San Jose Downtown Association
28 N. First Street, Suite 1000
San Jose, CA 95113
sjdowntown.com
408.279.1775
Dear Honorable Mayor and City Councilmembers,
On behalf of the San Jose Downtown Association, I am writing again in support of the Entertainment Zone Ordinace.
We are in further support of adding the entertainment zones proposed on the consent agenda of Sharks Way, Little Italy which make sense for the City’s efforts in 2026 and the SJDA’s efforts in particular of “Stitching Districts Together”. Although outside of our BID we believe the Entertainment Zone on Alum Rock could be of great benefit to the residents of East San Jose in District 5.
Entertainment zones will enliven Downtown by enabling enhanced special events in multiple locations and we are looking forward to seeing all locations activated simultaneously in 2026!
We do want to make sure that OEDCA’s special events team is sufficiently staffed to meet increased demand for special events permits within entertainment zones. In addition we would like guidance about whether staff thinks this will add more lead time to the special events permitting process, because the we will need to communicate that with businesses and other special event producers.
Please note that Safety is our number one priority. Please make sure that there are enough SJPD Secondary Employment officers available for these special events.
The SJDA is looking forward to working with the Office of Cultural Affairs in placing the Entertainment Zones in our outreach and Toolkit so that the businesses and promoters can take advantage of this chance to create a more active Downtown.
Thank you for continuing to look for creative solutions to bring people and vibrancy to the San Jose Downtown.
Onwards and Upwards,
Alan “Gumby” Marques
Interim CEO of the San Jose Downtown Association