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FW: May 16 Budget Hearing Measure E Funds Item 3.3
City Clerk <[email protected]>
Mon 5/8/2023 8:06 AM
To:Agendadesk <[email protected]>
2 attachments (326 KB)
Letter to City Council 5-8-23.docx; Haven of Hope Courtyard (Matthew Busch for The Washington Post).jpg;
From: < >
Sent: Monday, May 8, 2023 8:03 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]>; City Clerk <[email protected]> Subject: May 16 Budget Hearing Measure E Funds Item 3.3
AFFORDABLE HOUSING NETWORK of Santa Clara County
- Ph one - Email
To: Mayor and City Councilmembers
From: Affordable Housing Network of Santa Clara County
Regarding: May 16 Budget Hearing Allocation of Measure E Funds Item 3.3 May 8, 2023
Dear Mayor and Councilmembers,
SAVE MEASURE E HOUSING FUNDS!
It is unfortunate that City Council on April 25 rejected the COPA proposal (Community Opportunity to Purchase Act) that would have helped create permanently affordable housing units through preservation.
We did win a small victory, however, in the Council’s adoption of a provision in a memo by Councilmembers Ortiz, Jimenez, and Cohen, calling for “Housing staff to study and develop a work plan centered around housing preservation.”
However, even this small concession to struggling renters is already in danger. In his March budget message, Mayor Matt Mahan is calling for diversion of “uncommitted Measure E resources ” to his other priorities: moving unhoused people out of sight, increased police staffing, building a locked mental health facility for unhoused people, and establishing “no-encampment zones”.
Measure E was passed by voters in 2020 based on City Council’s explicit promise to use it to address the City’s desperate affordable housing crisis. “It’s hard to imagine the City Council diverting the money for other uses — now or in the foreseeable future,” wrote the Mercury News at the time. “The need is too great.” But now that the crisis is worse than ever, the Mayor proposes drastically reducing the 75% share of Measure E funds allocated to affordable housing by City Council in 2022.
The effect of this diversion is that there would be no new city funds at all for the preservation plan that the City Council just decided to create – or for any other affordable housing projects not already funded or included in the recent NOFA.
The Mayor claims that he seeks to “end the era of unmanaged encampments” in San Jose, but homelessness cannot be ended without the creation of affordable housing for unhoused people to move into. More likely, the diversion of Measure E funds will end the era of building affordable housing in San Jose.
Reduced spending on housing is consistent with the Mayor’s entire approach to the homelessness crisis, as shown by his budget message promotion of San Antonio’s Haven for Hope shelter as a model program.
Haven for Hope is an 1600-capacity facility designed by Donald Trump’s notorious Interagency Council on Homelessness director, Robert Marbut, and enthusiastically endorsed by Texas Gov. Greg Abbott.
Marbut, like Trump, is well-known for opposing the evidence-based “Housing First” approach to ending homelessness used by HUD, the State of California, and by cities all across the country. Housing First recognizes the common-sense reality that homelessness is caused by high rents. In San Jose, for example, a household would have to work four full time minimum wage jobs just to be able to pay the median rent.
Marbut, on the other hand, claims that homelessness is a behavioral problem best addressed by punishment and “treatment” to make people work harder. He calls his approach the “Velvet Hammer”.
Haven for Hope and a similar shelter Marbut designed in Florida (Safe Harbor) have outdoor courtyards where unhoused people who fail to enlist in programs or follow all rules are forced to sleep on a concrete floor, largely exposed to the elements, and frequently subject to assaults, rapes, and threats of terror.
Marbut-designed shelters have particularly poor records of transitioning people into permanent housing.
Safe Harbor in Florida, for example, only moves 7% of its residents into permanent housing. These poor results, together with comments by many Marbut supporters (including Trump) suggest that their motivations have more to do with economic reasons – keeping unhoused people out of sight - than with humanitarian concerns.
Without permanent affordable housing, the only way the Mayor can “end encampments” is with Marbut- style detention centers. If unhoused people ever decide to leave those centers, Mahan promises to send out police officers to bring them back, by enforcing his edict that “we should expect unhoused residents to accept alternatives to unmanaged encampments when offered”.
