TO: PUBLIC SAFETY, FINANCE
AND STRATEGIC SUPPORT
COMMITTEE
FROM: Paul Joseph
Erik L. Soliván
Jon Cicirelli
SUBJECT: Neighborhood Quality of Life
Team and Enhanced
Engagement Program Status
Report
DATE: January 30, 2026
Approved Date:
2/11/2026
RECOMMENDATION
Accept the status report on the implementation and performance of the Police Department's Neighborhood Quality of Life Team and the Housing Department's Enhanced Engagement Program.
BACKGROUND
The City’s Neighborhood Quality of Life (NQL) Team, Code of Conduct for Encampments, and Enhanced Engagement Program (EEP) together comprise a unified policy framework to address unsheltered homelessness in ways that minimize harm to encampment residents and surrounding neighborhoods, enforce health, safety, and municipal codes, and maximize opportunities for individuals to access shelter, housing, and stabilizing services. Rather than three separate initiatives, these efforts are designed to function as coordinated workstreams that standardize expectations at encampments, expand relationship-based outreach, and align enforcement and engagement activities across the Housing Department, Police Department (PD), and Parks, Recreation and Neighborhood Services (PRNS) Department. Implementation is grounded in a “one-team” approach in which the Housing Department, PD, and PRNS coordinate closely so that engagement, enforcement, and abatement activities are planned and executed together rather than in isolation.
In March 2025, through the Mayor’s March Budget Message, the City Council directed the Administration to identify paths for advancing an expectation that residents living in encampments accept offers of shelter or housing, while outlining a division of duties between the Housing Department and PD and processes for collaboration. That direction resulted in the May 30, 2025, City Council memorandum on the Code of Conduct for Encampments, which the City Council considered in June 2025. The COMMITTEE AGENDA: 2/19/26
ITEM: d(4)
PUBLIC SAFETY, FINANCE AND STRATEGIC SUPPORT COMMITTEE
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Subject: Neighborhood Quality of Life Team and Enhanced Engagement Program Status Report
memorandum established an implementation schedule and described how the Housing Department and PD would coordinate to advance the City Council’s intended outcomes.
The May 30, 2025 memorandum identified three key workstreams needed to effectuate this policy direction: (1) amend and expand the Code of Conduct for Encampments to clearly communicate behavioral expectations, including waste management, fire safety, proximity to critical infrastructure, and the expectation that individuals accept offers of shelter or housing; (2) launch a dedicated Enhanced Engagement Program in the Housing Department staffed by positions created through a combination of restructured contracts as well as new and reassigned personnel; and (3) stand up a NQL Team in PD to focus on enforcing municipal ordinances including No Encampment Zones (NEZ) and mitigating health and safety impacts at large encampments, in coordination with diversion and treatment resources.
Under this framework, the Housing Department, through the EEP, is responsible for relationship-based outreach at new and known encampments, offering shelter and interim housing placements, connecting residents to services, maintaining case files and consistent data reporting, and supporting communication and education related to the Code of Conduct for Encampments in coordination with the PRNS BeautifySJ Division. BeautifySJ is primarily responsible for educating encampment residents on the Code of Conduct for Encampments, conducting abatements when encampments are not in alignment with the Code of Conduct for Encampments, and coordinating with PD and the Housing Department on abatement activities. The NQL Team is responsible for targeted enforcement at encampments, including enforcement of applicable criminal and municipal codes, and coordinating with diversion facilities and County-operated alternatives.
The implementation schedule approved in the May 30, 2025 memorandum anticipated program set-up beginning on or around July 1, 2025, aligned with the opening of new hotel and motel sites to provide interim shelter capacity, and projected sustained and ongoing operations by spring 2026. Phase 0 of this schedule focused on creating the EEP, beginning to hire and transition staff to support a new internal outreach function, and forming the NQL Team, followed by phased outreach, enforcement, and ongoing monitoring and engagement activities. Implementation has proceeded in phases and at a lower initial staffing level due to staffing and resource constraints, as described in the Analysis section below.
