San Jose staff outline plan to speed up code enforcement after years of rising caseloads; council presses for faster escalation and tougher penalties

San Jose staff told the City Council at a Jan. 21 study session that code enforcement is handling a much larger, more complex caseload than a decade ago and outlined near‑term pilots and a consultant-led operational assessment intended to speed investigations and escalate high‑impact cases.

The presentation by Chris Burton, director of planning, building and code enforcement, and Rachel Roberts, deputy director for code enforcement, said the division now has about 45 code inspectors and 71 positions overall and is managing roughly 4,000 open, active cases citywide. Staff said multiple‑housing programs now cover about 6,752 buildings and 102,862 units; last fiscal year inspectors reviewed 1,747 buildings (about 8,500 units) and recorded roughly 11,800 violations in the program. The general‑code team performed 32,459 “actions” in calendar year 2024; staff said about 59% of the division’s active general‑code caseload is in the formal enforcement stage.

Why it matters: Councilmembers and residents described long waits for resolution on visibly blighted, high‑impact properties. City officials warned that staffing and funding shifts since 2011, the end of redevelopment, and pandemic disruptions have left the division managing more complex cases with fewer general‑fund‑backed inspectors. The city is pursuing operational changes and targeted investments to reduce response times, increase enforcement on repeat and high‑impact offenders, and improve transparency.

What staff proposed and pilots under way

Chris Burton said staff want to “streamline process, prioritize services and make targeted investments” in technology and partnerships. Three initiatives described in detail:

- FAST pilot: a focused outreach and expedited enforcement program that combined proactive education, cleanup events and a dedicated inspection team. Burton said the FAST pilot addressed roughly 13,000 parcels, opened 463 cases, reduced average open time from case opening to resolution by roughly half and — importantly — found most properties in compliance by the time inspectors returned, avoiding citations in many instances. “We saw the majority of our customers who had violations at the start of the program were already in compliance before we did that first compliance inspection,” Burton said.

- Downtown vacant‑building and storefront program: staff described a…