City parks staff told the Neighborhood Services & Education Committee they are preparing a two‑year master plan to correct long‑standing inequities created by a developer‑fee allocation model and to explore dedicated funding for park maintenance.

PRNS described a staffing shortfall for maintenance (about 19% fewer staff while acreage rose 22%) and noted that San Jose ranks low among the 15 most populous California cities by per‑resident park maintenance spending ($37 per resident in the staff comparison). The department summarized outreach and polling showing general concern about park maintenance and identified two potential funding approaches under study: a parcel tax and a sugar‑sweetened beverage (SSB) excise tax.

Staff presented illustrative estimates: a 2¢ per ounce SSB excise tax could generate approximately $27 million a year in San Jose; a 1¢ per square foot parcel tax could raise about $37 million a year, while a 2¢ per square foot parcel tax estimate was roughly $74 million per year. PRNS also highlighted that public polling showed a sizable undecided share (21%) on parcel tax concepts, which staff said could indicate an opportunity for outreach and education.

The master plan will explicitly consider redistributing park impact fees because current fee collection has been concentrated in some districts (staff noted District 6 collected about $53 million and District 3 about $80 million over the past decade while other districts collected $1–7 million). The master plan is planned as a two‑year process with neighborhood forums and public engagement; PRNS invited committee members and the public to the next forum.

Council members welcomed the equity focus, questioned poll framing and parcel‑tax math, and asked staff to continue outreach to community groups, businesses and unions to build a broad coalition if a ballot measure is pursued. The committee accepted the staff report unanimously.