Letters from the Public - 3 of 3 — San Jose City Council, April 25, 2023

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

FW: COPA Vote Tuesday, April 25th - Agenda Item 8.3 Community Opportunity to Purchase Act City Clerk <[email protected]>
Mon 4/24/2023 7:38 AM
To:Agendadesk <[email protected]>

From: Rich Crowley
Sent: Sunday, April 23, 2023 2:26 PM
To: The Oﬃce of Mayor Ma Mahan <[email protected]>; District1 <[email protected]>; District2 <[email protected]>; District3 <[email protected]>; District4 <[email protected]>; District5 <[email protected]>; District 6 <[email protected]>; District7 <[email protected]>; District8 <[email protected]>; District9 <[email protected]>; District 10 <[email protected]> Cc: City Clerk <[email protected]>
Subject: COPA Vote Tuesday, April 25th - Agenda Item 8.3 Community Opportunity to Purchase Act

San Jose City Council Members:

Staff summary is unclear & deceptively worded. At this point, the city has wasted over $1 Million studying a program that won't provide even 1 addition person with housing. It's time to focus on real solutions!!!

Vote to Kill COPA now!!!!

Thank you,

RICH CROWLEY

Rich Crowley
Lifetime San Jose Resident

Some people who received this message don't often get email from . Learn why this is important [External Email]
FW: Reject COPA and Cohen memo
City Clerk <[email protected]>
Mon 4/24/2023 7:39 AM
To:Agendadesk <[email protected]>

From: Iris Li >
Sent: Sunday, April 23, 2023 3:54 PM
To: District1 <[email protected]>; District2 <[email protected]>; District3 <[email protected]>; District4 <[email protected]>; District5 <[email protected]>; District 6 <[email protected]>; District7 <[email protected]>; District8 <[email protected]>; District9 <[email protected]>; District 10 <[email protected]>
Cc:

The Oﬃce of Mayor Ma Mahan <[email protected]>; City Clerk <[email protected]> Subject: Reject COPA and Cohen memo

Dear Councilmembers,
I am Iris Li, our family are residents of San Jose, and have been living in the city for 30 years.

I aended the council meeng on Mar 27, 2023, I learned a lot from the meeng, thanks to all council members for working hard for our city.

I oppose COPA, it is not a good plan to solve the problems, many people have presented many points, I think you have heard a lot already, I don't want to repeat too many here.

We all know TOPA does not run well in Washington DC, many professionals, and arcles have cricized it a lot.

Since 1980, more than 40 years, no other cies, except San Francisco follow up.

If it was a good method, many big cies which all have aﬀordability problems, such as New York, Chicago, Los Angeles, etc, would do it.

Why not? IT DOES NOT WORK!
San Francisco, set up COPA in April 2019, three years ago.

Look at what happens in SF:
-) S.F. nonproﬁt scandal: Lawsuit alleges head of trouble homeless provider spent funds on lavish lifestyle. hps://mail.google.com/mail/u/0/?tab=rm&ogbl#label/Current/FMfcgzGsmDtkHXKrvVcMmdWPbVKgTfMP -) San Francisco Nonproﬁt Accused of Neglecng Tenants, Misusing Funds hps://www.planezen.com/news/2023/03/122176-san-francisco-nonproﬁt-accused-neglecng-tenants-misusing-funds -) SF Housing Nonproﬁt Spends Big on Polics. Tenants Deal With Infestaons, Overdoses hps://sfstandard.com/polics/sf-housing-nonproﬁt-todco-polics-tenants-infestaons-drug-overdose/ There are more.

We don't want our city to be like SF, with endless troubles and many ﬁghng.

On March 27, I saw two big travel buses there, and many people wore black T-shirts to rally.

When I was in the queue waing to enter, I went to the group and talked to them.

I don’t want to see the ﬁght between landlords and tenants, we are not enemies, I wanted to listen to them.

It surprised me that some of them, most, had no idea what was going on, what COPA is.

They only were told, if they took the bus and came to the city, they could have a house.

We all know that things are not that simple.

I felt so bad. They are misled, some young children.

I dare not see the young kids' eyes. I would rather say to them: go to school, work hard, then you will have your own house. In this

This message is from outside the City email system. Do not open links or attachments from untrusted sources. world, nobody sends you a house for free.

It is not helping, it is misguiding!
Who paid the bus, who organized this, who told them the beauful dream that they could have a house - the landlord's house will belong to them?
DC spent 40+ years, SF 3 years, and has not shown that it works.

San Jose has been discussing this for a long me.

The endless debang, frustraon, ﬁghng, which split residents, and damaged our society.

In the past two more years, it has cost $5M, will cost more, could not prove COPA is good for San Jose.

Based on the majority opinions and council members the last two votes, 3-2 and 3-1, do not support COPA, it has lile chance to pass, just endless burnout.

Enough, please, move on, don’t waste more me and resources on it.

Please get rid of COPA and start work on a real soluon from the root as soon as possible.

Thanks all.

Sincerely;
Iris Li

You don't often get email from j . Learn why this is important [External Email]
This message is from outside the City email system. Do not open links or attachments from untrusted sources.

