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Dear Neighbors,
Next week will mark my first 100 days in office. In that time, I’ve attended dozens of community meetings, built a District 3 office to serve our residents, and passed legislation to make San José safer, cleaner, and more affordable. Check out the recording of our Town Hall and our microsite with the links we shared to get caught up on what we’ve gotten done so far.
But we're not resting on our laurels by any means! This week we launched our District 3 website, I’m holding my first in person office hours on November 21st at Playback Coffee, and we’re looking for an intern to join our team to get hands on experience in how local government works.
As we head into the holiday season, I can’t help but feel grateful for the opportunity I have to serve our neighbors here in District 3.
Yours in community,
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Single stairway reform
In our October 28th Council meeting, we secured a commitment for City staff to evaluate a policy I have been fighting for since I was a planning commissioner: single stairway reform. The policy would explore a building code update to allow for apartment buildings of up to six stories to have a single staircase. This would enable more naturally affordable homes to be built on smaller and irregularly shaped lots that might otherwise sit empty. Research suggests that this change would help to lower construction costs by more than any housing incentive program the City has ever passed, meaning lower costs for San José families.
While this is an important first step, I’m committed to having robust engagement with our fire department and our building trades to make sure that optimizing housing construction doesn't come at the cost of safety. You can get updates on this and other housing policies I’m working on by signing up here.
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Homelessness services oversight
It is important to ensure that our unhoused neighbors are treated with dignity and respect even while enforcing our local laws and ordinances. That is why I co-authored a memo with Mayor Mahan, Vice Mayor Foley, and Councilmembers Kamei and Campos that will strengthen oversight of our homelessness service providers and ensure they are trained properly to handle personal belongings, while also making reasonable accommodations for unhoused persons with disabilities.
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Regulating ICE in San José
City Council, spearheaded by Councilmember Ortiz, took two major actions to protect our neighbors from aggression from Immigration and Customs Enforcement. The first action prohibited the use of face coverings and strictly required all law enforcement officers operating within the City to wear visible identification at all times. The second had Council take action to ensure no City-owned property will be used to conduct civil immigration enforcement activities.
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Smoke shop moratorium and nitrous oxide ban
When we think about a safer and more vibrant downtown, we're not thinking about smoke shops making unpermitted cannabis sales while displaying industrial sized canisters of nitrous oxide — also known as whippits — in the window.
Our office was eager to respond to the many concerns we’ve received from residents regarding the number of smoke shops in District 3 and the illegal sale of whippits. Whippits can do irreparable harm to cognitive function and as of November 4th, the City has passed an urgency ordinance that allows us to crack down on their sale at smoke shops, making it grounds to revoke a tobacco retailer license. Additionally, we took action to place a moratorium on the number of smoke shops in San José.
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Caltrans cleanup agreement
Too often we’ve had residents reach out about encampments in their neighborhoods, only to be told that the City’s hands are tied due to the land being Caltrans property. That’s starting to change, now that the City has entered into an agreement that allows us to perform cleanups on 13 Caltrans properties throughout San José, many of which are right here in District 3.
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Street safety projects coming to downtown
The City of San José will build five major street safety projects in Downtown over the next three years: Downtown Bikeways, Balbach Park Transportation Improvements, Julian-St. James Couplet, San Fernando Bikeway, and Willow Street Complete Street. Click here to read more about how these projects will calm traffic, make it safer and easier to bike and walk, and even make driving and parking more intuitive.
| | | One of my favorite ways to start the day is by helping families get safely to school! Between Walk to School Days and Crossing with a Councilmember, I’ve been able to stop by at Horace Mann, Washington, Olinder, and Notre Dame in the past few weeks to join students and families for their walks to school and step into the shoes of the crossing guards of our SJPD Safety Unit. Safer streets mean more families can walk to school and help us hit our city’s climate goals. | | We celebrated the spooky season across District 3! There was no shortage of fun and family events to attend, including the MLK Library's costume parade, the haunted house in Guadalupe Washington, the Symphonic Spooktacular at Symphony San José and neighborhood events across the district including in Japantown and the South University Neighborhood. | | We celebrated Día de los Muertos at the Mexican Heritage Plaza! The Avenida de Altares lit up the night with an altar walk that spanned from Alum Rock and King all the way to 101. It was a beautiful, vibrant evening that celebrated San José’s culture and community pride while honoring loved ones lost. | This week we celebrated Veterans Day, a day of gratitude for those who chose to serve our country and honor their courage and sacrifice. Thank you to the Military Officers of America Silicon Valley Chapter for putting on our 107th Veterans Day Parade. I’m proud to say that one of the largest parades honoring our veterans happens right here in the heart of District 3. | District 3 is the place to be for groundbreakings! This month we broke ground on the Algarve Apartments, an eight-story, 100% affordable housing project, with 24 of the 91 units permanently dedicated to supportive housing for veterans. We also joined the Salvation Army in breaking ground for the HOPE Community, a tiny home village for folks in recovery with 74 beds. There is no one size fits all solution to homelessness, which is why I’m such a proponent of a “yes, and” approach. | | San Jose Jazz's brings its Fall Series to a close in November and early December with some exciting shows in its clubby, intimate SJZ Break Room. On Fri, Nov 14 at 8pm hear romantic jazz crooner Allan Harris performing songs from his "The Poetry of Jazz" which layers jazz with spoken poetry. On Sat, Nov 15 at 8pm, saxophonist Alex Hahn rolls through on his "Reflections" Tour, which has him revisiting his greatest hits in exciting new arrangements. On Fri, Nov 21, regional favorite saxophonist Kristen Strom takes the stage with a band of Bay Area all stars including Scott Sorkin, Ken Okada and Jason Lewis. On Sat, Dec 6 at 8pm, they've saved one of the best shows for last: seasoned musical theater performer vocalist Ben Jones with Grammy Award winning pianist Laurence Hobgood. Grab your tickets now at sanjosejazz.org/tickets. | | | | |
If you ever have any questions or need any help, don't hesitate to contact us at:
District3@sanjoseca.gov
(408) 535 - 4903
All the best,
-Anthony
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