Since receiving City Council direction, the City has begun implementing this framework by expanding interim shelter capacity, phasing in a reorganization of internal and external outreach resources, developing the infrastructure for new outreach and enforcement functions, and sequencing staffing and operational changes across departments. These efforts are part of the City’s broader work to reduce unsheltered homelessness and are aligned with the Reducing Unsheltered Homelessness Focus
PUBLIC SAFETY, FINANCE AND STRATEGIC SUPPORT COMMITTEE
January 29, 2026
Subject: Neighborhood Quality of Life Team and Enhanced Engagement Program Status Report
Area.
1 This status report provides the Public Safety, Finance and Strategic Support Committee with an overview of that implementation trajectory, highlights how PD, PRNS, and the Housing Department are working as one team, and situates the current state of the NQL Team, and related PRNS and the Housing Department efforts within the broader policy framework previously adopted by the City Council.
ANALYSIS
Implementation Workstreams
The Code of Conduct for Encampments, EEP, and NQL Team were designed as interdependent implementation workstreams rather than standalone efforts. City Council direction assumed that expanding and operationalizing interim shelter capacity would occur in tandem with launching the EEP, transitioning enforcement responsibilities to the NQL Team, and aligning PRNS’s work on NEZs and related standards. In practice, implementation has proceeded in phases, with the Housing Department first prioritizing the shelter and program infrastructure needed to support consistent offers of shelter and housing and beginning to realign outreach resources to support throughput goals before fully standing up the EEP team and PRNS continuing its work in implementing the initial Good Neighbor Rules/Code of Conduct established in 2021 and enforcing the NEZs.
During this period, the Housing Department has focused on rapidly increasing interim shelter capacity, including standing up motel sites, implementing the Columbus Park transition plan2, and opening or expanding almost all remaining shelter supply, with only the Cerone site still anticipated to open in February 2026. At the same time, the Housing Department has worked to realign contracted providers and shelter operations to support the overall framework. These activities have been foundational to the policy direction but have required substantial staff capacity and have necessarily delayed the full operationalization of the EEP team.
In parallel, the Housing Department has developed key program infrastructure for the EEP, including a throughput model to prioritize movement from encampments and emergency interim housing (EIH) into available shelter and motel capacity, a citywide geographic framework that divides the City into north, south, east, and west quadrants and a downtown focus area3, and a staffing model that clarifies the roles and responsibilities of the new outreach teams. These elements form the core of the phased reorganization of internal and external outreach resources described in the EEP section and provide the structural foundation for future EEP operations once staffing is fully in 1 FY 25-26 Reducing Unsheltered Homelessness Focus Area Scorecard:
https://www.sanjoseca.gov/home/showpublisheddocument/125106/638949303479000000 2 Columbus Park Activation: Operational Summary:
https://www.sanjoseca.gov/home/showpublisheddocument/125619/638971570673030000 3 New Homelessness Response Outreach Zones (Interactive Map):
https://experience.arcgis.com/experience/f63650033b9a42aa95095e5288a7661d
PUBLIC SAFETY, FINANCE AND STRATEGIC SUPPORT COMMITTEE
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Subject: Neighborhood Quality of Life Team and Enhanced Engagement Program Status Report
place. As described below, staffing and hiring for the EEP are now being phased in, while PD and PRNS continue to develop their related workstreams.
Police Department: Neighborhood Quality of Life Team
The NQL Team was implemented as a dedicated, citywide operational unit focused on addressing persistent quality-of-life impacts associated with encampments and related activity in public spaces. The team is designed to function as the enforcement, followup, and sustained presence component of the City’s broader encampment response system, operating in coordination with the EEP, BeautifySJ, and other partner departments. The team’s work emphasizes proactive enforcement, coordination with outreach and abatement partners, and sustained presence at locations that have historically generated repeated calls for service and significant neighborhood impacts.
Deployment Model
The NQL Team operates as a centralized, specialized unit with citywide authority rather than a district-based assignment. This model allows the team to be deployed to priority locations based on operational need, City Council-directed NEZs, and referrals from Division Captains. The team conducts proactive patrols, follow-up enforcement, and provides sustained presence in areas that have experienced repeated encampment activity or significant quality-of-life impacts.
