HomeMy WebLinkAboutStaff Report 12342
City of Palo Alto (ID # 12342)
Policy and Services Committee Staff Report
Report Type: Action Items Meeting Date: 6/8/2021
City of Palo Alto Page 1
Summary Title: Update on Recent Race and Equity Work
Title: Receive an Update on Recent Race and Equity Work Since March
Including an Update on a Records Management System (RMS) Contract for
Police Data Collection and Provide any Recommendations on the City's Race
and Equity Work
From: City Manager
Lead Department: City Manager
Recommendation
Staff recommends that the Policy and Services Committee Receive this Update on the City’s
Recent Race and Equity Work and Provide any Recommendations on the City’s Race and Equity
Work.
Background
As part of the City’s ongoing Race and Equity work, the City Council adopted a list of directives
in November 2020 (link to Action Minutes (pages 4 and 5):
https://www.cityofpaloalto.org/civicax/filebank/documents/79566; Report CMR 11754). The
directives and progress on each of the directives, as well as other efforts since March 2021, are
detailed in this report.
Discussion
In addition to the directives made by the City Council in November 2020, the City has been
engaged in many community initiatives, conversations, and events related to race, equity, and
culture. The City issued a blog update to share information about race and equity events
occurring throughout the months of May and June. It offers ways to connect together through
fostering healing, celebrating the City’s diverse cultures, promoting race and equity, and
focusing on community wellness and well-being. The blog included information about many
things including:
Asian American Pacific Islander Heritage Month
May is Asian American and Pacific Islander (AAPI) Heritage Month. This year the Library and
Community Services Department joined with many community volunteers to deliver a series of
events for the entire community to recognize and celebrate the culture and contributions of
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the AAPI community.
Human Relations Commission 100 Conversations on Race and Lived Experiences in Palo Alto
Building on the feedback shared with the City Council in January 2021 in the Black and Brown
Palo Alto – History and Current Experience (CMR #11911) Report, the Human Relations
Commission is leading an initiative called “100 Conversations on Race and Lived Experiences in
Palo Alto.” The initiative is intended to encourage the community to have conversations about
race in small groups to grow Palo Alto into a community characterized by belonging, vested in
diversity, inclusion, and equity and committed to putting words into action.
The community can sign up online to participate at: https://www.100conversations.net/.
Art Center:
Starting May 1 and running through August 14, the Palo Alto Art Center will be showcasing The
Black Index exhibition, featuring the work of Dennis Delgado, Alicia Henry, Kenyatta A.C. Hinkle,
Titus Kaphar, Whitfield Lovell, and Lava Thomas. The artists featured in The Black Index build
upon the tradition of Black self-representation as an antidote to colonialist images. Using
drawing, performance, printmaking, sculpture, and digital technology to transform the
recorded image, these artists question our reliance on photography as a privileged source for
documentary objectivity and understanding.
Library Book to Action: How to be an Anti-Racist
Throughout the month of May, the Library hosted a series of virtual events inspired by the book
selection, How to Be An Antiracist by Ibram X. Kendi and the themes of racial equity and
antiracism. This included a partnership with Stanford’s The Bill Lane Center for the American
West hosting a conversation between Rev. Kaloma Smith and author Julie Lythcott-Haims. They
discussed what an antiracist community looks like and how can we work together to achieve an
antiracist community in Palo Alto.
Cities Association of Santa Clara County
In addition to the events and updates shared in the aforementioned blog, the City is also
following the recommendations that the Cities Association of Santa Clara County is working on
through their Racial Justice Committee. The recommendations are a result of the
acknowledgement that the events of 2020 have created unprecedented health and social
challenges affecting all communities, disproportionately those of Black people, Latinx people,
Indigenous people, other people of color, immigrants, and the incarcerated. The Racial Justice
Committee is focused on the priorities of affordable housing, public safety reform, and hate
crimes against the Asian American Pacific Islander (AAPI) community. Their initial
recommendations will go to the Board for approval on June 10. The draft recommendations are
included with this report as Attachment A. Staff is reviewing the recommendations and will act
upon and/or bring back recommendations for the Policy and Services Committee after the
Cities Association Board has approved the final document. The Palo Alto Police Department is
ahead of many other departments by already progressing with a partnership with California
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POST on a virtual reality training tool which is one of the Cities Association recommendations.
