San Jose Anti-Displacement Working Group
In September 2020, the San Jose City Council approved a Citywide Anti-Displacement Strategy, and directed the Housing Department to focus on key priorities. One priority recommendation is to develop a Community Opportunity to Purchase program that would give notice and a right of first refusal to qualified nonprofit buyers.
In addition, the City Council approved the creation of an Anti-Displacement Working Group. The Working Group had two parts. The first is a broad Stakeholder Advisory Group, a diverse group of stakeholders that included those from the public as well as those with expertise in housing policy and real estate. The second part is a smaller Technical Advisory Committee, which dove more deeply into details needed to design this program. A central principle is that organizations and people who would be most impacted should be at the table throughout to help shape a successful program.
The City retained Community Planning Collaborative in early 2021 to help organize and facilitate the two-part working group, and to help ensure that the design of the Community Opportunity to Purchase program works for all relevant stakeholders. Almost 170 people participated in the meetings and attendance was diverse. The Working Group was comprised of community members and leaders from all council districts across the city and included voices of those who will be directly impacted by the policy: apartment owners, tenants, housing providers, developers, realtors, and housing advocates. Attendees were approximately evenly split between owners and renters and evenly distributed in age ranges. City staff tracked who attended the meetings and also who commented, ensuring participation by all interest groups. In an effort to engage those most impacted by displacement, this was a multilingual engagement process, with regular community meetings occurring in English, Spanish, and Vietnamese.
The process concluded in December 2021, resulting in a program draft framework to be considered by City Council and having engaged 167 community members from all council districts.