NQL officers are routinely assigned to maintain NEZs, respond to chronic locations following abatements, and conduct enforcement and engagement activity in advance of planned abatement operations. This deployment model is intended to provide continuity, consistency, and accountability in locations where short-term responses have historically proven insufficient.
Coordination with Housing EEP and PRNS
The NQL Team operates in close coordination with the Housing Department’s EEP and PRNS. The Housing Department leads outreach, engagement, shelter offers, and placement efforts through the EEP, while the NQL Team supports those efforts by maintaining site conditions, enforcing applicable laws once outreach has occurred, and preventing re-encampment following abatement.
BeautifySJ plays a central role in managing the NEZs through monitoring, notification, abatement logistics, posting, property impound and storage, handling, and site restoration. NQL officers provide site security, enforce NEZs where applicable, and support coordinated operations to maintain public access and safety. This sequencing reinforces a clear division of responsibility: Housing focuses on engagement and services, while NQL focuses on compliance, enforcement, and long-term site stabilization.
PUBLIC SAFETY, FINANCE AND STRATEGIC SUPPORT COMMITTEE
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Subject: Neighborhood Quality of Life Team and Enhanced Engagement Program Status Report
In addition to PRNS and the Housing Department, the NQL Team regularly coordinates with the Office of the City Attorney, Environmental Services, San Jose Animal Care and Services, Valley Water, Caltrans and the California Highway Patrol, Union Pacific Railroad, the Valley Transportation Authority, the Department of Veterans Affairs, and Santa Clara County partners such as the Behavioral Health Services Department, the Mission Street Recovery Station Center, and Trusted Response Urgent Support Team (TRUST). These partnerships help align enforcement with abatement logistics, environmental compliance, and access to specialized support services, particularly in complex locations such as creeks, railroad corridors, and state- or utility-owned properties.
Enforcement Approach at Large Encampments
At large or complex encampments, the NQL Team applies a graduated enforcement model informed by site history, outreach status, and safety considerations. Officers prioritize education on the Code of Conduct for Encampments, voluntary compliance, and referrals to services when appropriate. When enforcement is necessary, actions range from warnings and citations to arrests and warrant enforcement, depending on the nature of the violation and individual circumstances.
The NQL Team routinely coordinates enforcement timing with Housing outreach efforts and PRNS abatement schedules to avoid duplicative or counterproductive actions. This approach is intended to balance service access with the City’s obligation to maintain public spaces, protect infrastructure, and address ongoing impacts to surrounding neighborhoods.
Data, Accountability, and Early Outcomes
In May 2025, the Police Department developed a formal scorecard in coordination with PRNS, the Housing Department, the Environmental Services Department, and the Department of Transportation. The scorecard tracks contacts, enforcement actions, service offers, referrals, and operational impacts, including time reassigned to abatement support. Early data shows that the majority of NQL activity is proactive and self-initiated, focused primarily on City-owned property and public-use infrastructure.
The associated dashboard, developed with support from PD’s Crime Analysis Unit, is an instrumental tool for demonstrating the citywide effect of proactive enforcement in locations that were previously addressed primarily through call-for-service response and for informing future deployment decisions.
The scorecard also captures outreach and service-related activity, including education on the Code of Conduct for Encampments and referrals to the County’s TRUST program and other resources, reinforcing the team’s integrated role within the City’s encampment response framework.
PUBLIC SAFETY, FINANCE AND STRATEGIC SUPPORT COMMITTEE
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Subject: Neighborhood Quality of Life Team and Enhanced Engagement Program Status Report
Together, these elements reflect an implementation approach that emphasizes coordination, accountability, and sustained follow-through, with the NQL Team serving as a critical operational partner to the Housing Department’s EEP and PRNS in addressing complex quality-of-life challenges citywide.
Second Quarter Performance Snapshot (FY 2025–2026)
The following graphics provide a snapshot of the NQL Team’s activity during the second quarter of the 2025–2026 fiscal year. These metrics summarize how the team was deployed, contacts, demographics, the enforcement and engagement actions taken, and the extent of coordination with outreach and service providers.
