San José Mayor, Vice Mayor and Councilmembers Streamline Solutions to Homelessness
City leaders push city to expedite the creation of safe places for San José’s homeless residents
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
October 2nd, 2023
Media Contact:
Tasha Dean, Chief Communications Officer, Office of Mayor Matt Mahan, [email protected]
SAN JOSÉ, CA - Today, San José Mayor Matt Mahan, alongside Vice Mayor Rosemary Kamei, Councilmember David Cohen and Councilmember Omar Torres, announced a new ordinance aimed at reducing the barriers that slow down the creation of immediate solutions to unsheltered homelessness.
“We called homelessness an emergency long before the pandemic, and we’ll be calling it an emergency long after – unless we start treating it like one,” said San José Mayor Matt Mahan. “This ordinance matches action to rhetoric by removing unnecessary barriers preventing us from scaling the shelter we need.”
The memo, which will be voted on this Wednesday at the Rules and Open Government Committee meeting, would expedite site creation by suspending local land use and zoning requirements for temporary housing, streamline construction processes while ensuring compliance with local laws, and grant the City Manager procurement authority while maximizing flexibility for immediate solutions to the homelessness crisis. This ordinance extends and deepens prior declarations put forward in 2015 and 2022.
“Our community and our unhoused neighbors have reached a point of severe crisis that cannot and should not be ignored. It is imperative for us – as policymakers and as human beings – to confront that crisis and put San Jose on track to real solutions,” said Vice Mayor Rosemary Kamei.
Unlike similar emergency declarations made in L.A. City and County, this ordinance is specifically tailored to cut red tape surrounding the creation of low barrier solutions to homelessness, and better aligns city processes to match recently passed State legislation for permanent affordable housing.
“San Jose's residents have become increasingly frustrated by the slow progress on addressing homelessness,” said District Four Councilmember David Cohen. “While we have made progress, we need to do so at a faster pace. After several years of asking our residence for patience, all of our patience is understandably wearing thin. This action to declare a homelessness crisis in combination with the memo we are discussing at this week's Rules Committee meeting will help us remove barriers that often increase timelines for action.”
"Addressing homelessness as the crisis it is demands unwavering commitment,” said District Three Councilmember Omar Torres. “Together, we can build a brighter future for San José, where everyone, regardless of their background, has a safe and stable place to come home by building up our emergency housing stock. As a council, we must eliminate barriers and streamline procurement, site selection, and approval to address our crisis."
This ordinance focuses on expediting the creation of immediate solutions to homelessness like San Jose’s Quick Build Communities due to their proven successes. Of the over 1500 people who have entered one of San Jose’s Quick Build Communities, 70% remain housed today, with 50% successfully exiting to permanent affordable housing. Since the implementation of these sites in 2020, the City has seen the first declines in unsheltered homelessness in nearly a decade. In fact, this year’s Point in Time Count conducted by Santa Clara County showed an over 10% reduction in San Jose’s unsheltered homelessness population.
“I saw the opportunity with tiny homes,” said Jaime Navarro, a former resident of interim housing. “I took that opportunity to check them out, and they had a lot of good things to offer there…a lot of things that got me back on my feet.”
“The City of San Jose is to be commended for recognizing homelessness as a true crisis and committing to use all legal and administrative flexibility within its power to bring people indoors quickly. We are proud to partner with San Jose to make this a model for all cities across the State,” said Elizabeth Funk, CEO and Founder of DignityMoves.
Those interested in watching the upcoming Rules and Open Government Committee meeting can do so on the City of San José YouTube channel.
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About the City of San José
With nearly one million residents, San José is the largest city in the Bay Area and one of the nation's most diverse and creative. San José’s transformation into a global innovation center in the heart of Silicon Valley has resulted in the world's greatest concentration of technology talent and development.