be a useful reference through the budget process to determine San Jos é residents’ feelings about community safety and policing.

Additional REAL Priorities

• Housing and Homelessness
REAL has recently prioritized housing and homeless ness as a policy priority area for our coalition in 2022 . As such, we are pleased to see the Mayor’s message prioritize resources for solutions to our affordable housing and homelessness crisis.

Additionally, w e submit these thoughts and recommendations for the City Council’s consideration:
o Whereas the urgency of the homelessness crisis speaks to the need for creating immediate shelter solutions, it is important not to take our feet off the gas towards the development of permanent housing solutions.

Shelter is not housing.
o Our community’s inc redible cross-sector work to quickly fund and distribute millions in rent assistance prevented a cataclysmic flood of evictions, displacement, and homelessness. San Jos é was not among the 10 cities with the most eviction filings during COVID -19. This strategy should not be abandoned during the pandemic recovery.
o In addition to the planning support recommended by the Mayor by way of the affordable housing navigator, we also suggest additional resources for the Housing Department’s policy work . This would allow the City to move forward more quickly on a number of policies that will help with addressing the housing crisis, including priorities identified in the Mayor’s message, such as creating a plan and path forward for seismic retrofitting of soft-story apartments , without displacement .
o We wholeheartedly agree with looking at the sustainability of operations and maintenance of shelter and interim “housing.” We trust that in this work the City will closely coordinate with the County and Santa Clara Family Health Plan; we also encourage col laboration with community partners like Community Health Partnership, The Health Trust, Behavioral Health Contractors’ Association, Destination: Home, and the entire Continuum of Care in planning for sustainability; ensuring that care and services are effective, trauma -informed, and consistent with the social science; and capturing new funding streams like CalAIM. For the same reasons, we hope the City will consult with these same stakeholders and experts, as well as the Lived Experience Advisory Board (LEA B) and other lived experience advisory groups , as it designs its BeautifySJ homeless outreach program.

REAL Letter to City of San José Mayor and City Council
March 14, 2022

Page 6 ends

6 • Wealth-building
o Numerous cities are adopting Universal Basic Income ( UBI) approaches.

The City should consider a UBI approach that is consistent with its other priorities. For example, the City could adopt a UBI pilot for homeless individuals like Miracle Money in San Francisco or the New Leaf Project in Vancouver. In the San Francisco program, two thirds of the participants found permanent housing in six months.
o Santa Clara County has devoted $750,000 to its first RFP for funding for emerging community development corporations (CDCs), focused on the East Side and Gilroy. This modest amoun t could be supplemented by the City to extend the investment to other neighborhoods, especially those at high risk of gentrification like Washington Guadalupe /Calle Willow/Barrio Horseshoe.

• Nonprofit Sustainability
o As we have previously pointed out, with proximity to community, nonprofits play an essential role in building healthy communities by providing critical services that contribute to community stability and economic mobility . However, because of the way nonprofits are funded and treated in the tax code, we often have challenges building and maintaining health y infrastructure, challenges which in turn negatively affect our impact . At minimum, t he City should ensure that nonprofits are supported in the ways that other businesses are supported, and in ways that are uniquely helpful to nonprofits . The nonprofit liaison function that was so strong during the most acute period of the pandemic should be continued in some form, perhaps within the Office of Economic Development or the Recovery function.

• Health Equity and Health and Wellness
o We continue to believe that the City should engage in a human services and healthy communities strategic planning process and coordinate human services across all departments. We also believe that the City should designate a CSA -level position to oversee the synchronizing of human services within the City. This is an organizational framework most big cities have, at minimum. Given what the City learned about the health and well-being ne eds of the City’s residents during the pandemic —and the inequitable realities of whether and how they are met —the City should move forward in this direction rather than backward. Human well -being REAL Letter to City of San José Mayor and City Council
March 14, 2022

Page 7 ends

7 and human services are not the sole responsibility or bailiwick of the County.

