Citizens' group claims city staff shows bias in upzoning debate.

Many SJ residents have been surprised at how city staff appears to be publicly advocating for mass upzoning even before the Council votes on the concept. Tobin Gilman of Families and Homes recently wrote the following email to city leaders with his concerns about city staffers failing to stay in the.neutral corner.

From: Tobin Gilman
Date: March 30, 2021 at 1:25:53 PM PDT
To: Jacky Morales-Rerrand, Ragan Henninger, Rosalyn Hughey, Michiael Brilliot, Dave Sykes, Angel Rios.
Subject: Please Stop Political Advocacy by City Housing & Planning Staff

Dear San Jose Housing & Planning Staff Leaders, 

I’ve recently attended two community meetings where city housing and planning staff members participated in discussions about the sweeping zoning policy proposal that will soon come before the City Council. I greatly appreciate city employees joining these after-hours evening events to inform the public on matters pertaining to zoning changes under consideration at City Hall. 

Outreach to residents by city employees for gathering input and sharing information is important and valuable. However, public outreach by city employees to advocate specific policy proposals due to come before the City Council is inappropriate, unprofessional, and raises ethical questions about using city resources for political advocacy.

My specific concern relates to the General Plan Task Force recommendation to the City Council that would allow a fourplex and up to 3 ADU’s to be built on single family lots in neighborhoods currently zoned for detached single family dwellings. Advocates are calling it “Opportunity Housing” to mask what the proposal really is. This is obviously a politically and emotionally-charged proposal that would have a profound effect on residents who reside in single family neighborhoods. 

When representing the City of San Jose in communicating with the public on this divisive proposal, staff neutrality is absolutely critical. With that in mind, I have three recommendations for planning and housing staff that I hope you’ll embrace.

Refrain from political sloganeering. Advocates of allowing fourplexes by right in R1 zones have carefully crafted an appealing term called “Opportunity Housing.” City staff should not be incorporating this kind misleading marketing terminology in official communications. Factual descriptive language should always be used, even it requires a few more words.

City staff should not be taking sides in public policy debates. I call attention to a “fact check” opinion piece recently published in San Jose Spotlight. In an effort to discredit an OpEd that appeared the Mercury News, the progressive-leaning Spotlight ran a counterpoint piece in which San Jose Deputy Planning Director Michael Brilliot was quoted. It’s entirely possible Mr. Brilliot was misquoted or quoted out of context, but his engagement in the debate and the incredulous statement attributed to him conveyed unequivocal bias.

City staff should not be publicly speculating or opining on unknown projected impacts of the proposed zoning change. Supporters and opponents of the proposal have opinions about how it might impact development activity, housing affordability, infrastructure capacity, gentrification, social equity, real estate markets, vehicle miles traveled, and other potential outcomes. Logical arguments can be made to support divergent points of view, but the fact is no research has been conducted. At a meeting hosted by the Almaden Valley Community Association last month, the City’s Directors of Housing and Planning both rendered personal opinions about some of these potential impacts. The Housing Department’s “Dwellings” podcast series and other public-facing forms of communications that feature outside speakers and opinions (ie. non-city staff members) should include balanced points of view. Although the GP2040 Task Force recommended the elimination of R1 zoning citywide, the vote was not unanimous. Task force members that opposed the proposal included planning commission members, council members, neighborhood group leaders, real estate professionals, and other highly qualified individuals. The public deserves to hear their voices.

As non-political city staff members, please be mindful of maintaining neutrality and professionalism when representing the City of San Jose in your official capacity. This is a sensitive issue and residents are paying very close attention to the messaging coming from public officials. The three recommendations I’ve outlined above will help ensure the public is receiving unbiased, fact-based information. Thank you for your consideration. 

Tobin Gilman

Read more about opposition to mass upzoning here.

Follow Opportunity Now on Twitter @svopportunity.