San Jose council approves Market Street garage overhaul, expands shelter capacity and adopts Welcoming San Jose plan

The San Jose City Council on April 22 approved a package of actions touching homelessness response, downtown public art and parking infrastructure, and the city’s clean-energy customer programs.

Council members voted to authorize the Market Street Garage improvements and associated public art contract, accepted staff recommendations for San Jose Clean Energy customer programs for fiscal year 2025–26, and adopted the city’s third Welcoming San Jose plan. Council also received a consolidated midyear homelessness report that outlines a multi-departmental, data-driven push to expand interim housing capacity and clear high-impact encampments.

Why it matters: the votes set funding and implementation timelines for projects that affect downtown access and appearance ahead of 2026 events, accelerate programs meant to help residents electrify buildings and vehicles, and scale a new, citywide approach to engaging people who are unsheltered. Council approved multiple staff spending and contracting authorizations that direct millions in city and grant funds over the next 12–36 months.

Market Street Garage and public art

The council approved the Market Street (San Pedro) Garage Improvements Project and authorized a direct-contract approach after two unsuccessful public bid attempts. Public Works Director Matt Lesh described the work as “a relatively forward, straightforward construction project” that includes structural repairs, lead-paint abatement, seismic and drainage fixes and electrical upgrades to support an illuminated public-art façade.

Project numbers and schedule in staff materials: the public-works construction budget is just over $6,000,000; project delivery costs (design/management) were listed at $1,700,000; the public-art commission under negotiation is $1,800,000 and there is a contingency of just under $1,000,000. Lesh told council construction is slated to start in July, with the San Pedro side targeted for substantial completion by Dec. 31, 2025, and public-art fabrication expected to begin in early 2026 if negotiations proceed on schedule. City staff said the full facility will be available for use during construction; only limited stalls will be temporarily blocked for equipment and work zones.

The council approved the contract award and related resolutions by a 10–1 vote (mayor absent). The staff recommendation included authority for the city manager to negotiate and execute the artist contract for the façade element.

San Jose Clean Energy: programs and funding

San Jose Clean Energy staff presented a program roadmap and a recommended set of customer-facing programs for fiscal year 2025–26. Director Laurie Mitchell and senior staff said the utility plans to offer 15 programs, including continuing the Eco Home rebates and new services such as residential EV point-of-sale incentives, an EV concierge/advisor service and expanded multifamily and workplace charger incentives.

Staff told the council the recommended program portfolio would increase ratepayer spending for customer programs to a not-to-exceed $14,000,000 in FY25–26, with about $1,500,000 coming from external (non-rate) sources. Staff estimated the recommended programs would avoid roughly 65,000 metric tons of CO2 and generate about $37 million in lifetime customer savings. Council voted to accept the update and authorize staff to contract with community partners to implement the programs; the motion passed unanimously.

Welcoming San Jose plan adopted

Solma Maciel, director of the Office of Racial and Social Equity, presented the third Welcoming San Jose plan, a five-year strategy to improve access and services for immigrant and limited-English communities. “This is not just a policy document. It’s a road map for building a more inclusive and equitable San Jose,” Maciel told the council. The plan centers seven strategic focus areas and aligns with the city’s racial and social equity work.

Councilmember David Ortiz moved to approve the plan; the measure passed 11–0.

Homelessness: midyear consolidated report and operations update

City staff presented a midyear consolidated homelessness report describing a cross-departmental framework—Engage, Shelter, Clear, Preserve, Restore—for managing encampments, expanding shelter capacity and cleaning waterways. Deputy City Manager Omar Passons and Housing Director Eric Solivan outlined an aggressive schedule of interim housing conversions and new builds that staff said would add roughly 1,400 shelter beds/spaces this calendar year through a mix of converted hotels, new modular or built sites and supportive interim housing.

Key operational points from the report: staff completed an initial oversized-vehicle inventory that identified roughly 2,000 vehicles citywide and selected 30 high‑priority sites for immediate intervention; the Parks, Recreation & Neighborhood Services (PRNS) and Beautify SJ teams reported roughly 6.5 million pounds of trash removed from encampments this fiscal year and nearly 12 miles of waterway clearing; PRNS’s expanded RV waste removal pilot (RVP3) scaled from a 150‑vehicle pilot to a 600‑vehicle target and staff reported approximately 380,000 pounds of bio‑waste removed since the program expanded; and DOT said roughly 97% of vehicles that were engaged at initial Olive (oversized lived‑in vehicle) sites moved voluntarily.

Council discussed the operational balance between clearing encampments and ensuring interim housing and services are available and sustainable. The council received the report and voted to accept the update; the motion passed unanimously.

Christmas in the Park and downtown events

During public comment, representatives of Christmas in the Park described a $250,000 budget shortfall for the nonprofit that produces the downtown holiday display to keep admission free for visitors. City staff and council members said the city will collaborate with the organization and that the consent calendar action tied to Christmas in the Park was approved as part of the larger consent calendar. Several council members and speakers urged downtown flexibility for the event and discussed possible alternative locations and partnerships; the consent calendar motion passed unanimously.

Votes at a glance

- Consent calendar (includes item 2.7, Christmas in the Park): motion to adopt carried; outcome: approved (motion passed unanimously at the meeting).

- Item 3.3 — Welcoming San Jose Plan (adopt plan and accept report): mover: Councilmember David Ortiz; outcome: approved (11–0).

- Item 3.4 — Market Street Garage Improvements Project (award construction and authorize city manager to execute artist contract under charter bid waiver provision): outcome: approved (10–1; mayor absent). Staff cited Charter Section 12.18(h) as the authority for direct award after non‑responsive bids and asked council to authorize artist payment negotiations (listed artist: Bush Design in staff materials).

- Item 5.1 — Report on bids/award of contract for resurfacing: outcome: approved (10–1; mayor absent).

- Item 6.1 — San Jose Clean Energy FY25–26 programs (approve program slate and authorize contracts to implement): outcome: approved (unanimous). Staff recommended a not‑to‑exceed $14,000,000 program budget and asked authorization to enter into contracts with community organizations and vendors.

- Item 6.2 — Climate Smart San Jose semiannual report (accept update): outcome: accepted (unanimous).

- Item 7.1 — Consolidated annual homelessness midyear report (receive and accept status report): outcome: accepted (unanimous).

What council directed staff to do next

- For the Market Street Garage: proceed with negotiated contract award, start construction in July, complete the San Pedro façade work by calendar year end where possible and continue artist negotiations for an early‑2026 fabrication start (artist contract to be executed by the city manager if terms are met).

- For homelessness operations: continue scaling the outreach teams, finalize shelter conversions (hotel-to‑shelter openings through this summer) and continue the Olive inventory process and site prioritization; staff said they will return with continued data dashboards and periodic updates.

- For clean-energy programs: proceed to launch the recommended FY25–26 programs, contract with local implementers and report back on performance and community uptake.

Meeting context and next steps

Council directed staff to continue coordinating regionally (county, VTA, other cities) and to provide regular public dashboards and performance updates. Staff said several construction and program milestones will come back to council later this year; the city also flagged a number of federal and state funding sources that are in progress or pending and noted some federal funding remains uncertain.

The meeting record and staff reports include additional line‑item schedules, program scoring details and the formal contract documents and resolutions for council files.

Ending

Council adjourned after public comment; the mayor and staff thanked volunteers, public‑works and energy teams for the breadth of work presented.