Divided San Jose council approves police housing preference

A measure to allow San Jose Police Department personnel to jump to the front of the line in a new workforce housing effort has won approval. But the victory comes only after sharp dissent on the City Council, amid criticism the plan is unfair to other city workers.

The amendment, which modifies a recently approved voucher program subsidizing rent for 197 apartments in a downtown high-rise, passed on a narrow 6-5 council vote Tuesday. Vice Mayor Pam Foley along with Councilmembers Rosemary Kamei, Bien Doan, Anthony Tordillos and Pamela Campos voted against the measure. The voucher program is open to all middle-income renters, but includes a preference for city workers.

The approval creates an additional preference specifically for SJPD employees in the applicant pool for a subset of 50 apartments in the building. These apartments would still be open to other applicants if they are not immediately filled, according to a memo outlining the proposal.

Backers made the case this housing benefit for police officers and other SJPD workers will help boost recruitment and retention efforts for the chronically understaffed department.

“With 114 vacant police officer positions, recruitment and retention is of paramount importance,” District 10 Councilmember George Casey, who championed the proposal, said at the meeting. “We know that the cost of housing is probably one of the largest, if not the largest, barriers we face.”

But other councilmembers argued the city shouldn’t play favorites amid a housing crunch that has made it hard for just about everyone to find an affordable place to live in San Jose.

“To take a specific classification or department and prioritize those employees for a limited special housing benefit just doesn’t feel right to me, and it isn’t fair to our employees,” Foley said.

San Jose Police Officers’ Association spokesperson Tom Saggau praised the move as a creative way to boost officer recruitment and retention.

“San Jose must focus on how to compete with other agencies for a shrinking pool of applicants, and this type of program will only help ensure there are enough officers to try and keep our city safe,” Saggau told San José Spotlight.

Tuesday’s vote will update the Lower Income Voucher Equity Program, an initiative first approved in February that aims to boost affordable housing in San Jose by subsidizing rents for middle-income tenants. Under the program’s first effort, the city will provide up to $11.2 million for vouchers at The Fay, a 23-story glass-walled luxury apartment complex in the SoFA District.

San Jose plans to become a master tenant at the property, entering into an agreement with ASJ Development, a subsidiary of Canada-based real estate company WestBank. As master tenant, the city will work out rental terms for the 197 apartments covered by the program. Qualifying tenants will pay lower monthly rents, depending on their income levels, and the city will cover the difference.

This proposed preference for SJPD workers first surfaced during February’s deliberations, but faced pushback at the time. Some warned the policy might violate fair housing law if it resulted in a discriminatory impact on a protected group. For example, the city may face legal jeopardy if a large number of the applicants who receive the set-aside homes are men.

Nevertheless, City Attorney Susana Alcala-Wood concluded the city’s approach is “strongly defensible.”

“Even if there is a claim of disparate impact against members of a protected group, the City can assert that the program serves the nondiscriminatory purpose of public safety by addressing one of the leading causes of hiring and retaining SJPD personnel and that there is no less discriminatory alternative available,” Alcala-Wood said in a memo.

Contact Keith Menconi at [email protected] or @KeithMenconi on X.