SPUR Publications

Public and private investment have sparked a renaissance in downtown Oakland, but as the attention and interest grow, downtown finds itself in a bind. The current revival hasn’t been strong enough to attract new construction, and institutions, residents and businesses are being displaced. The Downtown Oakland Specific Plan, now in process, provides an opportunity to address displacement and think big about the future of downtown.

The San Jose City Council has placed a quarter-cent sales tax on the June ballot. The increase would yield a projected $40 million in annual revenue to support police, fire and emergency response, parks and other basic services. Measure B is one of best ways the city can restore needed services that were cut during the recession. SPUR urges voters to support it.

Thirty years ago, few people could have imagined that downtown San Jose would be taking off like it is today. In the last year, 659 new units of housing came on the market and more than 1,900 are under construction. This is what a generation of city leaders has been working toward, and the excitement is both palpable and well deserved. But it’s also fragile.

This June, voters in Santa Clara County will be asked to modestly increase the portion of the county general fund dedicated to parks. The ballot measure would update the Park Charter Fund. Because a strong parks system is critical to a strong greenbelt and to maintaining a high quality of life in and around San Jose , SPUR recommends a “Yes” vote on Measure A.

Planning for the transit service we want involves many choices and tradeoffs, with far-reaching implications for our quality of life. Being clear about what we are choosing between helps us make better decisions. The new Transit Choices Report from the Santa Clara Valley Transportation Authority (VTA) clearly lays out the next big transit choices for the South Bay.

What will happen with the economy in the year ahead? Are we in for a correction or recession? Every year, SPUR’s Municipal Fiscal Advisory Committee gathers expert economists to try to answer these kinds of questions. The expertise of independent economists and experts from key sectors — including real estate, hospitality and retail — helps the city staff develop revenue projections for San Francisco’s budget.

Oakland is experiencing a housing crisis that threatens to irrevocably change the city. Part of the problem is the imbalance between job growth and housing supply. Last year, Mayor Schaaf assembled a Housing Implementation Cabinet of housing experts, advocates and practitioners to look at the issue. Last week, the cabinet released its action plan to preserve 17,000 existing homes and create 17,000 new ones.

Measure AA, on the June ballot in all nine Bay Area counties, is a $12 parcel tax dedicated to protecting and restoring San Francisco Bay. This is a historic opportunity for the Bay Area to vote as a region and raise local revenue to protect our signature natural resource. It’s our generation’s chance to save the Bay — while there’s still time.

Pressure for development at the urban edge of the Bay Area is growing. At the end of 2015, the cities of Morgan Hill and Gilroy in southern Santa Clara County both proposed expanding their city boundaries into farmland. Upcoming decisions on these proposals, which county analysts have called reminiscent of a bygone era, will set an important precedent for the county’s next phase of growth.

Santa Clara County’s proposed transportation sales tax has been politically contentious. But the reality is, transportation investments have not kept up with job and population growth. Meanwhile, federal and state funding for transportation has declined. We will need better transportation infrastructure in order to enjoy continued prosperity and a high quality of life — and we’re going to have to make these investments locally.

Few low-income Californians will ever have the opportunity to live in a subsidized affordable housing unit. How do we help everyone else? A new paper from the California Legislative Analyst’s Office provides evidence that market-rate housing construction plays an important role for low-income households. The LAO’s data shows that urban counties nationwide with more housing construction had slower rent growth than California coastal cities.