Palo Alto Summit on Women and Girls:
The City of Palo Alto will be hosting a local Summit on Women & Girls (“Women and girls”
refers to a gender expansive and inclusive definition). The theme is Equity and Inclusion for
Women and Girls – COVID and Beyond. The Summit will serve as a starting point to inform,
mobilize, and energize the city and community towards greater opportunity and equity for
women and girls in keeping with the City’s commitment to race and equity. The event is on
Saturday, June 12, 2021 and the community can learn more about the event and sign up here:
https://www.cityofpaloalto.org/Events-Directory/City-Manager/Summit-on-Women-Girls.
Status Update on each of the November 2020 City Council Directives:
Directive Directive Text Status
A
Adoption of the mission statement as a guiding
statement of the City’s commitment to make
equity a foundational principle in the City’s
operational work;
Completed: the mission statement was
adopted by City Council on November
16, 2020.
B
Direct Staff to expedite implementation of the
new police records management system (RMS)
with quarterly reports to Council, and to return
with the necessary agreements for the records
management system allowing for Racial and
Identity Profiling Act (RIPA) implementation;
This work is underway. A detailed
update is included below this table.
C
Starting after the full implementation of the
RMS and the first data collection period, direct
Staff to resume annual data collection and
analysis of police contact data similar to the
previous Stop Data reports;
This will occur upon completion of RMS
implementation (item B above).
D
Direct Staff to work with Santa Clara County on
implementation of participation in the Santa
Clara County Psychiatric Emergency Response
Team (PERT) program and the Mobile Crisis
Response Teams (MCRT) program and to
return to the City Council with any necessary
agreements for program participation;
Staff has made significant progress on
this directive since March. A detailed
update on this item is included below
this table.
E
Direct Staff to develop/update a policy on the
timing of records release related to
investigations that qualify for public disclosure
under SB 1421 and AB 748;
Staff has finalized a policy and workflow
related to the release of records
associated with investigations that
qualify for public disclosure under SB
1421/AB 748. All incidents to date
meeting the disclosure criteria under SB
1421/AB 748 have been released and
posted online.
City of Palo Alto Page 4
Directive Directive Text Status
F
Direct Staff to amend and expand the current
Independent Police Auditor’s (IPA) scope of
services to include all administrative use of
force reports where a baton, chemical agent,
TASER, less-lethal projectile, canine, or a
firearm is used, and all cases where the
subject’s injuries necessitate any treatment
beyond minor medical treatment in the field;
Staff is working with the IPA on the
contract amendment which includes this
language as part of the expanded scope
of services. The contract is planned to
come to the City Council for approval on
June 14, 2021. More information about
the timeline for the IPA-related items
were included in the March 9, 2021
Update Report in the Timeline section.
G
Direct Staff to maintain an every six (6) months
schedule for IPA reports to City Council
containing reviews ready at the time of the
report; and for the IPA to provide an audit
workplan to the City Council for approval;
Staff is working with the IPA on the
contract amendment which includes this
language as part of the expanded scope
of services. The contract is planned to
come to the City Council for approval on
June 14, 2021. More information about
the timeline for the IPA-related items
were included in the March 9, 2021
Update Report in the Timeline section.
The most recent IPA report was
published on March 22, 2021 as an
informational memo. The supplemental
staff report contained the timeline
information as described in the Timeline
Section of the March Race and Equity
Update report.
H
Direct Staff to include use of force information
to the regular Supplemental Report submitted
to the City Council as a cover memorandum to
each IPA report;
The use of force (UOF) information for
Jan. 1, 2015 – June 1, 2020 is available
online (https://tinyurl.com/4kwwy6xb).