The data in Figure 1 is intended to illustrate the operational role of the NQL Team within the City’s broader encampment response framework, including proactive work in NEZs, follow-up after abatements, and enforcement actions taken in coordination with the Housing Department and PRNS. Together, these figures provide context for workload, operational focus, and early outcomes associated with the NQL Team’s implementation during this reporting period.
PUBLIC SAFETY, FINANCE AND STRATEGIC SUPPORT COMMITTEE
January 29, 2026
Subject: Neighborhood Quality of Life Team and Enhanced Engagement Program Status Report
Figure 1. NQL Performance Scorecard for Q2 FY 2025-2026 (October 1, 2025 through December 31, 2025)
Parks, Recreation, and Neighborhood Services: NEZs and Code of Conduct/Good Neighbor Policy
PRNS established the first NEZ in 2024 along the Guadalupe River Park and Trail area between Julian Street and Woz Way. An NEZ is an area that has been cleared of encampments, signage designating the area as a NEZ has been installed, and where encampments that are reestablished are abated without additional notice. NEZs are clearly marked with signage that includes a map of the area that has been designated as a NEZ. Once established, these areas are regularly monitored by the BeautifySJ NEZ Team in coordination with the NQL Team. This team working through BeautifySJ and PD can monitor and then immediately remove any encampments found in the area.
A72-hour abatement notice is not required.
NEZs are located along waterways to protect the environment and comply with stormwater permit regulations. They are also near City of San José EIH sites to prevent encampments from forming nearby. These zones help protect people, neighborhoods, and our environment.
Metrics
Table 1 and Table 2 show current and upcoming NEZ segment miles and EIH sites, respectively.
Table 1. NEZs - Creek and River Segments (miles)
Current NEZ Upcoming NEZ Total NEZ
Guadalupe River NEZ 9.82 0 9.82
Coyote Creek NEZ 13.76 3.45 17.21
Penitencia Creek NEZ 1.96 0 1.96
Silver Creek NEZ 0 3.18 3.18
Los Gatos Creek NEZ 0.26 0 0.26
Total 24.68 miles 7.75 miles 32.43 miles
PUBLIC SAFETY, FINANCE AND STRATEGIC SUPPORT COMMITTEE
January 29, 2026
Subject: Neighborhood Quality of Life Team and Enhanced Engagement Program Status Report
Table 2. NEZ – Emergency Interim Housing Locations
1. Felipe EIH
2. Mabury EIH
3. Evans Lane EIH
4. Branham/Monterey EIH
5. Bernal EIH
6. Via Del Oro EIH
7. Rue Ferrari EIH
8. Guadalupe EIH
9. Santa Teresa Safe Parking
10. Taylor Street Navigation Center
11. Great Oaks Blvd and Endicott*
*Area added as part of City Council Direction
Three additional NEZ areas are planned through June 2026:
1. Lower Silver Creek between Alum Rock Ave and McKee / Plata Arroyo Park
2. Lower Silver Creek between I-680 and San Antonio Street/ Mayfair Park
3. Yerba Buena Creek and Thompson Creek / Evergreen Park between Villa Vista Road and Thompson Creek confluence
The NEZ pilot was originally staffed with a team of four people to monitor approximately 15 miles, along with several select locations. The NEZ pilot has a performance target of visiting each area two to three times per week, with BeautifySJ staff engaging and educating residents on the NEZ, monitoring and taking action to ask people to relocate or immediately abate. This prevents encampments from remaining longer than 48 hours.
The NEZ program has proven effective and useful at preserving progress. It has also become very popular, with many additional NEZ areas requested. Since the launch of the pilot program, NEZ coverage has expanded to 33 miles along waterway areas and 11 non-waterway locations without corresponding staffing increases. As a result, monitoring frequency has been reduced to every seven to 10 days, and subsequent re-encampments have exceeded100 instances in the second quarter of FY 2025-2026. Instances of illegal dumping have also increased in these areas. The effectiveness of the NEZ program relies on staff capacity to frequently monitor and take action on any encampments within the NEZ areas. Capacity challenges have led to less frequent monitoring than what was originally planned for, and as expected, more frequent abatements as people return to NEZ areas in-between the monitoring visits that now occur every seven to 10 days. Addressing this situation will be evaluated as part of the 2026-2027 budget development process in the context of the projected General Fund shortfall and other critical City Council and Administration priorities.