FW: Letter to SJ City Council re: COPA & Measure E
City Clerk <[email protected]>
Mon 4/24/2023 7:39 AM
To:Agendadesk <[email protected]>

From: Joseﬁna Aguilar
Sent: Sunday, April 23, 2023 5:19 PM
To: The Oﬃce of Mayor Ma Mahan <[email protected]>; District1 <[email protected]>; District2 <[email protected]>; District3 <[email protected]>; District 6 <[email protected]>; District7 <[email protected]>; District8 <[email protected]>; District9 <[email protected]>; District 10 <[email protected]>
Cc: City Clerk <[email protected]>; SBCLT Board <[email protected]> Subject:

Leer to SJ City Council re: COPA & Measure E

Josefina Aguilar, Executive Director

[External Email]
FW: VOTE YES 4 COPA
City Clerk <[email protected]>
Mon 4/24/2023 7:40 AM
To:Agendadesk <[email protected]>

From: E A >
Sent: Monday, April 24, 2023 7:06 AM
To: The Oﬃce of Mayor Ma Mahan <[email protected]>; Kamei, Rosemary <[email protected]>; Jimenez, Sergio <[email protected]>; Torres, Omar <[email protected]>; Cohen, David <[email protected]>; Peter Orz <peter@peorz.com>; Davis, Dev <[email protected]>; Doan, Bien <[email protected]>; District8 <[email protected]>; Foley, Pam <[email protected]>; District 10 <[email protected]>; City Clerk <[email protected]>
Subject: VOTE YES 4 COPA

Hello Mayor and Councilmembers

My name is Elizabeth and I have lived in Downtown District 3 for the past 8 years and I support COPA.

To me COPA is important because there are many community organizaons/non-proﬁts that the community trusts. These organizaons will likely provide rent at a more aﬀordable rate than other Property Owners. Furthermore, they will help ensure that truly aﬀordable rents are maintained and that we are able to preserve these complexes. Addionally, they are likely able to provide the essenal resources outside of housing that folks need to survive or provide a referral to a partner agency.

For the past decades, San Jose has seen an increase in displacement and homelessness. 80% of the unhoused populaon are nave to San Jose.

The City of San Jose has a responsibility to preserve currently exisng, speciﬁcally deed restricted permanent housing and COPA would be a good way of doing so because these Community Organizaons are invested in the community and are ones people can trust because they have experience going to them for support. This is parcularly important for the immigrant community who are in more vulnerable situaons some examples may include not knowing English, not having Social Security number or ITIN. I have experience growing up in a predominantly Lanx and immigrant community and as a Sociology major, I learned of my lived experience and see how folks remain in ethnic enclaves as a means of networking and survival and ﬁnd about resources through word of mouth, systems of referrals and connecons. These community organizaons have deep seeded es with the community for decades and relaonship with people and by having COPA we will further communies oen me looked over.

Vote in support of COPA as not the end all end all soluon but rather, one of many strategic approaches to ensure that truly aﬀordable housing is available to everyone.

Having COPA will only improve things in our community, not having it will make it worse.

Thank You and Have a Nice Day!

Also:

This message is from outside the City email system. Do not open links or attachments from untrusted sources. · Building out a robust preservation ecosystem is key to addressing the housing crisis. We should use existing funding sources like Measure E, to continue providing funding for acquisition and rehab, tenant engagement, technical assistance and capacity building. · Rehab of existing affordable apartments can cost one-third to one-half less than building a new apartment, a “now” solution that prevents displacement and addresses an urgent need. · Many landlords and realtors oppose COPA because they believe affordable housing will reduce their profits. They falsely claim that it will decrease property values and create new administrative burden. · Over 50 San Jose housing justice advocates and 2,000 community members have endorsed COPA. Our families are demanding stable, safe, affordable housing. How Councilmembers vote on COPA will send a clear message about which ones care about low-income people of color, which ones care about homelessness prevention, racial justice, and equity, and which ones do not.

--
Thank You!
Elizabeth
she/her/ella

Sacred Heart Housing Acon Commiee-We need The Right to Counsel! Race Equity Community Safety at Sacred Heart-Reimagine Public Safety! Cassell United-Close Reid-Hillview Now!

"be a light
that doesn't cast shadows
on anyone

have a smile
that shines
for everyone

and create a happiness
that can be taken by
no one"

~ellen evere

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

FW: April 25, 2023 City Council Mtg. Item # 8.3 COPA
City Clerk <[email protected]>
Mon 4/24/2023 11:49 AM
To:Agendadesk <[email protected]>

From: Mary Helen Doherty <
Sent: Monday, April 24, 2023 11:34 AM
To: City Clerk <[email protected]>
Subject: April 25, 2023 City Council Mtg. Item # 8.3 COPA

Dear Mayor & City Council Members,

As a resident of San Jose and a member of the Sacred Heart Housing Acon Commiee I'm wring to request your support for the Community Opportunity to Purchase (COPA) as a signiﬁcant aﬀordable housing preservaon strategy.

San Jose residents, and in parcular our low-income children and families of color, desperately need mulple innovave soluons that increase our number of aﬀordable units, eﬀecvely ulizing the 3 P's of producon, protecon & preservaon.

Preserving pre-exisng aﬀordable housing stock is an essenal policy that prevents displacement and promotes community well-being and stability. We believe COPA is a key cost-eﬀecve prevenon strategy to include in our cies aﬀordable housing preservaon infrastructure.

Please vote YES in support of the implementaon of COPA!

Thank you for your serious consideraon of my request.

Mary Helen Doherty
District 3 Resident

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

FW: City Agenda 4/25/2023: Agenda Item 8/3: COPA - Do Not Approve Additional Study or Funding City Clerk <[email protected]>
Mon 4/24/2023 4:28 PM
To:Agendadesk <[email protected]>

From: Sandra Delvin <
Sent: Monday, April 24, 2023 4:09 PM
To: Torres, Omar <[email protected]>; Orz, Peter <Peter.Or[email protected]>; Candelas, Domingo <[email protected]>; Foley, Pam <[email protected]>; Batra, Arjun <[email protected]>; Jimenez, Sergio <[email protected]>; Cohen, David <[email protected]>; Davis, Dev <[email protected]>; Doan, Bien <[email protected]>; Kamei, Rosemary <[email protected]>; Mahan, Ma <Ma[email protected]>; City Clerk <[email protected]>
Subject:

City Agenda 4/25/2023: Agenda Item 8/3: COPA - Do Not Approve Addional Study or Funding

Dear Honorable Mayor and Council Member:

Please do not continue funding studies on COPA or related topics like TOPA.