Affordable Housing Network is not opposed to emergency interim housing. It is an important part of the solution. However, without permanent housing available to move into, people remain at risk of returning to the streets, or having to move out of San Jose altogether. The LifeMoves-operated Emergency Interim Housing facility in Mountain View, for example, pressured residents to move to the Central Valley. The effect is the forced displacement of San Jose’s poor to cities with greater racial segregation and fewer economic and educational opportunities.
We believe that the City Council’s 2022 Measure E allocation of 75% to permanent housing and 25% to homelessness prevention and services is the proper balance between the two.
Specifically, Affordable Housing Networks requests that HCDC Commissioners take the following actions:
1) That City Council exercise its Measure E allocation authority by refusing to allow diversion of funds away from affordable housing (affordable housing includes creation of permanently affordable units through preservation). Maintain the 2022 allocation of 75% to housing and 25% to homelessness prevention and services.
2) That City Council explicitly reaffirm San Jose’s commitment to the Housing First approach to ending homelessness. Moving away from Housing First is bad policy, inhumane, and could complicate San Jose’s access to state and federal funds.
3) That City Council explicitly reject the punishment-based “Haven for Hope” model and require all San Jose shelter and Emergency Interim Housing programs to adhere to Housing First policy guidelines.
Thank you so much for taking the time to consider our recommendations.
Sincerely,
Sandy Perry, President
5/9/23, 5:21 PM Mail - Agendadesk - Outlook
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FW: CAA Letter - 5/16/23 Council Meeting, Item 3.3
City Clerk <[email protected]>
Tue 5/9/2023 4:02 PM
To:Agendadesk <[email protected]>
1 attachments (134 KB)
CAA Letter Item 3.3 5.16.23.pdf;
From: Anil Babbar < >
Sent: Tuesday, May 9, 2023 3:53 PM
To: City Clerk <[email protected]>
Subject: CAA Le er - 5/16/23 Council Mee ng, Item 3.3
A ached is my public comment le er for the May 16th Council Mee ng on item 3.3, proposed fees and charges
Anil Babbar
Senior Vice President of Public Affairs
California Apartment Association
www.caanet.org
05/09/23
Mayor Matt Mahan and City Council
City of San Jose
200 E. Santa Clara St.
San Jose, CA 95113
Mayor Mahan and City Council,
The California Apartment Association opposes the Housing Department’s recommendation that would dramatically increase the fees on tens of thousands of rental housing providers in San Jose. The fee increase recommendation is cited in the 2023-2024 Proposed Fees and Charges, on page 10 of the memorandum document, which will receive its first public hearing on May 16 th, 2023.
The fees in question are the Apartment Rent Ordinance (ARO) fee, which is assessed upon properties that are subject to the city’s rent control ordinance, and the Tenant Protection Ordinance (TPO) fee, which is assessed upon properties that are subject to the city’s just cause provisions for eviction. For the next fiscal year, the Housing Department is proposing to increase the TPO fee from $15/unit to $34/unit. And the ARO fee from $75/unit to $85/unit. For context, just six years ago the TPO fee, when it was first implemented, was $6/unit. An increase of 467% over that six-year period and a 127% increase over the current year is irresponsible and must be questioned by the City Council. And if the TPO fee is being handled with such disregard, similar actions can be expected of the ARO fee.
The Housing Department is citing their own failure to properly establish the fee in the past to justify the meteoric increase of the TPO fee. The Housing Department now admits they used a significantly flawed method for counting the number of units that would be subject to the TPO. The flawed method they relied upon was using data from PBCE and a subscription data service that pulls from the County Assessor’s records, which overcounted the number of TPO units by 17,988. Some five years later, after evaluating a different set of data sources that are held entirely within the city, the Housing Department discovered they have been over counting the number of units subject to the TPO. A reduction in the overall number units that need regulation would, logically speaking, require a reduction in staff to oversee the program and a reduction in the fees needed to fund the city’s regulatory program. Instead, the Housing Department has proposed the opposite and seeks to impose a 127% fee increase to manage the program. In other words, housing providers are being asked to pay more to compensate for the Housing Department’s own failures and mismanagement.