Code of Conduct for Encampments (Good Neighbor) Guidelines
City Council adopted the initial encampment Good Neighbor Guidelines in March 2021.
These guidelines have since evolved into the Code of Conduct for Encampments guidelines to help keep shared spaces within the community safe. The Code of Conduct/Good Neighbor guidelines include a shared understanding that:
PUBLIC SAFETY, FINANCE AND STRATEGIC SUPPORT COMMITTEE
January 29, 2026
Subject: Neighborhood Quality of Life Team and Enhanced Engagement Program Status Report
• An encampment is kept within a 12’ length x 12’ width x 10’ height area, or within a lived-in vehicle (no items under or outside of the vehicle) • Public right-of-way is not blocked by the encampment or trash • Trash is set out for weekly pickup
• Biowaste is properly stored until pickup occurs
• Offers of shelter or housing are accepted when offered Good Neighbor Guidelines/Code of Conduct flyers can be found here in English, Spanish, and Vietnamese.
BeautifySJ staff posts these guidelines at every known encampment and at lived-in vehicles within the City of San José every six months as part of their scheduled quarterly encampment cleanliness scoring and encampment area update process.
These education and engagement efforts are documented by location and shared with partner Departments. BeautifySJ maintains a dashboard and documents the notification and engagement to assist the NQL Team in taking action when behavior escalates, and such documentation is needed to help show proof that people were notified. New encampments that are found outside of the six-month scheduled posting and are not subject to immediate abatement are also posted with the Code of Conduct for Encampment guidelines, with BeautifySJ staff conducting outreach and engaging with the unhoused community in understanding the guidelines to keep the shared community safe and clean.
Housing Department: Enhanced Engagement Program
Since receiving City Council direction, the Housing Department’s implementation efforts have centered on realigning the City’s outreach model, building internal capacity, and preparing to launch the EEP as a component of the outreach and engagement function that supports Code of Conduct for Encampments.
Program Approach and Resource Alignment
The Housing Department has reorganized and reset the approach to homeless outreach and engagement and the implementation of the EEP is the third phase of this reorganization. The focus of the reorganization has been to realign the City’s overall outreach model to more effectively implement the Targeted Outreach and Engagement Program and achieve shelter throughput goals.
As part of this strategy, the Housing Department made intentional reductions to thirdparty outreach contractor roles, reallocated funding and capacity toward the expansion of internal outreach staffing and functions in order to improve data collection and deployment capabilities. Additionally, the changes will support long-term sustainability, improve coordination with other City Departments and initiatives, and ensure greater consistency, accountability, and data integrity across outreach activities. While nonprofit partners such as PATH and HomeFirst continue to play a critical role in providing
PUBLIC SAFETY, FINANCE AND STRATEGIC SUPPORT COMMITTEE
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Subject: Neighborhood Quality of Life Team and Enhanced Engagement Program Status Report
outreach services across much of the City under the new quadrant system as discussed below.
Program Infrastructure and Geographic Framework
The Housing Department has focused on building the internal infrastructure for the EEP.
The Department has developed a throughput model to guide how individuals move from encampments and EIH into shelter and motel resources, with an emphasis on clear prioritization and efficient use of limited capacity. Housing has also partnered with the City’s Public Works Geographic Information Systems (GIS) team to establish the quadrant system by dividing the City into four quadrants: north, south, east, and west, plus a dedicated downtown focus area, and has realigned the existing outreach team to concentrate on downtown encampments consistent with this framework as shown in Figure 2.
Figure 2. New Homelessness Response Outreach Zones
(Interactive Map: https://experience.arcgis.com/experience/f63650033b9a42aa95095e5288a7661d)
PUBLIC SAFETY, FINANCE AND STRATEGIC SUPPORT COMMITTEE
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Subject: Neighborhood Quality of Life Team and Enhanced Engagement Program Status Report
Staffing and Implementation Timeline
Staffing the EEP has required close coordination with PRNS and the Human Resources Department. Positions have been moved from PRNS to the Housing Department to build out the new team, and the Department has developed a staffing model that identifies the mix of classifications needed to support field outreach, coordination, and data functions. The EEP outreach model is designed to operate with two-person field teams to support safety, coverage, and continuity of engagement.