I am not a landlord. I do have family members who rent.

My reasons are many. Some are outlined below;
City staff have spent 2+ years and over $1M studying this proposal and at the same time did not complete required state reports on time subjecting the city to "Builders' Remedy." Additional time and money will not improve their findings or the proposal. Prioritize and focus the activities of the housing department. They are not correctly prioritizing their work.

No new housing or affordable housing is produced as a result of the proposal.

COPA removes properties from the property tax rolls and would not be subject to transfer taxes. This reduces funding for services at the county and city level. San Jose and the county do not need to reduce their tax revenues.

COPA increase bureaucracy and its associated costs in the city housing department and within the nonprofits. This means that for every dollar spent on "affordable housing" less will actually reach the end product and the people in need. Vouchers would be less bureaucratic and more cost effective.

Respectfully,
Sandra A. Delvin

You don't often get email from . Learn why this is important [External Email]
This message is from outside the City email system. Do not open links or attachments from untrusted sources.

FW: Agenda Item 8.3 Community Opportunity to Purchase Act Program Proposal City Clerk <[email protected]>
Tue 4/25/2023 8:28 AM
To:Agendadesk <[email protected]>

From: Charisse Domingo < >
Sent: Tuesday, April 25, 2023 8:19 AM
To: The Oﬃce of Mayor Ma Mahan <[email protected]>; District1 <[email protected]>; District2 <[email protected]>; District3 <[email protected]>; District4 <[email protected]>; District5 <[email protected]>; District 6 <[email protected]>; District7 <[email protected]>; District8 <[email protected]>; District9 <[email protected]>; District 10 <[email protected]>; City Clerk <[email protected]>
Subject: Agenda Item 8.3 Community Opportunity to Purchase Act Program Proposal

Good morning,

My name is Charisse Domingo, and I am a resident of District 6 here in San Jose. I am also part of Silicon Valley De-Bug. I am urging the City Council to support the Housing Department's memo on COPA and the memo from Councilmembers Orz, Jimenez, and Cohen.

I've seen too many friends who have had a deep roots here in San Jose move to another city because of the high rising costs, or families have to move from one place to another even within San Jose when their landlords raise the rents, destabilizing their lives and families' lives in order to keep just below the ceiling of what is aﬀordable to them.

COPA is a true way to stabilize this housing crisis and can create pathways to homeownership for the most vulnerable tenants who are teetering on the economic tightrope. I think COPA actually upholds the good landlords who have 'community' in mind - who care about the city that San Jose is by offering the prospect of ownership to their current tenants first. COPA is just one part of the affordable housing preservation ecosystem, and San Jose is the only major city in the Bay Area that doesn’t provide recurring funding for affordable housing preservation - we need a permanent preservation fund.

I hope you listen to the direction of city residents who speak from our lived experiences and move forward with the direction of city residents and support real preservation strategies and not be swayed by the real estate industry who feel threatened with the prospect that tenants could become owners of their own homes through this proposal.

Thank you so much,
Charisse Domingo

You don't often get email from . Learn why this is important [External Email]
This message is from outside the City email system. Do not open links or attachments from untrusted sources.

FW: Agenda Item 8.3 Community Opportunity to Purchase Act Program Proposal City Clerk <[email protected]>
Tue 4/25/2023 8:29 AM
To:Agendadesk <[email protected]>

From: Yolanda Ledesma
Sent: Tuesday, April 25, 2023 6:42 AM
To: The Oﬃce of Mayor Ma Mahan <[email protected]>; District1 <[email protected]>; District2 <[email protected]>; District3 <[email protected]>; District4 <[email protected]>; District5 <[email protected]>; District 6 <[email protected]>; District7 <[email protected]>; District8 <[email protected]>; District9 <[email protected]>; District 10 <[email protected]>; City Clerk <[email protected]>
Subject: Agenda Item 8.3 Community Opportunity to Purchase Act Program Proposal

I'm writing to urge you to accept the housing department staff report and not abandon years of work done by residents and staff to tackle displacement. COPA stabilizes housing and creates pathways to homeownership for the most vulnerable tenants.The preservation work of rehabbing existing housing is more economical than building new, and it is one of the best homelessness prevention strategies.

COPA is just one part of the affordable housing preservation ecosystem; affordable housing providers also need regular funding to acquire and rehabilitate properties in San Jose. San Jose is the only major city in the Bay Area that doesn’t provide recurring funding for affordable housing preservation - we need a permanent preservation fund!

We are counting on you to do the right thing and move forward with the direction of city residents, support real preservation strategies and not be swayed by the real estate industry who feel threatened with the prospect that tenants could become owners of their own homes through this proposal. Support the memo by the Housing Department on COPA and the Memo from Councilmembers Ortiz, Jimenez and Cohen.

In community,

Yolanda Ledesma
Participatory Defense Organizer,

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

FW: Agenda item 8.3, SJCC meeting 4/25/23. In supporting COPA, you represent me & my children City Clerk <[email protected]>
Tue 4/25/2023 8:30 AM
To:Agendadesk <[email protected]>

From: Deborah St. Julien < >
Sent: Tuesday, April 25, 2023 7:33 AM
To: District2 <[email protected]>; City Clerk <[email protected]> Subject: Agenda item 8.3, SJCC meeng 4/25/23. In supporng COPA, you represent me & my children

Dear Council Member Jimenez,

I have lived in San Jose for 38 years.

I am saddened by how unaffordable housing has become.

My own adult children cannot afford to live here.

COPA is one small way to help affordable housing. I am sad that the decision-makers have capitulated to real estate pressures and fear mongering.

COPA works without damaging real estate economy. In fact it balances it out for normal income folks like my kids.

I am actually flummoxed that the City Council is not embracing this.

Please represent me and the people of your district, not self-interested fearmongers.