CAA appreciated the efforts made during the pandemic years by the Housing Department to lower both the ARO and TPO fees in recognition of the challenges the pandemic related conditions and housing restrictions placed on housing providers. However, the current fee levels do more than account for the reduction during those years. The proposed fee levels for the next fiscal year cannot be justified, particularly given the reduction in units that the department will need to regulate . The table below shows the growth in the TPO fee and overall revenue since the program was established.
The proposed fee increase is not only an example of financial mismanagement, but it also poses dangerous risk to continued growth of our housing supply. A developer will look at the history of these fees and will be deterred by such aggressive year over year increases. The rampant increases are not sustainable and will be yet another signal to housing developers that San Jose does not welcome them nor offers any form of stability. And, ultimately, higher government fees translate into higher asking rents which, again, contradicts the city’s long-standing commitment to bring more affordable housing to the market.
Beyond the signal such large fee increases send to the market, the City Council should question how such a grave error was made by the Housing Department and why, now, the Housing Department needs nearly $700,000 more to serve fewer housing uni ts. This examination of the ARO/TPO fees begs the question— what other costly mistakes, errors, and omissions have occurred that are resulting in higher government fees on the backs of hardworking taxpayers, residents, and housing providers. If the department believes that the 5% rent cap on rent controlled properties is sufficient, they should adhere to same constraints they are applying to housing providers.
CAA calls on the City Council to maintain the current FY 2022-23 fee levels and engage in a financial audit of the Housing Department’s operations, financial assumptions, and fiscal management. Such an audit will provide the City Council with a roadmap for making the Housing Department more accountable, productive, and responsive while providing the incoming Housing Director with a foundation for ushering in needed reforms.
Sincerely,
Anil Babbar
Senior Vice President of Public Affairs
California Apartment Association
FY
Per unit
TPO Fee Total Units Total Revenue
2018/19 $6 65560 $393,360
2019/20 $9 65560 $590,040
2020/21 $5 65560 $327,800
2021/22 $5 65560 $327,800
2022/23 $15 65560 $983,400
2023/24 $34 47572 $1,617,448
E: [email protected]
3180 Newberry Dr, Suite 200, San Jose, CA 95118
DESTINATIONHOMESV.ORG
BOARD OF DIRECTORS
Roger Biscay
Cisco
Jan Bernstein Chargin
Gavilan College
Louis Chicoine
Abode Services
Jacky Morales-Ferrand
City of San Jose
Dontae Lartigue
Razing the Bar
Ky Le
County of Santa Clara
Jennifer Loving
Destination: Home
Preston Prince
SCC Housing Authority
Joel John Roberts
PATH
John A. Sobrato
The Sobrato Organization
Ben Spero
Spectrum Equity Investors
Nicole Taylor
Silicon Valley Community
Foundation
Ted Wang
Cowboy Ventures
Gary Wipfler
Apple
ENDING HOMELESSNESS IN SILICON VALLEY
May 10, 2023
Mayor & City Council
City of San Jose
200 East Santa Clara Street, 18th Floor
San Jose, CA 95113
Re: Proposed Changes to Measure E Spending Plan (Item 3.3 on the May 16th City Council Meeting Agenda)
Dear Mayor Mahan and City Councilmembers,
On behalf of Destination: Home, a public-private partnership dedicated to ending homelessness in Silicon Valley, I write to express our serious concerns over the proposed changes to the Measure E spending plan. This is a short- sighted and ill-advised proposal that breaks faith with the voters and will set back our collective efforts to address San Jose’s housing and homelessness crisis.
When Measure E was approved in 2020, the voters were told that this tax would predominantly go towards building more affordable housing and the City Council adopted a corresponding spending plan that allocated this funding to a number of key housing programs - with the vast majority of funding going towards new affordable housing production, which we know is critically- important to solving our homelessness crisis.
Unfortunately, the new proposal abandons this thoughtful, balanced approach by drastically shifting funding away from affordable housing. In fact, other than reserving a modest amount of funding to fulfill commitments to four existing developments, the proposed plan would leave ZERO Measure E funding to support any additional affordable housing developments in San Jose - even though the City currently has three developments waitlisted for funding and there are at least a dozen additional prospective developments making their way through the pipeline.