Thank you so much for your consideration of this feedback. We continue to be available for an open dialogue between the City staff, Council, and Mayor’s office as the FY2023 budget process unfolds, and we thank you for your work for and dedication to our community.

Best regards,

Kyra Kazantzis, CEO
Silicon Valley Council of Nonprofits
Co-Convenor, REAL Coalition

Poncho Guevara, ED
Sacred Heart Community Service
Co-Convenor, REAL Coalition

Vaughn Villaverde
Director of Advocacy
AACI

MyLinh Pham
CEO
Asian American Services Center (AASC)

Walter Wilson
Project Manager
African American Cultural Center

Debra Pacio
Program Manager
African Diaspora Network

Steve Eckert
CEO
Alum Rock Counseling Center

Maritza Maldonado
Founding Executive Director
Amigos de Guadalupe Center for Justice
and Empowerment

Richard Konda
Executive Director
Asian Law Alliance

Aaron Eckels
Co-Founder
Bay Area Black ED

Elisa Koff-Ginsborg
Executive Director
Behavioral Health Contractors’
Association (BHCA)

Sparky Harlan/Kiana Simmon s
Bill Wilson Center

Jahmal Williams
Co-Chair
Black Leadership Kitchen Cabinet

Marsha Hovey
Executive Director
CADRE

REAL Letter to City of San José Mayor and City Council
March 14, 2022

Page 8 ends

8 Gregory Kepferle
CEO
Catholic Charities of Santa Clara County

Trami Cron
Executive Artistic Director
Chopsticks Alley

Erin O’Brien
CEO
Community Solutions

Pete Settelmayer
CEO
Downtown College Prep

Shawn Gerth
Executive Director
Educare California at Silicon Valley

Beth Leary
Executive Director
Family Supportive Housing

Susie Rivera
Executive Director and Vice President of
Youth Voice Initiatives
Fresh Lifelines for Youth (FLY)

Veronica Goei
Executive Director
Grail Family Services

Jason Su
Executive Director
Guadalupe River Park Conservancy

Kathleen King
CEO
Healthier Kids Foundation
Quyen Vuong
Executive Director
International Children Assistance
Network (ICAN)

Susan Frazer
Associate Executive Director
Jewish Family Services of Silicon Valley

Quency Phillips
Executive Director
Joint Venture Silicon Valley – Lighthouse
Building Back Better

Rose Mukhar
Executive Director
Justice At Last

Gabriela Chavez-Lopez
Executive Director
Latina Coalition of Silicon Valley

Darcie Green
Executive Director
Latinas Contra Cancer

Salvador Bustamante
Treasurer
Latinos United for a New America
(LUNA)

Alison Brunner
CEO
Law Foundation of Silicon Valley

Angelica Cortez
Executive Director
LEAD Filipino

REAL Letter to City of San José Mayor and City Council
March 14, 2022

Page 9 ends

9 Gloria Baxter
Executive Director
Lighthouse of Hope

Gisela Bushey
CEO
Loaves and Fishes Family Kitchen

Anjee Helstrup-Alvarez
Executive Director
MACLA/Movimiento de Arte y Cultura
Latino Americana

David Mineta
President and CEO
Momentum for Health

Eva M Terrazas
Chief Public Policy Officer
Pacific Clinics

Laura Sandoval
Regional Director
PATH

Heather Cleary
CEO
Peninsula Family Service

Lauren Babb
Vice President of Public Affairs
Planned Parenthood Mar Monte

Bela Ferreira
Executive Director
POSSO

Olivia White Lopez
Director of DEI
Peninsula Open Space Trust ( POST)
Kathy Cordova
Executive Director
Recovery Café San Jose