Deborah St. Julien

You don't often get email from . Learn why this is important [External Email]
This message is from outside the City email system. Do not open links or attachments from untrusted sources.

FW: Agenda Item 8.3 Community Opportunity to Purchase Act Program Proposal City Clerk <[email protected]>
Tue 4/25/2023 8:30 AM
To:Agendadesk <[email protected]>

From: Samuel Tomsing Marnez
Sent: Tuesday, April 25, 2023 6:28 AM
To: The Oﬃce of Mayor Ma Mahan <[email protected]>; District1 <[email protected]>; District2 <[email protected]>; District3 <[email protected]>; District4 <[email protected]>; District5 <[email protected]>; District 6 <[email protected]>; District7 <[email protected]>; District8 <[email protected]>; District9 <[email protected]>; District 10 <[email protected]>; City Clerk <[email protected]>
Subject: Agenda Item 8.3 Community Opportunity to Purchase Act Program Proposal

It is imperative that you accept the housing department staff report and not abandon years of work done by residents and staff to tackle displacement. COPA stabilizes housing and creates pathways to homeownership for the most vulnerable tenants.The preservation work of rehabbing existing housing is more economical than building new, and it is one of the best homelessness prevention strategies.

Some people who received this message don't often get email from Learn why this is important [External Email]
This message is from outside the City email system. Do not open links or attachments from untrusted sources.

FW: April 25, 2023 City Council Mtg. Item # 8.3 COPA
City Clerk <[email protected]>
Tue 4/25/2023 8:26 AM
To:Agendadesk <[email protected]>
1 attachments (444 KB)
COPA Sign-on Letter of Support (Final).pdf;

From: Andrea Porllo
Sent: Monday, April 24, 2023 4:55 PM
To: City Clerk <[email protected]>; Mahan, Ma <Ma[email protected]> Subject: April 25, 2023 City Council Mtg. Item # 8.3 COPA

Dear Mayor & City Council Members,

On behalf of the COPA Working Group, a coalion of community-based organizaons advocang for an-displacement policies, housing jusce advocates, tenants and families, we are wring to urge you to support the Community Opportunity to Purchase Act (COPA) as a key aﬀordable housing preservaon strategy.

Please see our collecve leer of support aached.

Andrea

Andrea Portillo she/her/ella
Director of Organizing and Policy
SOMOS Mayfair
(408) 393 - 0189 | [email protected]
www.somosmayfair.org | #ChangeStartsHere | #SOMOSelCambio

April 24, 2023
SanJoseCityCouncil200ESantaClaraSt.SanJose, CA95113
RE: Item8.3CityInitiativesRoadmap- HousingStabilization: CommunityOpportunitytoPurchaseAct ProgramProposal Dear Mayor Mahan, ViceMayor Kamei, andCityCouncil,
SanJoseCityCouncil votedandapprovedaCitywideAnti-displacement StrategyPlanin2020, asaresponsetothecity'sever-growinghousingcrisis. Thecityhasmadestridesinmanyareasbut lacksarobust preservationstrategycenteredonpoliciesandprogramsaimedat acquiringandrehabilitatingsourcesof pre-existinghousingstock. Inthemiddleof ahistorichousingshortageandhomelessnesscrisis, SanJosecannot ignorethecall toexplorethestepsnecessarytobuildarobust preservationecosystemfor our most impactedcommunities. TheCommunityOpportunitytoPurchaseAct isakeypieceof that ecosystem.

Weurgeyoutosupport thecommunity'scall for aCommunityOpportunitytoPurchaseAct Program(COPA.) TheCity’sHousingDepartment, local housingadvocatesandtenantshaveworkedtirelesslytodevelopacomprehensiveCOPAprogramfor thepast threeyears. COPAispart of alargeraffordablehousingpreservationstrategy, inwhichnonprofit groupsacquirelower-cost apartmentsbeforerentsincreaseandconvert theapartmentstopermanentlyaffordablehousingfor theresidentswholivethere. It’saremarkablyfast andcost-effectivewaytoincreasethenumber of affordablehomesinour area. Thepolicyprovidesqualifiednonprofitswithadvancenoticeof multifamilypropertiesthat propertyownersarereadytosell. Asimilar policyinWashington, D.C. hasbeenusedtoacquireandmakeaffordableover 4,000homes. SanFranciscoalsopassedapolicyafewyearsago, resultinginthenonprofit acquisitionsof 16propertieswith234homes. Thesenumbersareexpectedtoincreaseasthepolicymatures–amplifyingthefutureof COPAasaSTRONGhousingpreservationtool! Small propertyownersandprivatereal estategroupsdonot want toseeaCOPApolicypassduetounfoundedclaimsthat thepolicywill decreasepropertyvalues, abelief that theprogramwill beinefficient or createnewadministrativeburden. Misinformation, fear tacticsandracist messagingcontinuestobepeddledbyprofit driveninterest groupsliketheSantaClaraCountyAssociationofREALTORS®(SCCAOR). Lobbyistsandprivateinvestment groupsthat havepouredmoneyintoupholdingthesefalseclaims, shouldnot bedictatingour anti-displacement/preservationstrategies.

Themoment todosomethingisNOW! SanJoseistheonlylargecityintheBayAreathat isn’tbuildingout itsaffordablehousingpreservationecosystem, andit’stimethat wecatchuptotheregion. OnApril 25th, weurgeyoutoshowthat youandtheCityof SanJosearewillingtotakesteps toprotect our most vulnerabletenants, that youvaluepeopleover profit driveninterests, andtakeactiontoensurethat our communitieshaveaccesstothesafe, dignifiedhousingtheydeserve.

Thankyoufor your considerationof thesecomments.