The next UOF report will be included as
part of the Supplemental Report in
January 2022 in order to include a full
calendar year of data.
I
Refer the police reform legislative priority
thoughts and input to the Policy and Services
Committee who will be discussing the City’s
legislative priorities in December 2020;
Completed. This recommendation has
been completed; it was included in the
City Council-adopted legislative
guidelines (CMR #11968:
https://tinyurl.com/evzjwhpw). Staff
and the legislative advocates continue
to track bills.
J
Refer all race and equity work to the Policy and
Services Committee for citywide diversity and
inclusion practice areas and policing practice
Completed: The P&S Committee has
been receiving quarterly updates and
discussion items related to the City
City of Palo Alto Page 5
Directive Directive Text Status
areas; Council Social Justice priority and Race
and Equity.
Staff is working to get supplemental
help to assist the City with developing a
race and equity roadmap, training, and
staff assessments.
K
Direct Staff to return in the fall of 2021 with
parameters, proposals, and strategies prior to
engaging in Palo Alto Peace Officers’
Association negotiations;
This will occur in fall 2021 prior to
negotiations.
L
Direct Staff, in coordination with the City’s
overall diversity and inclusion efforts, to
conduct a workforce demographic assessment
as baseline information and to pursue an
employee assessment to measure City
workforce culture;
Staff has begun this analysis. Staff also
began a demographic assessment of the
City’s Boards, Committees, and
Commissions (BCC). The survey is still
open and anonymous responses from
BCC members are coming in.
M
Policy and Services CEDAW recommendation:
Direct Staff to proceed with a community
summit on gender equity issues and next steps
in Palo Alto;
The Palo Alto Summit on Women and
Girls is scheduled for Saturday, June 12,
2021 with keynote speaker Lori Nishura
Mackenzie. She will speak on
Intersectionality and the Impact of
COVID on Women. Sign up at:
https://www.cityofpaloalto.org/Events-
Directory/City-Manager/Summit-on-
Women-Girls
N
If the County does not assign a resource to
Palo Alto in the next six months, refer to Policy
and Services Committee the exploration of the
feasibility of a CAHOOTS-type program;
Staff has made significant progress on
this directive since March. A detailed
update on this item is included below
this table.
O
Amend the contract to require the
Independent Police Auditor (IPA) to meet with
the City Council in open session twice a year
with each report;
Staff is working with the IPA on the
contract amendment which includes this
language as part of the expanded scope
of services. The contract is planned to
come to the City Council for approval on
June 14, 2021.
P
Refer to the Policy and Services Committee
consideration of the Independent Police
Auditor (IPA) oversight of internal complaints
regarding misconduct related to harassment,
discrimination, or retaliation resulting in city
investigation of uniformed officers.
The Policy and Services Committee
fulfilled this City Council referral and had
this discussion at the April 13, 2021
meeting. The staff report with helpful
information is online as well as the
action minutes. The Committee voted
to: recommend the City Council direct
Staff and IPA to include harassment,
retaliation and discrimination claims
City of Palo Alto Page 6
Directive Directive Text Status
within the IPA scope; and research best
practices to balance the needs of
transparency and public oversight while
preserving the anonymity of
complainants, witnesses and the subject.
Staff has spoken with the IPA and will
include information relative to the Policy
and Services Committee
recommendation when the overall IPA
contract comes to the City Council for
consideration on June 14, 2021.
Q
Direct Staff to work with IT to streamline
publishing police policy updates to the City
website on a quarterly basis.
Completed. The Police Department
found a solution to streamline the
redaction process to make quarterly
updates. The policy was last updated on
May 1, 2021.
Further Details:
Directive B: Expedite implementation of the new police records management system (RMS):
The RMS kickoff meeting was on May 12, 2021. The tentative go-live date for the RMS system is
mid-November. One possible complication which could affect the go-live date is the City of Los
Altos needing to complete their old RMS data conversion into the new system. Staff will
continue to monitor Los Altos’ progress and update the Committee of any delays. Staff is
working on logistics, including identifying trainers for the new system and determining how to
set up and retrofit the required City-network computer terminals. Staff is working on
connections to Department of Justice (DOJ) applications, providing mapping sources, and
preparing table codes which are all necessary infrastructure for the new system.