These are real projects that the City will simply be unable to fund if it goes through with this drastic shift in Measure E funding. And even if the City is in a position to restore affordable housing funding in the future (which seems questionable given the current fiscal outlook), any short-term pause in affordable housing funding creates exponentially longer delays in bringing new developments to fruition and threatens to kill some projects all together.
It’s important to note that we support the City’s interest in expanding temporary housing and shelter options in San Jose, which is one of the strategies of the Community Plan to End Homelessness. However, cannibalizing affordable housing funding to do so will have enormous negative implications.
Expanding shelter options will only be successful if we concurrently build more affordable housing to ensure folks utilizing these facilities have a path to a permanent home; otherwise we risk seeing people stuck in shelter for years on- end, as has sadly happened in other communities and circumstances (i.e. New York City, following disaster response, etc). In addition, the extremely high ongoing operational costs of current temporary housing and shelter programs demonstrates that investing in this strategy alone will not be a sustainable path for the City over the long-term.
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FW: Agenda Item 3.3
City Clerk <[email protected]>
Thu 5/11/2023 11:13 AM
To:Agendadesk <[email protected]>
From: Jus n Yeakel
Sent: Thursday, May 11, 2023 10:15 AM
To: City Clerk <[email protected]>
Subject: Agenda Item 3.3
Dear San Jose City Council Members,
I hope this email finds you well. I am writing today as a concerned citizen and an avid supporter of public libraries in our community. With the vote on the new budget this June, I would like to take this opportunity to advocate for increased support and resources for our San Jose Library Foundation libraries.
Firstly, I strongly urge you to consider extending the operating hours of all San Jose Library Foundation libraries to seven days a week. Libraries play a crucial role in fostering educational opportunities, promoting literacy, and serving as a valuable resource hub for individuals of all ages. By expanding their hours of operation, we can ensure that every member of our community has equitable access to the wealth of knowledge, resources, and services provided by our libraries.
Additionally, I would like to emphasize the importance of investing in programming for children within our libraries. Early literacy and educational initiatives are key factors in shaping the future success of our youth. By allocating more resources to children's programming, we can create engaging and enriching experiences that stimulate their curiosity, foster a love for reading, and enhance their educational development. These programs could include storytime sessions, interactive workshops, STEM activities, and other creative endeavors that inspire learning and personal growth.
Investing in our libraries is an investment in the future of San Jose. By ensuring that our libraries are open seven days a week and providing enhanced programming for children, we can create a stronger, more connected community where opportunities for personal growth and lifelong learning are readily accessible to all residents, regardless of their socio-economic background.
I kindly request that you carefully consider these proposals and prioritize library support in the upcoming budget discussions. Our libraries have the potential to transform lives and empower our community, and by allocating adequate resources, we can maximize their impact and reach.
Thank you for your attention to this matter, and I appreciate your dedication to serving the needs of our city. I am confident that by prioritizing library support, we can contribute to a more vibrant, educated, and inclusive San Jose.
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Sincerely,
Justin Yeakel
--
Jus n D. Yeakel, Ph.D.
Associate Professor |
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FW: Agenda Item 3.3
City Clerk <[email protected]>
Thu 5/11/2023 11:14 AM
To:Agendadesk <[email protected]>
From: SN L >
Sent: Thursday, May 11, 2023 10:18 AM
To: City Clerk <[email protected]>
Subject: Agenda Item 3.3
Hello ,
I hope this email finds you well. I wanted to take a moment to express the importance of libraries in my children's lives and how they posi vely impact their development.
Libraries are more than just buildings filled with books; they are incredible resources that shape young minds. Through the wide range of books available, our children can delve into fascina ng stories, explore new worlds, and expand their knowledge. Reading cul vates their vocabulary, enhances language skills, and fosters a lifelong love for learning.
I hope the libraries can get fully funded for upcoming years.
