After tallying the votes, San Jose lawmakers locked in six new policy priorities for next year at Tuesday’s San Jose City Council meeting. Prior to the meeting, councilors nominated over two dozen ideas to pave the way for city officials to manage their works load and put the council’s most important initiatives first. Tuesday’s vote to add six new items to the...
San Jose City Council to decide its newest priorities
The San Jose City Council is set to lay the groundwork for its goals over the next year. Ahead of Tuesday’s meeting, councilors nominated 28 ideas for the process that will assist city officials with managing their work loads and prioritizing the council’s most important initiatives. Here are a few of the nominations: Streamline the...
No more shredded tents: San Jose unveils new homeless sweeps policy
San Jose officials will now give homeless residents 15 minutes to pack up their belongings, avoid cutting their tents and provide ample notice in multiple languages before sweeping encampments, elected leaders decided this week. The San Jose City Council on Tuesday approved revised guidelines for homeless sweeps as part of a new agreement with the...
Google in San Jose: Who signed non-disclosure agreements?
Nearly 20 San Jose officials signed non-disclosure agreements in 2017 at the behest of Google as the tech giant explored building a massive campus in downtown San Jose. The agreements became a major sticking point for advocates who claimed the massive land deal was cloaked in secrecy and that the public deserved to know the...
San Jose City Council talks Measure T, closing the ‘digital divide’
As San Jose prepares to roll out millions of dollars in Measure T funding this summer, city leaders on Tuesday discussed their plans to divvy up the money across the city. Measure T – a $650 million bond that was passed in November by nearly 70 percent of voters – is earmarked for public safety, infrastructure and...
Bramson: Evans Lane homeless housing is a model for others
On a Tuesday evening in January, San Jose City Council sat in chambers considering a rezoning application and planned development permit for a piece of property on Evans Lane. The site, a city-owned parcel purchased for the purpose of affordable housing over a decade ago, had sat vacant for years, with the grass growing high...
Measure T funding plans top San Jose City Council agenda
From 388 miles of street repairs to two new fire stations, flood protection and an emergency operations center, San Jose elected leaders on Tuesday will discuss projects funded by a newly-passed bond. Measure T, a $650 million bond for infrastructure, public safety and disaster preparedness, was approved by nearly 70 percent of voters in November....
Liccardo’s focus in 2019: Housing, housing, housing
Sam Liccardo easily won four more years as San Jose mayor in November, but the high-profile former attorney faces a Gordian Knot of intersecting issues entering his second term — especially the intractable housing crisis. Upon his swearing in four years ago, Liccardo contended with a bitter pension battle that ended in a mass exodus...