Sincerely,
SOMOSMayfairSouthBayCommunityLandTrustWorkingPartnershipsUSALUNAAmigosdeGuadalupeSacredHeart CommunityServicePeopleActinginCommunityTogetherAffordableHousingNetworkViet UnitySV@HomeSanJoseStrongLawFoundationof SiliconValleySiliconValleyDe-BugCatholicCharitiesof SantaClaraCountyAsianLawAllianceAsianAmericansfor CommunityInvolvementAfricanAmericanCommunityServiceAgencyBlackLeadershipKitchenCabinetAfricanAmericanCultural CenterSi SePuedeCollectiveGrail FamilyServicesDestination:Home Low-IncomeSelf-HelpCenterDeRoseGardensTenantsAssociationWomen'sInternational Leagueof PeaceandFreedomWILPFLow-incomeHousing&HomelessCommitteeSouthBayProgressiveAllianceSiliconValleyDSASouthBayProgressiveAllianceSiliconValleyBicycleCoalitionEast SanJosePEACEPartnershipWest ValleyCommunityServicesSouthBayYIMBYSJSUHumanRightsInstitute 1695AlumRockAvenue, Suite10|SanJosé, CA95116408-834-8899|www.somosmayfair.org ArchitectsFORAGreenPartyof SantaClaraCountyIndivisibleSanJoseGrupoSolidaridadSantaClaraCountySinglePayer HealthCareCoalitionURG(UnhousedResponseGroup)TechEquityCollaborativeAlumRockUrbanVillageAdvocates(ARUVA)Habitat for HumanityEast Bay/SiliconValleyServices, Immigrant RightsandEducationNetwork(SIREN)HumanAgendaCaliforniaReinvestment CoalitionUrbanSanctuary, SanJoseSEIULocal 521SacramentoCommunityLandTrustSantaClaraCountyDemocraticCentral CommitteeWestwindsResidentsOrganizationSiliconValleyCommunityFoundation 1695AlumRockAvenue, Suite10|SanJosé, CA95116408-834-8899|www.somosmayfair.org You don't often get email from . Learn why this is important [External Email]
This message is from outside the City email system. Do not open links or attachments from untrusted sources.

FW: Agenda Item 8.3 Community Opportunity to Purchase Act Program Proposal City Clerk <[email protected]>
Tue 4/25/2023 9:33 AM
To:Agendadesk <[email protected]>

From: Sarait Escorza < >
Sent: Tuesday, April 25, 2023 9:29 AM
To: District2 <[email protected]>; The Oﬃce of Mayor Ma Mahan <[email protected]>; District1 <[email protected]>; District5 <[email protected]>; District3 <[email protected]>; District4 <[email protected]>; District8 <[email protected]>; District7 <[email protected]>; District 6 <[email protected]>; City Clerk <[email protected]>; District 10 <[email protected]>; District9 <[email protected]>
Subject: Agenda Item 8.3 Community Opportunity to Purchase Act Program Proposal

Dear City Council members,

Thank you!

--
Sarait Escorza
Silicon Valley Debug//AC Jusce Project

You don't often get email from . Learn why this is important [External Email]
FW: Agenda Item 8.3 Community Opportunity to Purchase Act Program Proposal City Clerk <[email protected]>
Tue 4/25/2023 10:00 AM
To:Agendadesk <[email protected]>

From: Elizabeth Gonzalez
Sent: Tuesday, April 25, 2023 9:55 AM
To: District1 <[email protected]>; District2 <[email protected]>; District3 <[email protected]>; District4 <[email protected]>; District5 <[email protected]>; District 6 <[email protected]>; District7 <[email protected]>; District8 <[email protected]>; District9 <[email protected]>; District 10 <[email protected]>; City Clerk <[email protected]>; The Oﬃce of Mayor Ma Mahan <[email protected]> Subject: Agenda Item 8.3 Community Opportunity to Purchase Act Program Proposal

Hello mayor and councilmembers,

My name is Liz Gonzalez, I'm a lifelong resident of District 5, a part of Silicon Valley De-Bug and the South Bay Community Land Trust. I am wring to urge you to approve both the housing department's memo on COPA and the memo by councilmembers Orz, Jimenez and Cohen and follow the will of the years long eﬀorts of your constuents to implement an displacement strategies.

I have joined the hundreds of residents who have worked to improve tenant protecons in San Jose because of the deep love I have for my community. To protect, you have to love - and it has been such a frustrang experience to see council aer council take direcon from real estate interests to connue to disinvest in the families who make up our communies - and see my family and friends endure the stress of being forced to move due to increasing rents to places without family networks.

City residents along with staﬀ have spent years giving shape to the COPA proposal that would work for San Jose because we live here, we rent here, we work and go to school here. COPA stabilizes families and creates pathways to homeownership for tenants who have been historically excluded from that opportunity.

COPA is just one part of the affordable housing preservation ecosystem; committed funding is also needed to acquire and rehabilitate properties in San Jose. Rehabbing existing properties is faster and more economical than building new. San Jose is the only major city in the Bay Area that doesn’t provide recurring funding for affordable housing preservation - we need a permanent preservation fund.

Today, as you cast your votes my sincerest hope is that it demonstrates love for the families who make up our city and want to continue living in San Jose.

Thank you,
Liz Gonzalez

--
Liz González // Silicon Valley De-Bug

You don't often get email from Learn why this is important [External Email]
This message is from outside the City email system. Do not open links or attachments from untrusted sources.

FW: Agenda Item 8.3 Community Opportunity to Purchase Act Program Proposal City Clerk <[email protected]>
Tue 4/25/2023 10:00 AM
To:Agendadesk <[email protected]>

From: Andrew Bigelow
Sent: Tuesday, April 25, 2023 9:58 AM
To: The Oﬃce of Mayor Ma Mahan <[email protected]>; District1 <[email protected]>; District2 <[email protected]>; District3 <[email protected]>; District4 <[email protected]>; District5 <[email protected]>; District 6 <[email protected]>; District7 <[email protected]>; District8 <[email protected]>; District9 <[email protected]>; District 10 <[email protected]>; City Clerk <[email protected]>
Cc: Elizabeth Gonzalez
Subject: Agenda Item 8.3 Community Opportunity to Purchase Act Program Proposal

Dear San Jose City Council,

My name is Andrew Bigelow and I am a life long resident of San Jose, currently living in the Midtown/ West San Jose area.