Thanks,
--
From where does knowledge come? If you need to know what is in a box, you could ask someone (not reliable), you could pray, (not useful), you can consult with the scripture (not helpful) or you could open the box (science)
FW: Agenda Item 3.3
City Clerk <[email protected]>
Thu 5/11/2023 11:15 AM
To:Agendadesk <[email protected]>
-----Original Message-----
From: Stephanie Drews < >
Sent: Thursday, May 11, 2023 10:37 AM
To: City Clerk <[email protected]>
Subject: Agenda Item 3.3
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[External Email]
Please fully fund our libraries. They have been an invaluable source of enrichment for my children.
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FW: Agenda Item 3.3
City Clerk <[email protected]>
Thu 5/11/2023 11:25 AM
To:Agendadesk <[email protected]>
From: Darryl Tauro
Sent: Thursday, May 11, 2023 11:24 AM
To: City Clerk <[email protected]>
Subject: Agenda Item 3.3
To whomsoever it may concern,
Please con nue funding the public libraries fully!
Public libraries are essen al to me and my wife (especially the one in Milpitas currently and the King Library in San Jose earlier) as we use it to borrow at least 20-30 books a year.
Once we have kids, I can already picture us using the libraries even more, and get them to love libraries even more than I do.
Please do your duty to the public and make sure that libraries are well and truly funded.
Many thanks!
Regards,
Darryl
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FW: Agenda Item 3.3
City Clerk <[email protected]>
Thu 5/11/2023 12:19 PM
To:Agendadesk <[email protected]>
From: Dawn Gray Siemer < >
Sent: Thursday, May 11, 2023 11:58 AM
To: City Clerk <[email protected]>
Subject: Agenda Item 3.3
Please fund our libraries!
The internet has made more informa on available to people than ever before. It hasn't made libraries obsolete. The library offers access to informa on for everyone - books to read for fun, books to help you fix your house or improve your garden, books to help you get a job or improve your performance at work... and that's not all!
I took my kids to story hour when they were toddlers. There are cra events for older kids and community spaces for groups to meet.
Help for people who want to learn to read English. Help for people looking for jobs. Homework help for older kids, and a safe place for them to go a er school. Libraries are the one place people without a computer can access one. Libraries are a hub of informa on for our community--where you can go to learn what government and charitable services you can access.
With be er funding, libraries can offer more community building events and help more people.
Thank you for listening,
Dawn Siemer
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FW: Agenda Item 3.3 - Support for SJPL
City Clerk <[email protected]>
Thu 5/11/2023 1:16 PM
To:Agendadesk <[email protected]>
From: Alexander Chiou < >
Sent: Thursday, May 11, 2023 1:12 PM
To: City Clerk <[email protected]>
Subject: Agenda Item 3.3 - Support for SJPL
Hi,
I wanted to make my voice heard to fully fund our libraries. I hope my story about how I use them makes it clear the massive value they provide to the broader community.
I am a tech company founder. Right now, we're small with just 3 people, so it's not financially viable to rent office space. When we do meet up in San Jose, we often go to Joyce Ellington library, one of the many incredible libraries within San Jose.
We always have a wonderful experience here because:
The library is always clean and orderly
The wifi is open and fast
There are study rooms where we can take important business meetings and collaborate One time, we were even offered free stacks by staff there SJPL is literally helping us innovate and create jobs. This is a public good that has massive return on investment for the growth of San Jose. Not fully funding our libraries would be horrible for the city fabric.
Best,
Alexander Chiou
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FW: Agenda item 3.3
City Clerk <[email protected]>
Thu 5/11/2023 2:55 PM
To:Agendadesk <[email protected]>
From: Bill Bruns
Sent: Thursday, May 11, 2023 2:53 PM
To: City Clerk <[email protected]>
Subject: Agenda item 3.3
Please fully fund the San Jose Public Library.
Not only does it provide books (and other media), but it provides a wholesome space for kids after school.
And of course, like any library, the books and other media promote mental and social growth, for all ages.