Dorsey Moore
CEO
San Jose Conservation Corps

Brendan Rawson
Executive Director
San Jose Jazz

Wisa Uemura
Executive Director
San Jose Taiko

Jessica Paz-Cedillos
Co-Executive Director
School of Arts & Culture at MHP

Gabriel Hernandez
Director
Si Se Puede Collective

Mary Gloner
Policy Council Member
Silicon Valley Council of Nonprofits

Raj Jayadev
Coordinator
Silicon Valley De-Bug

William Armaline
Director
SJSU Human Rights Institute

Saul Ramos
Co-Executive Director
SOMOS Mayfair

REAL Letter to City of San José Mayor and City Council
March 14, 2022

Page 10 ends

10 Mimi Nguyen
Executive Director
Step Forward Foundation

Marie Bernard
Executive Director
Sunnyvale Community Services

Regina Celestin Williams
Executive Director
SV@Home

Michele Lew
CEO
The Health Trust

Yvonne Maxwell
Executive Director
Ujima Adult and Family Services

Cayce Hill
Executive Director
Veggielution

Philip Nguyen
Executive Director
Vietnamese American Roundtable (VAR)

Sujatha Venkatraman/Kylie Clark
West Valley Community Services

Sandy Walker
President and CEO
YMCA of Silicon Valley

Adriana Caldera
CEO
YWCA Golden Gate Silicon Valley

3/15/22, 1:07 PM Mail - Agendadesk - Outlook
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You don't often get email from Learn why thi i important FW: 3/15/22 Council Meeting Item 3.3 Mayor's March Budget Message Safer Streets CMOAgendaServices <
Tue 3/15/2022 12:00 PM
To: #WebSubmittal.Clerks < Agendadesk <
Cc: CMOAgendaServices <
Item 3.3 Letters. Thanks

Thank you,
Rachelle

From: Webmaster Manager <
Sent: Tuesday, March 15, 2022 11:54 AM
To: CMOAgendaServices <
Subject: FW: 3/15/22 Council Meeng Item 3.3 - Mayor's March Budget Message - Safer Streets

Hi CMO Agenda Services,
Please ﬁnd public comment below on Item 3.3 for today's City Council meeng.

Best,

-ma

Ma Opsal
Communicaons Team - COVID-19 Recovery
Senior Execuve Analyst
City Manager’s Oﬃce of Communicaons
City of San José
200 East Santa Clara Street, San José, CA 95113
P: 408-535-8117

From: Cindy Ahola [mailto: ]
Sent: Tuesday, March 15, 2022 9:51 AM
To: City Clerk < >; The Oﬃce of Mayor Sam Liccardo
<TheOﬃ >; Webmaster Manager < >;
District1 < >; District2 < >; District3 < >;
District4 < >; District5 < >; District 6 < >;
District7 < >; District8 < >; District9 < >;
District 10 < >
Subject: 3/15/22 Council Meeng Item 3.3 - Mayor's March Budget Message - Safer Streets

Thank you, Mayor and Council for recognizing the importance of street safety. San Jose is one of the few cities locally that has officially adopted Vision Zero and is actively working to pursue a vision that facilitates walking, biking and transit.

We are alarmed that the level of traffic violence continues to skyrocket in San Jose and while we understand the complexity of balancing a budget with many important priorities, the City needs to do even more to ensure that our streets are safe. San Jose needs to put even more money into building safe streets, approximately $100 million annually above the City’s existing funding, which would cover the City’s Bike Plan, Vision Zero improvements, Complete Streets projects and the trail network.

Also:

Pavement maintenance is one good way to make the streets safer but we also need to aggressively pursue other projects such as those identified in the City’s Vision Zero plan. Increase Capital allocations to fund more than 4 quick-builds and fund staff capacity to manage and deliver these projects quicker.

The pavement maintenance program is a great way to restripe streets however, it’s too slow. Fund staff capacity to avoid deferrals and expedite the pavement maintenance program.

Fund this work out of the general fund, which is a key way a City demonstrates its priorities.

Please increase funding for streets that are, by design, safe, and build those projects ASAP.

Thank you for your commitment to the health and safety of our city and its residents.

Sincerely,

Cindy Ahola
Market-Almaden Neighborhood Resident

3/15/22, 1:07 PM Mail - Agendadesk - Outlook
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Fw: Urgent Need for the City of San Jose to Continue to Support Feeding Hungry Neighbors
City Clerk <
Tue 3/15/2022 12:03 PM
To Agendade k <
Office of the City Clerk | City of San José
200 E. Santa Clara St., Tower 14th Floor
San Jose, CA 95113
Main: 408-535-1260
Fax 408 292 6207
How is our service? Please take our short survey.