Race and Identity Profiling Act (RIPA) Data: The Police Department will be submitting stop data,
as required by AB 953, beginning January 1, 2022. The DOJ does not want formal data
submissions before that date because the mandate calls for annual data reporting. The Palo
Alto Police Department has already started a test submission account to become familiar with
the process. The Police Department will be submitting stop data directly through the DOJ web
portal and then transition to submitting data through the new RMS product after testing has
occurred, once the RMS system is live in November 2021. Given that a year of data will be
collected starting in January 2022, the first annual stop data report for the Palo Alto Police
Department is anticipated to be available from the DOJ in 2023.
The City is in compliance with the Department of Justice (DOJ) requirement regarding radio
encryption to protect personally identifiable information. Given public interest, staff is
exploring options that would allow the City to provide information to the public without sharing
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personally identifiable information about calls for service. One option being explored is an add-
on to the RMS system which, if meeting the City’s needs, could begin to be implemented in the
RMS system at the earliest in November after the system is fully operating for the statutory
RIPA purposes previously described. Staff will continue to explore this option and will share
updates in future reports. Staff is also researching other web-based systems as options but has
no recommendation at this time.
Directive D: Direct Staff to work with Santa Clara County on implementation of participation in
the Santa Clara County Psychiatric Emergency Response Team (PERT) program and the Mobile
Crisis Response Teams (MCRT) program and to return to the City Council with any necessary
agreements for program participation:
Staff has moved on this directive in a few meaningful ways since the last update to the Policy
and Services Committee in March this year. The three major updates are as follows:
1. County PERT Program: Santa Clary County Behavior Health Department is leading the
charge to hire clinicians for the Psychiatric Emergency Response Team (PERT) program.
As of the report in March 2021, the County has continued to conduct interviews to fill
the clinician positions. The City of Palo Alto has helped in the marketing of the position
through the City’s social media channels. The County is closer to securing a clinician
resource for Palo Alto in the PERT program where a licensed clinician is partnered with a
sworn law enforcement officer and helps to respond to higher-level mental health
crises. The Police Department is working on the internal work necessary to be ready to
move forward with the partnership once the County informs the City that they have
hired a clinician and assigned that person to Palo Alto.
2. County’s new Community Mobile Response (CMR) Program (CAHOOTS-like program):
Santa Clara County Behavior Health Department made a presentation to the Policy and
Services Committee in March 2021 (CMR #12051) about their new CAHOOTS-like
program. The CMR program is a non-law enforcement response to lower-level mental
health crises modeled after the Eugene, Oregon CAHOOTS program. The Policy and
Services Committee discussed sending a letter to the County in support of the program
during the open comment period for the program in March 2021. Staff sent a letter
(Attachment B) on behalf of Palo Alto stating the City’s interest in being included in the
program. Staff has also spoken at the public meetings (including the County Board of
Supervisors) expressing Palo Alto’s interest in the program. The program originally only
had proposed sites in East San Jose and Gilroy. Based on Palo Alto’s advocacy, the
County expanded the program and the financial structure of the grant program to
include a North County site to serve all of northern Santa Clara County and based in the
Mountain View/Sunnyvale/Santa Clara area. The State Mental Health Services Oversight
and Accountability Commission approved the innovation grant funding for the program
for 4.5 years for the three County sites. The approved program overview is included
here: https://mhsoac.ca.gov/sites/default/files/MHSOAC_Materials_05272021_0.pdf
beginning on page 101, and the presentation made to the Commission can be found
here: https://mhsoac.ca.gov/sites/default/files/MHSOAC_Handouts_05272021.pdf.