Bill Bruns
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FW: Agenda Item 3.3
City Clerk <[email protected]>
Thu 5/11/2023 3:17 PM
To:Agendadesk <[email protected]>
From: Alice Turney >
Sent: Thursday, May 11, 2023 3:16 PM
To: City Clerk <[email protected]>
Cc: District 10 <[email protected]>
Subject: Agenda Item 3.3
I have been a resident of the south San Jose Santa Teresa community since 1985. Both of my children were encouraged to u lize our local Library as a place to study and a end educa onal programs as they were growing up.
Please consider the important statements below when crea ng the city budget:
· If local government budgets truly reflect the values of the communities they serve, I believe the City of San José’s budget should prioritize our public libraries. · As we continue to recover from the pandemic, it is critical that the San José Public Library has the resources it needs to serve our most vulnerable neighbors and build a more equitable, educated, and engaged community.
· Significant cuts to Library services in the previous years should now be fully restored to pre- pandemic levels and library hours expanded to include Sunday hours at all library branches. · When library funding increases, our community is safer and stronger. An increase in library funding correlates with an increase in library usage. Greater library usage increases the overall literacy skills of our community, which creates more economic opportunity for its members and boosts our local economy.
· Library fines and the fear of accruing them pose a significant barrier to the most vulnerable adults in our community and prevent them from using the Library. Fines-Free For All will support the recovery of highest-need communities and make the Library a welcoming and safe space for everyone. · Any continued cuts to Library hours, services, and staff will only exacerbate the growing digital divide in San José, which existed before COVID-19 and will continue to persist after it — unless we invest in solutions now.
·
The Library has taken the lead in implementing the City’s Education and Digital Literacy Strategy, which has become even more critical since COVID-19. Continued funding for those positions and hotspot connectivity is needed to sustain and build on this work. · I appreciate the Mayor and City Council’s continued support and investment in the City’s Digital Inclusion efforts, including community Wi-Fi, hotspot lending programs, expanded broadband connectivity, and digital literacy education, and ongoing support for fines free for youth and seniors.
Alice Turney
San Jose, CA 95123
FW: Agenda item 3.3
City Clerk <[email protected]>
Thu 5/11/2023 3:24 PM
To:Agendadesk <[email protected]>
-----Original Message-----
From: Jenny Ludwig >
Sent: Thursday, May 11, 2023 3:21 PM
To: City Clerk <[email protected]>
Subject: Agenda item 3.3
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[External Email]
I am writing to address the council when a vote is taken during the budget hearings. Our city libraries are a vital part of our community, and I want to encourage the council to fully fund the needs of this important institution. Libraries provide for everyone is the city - young, old, students, retirees, unemployed, homeless, working people - the list goes on an on. I support all educational opportunities for our citizens and the library provides a link to the world. Education moves people up in order to find success in life.
Please support our city libraries.
Jenny Ludwig
Willow Glen resident
Sent from my iPhone
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FW: Agenda Item 3.3
City Clerk <[email protected]>
Fri 5/12/2023 8:03 AM
To:Agendadesk <[email protected]>
-----Original Message-----
From: Marylou Avanzino
Sent: Friday, May 12, 2023 4:50 AM
To: City Clerk <[email protected]>
Subject: Agenda Item 3.3
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[External Email]
Dear San Jose City Council,
Our public libraries are important places to the people who live in our city. Libraries are a place of resource, quietude, and gathering. Libraries enhance the livability of the neighborhoods. Libraries don’t discriminate based on color or income, nor do they have an entrance fee.
Everybody loves the public library. Please do NOT consider funding them less.
Marylou Avanzino
S.J. CA 95136
District 2
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FW: Agenda Item 3.3
City Clerk <[email protected]>
Fri 5/12/2023 10:58 AM
To:Agendadesk <[email protected]>
From: Pam Crone
Sent: Friday, May 12, 2023 10:54 AM
To: City Clerk <[email protected]>
Subject: Agenda Item 3.3
I am sharing my opinion that maintaining full library funding should be reflected in the next budget. In my opinion, our libraries offer very meaningful ways to support our low-income and POC communi es. Both the physical buildings themselves and more importantly, the programming they offer empower people to educate themselves and to build skills that can be life-changing.
I believe this funding should be considered part of our overall strategy to address homelessness as well.
