COUNCIL AGENDA : 9/23/2025
FILE : 25-1054
ITEM : 2.12
TO: HONORABLE MAYOR AND FROM: Toni J. Taber, MMC
CITY COUNCIL City Clerk
SUBJECT: SEE BELOW DATE: September 17, 2025
SUBJECT: Support for Assembly Concurrent Resolution 71
Recommendation
As recommended by the Rules and Open Government Committee on September 17, 2025, adopt a resolution of support for Assembly Concurrent Resolution 71 (ACR 71), introduced by Assemblymember Ash Kalra, which seeks to designate a portion of U.S. Highway 101 near the Story Road exit in San José as the “Little Saigon Freeway”.
CEQA: Not a Project, File No. PP17-008, General Procedure and Policy Making resulting in no changes to the physical environment.(Mayor, Doan, Campos and Kamei) [Rules Committee referral 9/17/2025 - Item C.2]
TO: RULES AND OPE N
GOVERNMENT COMMITTEE
FROM: Mayor Matt Mahan
Councilmember Bien Doan
Councilmember Pamela Campos
Councilmember Rosemary Kamei
SUBJECT: Support for Assembly
Concurrent Resolution 71
DATE: September 11, 2025
Approved
Date:
September 11, 2025
SUBJECT: Support for Assembly Concurrent Resolution 71
RECOMMENDATION
Adopt a resolution of support for Assembly Concurrent Resolution 71 (ACR 71), introduced by Assemblymember Ash Kalra, which seeks to designate a portion of U.S.
Highway 101 near the Story Road exit in San José as the “Little Saigon Freeway ”.
BACKGROUND
San José is home to one of the most vibrant and influential Vietnamese American communities in the United States, with approximately 140,000 Vietnamese Americans residing in Santa Clara County alone. District 7 includes Little Saigon, the cultural and economic heart of this community.
Designating a portion of Highway 101 as the “Little Saigon Freeway” would honor the legacy of over 2 million Vietnamese Americans nationwide and affirm their cultural and civic contributions. Additionally, this would promote cultural recognition, especiall y in the area near the Story Road exit, which anchors San Jose’s Little Saigon district. This designation would further complement local efforts, including most notably, the development of the Vietnamese Heritage Garden (VHG) and the recent unveiling of th e Thank You American Monument. Moreover, future integration of environmental and cultural projects – such as the proposed stormwater capture project within the VHG – highlight the community’s ongoing commitment to sustainability, history, and civic engagement.
RULES COMMITTEE: 9/17/25
ITEM: C.2
RULES AND OPEN GOVERNMENT COMMITTEE
September 11, 2025
Subject: Support for Assembly Concurrent Resolution 71
ACR 71 provides long -overdue recognition of a community whose values and contributions have shaped San José and the broader California landscape. Naming this freeway segment will serve as a permanent tribute to the Vietnamese diaspora’s strength, gratitude, and pursuit of the American dream. For these reasons, we respectfully request that the San José City Council formally support ACR 71 and transmit this support to Assemblymember Kalra, the California State Assembly, and State Senate.
A Resolution of the San José City Council in support of Assembly Concurrent Resolution 71 which designates a portion of United States Highway 101 in San José as the “Little Saigon Freeway”.
WHEREAS, the City of San José is home to one of the largest and most vibrant Vietnamese American communities in the United States, with over 140,000 residents of Vietnamese descent living in Santa Clara County; and
WHEREAS, the Little Saigon neighborhood in San José, located near the Story Road exit off U.S. Highway 101, is recognized nationally and internationally as a cultural and economic center for the Vietnamese American diaspora; and
WHEREAS, Assembly Concurrent Resolution 71 (ACR 71), authored by Assemblymember Ash Kalra, seeks to designate a portion of U.S. Highway 101 in San José, near the Story Road exit, as the “Little Saigon Freeway” in honor of the Vietnamese American community's contributions to California and the United States; and
WHEREAS, this designation reflects the resilience, sacrifices, and achievements of Vietnamese American refugees and immigrants who fled war and political persecution following the fall of Saigon in 1975 and rebuilt their lives in the United States; and WHEREAS, the proposed designation aligns with the City’s values of diversity, inclusion, and cultural recognition, and serves as a lasting tribute to the legacy of over two million Vietnamese Americans and their ongoing contributions to civic, cultural, and economic life; and WHEREAS, the Little Saigon Freeway designation complements local projects such as the Vietnamese Heritage Garden and the “Thank You America Monument,” which honor the Vietnamese refugee journey and express gratitude to the United States; and WHEREAS, the San José City Council recognizes the importance of visibility, representation, and historical acknowledgment for immigrant and refugee communities; NOW, THEREFORE, BE IT RESOLVED, that the City of San José formally supports Assembly Concurrent Resolution 71 (Kalra) and urges the California State Assembly and State Senate to pass the resolution designating a portion of U.S. Highway 101 in San José as the “Little Saigon Freeway.”
BE IT FUTHER RESOLVED, that the City Clerk is hereby directed to transmit copies of this resolution to Assemblymember Ash Kalra, the Office of the Speaker of the Assembly, the California State Senate, and the Governor of the State of California.
ADOPTED this XXXX, by the City Council of the City of San José.