From: The Oﬃce of Mayor Sam Liccardo <TheOﬃ
Sent: Tuesday, March 15, 2022 11:20 AM
To: City Clerk <
Subject: Fw: Urgent Need for the City of San Jose to Connue to Support Feeding Hungry Neighbors

From: deipi medha
Sent: Tuesday, March 15, 2022 10:54 AM
To: The Oﬃce of Mayor Sam Liccardo <TheOﬃ
Subject: Urgent Need for the City of San Jose to Connue to Support Feeding Hungry Neighbors

You don't often get email from Learn why this is important

Honorable Sam Licardo,

I’m Deiptii Verma and I’m a volunteer at Santa Teresa Parish in San Jose. I am writing to express my appreciation for your direction to the City Manager's office to include funding for continued food distribution in collaboration with the County, Second Harvest, and other Community-Based Organizations. I strongly support continued City funding for food distribution.

Every week I see hundreds of cars lined up in my parking with families seeking food. Thanks to the City of San Jose's funding of Catholic Charities to organize volunteers and staff to distribute emergency food from Second Harvest, thousands of our neighbors impacted by the pandemic have been protected from hunger and homelessness. Hundreds more homebound seniors, people with disabilities, and those

3/15/22, 1:07 PM Mail - Agendadesk - Outlook
https://outlook.office365.com/mail/ AAMkADUxOWI4ZjE3LTRkNDEtNGUzMS04MjAwLTIzNzdiYTdkMjc5NAAuAAAAAAC… 2/2 This message is from outside the City email system. Do not open links or attachments from untrusted sources. forced to isolate themselves due to COVID 19 continue to stay fed and housed thanks to the City's funding of home-delivered groceries.

The cost-effective investment of City funding in the emergency food distribution leverages the power of donated food, and dedicated volunteers from my parish and dozens of other faith communities, businesses, schools and the community, along with the expertise of multiple community-based organizations like Catholic Charities and Second Harvest.

I understand that there is a danger that funding from the City may end in June; however, the pandemic continues. And on top of the pandemic, inflation is causing an increase in the cost of rent and food, leaving more families vulnerable and at risk of hunger and homelessness.

I therefore strongly support your support to continue funding the emergency food distribution and to work closely with the County to develop a smooth transition of funding from the City to the County to ensure our neighbors never go hungry.

Sincere Regards,

Deiptii, volunteer at Santa Teresa Parish

From: The Oﬃce of Mayor Sam Liccardo <TheOﬃ
Sent: Tuesday, March 15, 2022 11:20 AM
To: City Clerk <
Subject: Fw: Urgent Need for the City of San Jose to Connue to Support Feeding Hungry Neighbors

From: Katherine Edgecumbe Sisson <
Sent: Tuesday, March 15, 2022 10:35 AM
To: The Oﬃce of Mayor Sam Liccardo <TheOﬃ
Subject: Urgent Need for the City of San Jose to Connue to Support Feeding Hungry Neighbors

You don't often get email from Learn why this is important

Honorable Sam Licardo,
I’m Katherine Sisson, and I’m a volunteer at St. Leo the Great Parish. I am writing to express my appreciation for the Mayor's direction to the City Manager's office to include funding for continued food distribution in collaboration with the County, Second Harvest, and other Community-Based Organizations. I strongly support continued City funding for food distribution.