City of Palo Alto Page 8
3. Requesting funds for an alternative mental health response program: In order to ensure
adequate coverage of a mental health alternative response program for Palo Alto, the
City also submitted for federal Community Project Funding (earmarks) for financial
support for this type of program in partnership with the City of Mountain View and the
City of Los Altos. The City received many letters of support for this type of program to
accompany the application. Congresswoman Eshoo pushed forward the City’s request to
the subcommittee of the Appropriations Committee. Though there are many steps to go
and no certainty of receiving the funds, the City is proud to have made it this far in
pursuing additional funds to complement any mental health alternative response
program in North County and ensure adequate coverage of Palo Alto’s needs.
Timeline, Resource Impact, Policy Implications
Staff anticipates providing the next Race and Equity Update to the Policy and Services
Committee this fall. Other specific topic areas could be scheduled to come back at different
dates.
Resource Impact
The expansion of the IPA contract will have a fiscal impact, and will be noted in the June 14,
2021 Council item on this matter.
Stakeholder Engagement
Engaging the community at large to provide feedback for the City’s Race and Equity strategy
has been a priority throughout this process as shown in the Framework. The City continues to
engage the community through a series of Race and Equity conversations, including the “100
community conversations” initiative that the Human Relations Commission is undertaking as
well as all the events that took place throughout the month of May and the Summit on Women
and Girls in June. Updates on the City’s ongoing efforts can be found on the Race and Equity
webpage on the City website (www.cityofpaloalto.org/raceandequity).
Attachments:
• Attachment A-Cities Association Racial-Justice-Subcommittee
Racial Justice Committee
Members:
Vice Mayor Chappie Jones, City of San Jose, Chair
Mayor Margaret Abe-Koga, City of Mountain View
Mayor Rich Constantine, City of Morgan Hill
Vice Mayor Neysa Fligor, City of Los Altos Mayor Larry Klein, City of Sunnyvale
Mayor Marico Sayoc, Town of Los Gatos
Steve Preminger, Santa Clara County Executive’s Office
Background
While simultaneously navigating the COVID-19 pandemic, the Cities Association of Santa Clara County
(CASCC) formed the Racial Justice Committee in response to the murder of George Floyd and the civil
unrest that followed. The events of 2020 have created unprecedented health and social challenges
affecting all of our communities, and disproportionately affecting those of Black people, Latinx people,
Indigenous people, other people of color, immigrants, and the incarcerated. We can no longer ignore
the systems that are failing our communities of color because they are failing all of us. Despite these
challenges, we recognize that the Bay Area thrives because of the inherent diversity of our communities.
Rising rents and home prices affect everyone, and they have an especially hard impact on people of
color and those working lower-paid jobs, many of whom are being forced out of the region. We need to
act so that race no longer predicts life outcome, and we can continue to stay in this unique place we all
love. As elected leaders across the County, we have a responsibility to advance opportunities for all and
achieve racial equity through partnerships with others. More importantly, there is an opportunity for
each of the 15 cities in Santa Clara County to have a greater impact if we take action together.
Consequently, the committee found consensus to focus on three priorities:
1.Affordable Housing – Policy recommendations as an effort to expand housing opportunities for
underserved populations
2.Public Safety Reform – Rebuilding trust with the community in collaboration with the Santa
Clara County Police Chiefs Association
3.Hate Crimes Against Asian American Pacific Islander (AAPI) Community in collaboration with
the Santa Clara County Task Force on Hate Crimes
It is understood that each jurisdiction and community is unique. Some of our member cities may
already have some of the proposed policies in place and some may not. Though it is not expected that
all jurisdictions will support or adopt every one of the recommendations listed, they are suggested for
consideration and potential action as concrete steps the region can take to further advance racial
justice.
1.Affordable Housing Recommendations for Consideration
Attachment A
CASCC Racial Justice Committee
Draft Recommendations
May 8, 2021
Page 2 of 8
Historical legacies and policies have created racial inequities in housing long before COVID-19. There is
an opportunity for local leaders to boldly tackle systemic racism in their housing systems and repair the
harms that have resulted in racial segregation, displacement, and inequitable communities.