I'm writing to urge you to accept the housing department staff report and not abandon years of work done by residents and staff to tackle displacement. COPA is stabilizes housing and creates pathways to homeownership for the most vulnerable tenants.The preservation work of rehabbing existing housing is more economical than building new, and it is one of the best homelessness prevention strategies.

Thank you for your me.

Andrew Bigelow

FW: Please include my letter in tonight’s minutes - thank you! City Clerk <[email protected]>
Tue 4/25/2023 10:19 AM
To:Agendadesk <[email protected]>

From: District4 <[email protected]>
Sent: Tuesday, April 25, 2023 10:17 AM
To: City Clerk <[email protected]>
Subject:

FW: Please include my leer in tonight’s minutes - thank you!

Please include in public comment for item 8.3. Thanks!

Mara Privi (she/her/hers)
Operaons Manager / Scheduling
408.535.4904
Mara.Privi@sanjoseca.gov
200 E. Santa Clara Street | San Jose, CA 95113

-----Original Message-----
From: Jim Canova >
Sent: Tuesday, April 25, 2023 8:08 AM
To: District4 <[email protected]>
Cc: Cohen, David <[email protected]>; Nguyen, Lam <[email protected]> Subject: Please include my leer in tonight’s minutes - thank you!

[External Email]

Hi Margie, Lam & David!

Please include this leer in tonight’s minutes.

Thank You!
Jim Canova
Governing Board Member TA1
Santa Clara Uniﬁed School District

Dear Council Member Cohen,

As your constuent, I am wring to urge your support for the Community Opportunity to Purchase Act, or COPA.

In the face of the aﬀordable housing crisis in Silicon Valley, preserving and expanding our current aﬀordable housing stock is imperave.

By passing COPA, we have the opportunity to empower families in aﬀordable communies to secure their housing for the future through their own parcipaon and hard work.

As a governing board member of the Santa Clara Uniﬁed School District, I have seen ﬁrsthand the detrimental impact of the aﬀordable housing shortage on our local schools. Parents and teachers alike are forced to uproot their lives and leave our community because they can no longer aﬀord to live here.

COPA is not a perfect soluon, but it is a meaningful step towards preserving the aﬀordable housing opons that our families need to thrive in San Jose. It is only through your vote and support that we can move COPA forward and connue to work on improving its eﬀecveness over me.

Thank you for your kind consideraon of my request.

Sincerely,

Jim Canova
Governing Board Member TA1
Santa Clara Uniﬁed School District

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

You don't often get email from Learn why this is important [External Email]
This message is from outside the City email system. Do not open links or attachments from untrusted sources.

FW: Agenda Item 8.3 Community Opportunity to Purchase Act Program Proposal City Clerk <[email protected]>
Tue 4/25/2023 11:31 AM
To:Agendadesk <[email protected]>

From: Pamela Campos
Sent: Tuesday, April 25, 2023 10:03 AM
To: City Clerk <[email protected]>
Cc: The Oﬃce of Mayor Ma Mahan <[email protected]>; District1 <[email protected]>; District2 <[email protected]>; District3 <[email protected]>; District4 <[email protected]>; District5 <[email protected]>; District 6 <[email protected]>; District7 <[email protected]>; District8 <[email protected]>; District9 <[email protected]>; District 10 <[email protected]> Subject: Agenda Item 8.3 Community Opportunity to Purchase Act Program Proposal

Hello, my name is Pamela Campos, and I live in San José District 2. I am an Early Care and Education (ECE) advocate who is passionate about fixing the housing crisis in her community; I don’t want to see any more families being displaced! As recently as January 2023, the City of San José was ranked #1 in youth homelessness among 100 major cities across the U.S. If our city council is not actively taking action to address the housing crisis through measures like COPA, then your votes are working to maintain the status quo and deny proven community solutions to nearly 7,000 of our neighbors who are currently experiencing homelessness. Please vote YES on COPA to provide our children and unhoused neighbors with a chance at a better future, one that allows them to stay in the city they call home.

The City’s Housing Department, local housing advocates, and tenants have worked tirelessly to develop a comprehensive COPA program for the past three years. Preservation strategies like COPA proactively prevent displacement and promote community stability, community control, tenant empowerment, and ownership opportunities. I urge you to support the community's call for COPA. The time is NOW to show that you and the City of San José are willing to take steps to protect our most vulnerable tenants, that you value people over profit-driven interests, and are willing to take action to ensure that our communities have access to the safe, dignified housing they deserve! In Community Spirit,
Pamela Campos
--
Pamela Campos (She/Ella)
SJ4ALL Advisory Member | Parent Voices Community Organizer

You don't often get email from Learn why this is important [External Email]
FW: City Council 4/25/23 Agenda item 8.3 COPA
City Clerk <[email protected]>
Tue 4/25/2023 12:57 PM
To:Agendadesk <[email protected]>

From: Bridget McKay < >
Sent: Tuesda
y, April 25, 2023 12:52 PM
To: City Clerk <city
[email protected]>
Subject: RE: City Council 4/25/23 Agenda item 8.3 COPA

Dear Mayor Mahan and City Councilmembers,

Please do not vote in favor of establishing a COPA. It creates another obstacle to creang more aﬀordable housing.

Many of the properes that would be considered under COPA are much older housing stock that could be replaced with new high density housing and provide more housing for all income levels.

The state of California considers housing inventory that is 20+ years old as aging housing stock. That means even the high rise appartment buildings built when there was a Redevelopment Agency are fast approaching that category.