Every week I see hundreds of cars lined up in my parking with families seeking food. Since the start of the COVID-19 pandemic, I've worked with various parishes & seen the incredible need for food assistance. Thanks to the City of San Jose's funding of Catholic Charities to organize volunteers and staff to distribute emergency food from Second Harvest, thousands of our neighbors impacted by the pandemic have been protected from hunger and homelessness. Hundreds more homebound seniors, people with disabilities, and those forced to isolate themselves due to COVID 19 continue to stay fed

3/15/22, 1:07 PM Mail - Agendadesk - Outlook
https://outlook.office365.com/mail/ AAMkADUxOWI4ZjE3LTRkNDEtNGUzMS04MjAwLTIzNzdiYTdkMjc5NAAuAAAAAAC… 2/2 This message is from outside the City email system. Do not open links or attachments from untrusted sources. and housed thanks to the City's funding of home-delivered groceries.

The cost-effective investment of City funding in the emergency food distribution leverages the power of donated food, and dedicated volunteers from my parish and dozens of other faith communities, businesses, schools, and the community, along with the expertise of multiple community-based organizations like Catholic Charities and Second Harvest.

I strongly urge the City to continue funding the emergency food distribution and to work closely with the County to develop a smooth transition of funding from the City to the County to ensure our neighbors never go hungry.

Sincerely,
Katherine Sisson
Parishioner of St. Leo The Great

3/15/22, 1:06 PM Mail - Agendadesk - Outlook
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Fw: Today's Council Meeting Community & Economic Development City Clerk <
Tue 3/15/2022 12:05 PM
To: Agendadesk <
Office of the City Clerk | City of San José
200 E Santa Clara St , Tower 14th Floor
San Jose, CA 95113
Main 408 535 1260
Fax: 408-292-6207
How is our service? Please take our short survey.

From: Lan Jenson <
Sent: Tuesday, March 15, 2022 9:59 AM
To: City Clerk <
Subject: Today's Council Meeng - Community & Economic Development

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Dear City Clerk,
COVID has opened our eyes to the widening digital divide. For our Community & Economic Development, digital equity is recommended as a priority by the Silicon Valley Recovery Roundtable in its report Building a Better Normal. A group of nonprofit consortium has answered the report's calling to our community to action. We look forward to the Council members' leadership.

Thank you for your public service!

--
Lan Jenson

3/15/22, 1:06 PM Mail - Agendadesk - Outlook
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Fw: Mayor's Budget Meeting 3.15.22 Blight Busters Program City Clerk <
Tue 3/15/2022 12:06 PM
To: Agendadesk <
Office of the City Clerk | City of San José
200 E Santa Clara St , Tower 14th Floor
San Jose, CA 95113
Main 408 535 1260
Fax: 408-292-6207
How is our service? Please take our short survey.

From: Sandy Flores <
Sent: Tuesday, March 15, 2022 9:38 AM
To: Liccardo, Sam < City Clerk < Carrasco, Magdalena
<
Cc: <
Subject: Mayor's Budget Meeng 3.15.22 - Blight Busters Program

Dear Mayor Licarddo and City Council Member,
My name is Sandy Flores, I'm a long-time resident of District 5 and I am requesting that the city support our community by allowing us to help ourselves in keeping our neighborhood safe and clean.

I request that funding for the city's Blight Busters program be reinstated to assist high- need communities with blight and code enforcement and to improve the quality of life for our residents.

This program was to begin prior to COVID and had a list of volunteers ready to work alongside code enforcement to alleviate the backlog of requests and address issues that hurt our communities.

Active neighbors have the right to have some control over chronic offenders who bring down the value of our neighborhood and Blight Busters is that program.

Thank you in advance.

Have a WONDERFUL day!
Working Together We Can Make a Difference!
Sandy Flores
President

3/15/22, 1:06 PM Mail - Agendadesk - Outlook
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Fw: Blight Busters Budget Request
City Clerk <
Tue 3/15/2022 12:31 PM
To: Agendadesk <
Office of the City Clerk | City of San José
200 E Santa Clara St , Tower 14th Floor
San Jose, CA 95113
Main 408 535 1260
Fax: 408-292-6207
How is our service? Please take our short survey.

