New Sludge Treatment Facility Promises to Reduce Odors in North San Jose | |
I was joined this week by City Staff, members of California Water, and our partners in the city of Santa Clara at a ground breaking for the new Digested Sludge Dewatering Facility in North San Jose. The new facility is part of a 10-year, $1.4B Capital Improvement Program intended to improve and modernize the San Jose-Santa Clara Regional Wastewater Facility. | |
The $164 million sludge dewatering facility, projected to be completed by 2025, will free up 750 acres of valuable land, reduce odors in the community and comply with new organic waste regulations. The wastewater facility treats over 100 million gallons of wastewater daily from the toilets, sinks, showers, and drains of 1.4 million residents and over 17,000 businesses and also helps keep the Bay clean and supports a diverse ecosystem of birds, fish, and wetland habitat. | |
Removing Barriers to New Housing Construction | |
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Since my 1st day in office, I have been focused on opening north San Jose for development. I’m excited that in addition to being one of the economic engines that drives our city, it will also become the main area in the city for building affordable housing. In fact, the first project, a 100% affordable housing project of 500 units, is scheduled for action at next week’s council meeting.
Watch my press conference where I discuss the council's actions this week to move development in North San Jose forward and highlight Charities Housing's planned affordable housing project, which is now able to move forward.
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I’m grateful to the city of Santa Clara for recognizing the benefits to all of us in moving to the next phase and I want to thank Mayor Liccardo for his partnership as we engaged the Santa Clara policymakers to move our two cities through the impasse we were experiencing.
As the first 8000 of 32,000 proposed housing units in North San Jose were built, almost none of them were set aside as affordable units. This is why I submitted a memo with Councilmember Peralez and Mayor Liccardo to include a strong commitment to achieve 20% affordable housing for the rest of North San Jose’s build-out. Also, as our city grows, want to make sure we maximize density as we build, especially if we are going to convert some commercially zoned properties to residential.
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Celebrating the Development of Baypointe Park with the Community. | |
My staff and I spent yesterday evening celebrating with over a 100 residents in the Baypointe Neighborhood. We were joined by SJPD, who provided much needed ice cream and 3-3-3 food truck that provided an eclectic fusion menu. Would you like us to hold a celebration in your neighborhood? Email Hugo, our community liaison. | I'd also like to take a moment and acknowledge the unsung heroes that have helped many of us through the challenges we've faced during the pandemic; our dogs, many of whom came to Baypointe Park to celebrate with us yesterday. | |
- CITY BUDGET PROCESS CONTINUES
- APPLY FOR A CITY BOARD OR COMMISSION
- MAY PARK VOLUNTEER EVENTS
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Get Involved with the San José Budget Process | |
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Community budget meetings give the City Council and City staff valuable insight that is vital to ensuring the upcoming year’s budget reflects the needs of San José. Residents are invited to lend their thoughts and help shape San José’s budget at community meetings happening throughout the month of May both in-person and over Zoom.
Saturday, May 21 from 10:00 am to 12:00 pm
Monday, May 23 from 6:00 pm to 8:00 pm
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SERVE YOUR COMMUNITY BY APPLYING TO A BOARD OR COMMISSION | |
The City of San Jose is always on the lookout for residents who have an interest in joining a board or commission. Their purpose is to advise the city council and to provide ongoing input into policies and issues that affect the future of our City. Applications are accepted year round and if you'd like to be more civically engaged, I'm sure there's a board or commission that matches your interests. Visit here to see a full list. | |
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We are currently in search of applicants for the Planning Commission. This commission serves as one of the most vital and foundational advisory bodies to the City Council and staff. This commission deals with General Plan amendments, rezonings, tentative maps, appeals of environmental impact reports, and more. Please email my office if you have any further questions. You can also apply directly by going here.
In addition, we have a vacancy on the Library and Education Commission. We will be accepting applications over the next few weeks so we can appoint somebody by the end of June.
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The Berryessa Community Center is also in need of board members. The last 2 years of pandemic have created unique challenges for the community center and we're looking for new leadership to help spearhead efforts to evolve existing programs and create new ones that reflect the changing needs and requirements of the community. Please email Karen Aguirre if you're interested in being a Board Member. | |
MAY PARK VOLUNTEER EVENTS | |
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Parks, Recreation and Neighborhood Services has one last volunteer opportunity in May. Please sign up to volunteer and help keep our District 4 parks beautiful!
Community Cleanup at Northwood Park
Autumnvale Dr. & Lakewood Dr. San José, CA 95132
Date & Time
Saturday, May 28
8:45 a.m. - noon
40 volunteers max
Register for the Community Cleanup at Northwood Park event
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THURSDAY, MAY 12, 2022 @ 5:00 P.M. | |
SLAM VIRTUAL YOUTH CONFERENCE | |
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Please join the AACI (Asian American for Community Involvement) Youth Program for their annual youth SLAM (Sports, Leadership, Arts, Media) Conference on May 20th and 21st.
This is a FREE virtual event for Santa Clara County Youth, ages 12-18. The conference will feature Nirvana Soul's co-founder, Be'Anka Ashaolu, Google Sports Analyst and Warriors Game Day Statistician, Annanya Raghavan, filmmaker and Netflix's Gentefied co-creator, Linda Yvette-Chavez, plus a performance by Ashley Mehta.