If cuts to library funding are required, they should be made in a way that priori zes our underserved communi es (not the higher- income ones that are more likely to complain about library access).
Pam Crone
D9 resident
Thousand Oaks neighborhood
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FW: I oppose changes to the Measure E Spending Plan (Item 3.3 on the May 16th Agenda) City Clerk <[email protected]>
Fri 5/12/2023 8:03 AM
To:Agendadesk <[email protected]>
From: Maia Bookoff <
Sent: Thursday, May 11, 2023 6:14 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]>; City Clerk <[email protected]>; ac on
Cc: City Clerk <[email protected]>; ac on
Subject: I oppose changes to the Measure E Spending Plan (Item 3.3 on the May 16th Agenda)
Dear Mayor Mahan and City Councilmembers,
As a San Jose resident and voter, I write to express my opposition to the proposed Measure E spending plan.
When we approved Measure E in 2020, we were promised the proceeds would fund much-needed affordable housing, and this new proposal is a reversal of that commitment.
The rates of homelessness our community faces today is a symptom of our severe housing shortage, and we know that solving this crisis will require us to create more permanent affordable homes. Investing in more interim options is important, but it cannot come at the expense of building more permanent affordable housing. As the 10th largest city in the county, San Jose should be a leader in deploying evidence-based solutions rather than disinvesting in affordable housing at such a critical time.
Now is the time to fund MORE affordable housing, not less. Please keep your commitment to the people of San Jose by rejecting this new proposal and maintain the existing Measure E spending plan.
Thank you!
Maia Bookoff
San Jose resident
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FW: Please do not cut funding for housing the homeless
City Clerk <[email protected]>
Fri 5/12/2023 8:05 AM
To:Agendadesk <[email protected]>
From: Carol Valen ne < >
Sent: Friday, May 12, 2023 7:54 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: Please do not cut funding for housing the homeless
Dear Mayor Mahan and City Councilmembers,
As you all know San Jose faces a homelessness crisis. As a San Jose resident and voter, I write to express my opposition to the proposed Measure E spending plan. When we approved Measure E in 2020, we were promised the proceeds would fund much-needed affordable housing, and this new proposal is a reversal of that commitment.
The rates of homelessness our community faces today is a symptom of our severe housing shortage, and we know that solving this crisis will require us to create more permanent affordable homes. Investing in more interim options is important, but it cannot come at the expense of building more permanent affordable housing. As the 10th largest city in the county, San Jose should be a leader in deploying evidence-based solutions rather than disinvesting in affordable housing at such a critical time.
Now is the time to fund MORE affordable housing, not less. Please keep your commitment to the people of San Jose by rejecting this new proposal and maintain the existing Measure E spending plan.
Thank you!
Carol Valentine
May 12, 2023
The Honorable Mayor Matt Mahan & San Jose City Councilmembers City of San Jose
200 East Santa Clara Street, 18th Floor
San Jose, CA 95113
Re: Item 3.3 on May 16th City Council Agenda – Proposed Changes to Measure E Spending Plan
Dear Mayor Mahan, Vice Mayor Kamei, and Council Members:
On behalf of Corporation for Supportive Housing (CSH), I am writing to express concerns about proposed changes to the Measure E Spending Plan (Item 3.3 on the May 16th City Council agenda).
CSH is a national nonprofit and Community Development Financial Institution that works to advance housing as a platform for services to address the needs of people who have been marginalized, focusing on people experiencing or at risk of homelessness.
The Measure E Spending Plan already approved was based on thoughtful input among people dedicated to serving people experiencing homelessness. Recognizing affordable housing as the solution to homelessness, the current Measure E expenditure plan rightly prioritizes investments in permanent housing. Diverting funds to interim solutions is short-sighted.
In working on local, state, and national policy around homelessness, CSH staff often hold up the Santa Clara County-San Jose partnership as a model for other communities to follow. The region has been working toward a balanced systemwide approach of providing prevention resources, low- barrier non-congregate shelter options to help people access safety, and permanent housing. The Santa Clara County region has been a model of success in increasing interim options, with the number of people sheltered increasing by 43% in the San Jose/Santa Clara City and County Continuum of Care between 2020 and 2022.
