November 15, 2007

Access City Hall provides insights, answers

By James Parish
Special to the Times

For the fifth consecutive year, the San Jose Silicon Valley Chamber of Commerce successfully “acces-sed” San Jose City Hall, when more than 80 chamber members and guests were granted a unique opportunity to meet with Mayor Chuck Reed, city council members and department heads during the annual event held on Nov. 9.

District 10 City Councilmember Nancy Pyle gestures while making a point at the fifth annual Access City Hall event on Nov. 9. Pyle is joined on her panel by Mayor Chuck Reed, near left and Councilmember Kansen Chu. San Jose Silicon Valley Chamber of Commerce President and CEO Pat Dando, a former council member, moderated the panel.

For nearly three hours, city officials answered questions from the audience on a wide range of city issues from economic development to the mayor’s Green Policy and transportation.

While Reed and council members addressed issues such as inclusionary zoning and business retention, the prevalent theme centered on the mayor’s proposal for the city to “go green” by being leaders in the movement to make San Jose the “green technology capitol of the world.”

The format consisted of three panels: Reed accompanied by Councilmembers Nancy Pyle and Kansen Chu, followed by Councilmembers Dave Cortese, Pete Constant, Judy Chirco, and Sam Liccardo; and then a collection of city officials, including Harry Mavrogenes with the San Jose Redevelopment Agency; Paul Krutko with the Office of Economic Development; and Joe Horwedel with Planning, Building & Code Enforcement.

The panels engaged in a question and answer forum moderated by San Jose Silicon Valley Chamber of Commerce President and CEO Pat Dando. Handwrit-ten questions from attendees were directed to each 45-minute session.

Constant discussed the hardships for business in District 1, which is flanked by Campbell, Saratoga, Cupertino and Santa Clara. He mentioned that restrictions on business in this area such as signage can make it hard to compete because consumers can simply “go across the street and take their money to another city.” For him, it is about making sure that his district is just as competitive as the smaller communities surrounding it.

Liccardo commented on zoning restrictions—a major concern for the city, especially ceiling heights, which could adversely limit high-rise development. He also addressed the night club restrictions in the downtown area, mentioning that he would be hesitant to move toward impacting establishments that are inherent to the culture of a downtown atmosphere, including those yet to come. Not allowing nightclubs could discourage new patrons while the city revitalizes the downtown core.

Reactions were positive. Chamber member Beverley Bryant exclaimed that “the event was very engaging and Pat [Dando] did an excellent job in keeping the dialogue on point.” She went on to say that the questions this year were not only direct, but the answers given were sharp and to the point.

Others were also pleased, but would have liked to have heard different answers from the panelists. First-time attendee Simon Wong said it was a great success, but he was “disappointed to learn that San Jose does not have a policy strategy and budget to help local businesses promote U.S. products and services to the international markets.”

The forum concluded another round of public discussion and allowed community and chamber members the opportunity to have an up-close-and-personal dialogue with local officials and hear about pressing issues concerning our community “globally, nationally and locally.”

Access City Hall was sponsored in part by Brandenburg, Staedler & Moore, Coyote Hous-ing Group, Gilbane Building Company, KB Home, KT Prop-erties, Lowe’s Home Improve-ment Warehouse, Pacific Gas & Electric Company, San Jose Water Company, Hopkins & Carley A Law Corporation, Irvine Company Apartment Communi-ties, San Jose Sharks, Toen-iskoetter & Breeding Inc.

James Parish is the Public policy manager for San Jose Silicon Valley Chamber of Commerce.