From: Melissa Lopez <
Sent: Tuesday, March 15, 2022 9:30 AM
To: City Clerk < District1 < District 10
< District9 < District4 < District7
< District 6 < District5 < District3
< District2 < District8 < Carrasco,
Magdalena <
Subject: Blight Busters - Budget Request

Dear Mayor Licarddo and City Council Members -
I am a resident of District 5 and I am requesting that the city support our community by allowing us to help ourselves in keeping our neighborhood safe and clean.

I request that funding for the city's Blight Busters program be reinstated to assist high- need communities with blight and code enforcement and to improve the quality of life for our residents.

This program was to begin prior to COVID and had a list of volunteers ready to work alongside code enforcement to alleviate the backlog of requests and address issues that hurt our communities. Active neighbors have the right to have some control over chronic offenders who bring down the value of our neighborhood and Blight Busters is that program.

Thank you.

Melissa Got-Lopez
Mt. Pleasant Neighborhood Association - President
Like and Follow us! https://www.facebook.com/mpnaesj

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Fw: Today's meeting
City Clerk <
Tue 3/15/2022 12:31 PM
To: Agendadesk <
Office of the City Clerk | City of San José
200 E Santa Clara St , Tower 14th Floor
San Jose, CA 95113
Main 408 535 1260
Fax: 408-292-6207
How is our service? Please take our short survey.

From: ayme venegas <
Sent: Tuesday, March 15, 2022 9:17 AM
To: City Clerk <
Subject: Today's meeng

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I am writing to you in hopes to include this information in your meeting. I live in the lyndale neighborhood (Mervyn's Way & Capitol Expressway) and I am asking for your help. For the past 6yrs we have seen our neighborhood turn into a place that no longer is safe to live in and raise a healthy family in. We are constantly having issues with the unhoused that have taken over our city streets and water ways that surround our neighborhood. We are no longer safe taking our young kids for walks, or for them to play outside (front or back yard) due to being harrased by the unhoused that prowl our neighborhood. At my son's 6yr old wellness check up? His doctor asked him what he's afraid of, his answer (the homeless that start fires in the creek behind our house). My son should feel safe in his home but didn't because our city leaders have fine NOTHING to keep us safe in our homes.

3/15/22, 1:05 PM Mail - Agendadesk - Outlook
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3/15/22, 1:05 PM Mail - Agendadesk - Outlook
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Ayme Martinez

Date: February 24, 2022

To: Mayor Sam Liccardo
Councilmember Carrasco
Jennifer Maguire
Jon Cicirelli
Angel Rios

cc: Toni Taber
From: San Jose Council District 5 Neighborhood Leaders and Community Members Subject: Blight Busters, RLEI Program, Unhoused Residents and Chronic Blight Concerns We are a collective of District 5 leaders and community members who are committed to the care and quality of life in our neighborhoods. We write today absent an effective response from various City departments to our concerns – whether due to staffing constraints, bureaucracies, indifference or an outright refusal to accept reports to fully and accurately assess the scope of the issues, or other challenges.

We are calling for reconsideration for the Blight Busters and RLEI programs to be implemented. If the City acknowledges it has a lack of resources and is unable to fill vacancies, we cannot think of any valid reason not to fund and implement these programs – especially when you have a cadre of unpaid volunteers to take up the mantle. Neighborhood leaders are amenable to negotiating a pilot for a limited number of code violations, e.g., inoperable cars, cars on lawns, etc. The RLEI program offers neighborhoods the needed help to navigate the ‘system’ to capture the attention of derelict landlords to effect change.

The following chronic quality of life concerns have been identified by many neighborhoods in District 5.