Goal:
• Expand housing policies and create housing opportunities for diverse communities and people
of color.
• Increase affordable housing outreach, access, and occupancy in historically underserved
communities.
Action 1: Support AB 649 (Cortese) Affordable Housing Tenant Preference Bill
Description: Displacement causes lower-income residents, who are disproportionately people of
color in many California communities, real tangible problems: physical health problems, mental
health problems, and educational deficiencies. SB 649 creates a State policy that supports
greater access to affordable housing for underserved populations facing displacement. It aligns
anti-displacement tenant preferences with Internal Revenue Code requirements, thereby
qualifying affordable housing developments that use tenant preferences for tax credit or bond
financing. This allows cities the option to require an anti-displacement tenant preference for
affordable housing units, if they desire.
At the Cities Association Racial Justice committee Meeting of April 9, 2021, this
recommendations was referred to the Legislative Action Committee for review. It will be
included in their June 10, 2021 meeting.
Action 2: Support A Regional Affordable Housing Online Portal
Description: Encourage cities to participate and utilize a single online portal to market all
affordable listings in their jurisdictions across the region. This could serve as a single place
where all local affordable listings may be found with jurisdiction specific information. Pending
the passage of AB 649, cities could narrow the scope of opportunities to local residents. This
platform is an opportunity to share and save costs across jurisdictions, especially for those that
have not yet undertaken this effort.
o City of San Jose recently approved on March 18, 2021, the Doorway Portal
Collaborative:https://sanjose.legistar.com/LegislationDetail.aspx?ID=4854843&GUID=D
FFD8618A39E-497F-9E8F-8941475935C7&Options=&Search=. City of San Jose is leading
effort for the county and welcomes collaboration with other jurisdictions.
CASCC Racial Justice Committee
Draft Recommendations
May 8, 2021
Page 3 of 8
o The City of San José, Alameda County, and San Mateo County are part of this regional
effort and are in various stages of Doorway implementation. Other agencies, including
the Housing Authority of Santa Clara County, are also evaluating current and planned
features of the Doorway platform.
o The City/County of San Francisco has established an affordable housing portal with the
same provider, Exygy Inc., known as DAHLIA, and can be viewed at
https://housing.sfgov.org/. This website lists all affordable housing vacancy
opportunities in one place, simplifies the application process, and provides automated
tools for property managers to facilitate the processing of applications
o The mission of the Regional Doorway Collaborative is to (1) improve access to affordable
housing by making it easier to find and apply for affordable housing in the Bay Area, (2)
generate data on housing demand and placement to facilitate more efficient use of
affordable housing resources, (3) help advocate for more resources for these efforts,
and (4) facilitate alignment in tenant preferences used in various jurisdictions to the
extent possible.
o The Regional Doorway Collaborative envisions a simple and equitable way for residents
to find and apply for affordable housing throughout the Bay Area and is working to
create a unified multi-lingual platform with transparent processes from marketing to
movein. It will include both an Applicant Portal and a Partners Portal. The Applicant
Portal will provide a website for prospective tenants to find all affordable housing
vacancy listings in one location. Applicants will be able to submit applications online
through the Applicant Portal, and affordable housing property managers will be able to
efficiently manage applications for tenancy through the Partners Portal.
The Cities of Morgan Hill, Gilroy, Santa Clara, Campbell, Los Gatos, and Mountain View
currently utilize HouseKeys as its Affordable Housing Program Administrator to provide
affordable housing opportunities (ownership, rental, and finance programs) to income-
eligible households. The City of Morgan Hill has worked with HouseKeys for the past 5 years
investing in and building an online portal to market affordable listings in their jurisdiction
and collect data to ensure that they are currently marketing to underserved/diverse
communities. It is a platform now used by other cities and can be viewed at:
https://www.housekeys.org/muni.