Because not all positions could be converted at once, the Housing Department is proceeding with phased hiring, with onboarding planned for February 2026. Currently, the EEP team plans to operate with three Community Coordinators and two Community Activity Workers. These positions are currently in the process to be filled. As these positions are filled, the Housing Department will continue to balance EEP responsibilities with ongoing citywide obligations for shelter operations, contract management, and encampment engagement.
Although the EEP is not yet fully staffed, much of the program’s underlying structure is now in place. The Department has clarified geographic coverage, developed the prioritization and throughput approach, and begun aligning existing outreach resources with the future EEP model. The next phase of implementation will focus on bringing new staff on board, finalizing standard operating procedures, and building the data and performance measurement tools needed to report consistently on EEP activities and outcomes.
Lessons Learned
Early implementation has underscored the importance of sequencing shelter expansion with new policy expectations. Implementation experience demonstrates that it is not feasible to fully operationalize an enhanced outreach model until sufficient shelter and motel capacity is available and functioning. The work to stand up motels, implement the Columbus Park demobilization, open the Taylor Street Navigation Hub, and bring nearly all remaining shelter supply online has been resource-intensive but necessary groundwork for the EEP.
Another lesson relates to the complexity of cross-departmental staffing and role transitions as outreach capacity is consolidated into the Housing Department. The process contributed to the need for phased hiring but also resulted in clearer roles and responsibilities for the new team and a more thoughtful alignment of existing outreach resources with the future EEP structure.
BeautifySJ has learned that it is necessary to coordinate and document a systematic and thoughtful approach to periodic notification of every encampment and lived-in vehicle in the City. This approach allows BeautifySJ to work together with the NQL Team to monitor NEZs and other priority areas, document monitoring efforts, and work
PUBLIC SAFETY, FINANCE AND STRATEGIC SUPPORT COMMITTEE
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Subject: Neighborhood Quality of Life Team and Enhanced Engagement Program Status Report
with the Housing Department, the County’s behavioral health services, and others to connect people in the unhoused community with resources. The documentation has also been critical to better understand shifts in demographics and geography of where people are establishing encampments and determining workload and resources needed.
Finally, implementation to date highlights the value of having clear geographic alignment and a defined throughput model. Establishing quadrants and a downtown focus area and developing a structured approach to prioritizing placements into shelter and motel capacity have helped the Housing Department manage limited resources more strategically and will provide a stronger foundation for EEP operations once the team is fully staffed.
Challenges and Opportunities
Challenges
For the NQL Team, locating encampments and conducting enforcement in rough terrain, creeks, embankments, and other sites that are generally off the beaten path is common. Some of the challenges involve aggressive individuals, individuals experiencing mental illness and substance use disorders, multijurisdictional sites with limited access, violent offenders, dangerous manmade structures, and aggressive animals. These challenges are common across areas such as creeks, rivers, railroad corridors, buildings, aqueducts, bridges, trails, parks, and the downtown area. Officer safety is paramount. NQL officers are cross-trained in de-escalation and advanced Crisis Intervention Training, are required to maintain a high level of physical fitness, and utilize specialized off-road vehicles, tools, and equipment to safely and effectively conduct enforcement in a non-traditional street/residential/business setting. In addition, these activities are carried out by a limited deployment model, currently consisting of six officers and one sergeant, serving the entire city of San José, which constrains overall capacity and requires prioritization across a large geographic area and a high volume of complex, high-risk situations.
For the NEZs managed by BeautifySJ and the NQL Team, staff have recognized that, while successful and popular, the current staffing and resource models for the NEZs have limitations, with diminished capacity to monitor and take action in NEZ areas consistently having an impact on NEZ response times and NQL goals. Competing citywide demands and the need to coordinate closely with NQL and EEP teams can further stretch available capacity.
For the EEP in the Housing Department, key challenges include balancing simultaneous major initiatives, such as Columbus Park, motel openings, shelter expansion, and provider transitions, while also designing and standing up a new program; managing staffing constraints and classification conversions needed to build the EEP team; and advancing implementation in the absence of fully built-out data and reporting systems.