The soluon is cranes in the air. Streamline the permit process. Fill the job vacancies in both the Planning and Code Enforcement Depts. You
need planners, inspectors and economic development staﬀ ready to provide excellent service to builders, developers, and residents.

A COPA program adds a new bureaucrac layer while basic services as menoned above are not provided and should be a top priority.

Property owners have the right to sell their property without the impediments that COPA would create if established.

You will loose a signiﬁcant amount of property taxes with a COPA program. We are already in a recession. That means less business tax revenue. If you add a loss
of property taxes on top of
that it will result in less funds
to repair roads, provide safety personnel, maintain public parks and provide basic City of San José services to residents.

Vice Mayor Kamei's memorandum is a common sense approach highlighng less costly preservaon acons that work in concert with the County of Santa Clara to maximize eﬀorts and take advantage of funding available.

Please do not put the burden
of aﬀordable housing on a small group of property owners. If they want to sell their property at some point they should be able to do that without cumbersome rules that deter potenal buyers.

The fact there is no quarantee that a 1031 Exchange deadline will be met was acknowledged by the Housing Dept. That is very problemac for property owners.

Please vote NO today. Put
your energy and eﬀorts towards building new housing stock.

Thank you for your consideraon,
Bridget McKay

You don't often get email from . Learn why this is important [External Email]
FW: Item 8.3 COPA
City Clerk <[email protected]>
Tue 4/25/2023 1:22 PM
To:Agendadesk <[email protected]>

From: Cathy Blake < >
Sent: Tuesday
, April 25, 2023 1:14 PM
To: City Clerk <city.clerk@sanjosec
a.gov>
Subject: Item 8.3 COPA

Good Afternoon City Council Members. My name is Cathy Blake and, I am a resident of District 4. As an employee of the African American Community Service Agency, I want to speak on Item 8.3, COPA. The Bay Area looks to San Jose as a leader in diversity and inclusion, especially when it comes to housing. We understand that a part of the issue of displacement in the greater bay area, especially in Silicon is a lack of access to affordable housing options that lead to long- term homeownership.

We want and deserve safe, stable, and AFFORDABLE housing in this valley as we live and work here! We know that people of color suffer disproportionally with housing displacement due to unaffordable housing costs. Let us champion COPA for communities of color if we truly want to improve the quality of life for all families living here.

If we continue down a pathway of unaffordable and high rent, homeownership will never become a reality for the underserved communities living here.

COPA provides a pathway of hope for tenants living here to have power over the buildings and communities that they live in.

Thank you.

Cathy Blake
FRC Program Specialist & Coordinator, African American Community Service Agency

www.sjaacsa.org

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

April 25, 2023
San José City Council
City of San José
200 E. Santa Clara Street
San José CA 95113
Re: Item 8.3 – Housing Stabilization: Community Opportunity to Purchase Act Program Proposal
Dear Mayor Mahan, Vice Mayor Kamei and Councilmembers:

We want to thank the Mayor, City Council, and City staff for the many years of time and effort it took to develop a Community Opportunity to Purchase Act (COPA) for San José.

We recognize the challenges that it takes to develop policies that will signi ﬁcantly
preserve
affordable housing in a city as large, complex, and high cost as San José. We believe that today’s decision will be a pivotal moment in the city’s commitment to the preservation of deed-restricted permanently affordable housing, and indicative of city leadership’s responsiveness to community concerns about the housing shortage and displacement.

Displacement has severely impacted our entire Bay Area region, where over 1.5 million residents have moved away since 2010. The entrenched housing shortage has adversely affected our region and our city’s goals to be a more equitable, sustainable, and prosperous community to live and work in – where a disproportionate number of low-income residents and a disproportionate number of BIPOC residents are forced to move, severely inhibiting San José’s ability to support economic mobility and undo legacies of systemic and unjust housing policy. Recognizing these challenges, the City of San José Housing Department began work in 2020 under Council approval to develop an anti-displacement plan – including the development of a COPA policy.

We urge you to take action to meaningfully build and fund a preservation infrastructure that will move the needle in potentially saving thousands of affordable housing units in San José. City staff and stakeholders engaged in thousands of hours of community input to inform a policy that would address concerns about the housing crisis. Overall, the positive impact of adopting a draft COPA program proposal includes preserving housing for dozens of renter households in the short-term, and potentially thousands in the long term who would gain access to stable, affordable housing. In addition, adopting a COPA policy would help to lay the groundwork for an affordable housing preservation practice in San José.

Moreover, COPA would provide opportunities for non-proﬁt de v elopers and/or tenants to
preserve existing affordable housing stock without unduly affecting the rights of property owners, who would be under no obligation to sell to any party except on the terms of their own choosing. COPA would make an additional tool available to the city and its residents to work together to protect tenants, preserve affordable housing stock, and produce additional housing to address homelessness and housing insecurity.

This letter expresses our support for the careful development of the COPA policy that identiﬁed and included
the following items in the staff memo for applicability and exemptions:
● Including two-to-four-unit properties (unless owner-occupied) that are not currently covered by the City’s Apartment Rent Ordinance, meaning that lower-income renters in these housing types can experience rent increases of over 5% per year, placing them at a higher risk of displacement than those renters living in properties with three or more units.
● Reﬁning criteria for
Qualiﬁed Non-Pro
ﬁt Organizations
(QNPs) for affordable
housing acquisition and rehabilitation, which would ensure that staff can periodically revisit nonproﬁt lenders’ under
writing criteria and ensure that
city-listed QNP criteria aligns with those of acquisition lenders. ● Pursuit of joint partnerships between more experienced QNPs and emerging locally-based community housing organizations as a strategy to build capacity and support for these emerging organizations to become eligible to operate as QNPs doing housing preservation and other community development work. ● Focusing on very low- and low-income renter households, especially those who live in neighborhoods that are experiencing or at risk of displacement.

