TO: RULES AND OPEN FROM: Councilmember Candelas
GOVERNMENT COMMITTEE Mayor Mahan
Councilmember Campos
Councilmember Casey
SUBJECT: SEE BELOW DATE: 04/16/2026
Approved Date
SUBJECT: Attracting Investment in Employment Lands
RECOMMENDATION
Direct the City Manager to develop and implement a targeted marketing strategy to attract companies to build and expand on designated employment lands throughout San José, and to return to City Council by the third quarter of FY 2026-2027. This work should be considered as a near-term goal in alignment with the Business Development Strategy to be developed under the Growing Our Economy Focus Area for Fiscal Year 2026-2027 and should include:
1. Proactive industry targeting focused on high-value sectors such as advanced manufacturing, clean technology, and high-tech industries;
2. Coordinated outreach and partnerships with commercial developers and site selectors;
3. Promotion of available employment sites and development opportunities through digital platforms and national industry events;
4. Clear communication of the City’s competitive advantages. The strategy should also incorporate permitting coordination, strategic incentives where appropriate, and collaboration with economic partners to position San José as a premier location for business investment.
RULES COMMITTEE: 04/22/2026
ITEM: C.2
RULES AND OPEN GOVERNMENT COMMITTEE
04/22/26
Subject: Attracting Investment in Employment Lands
BACKGROUND
This direction is in alignment with the City Council-approved 2025-2027 Economic Strategy Work Plan for the City Manager’s Office of Economic Development and Cultural Affairs as well as the City Council-approved Mayor’s March Budget Message for Fisal Year 2026-2027. The Envision San José 2040 General Plan identifies the preservation and intensification of employment lands as a critical strategy for maintaining fiscal sustainability and strengthening the City’s economic base. The Plan emphasizes protecting land designated for employment uses and promoting job growth to improve the City’s jobs-to-employed-resident ratio and increase revenue sources such as property tax, sales tax, and business tax that support core municipal services. Considering the City’s estimated combined General Fund shortfall over the next two years of approximately $83 million, protecting and developing these employment lands is essential to improving the revenue stream for the General Fund and ensuring the City can continue to provide high-quality services to residents.
By focusing on attracting the cluster of industries where San José has a comparative economic advantage we will realize the City’s economic development and general plan goals.
The signers of this memorandum have not had, and will not have, any private conversation with any other member of the City Council, or that member’s staff, concerning any action discussed in the memorandum, and that each signer’s staff members have not had, and have been instructed not to have, any such conversation with any other member of the City Council or that member's staff.