County of Santa Clara
Office of the County Executive
County Government Center, East Wing
70 West Hedding Street
San Jose, California 95110
(408) 299-5105
Board of Supervisors: Sylvia Arenas, Betty Duong, Otto Lee, Susan Ellenberg, Margaret Abe-Koga Page 1 of 3 County Executive: James R. Williams
March 2, 2026
San José City Council
200 E. Santa Clara St.
San Jose, CA 95113
Subject: Support for the City of San José’s Climate Adaptation & Resilience Plan (Agenda Item 6.1)
Dear Honorable Mayor Mahan and City Councilmembers,
The County of Santa Clara Office of Sustainability and Resilience (OSR) supports the City of San José’s Climate Adaptation & Resilience Plan (CARP), which seeks to mitigate the impacts of climate change on our community’s residents, infrastructure, and ecosystems while advancing equity for vulnerable populations. The goals of the CARP align closely with OSR’s ongoing initiatives, particularly the Santa Clara County Climate Collaborative (SC4).
SC4 is a multi-sector network and community of practice dedicated to advancing regional climate solutions. Through capacity building and knowledge sharing, the SC4 network unites members under a common vision, activating partnerships to design and implement community resilience projects.
SC4 operates through six work groups, with focal points ranging from climate mitigation and resilience efforts to equity implementation and the development of resilience hubs. The work groups are Climate Pollution Reduction Grant, Equity in Community, Flooding and Sea Level Rise, Heat and Air Quality Resilience, Santa Clara Valley Urban Forestry Alliance, and Resilience Hubs.
Strategic alignment will these SC4 work groups, as well as with other OSR efforts, can streamline and amplify the impact of the CARP and the SC4 network, specifically in the following:
• Measure 1 Site- and System-Specific Vulnerability Studies (Strategy VS-2) and Measure 13 Community Serving Facility and Resilience Hubs (Strategy RH-4): This strategy aligns with the goals of the Resilience Hubs Work Group, which coordinates regional resilience hub strategies. Participation in this group can help establish best practices, facilitate the identification of optimal sites and facilities for these hubs, and support building a resilience hub network.
• Measure 3 Shoreline Adaptation Plan: The City of José is one of the partners in an OSR- led project to develop the Santa Clara County Shoreline Adaptation Plan (SCCSAP). The development of this multi-jurisdictional plan, which also includes the Cities of Palo Alto, Mountain View, Sunnyvale, Milpitas, and Santa Clara, as well as Valley Water and Valley Transportation Authority, is funded by Ocean Protection Council through its Senate Bill 1 Sea Level Rise Adaptation Grant Program. Projects identified in the SCCSAP will be Docusign Envelope ID: 6C640723-49B1-4A59-B32B-5C31009EAD2D County of Santa Clara
Office of the County Executive
County Government Center, East Wing
70 West Hedding Street
San Jose, California 95110
(408) 299-5105
Board of Supervisors: Sylvia Arenas, Betty Duong, Otto Lee, Susan Ellenberg, Margaret Abe-Koga Page 2 of 3 County Executive: James R. Williams
prioritized for implementation funding. The Flooding and Sea Level Rise Work Group will be leveraged for this grant.
• Measure 6 Agency Collaboration: OSR recommends that the City of San José consider leveraging the existing SC4 network to maximize regional efficiency before moving forward with developing a separate collaborative structure. For example, aside from engagement and leadership with SC4 (as stated in Strategy AC-2), actively engaging with work groups, such as the Climate Pollution Reduction Grant, Flooding and Sea level Rise, Heat and Air Quality Resilience, and Resilience Hubs, will be key to identifying and carrying out collaboration and coordination activities with other agencies in the SC4 network. We also recommend these additional tracking metrics for this measure:
o Number of cross-jurisdictional projects identified, funded, and/or implemented o Number of policies aligned regional due to collaboration with other agencies • Measure 7 Advisory Groups and Measure 19 Community-Based Organizations:
Engagement with the Equity in Community Work Group – where local non-profits, CBOs, and cross-jurisdictional partners connect on equitable climate action – can facilitate deeper coordination with community partners and liaisons. This will help support identifying advisory groups for climate resilience (Strategy AG-1) and establishing formalized collaborative relationships with CBOs in the city (Strategy CBO-1). • Measure 13 (Resilience Hubs): These measures align with the goals of the Resilience Hubs Work Group, which coordinates regional resilience hub strategies. Participation in this group can help establish best practices and facilitate the identification of optimal sites and facilities for these hubs.
• OSR recommends prioritizing the integration of nature-based solutions (NbS), such as urban forestry, urban greening, and/or green stormwater infrastructure, in design standards by default and actively exploring opportunities to choose solutions that provide multiple benefits to decrease climate impacts like flooding and extreme heat. Discussions on these opportunities can be supported through the Santa Clara Valley Urban Forestry Alliance, Heat and Air Quality Resilience, and Flooding and Sea Level Rise Work Groups. These can apply to the following Measures and Strategies:
o Measure 9 Resilient City Infrastructure Design Standards (Strategy CD-1) o Measure 10 Resilient Design Standards for Private Development (Strategy PD-1) o Measure 14 Green Stormwater Infrastructure (Strategy Gs-3) o Measure 16 Urban Heat Mitigation (Strategy UH-3)
o Measure 17 Transit Facilities (Strategy TF-3)
Finally, OSR notes that where the CARP suggests collaboration with SC4, such efforts should be coordinated through the County of Santa Clara (County), as OSR provides the administrative and fiscal support for the Collaborative. Additionally, for clarity and accuracy please correct the reference to the SC4 Resilience Fund in Strategy AC-3 to Santa Clara County Resilience Fund.
Docusign Envelope ID: 6C640723-49B1-4A59-B32B-5C31009EAD2D County of Santa Clara
Office of the County Executive
County Government Center, East Wing
70 West Hedding Street
San Jose, California 95110
(408) 299-5105
Board of Supervisors: Sylvia Arenas, Betty Duong, Otto Lee, Susan Ellenberg, Margaret Abe-Koga Page 3 of 3 County Executive: James R. Williams
OSR looks forward to continued collaboration with the City of San José to advance this important plan to improve the climate resilience and overall health and well-being of local residents.
Sincerely,
Cayce Hill, Director
Office of Sustainability and Resilience, County of Santa Clara
Docusign Envelope ID: 6C640723-49B1-4A59-B32B-5C31009EAD2D