TO: HONORABLE MAYOR FROM: Councilmember Arjun Batra
AND CITY COUNCIL
SUBJECT : SEE BELOW DATE: November 5, 2024
Approved Date:
11/05/2024
SUBJECT: CONSOLIDATED ANNUAL HOMELESSNESS REPORT AND
IMPLEMENTATION PLAN UPDATE
RECOMMENDATIONS
Direct City staff to:
1. Accept the Consolidated Annual Homelessness Report and Implementation Plan Update.
2. Accept the memorandum from Mayor Mahan, Vice Mayor Rosemary Kamei, Councilmembers David Cohen, Dev Davis, and Pam Foley.
3. Expand the Good Neighbor Guidelines for encampments to include oversized and lived -in vehicles and add to the updated Code of Conduct to be disseminated in December 2024.
4. Add to the requested February 2025 Information Memorandum potential options to expand workforce development programs to residents of oversized vehicles and corresponding required budget supplements to implement these options.
BACKGROUND
Thank you to the City Staff for their outstanding work completing a comprehensive plan for dealing with homelessness, specifically oversized vehicles. I also want to thank the Mayor, Vice Mayor, and Councilmembers Cohen, Davis, and Foley for their group me morandum that thoughtfully addresses many components of homelessness.
There are some problems identified in the staff report that this memo attempts to address:
RECOMMENDATION #3
Problem: the existing Good Neighbor Guidelines outline requirements for encampments and don’t address the unique issues of oversized vehicles.
Solution: Update our existing Good Neighbor Guidelines to include issues surrounding oversized and lived-in vehicles, or create separate materials targeted to residents of those vehicles.
The staff memo indicates they are working on an updated Code of Conduct to replace the current Good Neighbor Guidelines. The group memo asks that this updated Code of Conduct be disseminated by December of this year. To address the specific concerns reside nts have around the COUNCIL AGENDA: 11/05/2024
FILE: 24-2155
ITEM: 7.1
HONORABLE MAYOR AND CITY COUNCIL
November 5 , 2024
Subject: Consolidated Annual Homelessness Report and Implementation Plan Update
impact of oversized and lived in vehicles on their neighborhoods and the environment, direct staff to consider including the following in the updated Code of Conduct:
1. Safe management of leaking fluids to prevent them from getting into storm drains.
2. Eliminating storage of items in, under, and around the outside of the vehicle. All items contained within the vehicle.
3. No trash outside the vehicle, except for approved filled trash bags waiting for pick up.
4. Nothing allowed on the sidewalks or blocking public access areas.
5. Prioritize noise complaints when considering abatements .
6. Add privately owned property to item 2b of the group memo. This is to address vehicle owners who access utilities located on private property.
RECOMMENDATION #4
Problem: It seems that our strategies for oversized and lived -in vehicles focus on enforcement but not empowerment through case management services and employment. Page 14 of the Consolidated Annual Homelessness Report notes only 30% of surveyed oversized vehicle residents have been offered assistance by outreach providers for case management services, meaning 70% have not. Page 14 also indicates that 40% of surveyed residents noted they would accept job training and employment assistance if offered, howeve r current Work2Future programs do not service this population.
Solution: Understand how the City can play a role in helping to employ those in need.
Solution: Identify more, and more flexible, funding resources to service any solutions identified
Recommendation #4 adds to the requested February 2025 information memo a focus on workforce development services and any needed budget supplements to help service the 40% of surveyed oversized vehicle residents who noted they would accept job training and employment assistance if offered. Our Work2Future program relies on federal Workforce Innovation and Opportunity Act (WIOA) funding and doesn't currently service this population.
While this will ultimately inform the next budget cycle, these potential new services need to be outlined with their related funding needs in the February 2025 information memo to provide the time needed to make informed budget decisions. It is too big and too important to wait for budget processes that are further down the process timeline.
If we can employ our oversized vehicle neighbors, they may be able to move their vehicles to rental lots with the needed maintenance and essential services like water and power that they rely on rather than our city streets. With the creation of EIH sites, safe parking sites, and other homelessness resourcing, there will be many employment opportunities that we need to explore to help our oversized vehicle residents work, live, and thrive in our city.
CONCLUSION
The recommendations above aim to complement the group memorandum further by adding components that specifically address issues surrounding oversized vehicles, which have been a focus area for community stakeholders across the City of San José. I urge my co lleagues to adopt this memo to ensure we are emphasizing the problems and potential solutions to our oversized vehicle community.