NEIGHBORHOOD & CONTACT INFO ISSUE and CONCERNS
Mt. Pleasant Neighborhood
Association

Melissa Got-Lopez, President

Trudy Ellerbeck, Treasurer

1. Metal recycling and dumping on Lochner Dr. @ Mt. Vista Dr. attributed to 3207 Mt. Vista

2. Limit of 5 cases per person when reporting to Code Enforcement

3. Unused and inoperable cars on property

4. Disturbing the peace, loud parties

5. Fireworks mitigation, pre-emptive knock and talks

6. Vehicles blocking sidewalks

7. Neighborhood economic development and clean-up of blighted businesses
Park Pleasant

Norma Zuniga

1. Unused and inoperable cars on private property on Park Pleasant Circle and various neighborhood streets

2. Gambling and alcohol use at Mount Pleasant Park
Lyndale Neighborhood Association

1. Encampments at Mervyn's Way and Capitol Expressway

Juan Estrada, President

Ayme Venegas

2. Speeding and sideshows at Granite Creek and Mervyn's Way and Story and White Rds.

3. Illegal dumping at unhoused encampment sites throughout the neighborhood

4. Speeding & running stop signs throughout the neighborhood Cassell

Scott Godfrey

Code issues:

1. Absentee landlords/nuisance properties

2. Parking on lawns

3. Parking on park strips

4. Abandoned/broken vehicles on private property

5. Insufficient landscaping/paving of front yards

6. Improper drainage

7. Illegal construction

8. Illegal occupation

9. General blight conditions

10. Reserving street parking with cones and or trash cans

11. Unpermitted businesses
Plata Arroyo

Danny Garza

1. Drug and alcohol use at Plata Arroyo and Skate Parks

2. Gang activity at both parks

3. Gang graffiti at both parks

4. Broken glass at both parks

5. Disorderliness and foul language at both parks

6. Lack of Parking Enforcement

7. Lack of Code Enforcement

8. General blight

9. Lack of speeding traffic mitigation

10. Overcrowding

11. Environmental Justice issues.

12. Noise Pollution

13. Air Pollution
Capitol Park Goss Dobern
Neighborhood Association

Sandy Flores, President
m
Shannon Miles, Board Member,
Sergeant at Arms

1. Speeding Cars - Safety measures needed, especially near neighborhood schools and parks.

2. Gang Related Graffiti Tagging

3. Illegal Dumping

4. After School Programs needed for youth

5. Code Violations:
• long vegetation(weeds) and trash and abandoned
automobiles parked on residential front lawns

6. Illegal Fireworks - Especially during special holidays

7. Homeless Encampments

8. Evening lights are needed on the Bambi /Dobern pedestrian bridge
Foss Ave. and Alum Rock Ave,
Jackson Ave. to Hwy. 680

1. FIVE fires directly on or adjacent to Foss Ave within the past year:
• Corner Foss Ave and mid-block [2 fires]
• Fire at corner approx. June 2021

Jewell Buchanan

• Fire near gas station approx. Sept. 2021
• 1 other fires -- ?? time frame

2. Nails left along street from construction -- four neighbors' tires flattened as result

3. Contractors continue to occupy neighborhood parking on Foss Ave

4. Four neighborhood vehicles have been vandalized, not included company vehicle stolen; vehicle thieves parked in cul de sac on Foss Ave

5. Drug transactions occurring 2am/3am

6. Neighbors landscaping and cable equipment stolen from home

7. Foss Ave is a dead-end street, so there is repeated illegal dumping on street -- one instance caught on camera/reported

8. Traffic safety -- Flagman, construction signage/cones/flashing lights s/b regularly and consistently stationed at corner construction
Mayfair

Guadalupe Gonzalez

1. Blind spots and traffic congestion at San Antonio Street from Sunset Avenue to Jackson Ave, intersection with Preservation Dr

2. Traffic congestion at Preservation Dr and Packing place at the loop (with double and triple parking lines)

3. Traffic Congestion at Jackson Ave. by Rocketship Fuerza (old building for Post Office)

4. Lights at Kammerer Bridge

5. Cars making donuts at Kammer Ave by the bridge every weekend night

6. Speed bumps at Alum Rock between Sunset Ave and Mc Creery Ave

7. Encampment at back entrance to East Side Senior Center on Plaza de Guadalupe

8. Basketball hoops thru the neighborhood creating safety issues

9. RV's illegally parking at San Antonio Street and Sunset Avenue

10. Illegal conversion of front yards to parking sites removing landscaping

11. Illegal dumping at Kammerer Ave by the Kammerer Bridge and at MACSA Site on Lavonne Ave

12. Blight sites on streets where RV's are parked

13. Code Enforcement not responding to complaints

14. Constant fire (one gas explosion) at Lower Silver creek caused by people living in encampments

15. Speed bumps throughout the neighborhood

We would like to schedule a meeting the week of March 13, 2022 to get these programs underway and to have the issues listed above addressed. We request that our letter be entered into the public record at Rules Committee.

