Noble EIH Update September 1, 2022
Councilmember David Cohen delivers Noble EIH statement
Frequently Asked Questions
Updated 09/9/2022
What is the main takeaway from the September 9 Information Memo?
As I shared with you on September 1, the City Manager’s Office has determined that the Noble site is no longer a viable site for EIHC development. The CMO further clarified that, as directed by the June 21 Council direction, to officially cancel the development of the Noble site one of two things would have to occur. Either an alternative site that could be delivered on the same approximate timeline with similar results be identified or return to Council in the Fall with a recommendation to no longer pursue the Noble site for development. The Information Memo states that the CMO will continue to evaluate alternative sites and return to council to ratify their recommendation to stop pursuing the Noble site for development, no later than November 29.
We heard the Mayor say that the full Council will vote on the issue no later than Oct. 25. Is that true?
The vote that occurred on June 21st allowed for staff to build on an alternative site rather than Noble without having to come back to Council if a viable alternative site is identified. At the August 9 City Council meeting the Mayor announced that if the item needs to be heard by Council it would be no later than October 25. This week the City Manager issued an information memo to the Mayor and Council indicating that they would be returning to Council no later than November 29 to ratify their recommendation that the Noble site not be pursued for EIH. This change in date is due to the availability of CMO staff resources from mid-September through mid-October.
Has the city identified alternative sites to replace Noble for a potential Emergency Interim Housing community?
Yes, there are many sites identified by our Council office and the community that city staff is currently evaluating. The City Manager’s Office posted the list on their website on September 7.
Will you be doing outreach for alternative locations?
Yes – as promised, our office will work with the community and the City Manager’s office to hold as many community outreach meetings as needed as we settle on an alternative site.
Has the city figured out if the site proposed at Noble is officially a charter protected park?
As far as I’m concerned, the proposed Noble Ave site is a protected park and a vital natural open space that has become an important part of our community. It is going to take some time for the City Manager’s Office and the Parks Department to finalize and codify the charter protection criteria for parks. Once that work is completed my office, in partnership with the Noble neighborhood, will take the necessary steps to ensure that Penitencia Creek Trail Reach 2 is declared a charter-protected park.
What’s next?
We’re focused on identifying the best site for EIHC within District 4 as directed by the City Council. We are committed to ensuring the Noble site, known as Penitencia Creek Trail Reach 2, becomes a charter-protected park so it remains open space the Noble community can enjoy for years to come. Lastly, we are planning a park clean-up at the site, the date to be announced soon.
Noble EIH Update September 9, 2022
Follow this link to view the memo released this morning by the City Manager’s Office: https://www.sanjoseca.gov/home/showpublisheddocument/89353/637983077718791616
I want to share with you what to expect tomorrow as the council considers my memo to permanently remove the Noble site from consideration for EIH development.
The council has heard your voice that the city has made impactful mistakes in the original EIH siting process that caused stress and anxiety for our residents. The lack of meaningful community outreach left you, the residents of the noble neighborhood, understandably frustrated and this process has clearly eroded public trust.
That is why I have been working to permanently remove this site from any future consideration for development. There are a number of ways to accomplish this with the site being declared a charter protected site as the most secure. What charter protected status provides is that a vote of the electorate would be required to decide whether or not to develop the parkland, not a vote of the council.
In my conversations with staff they have shared that Penitencia Creek Trail Reach 2 does in fact meet the criteria for charter protected status, however there is no process available to declare any given space as charted protected. That is why they have been working on codifying a citywide definition for Charter protected status and retroactively applying this status to all PRNS properties that meet the definition. Staff is confident that this will be completed no later than March 2023.
I want to thank everyone who has worked with my office through this process. In the spirit of that cooperation, I would like to ask for your help one last time. Tomorrow’s vote will determine whether the Noble Site (Penitencia Creek Trail Reach 2) is permanently removed from EIH consideration within the City Manager’s office, create a definition for chartered protected parks and create a process that retroactively protects other parks that fit those criteria. Please make your voice heard by speaking in support of my memo at tomorrow’s council meeting in person or by zoom.