San Jose continues to explore tax or bond measure to address parks backlog

With San Jose already facing a substantial maintenance backlog and choppy fiscal waters polling information shows that backing for a tax or bond measure that would provide an infusion of new funds for city parks is lagging prompting city leaders to consider altering their approach to persuade more residents to buy-in Related Articles Where will the homeless in Columbus Park go when San Jose s largest encampment is cleared for revitalization project Tordillos slightly widens lead to enter runoff for San Jose City Council seat Latest vote tally shows another swing in the San Jose District City Council race Latest Line A good week for Loren Taylor a bad week for Omar Torres San Jose special balloting could see recount as one vote separates candidates vying for runoff City administrators explored placing a new parcel tax on the November ballot last year but ultimately withdrew it after a essential portion of the neighborhood felt financially squeezed and fears surfaced that the city s revenue initiative would fail While latest polling evidenced a parcel tax or bond measure both hovering around the mark falling well below the two-thirds threshold needed San Jose has not given up hope and may borrow from other cities prosperous playbooks to garner assistance on protecting specific of its preponderance treasured assets Trust in regime is an issue and that is obviously not improving as we all know All you have to do is turn on the TV and watch your national politics Parks Recreation and Neighborhood Services Director Jon Cicirelli announced Despite the popularity of the city s park system a new description shows that San Jose s per capita commitment in maintenance ranks among the lowest in the state and cities of a similar size The city s parks staff is also smaller than it was in - despite the park system s acreage growing by It s clear that the existing status quo when it comes to how we are funding our parks in the city of San Jose is not sustainable District City Councilmember Peter Ortiz noted It s definitely not equitable with a staggering million in deferred maintenance and unfunded infrastructure demands This year San Jose set a million total operating budget for its park system which includes million for maintenance and operations that is funded by maturation impact fees a portion of construction and conveyance taxes the city s general fund gifts grants and partnerships However greater part of those funding sources have faced considerable challenges in recent weeks preventing San Jose from making inroads on its dilapidated parks For example construction and conveyance taxes generated by new construction permits and real estate transactions exceeding have declined over the past inadequate years due to inflation and high interest rates Over the past decade the vast majority of growth fees have been generated in District which includes downtown San Jose and District which includes neighborhoods stretching from Mineta International Airport down to Willow Glen Due to restrictions however these funds cannot be spent in other parts of the city Districts and generated million and million respectively over that period while all other districts received between million and million Cicirelli also noted that a minimal city projects also have been DOGE d referencing the movement in the federal regime to cancel funding in the name of waste fraud or inefficiency He added that the city has compounded its issues by not updating its park fees since hence providing a built-in discount for land value and offering substantial fee reductions to developers In latest years for example the city has approved fee reductions for downtown high-rises multi-family projects in North San Jose and discounts for projects that offer on-site recreation and affordable housing developments Altogether the combined fee discounts could rise to a reduction Although bulk projects received an average cut of - it has led certain representatives to believe the city requirements greater equity which would drive better buy-in A great example of the status quo is for example cities giving developers breaks on fees that are intended to fund city infrastructure while the requirements of our everyday residents are pushed aside to say to residents that we will make the money back in the future that s nothing more than trickle-down economics Ortiz commented We saw what trickle-down economics did to our entire country especially to the working class which was absolutely nothing And as a development we have a park system that is expected to serve more people with far less money Cicirelli stated that while the city plans to conduct additional polling in the fall and early it will also undertake a robust district engagement process to inform its approach and draw on the best aspects of fruitful parks campaigns launched in San Diego and Los Angeles County in the past decade San Diego for example created a one city one park system that allowed it to sidestep the enhancement fee issue San Jose faces enabling it to distribute funds better Cicirelli noted that Los Angeles County passed a effective measure in two years after one failed at the ballot box by reaching out to residents in each district and explicitly telling them what would change or be better if a ballot measure were passed He hoped it would improve the poll results because residents could then see the value of the proposal Meanwhile advocates have voiced sponsorship for the city s desire to improve its parks In noting that the city had not passed a similar revenue measure since advocates described the current funding system as archaic inequitable and inadequate while touting the benefits of capital Parks are critical to the well-being of the region but parks that are not maintained have the opposite effect park advocate Allie Victorine disclosed Neighborhoods without parks do not have the same sense of locality and fitness that other neighborhoods do