PUBLIC SAFETY, FINANCE AND STRATEGIC SUPPORT COMMITTEE
January 29, 2026
Subject: Neighborhood Quality of Life Team and Enhanced Engagement Program Status Report
These challenges have contributed to delays in fully operationalizing the EEP but have also clarified the prerequisites for sustainable implementation. Initial implementation is therefore beginning with a smaller cohort of staff due to staffing and resource constraints, with additional positions to be added as conversions are completed.
Across all three teams, developing shared datasets, common reporting tools, and aligned performance measures remains an ongoing challenge, particularly where activities overlap at specific encampments, along waterways, or within NEZs.
Opportunities
With most shelter capacity now online and the EEP’s structural framework largely established, the City is well-positioned to move into a more proactive and coordinated phase of encampment engagement. Phased hiring in early 2026 will allow Housing to bring on new staff while refining procedures and tools, and the existing throughput model provides a strong foundation for future work. As the EEP, NQL Team, and PRNS efforts continue to develop, there is an opportunity to build integrated performance measures, leverage the City’s enterprise reporting framework to align datasets internally and externally where appropriate, support shared scorecards, and strengthen consistent geographic reporting that will give the City Council and community a clearer picture of how these workstreams are impacting encampments and surrounding neighborhoods.
Consistent with the Citywide Data Strategy4, this approach will organize information into public-facing communications (such as the Reducing Unsheltered Homelessness Focus Area Scorecard), strategic-level reporting for elected officials and executives, and tactical data for departmental staff, ensuring timely updates for each stakeholder group while appropriately protecting sensitive information.
Next Steps
For the NQL Team, next steps include continuing to use the new NQL scorecard and dashboard to monitor enforcement activity and outcomes and applying that information to plan and prioritize future large-scale enforcement and abatement operations in highimpact areas in collaboration with BeautifySJ, the Housing Department, and other partners.
For PRNS and the NEZ program, next steps include continuing to manage and monitor NEZ locations in close coordination with the NQL Team and the Enhanced Engagement Program. Addressing current resource and bandwith capactiy situation will be evaluated as part of the 2026-2027 budget development process in the context of the projected General Fund shortfall and other critical City Council and Administration priorities.. 4 Citywide Data Strategy (Enterprise Reporting Framework, page 8):
https://www.sanjoseca.gov/home/showpublisheddocument/122594
PUBLIC SAFETY, FINANCE AND STRATEGIC SUPPORT COMMITTEE
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Subject: Neighborhood Quality of Life Team and Enhanced Engagement Program Status Report
For the EEP in the Housing Department, near-term next steps include: (1) completing phased hiring for the EEP team in February, including finalizing necessary position conversions; (2) formalizing standard operating procedures for outreach, encampment engagement, and coordination with shelter and motel providers; (3) refining the throughput model as Cerone and other remaining shelter capacity come online; and (4) developing a data collection and reporting framework that clearly articulates what information will be tracked (such as encampment contacts, offers of shelter or housing, and placements) and how it will be shared with City Council and partner departments.
Concurrently, PD, PRNS and Housing will continue to coordinate their respective implementation workstreams. Together, these efforts represent the “clear, preserve, and restore” components of the City’s broader Engage, Shelter, Clear, Preserve, Restore framework, and are intended to complement ongoing work to engage unsheltered residents and expand shelter and housing options across the city.
COORDINATION
This memorandum has been coordinated with the City Attorney’s Office and City Manager’s Budget Office.
Paul Joseph
Chief of Police, Police Department
/s/
Erik L. Soliván
Director, Housing Department
/s/
Jon Cicirelli
Director, Parks, Recreation and
Neighborhood Services Department
For questions regarding the Neighborhood Quality of Life Team, please contact Sergeant Steven Aponte, Police Department, at [email protected].
For questions regarding PRNS, BeautifySJ, and/or NEZs, please contact Olympia Williams at [email protected].
For questions regarding the Enhanced Engagement Program, please contact Cupid Alexander, Deputy Director, Housing Department, at [email protected].