Youth will receive a conference kit and can win raffle prizes throughout the two-day event. Register for this event at tinyurl.com/AACISLAM22
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SMALL BUSINESS RENT RELIEF PROGRAM | |
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Attention San Jose business-owners! A new grant program opens May 3!
New grants of up to $15,000 are available, starting May 3. It is designed to help small business owners pay back-due rent that they couldn’t pay because of COVID-19.
300 businesses are expected to receive a grant with awards varying from $5,000, $10,000 and a maximum of $15,000. This is not a ‘first come first served’ program. A lottery system will be used to select recipients.
The grant program will be launched at 1 p.m. on Tuesday May 3 and close at 5 p.m. on May 30, 2022.
Is your business eligible?
· You must be able to show outstanding commercial-property rent debt that you owe from March 24, 2020 through August 19, 2021.
· Your business must have annual gross receipts less than $3 million.
· Your business must have 10 or fewer full-time employees including the business owner.
· Businesses must have been in business prior to March 24, 2020.
How do I apply?
Submit a complete application online or in-person at the offices of Enterprise Foundation (Access SBDC) before 5 p.m. May 30, 2022. To learn more, please visit the website.
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AFFORDABLE HOUSING MONTH EVENT | |
Affordable Housing Month Event: The San José Housing Department and County Office of Supportive Housing are co-hosting a virtual event as part of SV@Home’s Affordable Housing Month. The session, titled “Emergency Interim Housing Case Studies in the City of San José,” is designed to help San José residents understand the interim housing model and how it fits into the broader regional strategy for addressing homelessness. The virtual event is scheduled for Thursday, May 26 at 6 pm. Anyone may register to attend by clicking here. | |
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School Site Testing
Again, we encourage school staff and families to register for weekly school site testing, especially during this spring season. Schedules vary by site. Please contact your school to learn your weekly testing day. This registration process also provides permission for your students to be tested when they are considered a close contact for school exposure if response testing is available and helps expedite that process. As a reminder, if you are notified to pick up your child from school for exposure, please be sure to check them out from the office. Additional information for testing and isolation will be provided at that time.
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Free At-Home COVID-19 Tests for Everyone: Every home in the U.S., regardless of their insurance status, is eligible for a third round of EIGHT free at-home COVID-19 tests. Orders ship in 7-12 days. Order free at-home tests at www.covidtests.gov.
Need help placing an order for your at-home tests? Call 1-800-232-0233 (TTY 1-888-720-7489).
Avoid Fake COVID-19 Tests: The Federal Trade Commission (FTC) Division of Consumer and Business Education recently issued guidance on how to avoid purchasing fake COVID-19 tests. For more information, visit the FTC webpage.
Guidance to COVID-19 Testing Options: With the high demand for COVID-19 testing locally, the County Public Health Department offers guidance on what kind of test to use, when a test is needed, and where you should and should not go to get tested. The testing options are a PCR test, typically administered in a clinic or drive-through operation, and an antigen test, which is available for home use. To help inform residents about the COVID-19 testing options, we encourage you to share these social media assets.
Everyone 12 and older who is six months out from their second Pfizer or Moderna vaccine, or two months out from their Johnson & Johnson vaccine, is eligible for a COVID-19 booster shot. People over 50 or those with weakened immune systems can receive a second booster 4 months after they received the first booster.
No Appointment Necessary for COVID-19 Vaccinations: The vaccine clinic locations listed below do not require advance appointments, however, capacity and wait times may vary. Appointments are strongly encouraged and can be made at www.sccfreevax.org.
Vaccinations are free, and no insurance or proof of immigration status is required. Anyone age five or older is eligible. Staff will be onsite to support language needs and disability access. Individuals seeking vaccination are encouraged to arrive at least one hour before closing time. Additional clinic dates and locations are added frequently, check www.sccfreevax.org for the most up-to-date information. For Santa Clara County locations outside of San José, visit the County’s vaccinations web page.
Vaccination Sites
- North East Medical Services (NEMS) (1870 Lundy Ave., San José 95131)
- Santa Clara County Fairgrounds, Expo Hall (2542 Monterey Hwy., Gate D, San José 95111)
- Sun Pharmacy (2559 S. King Rd., San José 95122)
- Advance SJ Pharmacy (2331 Montpelier Dr., Suite A-10, San José 95116)
- Dan Hopner MD/Rom Romero PA (2060 Aborn Rd., Suite 100, San José 95121)
- Mexican Consulate (302 Enzo Dr. #200, San José 95138)
Testing Sites
- Santa Clara County Office of Education (OptumServe) (1290 Ridder Park Dr., San José 95131)
- Santa Clara Valley Transportation Authority (OptumServe) (3990 Zanker Rd., San José 95134)
- Valley Water (OptumServe/CDPH Bus) (5750 Almaden Expy., San José 95118)
- County Fairgrounds, Parking Lot A (Across from Gate B) (344 Tully Rd., San José 95111)
- Costco Business Center (OptumServe/CDPH Bus) (2376 S. Evergreen Loop, San José 95122)
- Grand Century Mall (OptumServe/CDPH Bus) (1111 Story Rd., San José 95122)
- Santa Clara Valley Transportation Authority (OptumServe) (2240 South 7th St., San José 95112)
- Central YMCA (1717 The Alameda, San José 95126)
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