The proposed revisions to Measure E Spending will upend not only commitments the City has made to nonprofit partners and residents experiencing homelessness, it will upend the community’s path toward proven solutions. Indeed, it is based on faulty understanding of effective response to homelessness.
Housing must continue to be a prominent part of the region’s response to homelessness, as it is in the current Spending Plan . The proposed plan would leave very few dollars remaining for affordable housing. Affordable housing is ultimately the solution to homelessness, and only investment in housing can reduce the number of people experiencing homelessness in any region,
and sustainably reduce the number of people living unsheltered (see California Homeless Housing Needs Assessment). When shelter beds are added without coordinated, simultaneous investment in housing affordable to people who have experienced homelessness , people residing in shelter often ‘’bottleneck’’ in shelter, experiencing prolonged lengths of stay . Additionally, this shelter bottleneck leaves shelter beds filled for longer period s, resulting in the need to build more beds.
As jurisdictions invest disproportionately in interim housing, we see communities across the state facing decreasing rates of people exiting shelters to permanent housing, meaning most of the community’s unhoused neighbors are eventually leaving shelters to return to homelessness. When they leave shelter, people often return to the streets, eventually growing the number of people living unsheltered and feeding into the cycle of shelter stays, returns to the streets, and often institutional stays, driving up local costs of homelessness.
A more balanced approach, such as laid out in the current Measure E Spending Plan, requires providing for both interim and permanent housing. With more housing options, people can exit shelters more quickly to permanent housing. Exits to housing allows shelter beds to turn over more quickly, meaning every shelter bed becomes more effective. They are more effective because they are turning over more quickly as people are able to exit to housing, because they are able to shelter more people throughout the course of the year , because fewer people return to the streets as they exit shelter, and because they are serving their true purpose—to be a safe place to live while people get connected to housing. In model communities across the state and nation, a balanced approach is the only way to sustainably reduce homelessness.
V oters in the region have made thoughtful choices to create t he conditions needed to solve homelessness, both through the passage of Santa Clara County’s Measure A, and through the City of San Jose’s Measure E to direct more funding to affordable housing. The City of San Jose should stay the course to ensure there a re more affordable housing options for the City’s most marginalized residents, which will reduce the long -term pressures that are pushing residents into homelessness.
Thank you for the Council’s and Mayor’s consideration of evidence demonstrating effective/ineffective strategies. Please feel fr ee to contact CSH staff with any questions or concerns.
Sincerely,
Sharon Rapport
Director, California State Policy
May 12, 2023
Mayor Mahan and San Jose City Council
200 East Santa Clara Street, 18th Floor
San Jose, CA 95113
Re: Proposed Changes to Measure E Spending Plan (Item 3.3 on the May 16th City Council Meeting Agenda)
Dear Mayor Mahan, Vice Mayor Kamei and members of the San Jose City Council, On behalf of the Non-Profit Housing Association of Northern California (NPH), I am writing to express our concern with the proposed changes to the Measure E expenditure plan, as it proposes a significant step away from the City’s long-standing commitment to affordable housing as the cornerstone of a comprehensive approach to the housing affordability crisis.
Founded in 1979, NPH is the leading voice of the affordable housing movement of the Bay Area. As a membership organization of more than 750 affordable housing builders, advocates, and community leaders, the collective NPH community has created tens of thousands of affordable homes and supported hundreds of thousands of Bay Area residents and community members.
NPH envisions a future where everyone has a place to call home and where low-income communities and communities of color stay and prosper in the Bay Area. That is why we joined with SV@Home and other housing organizations in partnership with Mayor Sam Liccardo and a broad-based coalition of philanthropy, health care, public education, community service, labor and environmental justice groups to ensure the successful passage of Measure E in the City of San Jose. We and our partners are committed to the Community Plan to End Homelessness in Santa Clara County and supported the City Council’s reallocation of 15% of Measure E funds from affordable housing production to emergency interim shelter as an important innovation. But, we know from decades of experience that shelters are only effective when there are sufficient permanent homes for community members to transition into.