City of San José Page 1 February 14, 2023
City Council Meeting
Study Session Minutes
Tuesday, February 14, 2023
11:00 AM
Hybrid Meeting- Council Chambers and Virtually
https://sanjoseca.zoom.us/j/88957084529
Study Session - Priority Setting Session #1
Mayoral Transition Committee Report
MATT MAHAN, MAYOR
ROSEMARY KAMEI, DISTRICT 1
SERGIO JIMENEZ, DISTRICT 2
OMAR TORRES, DISTRICT 3
DAVID COHEN, DISTRICT 4
PETER ORTIZ, DISTRICT 5
DEV DAVIS, DISTRICT 6
BIEN DOAN, DISTRICT 7
DOMINGO CANDELAS, DISTRICT 8
PAM FOLEY, DISTRICT 9
ARJUN BATRA, DISTRICT 10
City of San José Page 2 February 14, 2023
* COVID-19 NOTICE *
Consistent with AB 361 and City of San José Resolution Nos. 80628, 80659, 80685, 80724, 80758, 80809, RES2023-1 and RES2023-22, Councilmembers may be teleconferencing from remote locations.
• Call to Order and Roll Call
11:00 a.m. - Study Session: Priority Setting Session #1 - Mayoral Transition Committee Report.
Present Councilmembers: All present. (in Council Chambers) Absent Councilmembers: All present.
• Purpose
To provide an overview of the Mayoral Transition Committee results on outcomes, recommendations, and success metrics.
• Outcome
The Mayor and City Councilmembers will develop a common understanding of the Mayoral Transition Committee results on outcomes, recommendations, and success metrics, and will provide feedback to the Administration to help inform the Priority Setting Session #2 Recommendations.
1. STUDY SESSION- PRIORITY SETTING SESSION #1
1. 23-257 Study Session of the City Council on the Fiscal Year 2023-2024 City Council Priority-Setting Session #1 - Mayoral Transition Committee Report. (a) Receive the report from the Mayoral Transition Committees on Clean Neighborhoods, Community Safety, Downtown Vibrancy, Homelessness, and Planning and Permitting to develop a common understanding of the Mayoral Transition Committees’ actionable and measurable recommendations and other Committee feedback.
(b) Discuss and provide feedback to the City Administration on the Committee Reports to be considered as input to the Priority Setting Session #2 Special Meeting of the City Council titled Administration Priority-Setting Recommendations and for consideration in development of the 2023-2024 Proposed Budget.
City of San José Page 3 February 14, 2023
(a) Overview and Context
Present the process and timeline overview of Priority Setting within the context of the Fiscal Year 2023-2024 Budget Process.
Mayor Matt Mahan opened the floor for Councilmembers to begin the Committee Report readouts in Committee Alphabetical Order.
(b) Transition Committee Reports
The following reports were received from the Mayoral Transition Committees on Clean Neighborhoods, Community Safety, Downtown Vibrancy, Homelessness, and Planning and Permitting to, among other things, develop a common understanding of the Mayoral Transition Committees’ results on the identification of actionable and measurable recommendations and other Committee feedback.
Clean Neighborhoods Committee Report
At 11:16 a.m. the Clean Neighborhoods Committee Report readout was presented by Councilmember Peter Ortiz.
Community Safety Committee Report
At 11:33 a.m. the Community Safety Report readout was presented by Vice Mayor Kamei, Councilmember Bien Doan, and support staff.
Downtown Vibrancy Committee Report
At 11:47 the Downtown Vibrancy Committee Report readout was presented by Councilmember Omar Torres and support staff.
Homelessness Committee Report
At 11:54 a.m. the Homelessness Committee Report readout was presented by Councilmember David Cohen, Councilmember Pam Foley, and support staff.
Planning & Permitting Committee Report
At 12:06 p.m. the Planning and Permitting Committee Report readout was presented by Councilmember Dev Davis, Councilmember Sergio Jimenez, and support staff.
City of San José Page 4 February 14, 2023
(c) Public Comment
In Person Speakers:
1. Sparky Harlan stated San José has the largest population of unhoused young adults in the nation, spoke to public safety, and the Bill Wilson Center.
2. Bob Brownstein spoke to his concerns with the transition process, the democratic process, the outcomes generated, prior mayor processes, and Brown Act violations.
3. Jeffrey B. (Working Partnerships USA) spoke to the future of San José for all, government laws needing to be valued, and urged Council to consider the memorandum from Councilmember Domingo Candelas.