Signed,
San Jose Council District 5 Neighborhood Leaders and Community Members

Mt. Pleasant Neighborhood Association Melissa Got-Lopez, President

Trudy Ellerbeck, Treasurer

Park Pleasant Norma Zuniga

Lyndale Neighborhood Association Juan Estrada, President

Ayme Venegas

Cassell Scott Godfrey

Plata Arroyo Danny Garza

Capitol Park Goss Dobern Neighborhood
Association
Sandy Flores, President

Shannon Miles, Board Member, Sergeant at Arms

Foss Jewell Buchanan

Mayfair Guadalupe Gonzalez

3/15/22, 3:49 PM Mail - Agendadesk - Outlook
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Fwd: Mayor's priorities; San José Budget
City Clerk <
Tue 3/15/2022 2:54 PM
To: Agendadesk <
From: Joseph Hea <jhe
Sent: Tuesday, March 15, 2022 1:17:18 PM
To: City Clerk < The Oﬃce of Mayor Sam Liccardo
<TheOﬃ Webmaster Manager <
District1 < District2 < District3 <
District4 < District5 < District 6 <
District7 < District8 < District9 <
District 10 <
Subject: Mayor's priories; San José Budget

Some people who received this message don't often get email from Learn why this is important

Dear Mayor and Council Members,
I write to express my strong support of all efforts to ensure street safety, especially those in support of bicycle safety, traffic calming, bike lanes and trail infrastructure, chiefly by funding these efforts through the General Fund, including sufficient staffing required to expedite approvals and complete these projects.

I am both a motor-vehicle drive and a bike commuter. I understand first-hand the needs of both of these types of travelers, and I cannot express strongly enough my approval and delight at the efforts already undertaken--Vision Zero, traffic calming, protected bike lanes, etc.--that have made both my driving and cycling experiences safer. Thank you.

That said, we need to be doing much more, and I encourage you and your colleagues to make street safety a bigger budget priority, not least because it makes our city safer, cleaner, more efficient, and a more desirable place to live and conduct business.

Thank you for your service to the great city of San José.

Sincerely,
Joe

3/15/22, 3:49 PM Mail - Agendadesk - Outlook
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San Jose, CA 95130

3/15/22, 3:49 PM Mail - Agendadesk - Outlook
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Fwd: The Mayor's Budget
City Clerk <
Tue 3/15/2022 2:55 PM
To: Agendadesk <
From: Gary Masters <
Sent: Tuesday, March 15, 2022 2:09:04 PM
To: City Clerk <
Subject: The Mayor's Budget

You don't often get email from Learn why this is important

As a resident of San José for the past 32 1/2 years, I know that there is much to be done as we move onward and forward out of the last two years and its ongoing uncertainty and I applaud the Mayor and all the members of the City Council for the work that you do to make this city a vibrant and healthy community for us all. As you and we work to make this city worthy of being called a "Major Metropolitan City", I charge you not to forget that without a secure and potent Arts and Cultural Community San José CANNOT consider itself "MAJOR".

And so, as an Arts Advocate, I call on the CIty Council to approve the Mayor's Budget Message including the continued funding for the recovery of our essential creative Arts Community, to fully fund the city's Cultural Grants Program at pre pandemic levels using one time relief funds to offset the shortfalls in the TOT, reallocate 40% of the TOT that goes to the General Fund for cultural programs and invest additional ARP funds in creative workforce development to put Artists back to work.

Respectfully,
Gary W. Masters
Gary Masters

Artistic Director

San Jose City CouncilMarch 15, 2022

San Jose City Council
March 15, 2022