These actions would ensure that the City continues aggressively pursuing policies that proactively prevent displacement and promote community stability, tenant empowerment, and ownership opportunities. Crucially, COPA has been listed in the update to the Housing Element in Table 3-2 as part of the City’s preservation plan. San José must provide recurring funding for affordable housing preservation and build a preservation ecosystem that will be critical to addressing the housing crisis and meeting its RHNA targets.

Additionally, we ask that the City Council and staff consider the following items as additional priority items:
● The City Council’s Measure E allocation plan adopted in 2022 calls for 75% of it to be spent on affordable housing, including the creation of deed-restricted permanently affordable housing through preservation; and the remaining 25% on homelessness prevention, rental assistance, and unhoused support programs. ● Utilizing Measure E funds can critically support preservation strategies in the Housing Element, including the Preservation NOFA (R-2), Preservation Policy (R-9), Anti-Displacement Strategy (R-12), and Preservation and Community Development Capacity Building programs (N-4)
● COPA should be paired with suﬃcient funding t
o subsidize purchases by
nonproﬁts or tenants.

The California Department of Housing and Community
Development (HCD), the Bay Area Housing Finance Agency (BAHFA) or local housing departments that control subsidy dollars (depending on the scale of the program) could be given the right of ﬁrst purchase and
a certain time frame to
assess what funding is available and whether a site is a match for their priorities, their partners and their partners’ capacity at a given moment.

To: San Jose Mayor & City Council

Re: Community Opportunity to Purchase Act Proposal

South Bay YIMBY is concerned that Council appears poised to cancel plans to establish a Community Opportunity to Purchase (COPA) program. COPA was identified in the draft Housing Element Update as a key anti-displacement policy to preserve low cost housing in San Jose at risk of being flipped into much higher rents. It was prioritized in that plan due to both the policy need it addresses and strong support from stakeholders representing low income residents and communities of color in San Jose. The proposed alternate policies we have seen will not be adequate to address the policy need around affordable housing preservation, leaving unaddressed a key housing need identified in the Housing Element. A Housing Element that does not adequately address identified housing needs is less likely to be approved by the state. We encourage the Council to identify additional, stronger tools to address the need for affordable housing preservation, and to find a way to move forward on COPA.

[External Email]
FW: VOTE YES 4 COPA
City Clerk <[email protected]>
Wed 4/26/2023 7:45 AM
To:Agendadesk <[email protected]>

From: E A
Sent: Tuesday, April 25, 2023 8:00 PM
To: The Oﬃce of Mayor Ma Mahan <[email protected]>; Kamei, Rosemary <[email protected]>; Jimenez, Sergio <[email protected]>; Torres, Omar <[email protected]>; Cohen, David <[email protected]>; Peter Orz Davis, Dev <[email protected]>; Doan, Bien <[email protected]>; District8 <[email protected]>; Foley, Pam <[email protected]>; District 10 <[email protected]>; City Clerk <[email protected]>
Subject: Re: VOTE YES 4 COPA

Not sure why I wasn't given me to speak. And instead it went to Council. Here is what I wanted to say:

Hi! My name is Elizabeth and I live in District 3. I urge the Mayor and City Council to vote YES 4 COPA. We have an aﬀordable housing crisis, there is PLENTY of market rate housing. Yet, very limited supply of deed restricted and very low income housing, which COPA would help preserve. To the Realtors Big Corporate landlords, what is most importantat to the city is ensuring people in our community are properly housed. Also, we would not be in this housing crisis if you wouldn't raise rent explonenally.

Mayor and Councilmembers you have an obligaon to take acon to show that you care about everyone in this community not just the wealthy few that car aﬀord to live here. Vote YES 4 COPA!

On Mon, Apr 24, 2023 at 7:05 AM E A < > wrote:

Hello Mayor and Councilmembers

My name is Elizabeth and I have lived in Downtown District 3 for the past 8 years and I support COPA.

For the past decades, San Jose has seen an increase in displacement and homelessness. 80% of the unhoused populaon are nave to San Jose.

Vote in support of COPA as not the end all end all soluon but rather, one of many strategic approaches to ensure that truly aﬀordable housing is available to everyone.

Having COPA will only improve things in our community, not having it will make it worse.

Thank You and Have a Nice Day!

Also:

· Preservation strategies like COPA proactively prevent displacement and promote community stability, community control, tenant empowerment, and ownership opportunities. · San Jose is the only major city in the Bay Area that doesn’t provide recurring funding for affordable housing preservation and this needs to change!
· Building out a robust preservation ecosystem is key to addressing the housing crisis. We should use existing funding sources like Measure E, to continue providing funding for acquisition and rehab, tenant engagement, technical assistance and capacity building. · Rehab of existing affordable apartments can cost one-third to one-half less than building a new apartment, a “now” solution that prevents displacement and addresses an urgent need. · Many landlords and realtors oppose COPA because they believe affordable housing will reduce their profits. They falsely claim that it will decrease property values and create new administrative burden. · Over 50 San Jose housing justice advocates and 2,000 community members have endorsed COPA.

Our families are demanding stable, safe, affordable housing. How Councilmembers vote on COPA will send a clear message about which ones care about low-income people of color, which ones care about homelessness prevention, racial justice, and equity, and which ones do not.

--
Thank You!
Elizabeth
she/her/ella

Sacred Heart Housing Acon Commiee-We need The Right to Counsel! Race Equity Community Safety at Sacred Heart-Reimagine Public Safety! Cassell United-Close Reid-Hillview Now!

"be a light
that doesn't cast shadows
on anyone

have a smile
that shines
for everyone

and create a happiness
that can be taken by
no one"

~ellen evere

San Jose City CouncilApril 25, 2023

San Jose City Council
April 25, 2023