4. Lucila Ortiz (Working Partnerships USA) stated critical priorities aren’t being given the focus needed, stated public policies should provide opportunities to all, root solutions to fill the 1,000 vacancies in the city, safe neighborhoods, homes for all, and job exploitation.
5. Kyra Kazantzis spoke to inequities, Measure A, racial justice, equity not being intentionally centered, and supported the memorandum from Councilmember Domingo Candelas.
6. Cesar Palancares spoke to working families in San José and equitable funding for neighborhoods.
7. Sarah McDermott (Working Partnerships USA) spoke to wage theft, labor violations, the importance of a budget that puts people first, city vacancies, equitable funding, and support of Councilmember Domingo Candelas’ memorandum.
8. Daniella Baldivia (Working Partnerships USA) spoke to labor rights, wage theft, labor violations, staff capacities, and concerns with delayed responses from staff.
Zoom Speakers:
9. Gina LaBlanc spoke to the Vision Zero Action Plan, prioritizing “humans lives”, pedestrian, disabled, and elderly street safety, and spoke to her 18-year-old son who tragically died in San José as a result of a pedestrian accident. Her son tragically died in her arms in the hospital she worked at as a nurse while she was working.
10. Blair Beekman spoke to bicycle safety, open public processes, and Vision Zero concerns.
11. Sandra Asher expressed her disappointment with public safety measures, increasing staffing of the SJPD TRUST team regarding mental health calls, increasing funding for the Department of Transportation, and spoke to street safety.
12. Katherine Hedges acknowledged the hard work of the transition committees, spoke to the spirit of Brown Act being violated, equity needing to be centered, the displacement plan, a direct line to the SJPD TRUST Team, and tenant rights to prevent homelessness.
13. Jen Myhre spoke to community safety recommendations and urged Council to prioritize recommendations that focus on public safety.
14. Justin Imamura (founder of Trash Punks) supported the outcomes in the success metrics in the proposal, illegal dumping in the City, implementing environmental ecosystem protection boundaries along city waterways, and flood preventions along waterways.
15. Deb St. Julien spoke to policing alternatives, recommended a more robust process, public safety issues, and mental health crisis alternatives.
16. Anthony Montes spoke in support of the Community Safety Action plan, traffic fatalities, staffing capacities, safe bicycling, and pedestrian safety.
Council recessed for lunch at 1:00 pm
Mayor Mahan opened the floor for public comment at 1:33 p.m. and stated that public comment would now be limited to one minute.
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Zoom Speakers Continued:
17. Sandy Perry spoke to transparency, anti-displacement plans not being forgotten in this process, and the importance of ending homelessness.
18. Forest (Wage Theft Coalition) spoke to unpaid wage theft concerns.
19. Gail Anne Osmer spoke to the importance of listening to people who have been affected firsthand by being unhoused.
20. Paul Soto spoke to the red-lining map, the economic and social consequences of redlining, and the concerns with the process of the meeting.
21. Caller ‘1367’ spoke to the housing crisis, Measure M in San Francisco, and homelessness concerns.
22. Andrew Siegler opposes increasing police staffing and stated it’s more beneficial to invest in the TRUST non-law enforcement team to help respond during mental health crisis situations.
23. Mason Fong thanked the Mayor and Staff for their efforts in the new process, spoke to city-wide integration, public safety, and 911/311 calls.
25. Araceli (SEIU USWW) spoke to San José’s divided equitable economy and children living in households that don’t make enough to cover for basic necessities.
26. Victor Vasquez spoke to prioritizing families that have faced historical barriers and access to mental health, financial literacy, providing services, and equitable distributions.
26. Ruth Silver Taube urged Council to invest in direct worker outreach through collaboration with the fair workplace collaborative.
(d) Discussion and Feedback
(1) Discuss the reports’ results on outcomes, recommendations, success metrics, and other feedback. (2) Provide feedback on the report to be considered as input to the Priority Setting Session #2 Special Meeting of the City Council titled Administration Priority-Setting Recommendations and for consideration in development of the 2023-2024 Proposed Budget.
(3) Discuss next steps.
At 12:19 p.m. Mayor Matt Mahan opened the floor for Council discussion. He then paused the discussion to continue public comment.
At 1:45 p.m. Mayor Matt Mahan resumed Council discussion and questions.
Extensive Council discussion and questions followed.
• Adjournment
The Council of the City of San José adjourned at 1:20 p.m.
Study Session Minutes Recorded, Prepared and Respectfully Submitted by,
__________________________
Yasmin Johnson, Deputy City Clerk
yj/2-14-23/SSMIN