Other cities in the County market their affordable housing units via third party
administrators on their websites linked below:
▪ Los Altos – Alta Housing
▪ Palo Alto – Alta Housing
▪ Milpitas
▪ Cupertino – Rise Housing
▪ Sunnyvale
CASCC Racial Justice Committee
Draft Recommendations
May 8, 2021
Page 4 of 8
Action 3: Affirmative Fair Housing: Expand HUD Outreach Policy, Countywide Assessment on Fair
Housing, Adopt Citywide Fair Chance Housing Policy, Adopt Inclusionary Housing Policy
Description:
Advancing Fair Housing will create more equitable opportunity for minority populations and
advance racial justice in Santa Clara County. According to government code, affirmatively
further fair housing means “taking meaningful actions, in addition to combatting discrimination,
that overcome patterns of segregation and foster inclusive communities free from barriers that
restrict access to opportunity based on protected characteristics.” The following are identified
as steps each city in Santa Clara County could take, and many have already started taking, to
advance fair housing in their city.
Expand HUD Outreach: As of now, affordable housing units that are federally subsidized are
required to use affirmative fair marketing. Encourage affirmative fair housing countywide by all
cities and require a marketing plan tailored to identify the least likely to apply by using census
data to inform that plan. This would be an effort to expand marketing to all affordable projects
and not just those that are federally subsidized. The HUD form required by developers using
federal HOME funds is here for reference: https://www.hud.gov/sites/documents/935-2A.PDF
Countywide Assessment on Fair Housing: Engaging in a countywide assessment will highlight the
inadequacies and identify clear policy changes that could assist in fair housing across Santa Clara
County.
Strengthen or Adopt Citywide Fair Chance Housing Policy: Citywide Fair Chance Housing Policy’s
will break down barriers of entry to housing for those who have criminal backgrounds and low
credit scores. Historically, minority populations come from over-policed areas and are given
more severe punishments which perpetuates a system of housing insecurity through
generations. Low credit takes years to build back up and can be a difficult obstacle to overcome
for populations seeking housing.
Strengthen or Adopt Inclusionary Housing Policy: Requiring a percentage of new construction to
be affordable will demand more diverse and inclusive communities, particularly in communities
of opportunity and transit rich areas where lower income residents are vastly out-priced for
market-rate rentals. Eleven of fifteen cities in the County have adopted inclusionary housing
policies: Campbell, Cupertino, Los Altos, Los Gatos, Milpitas, Morgan Hill, Mountain View, Palo
Alto, San Jose, Santa Clara, and Sunnyvale.
Action 4: Proactively engage both communities of color and lower-income residents, homeowners, and
renters in the upcoming Housing Element update process.
CASCC Racial Justice Committee
Draft Recommendations
May 8, 2021
Page 5 of 8
Description: Historically, some residents of our communities have been underrepresented in
public discussions around land use and affordable housing policy and planning. The upcoming
Housing Element update process is different from past cycles and now requires explicit
engagement with State Law requiring that jurisdictions take steps to affirmatively further fair
housing, and more explicit indication of where cities are planning for future affordable housing
development. This is a tremendous opportunity to bring the full spectrum of community
perspectives into public discussions about the future of their cities. However, experience shows
that unless this is made a priority, and steps are taken to specifically engage communities often
missing from these discussions, their perspectives will be left out, and opportunities for a sense
of collective civic purpose will be missed.
Action 5: Develop a Statement of Support for Land Use Changes that Diversify Communities
Description: Finding ways to integrate multifamily housing into communities of opportunity is
critical to desegregate Bay Area cities. Exploring policies that will allow more affordable units in
higher cost, transit rich communities of opportunity will make room for more and diverse types
of housing and thus advance racial justice in Santa Clara County.
Action 6: Increase housing education for diverse populations
Description: Increase and promote a countywide campaign on education about home ownership
opportunities for marginalized communities that are unaware of the steps needed to qualify for
ownership. Partner with current organizations that provide this service, such as HUD approved
counseling agencies, e.g. Project Sentinel. Consider collaboration with a community
organization for funding of this campaign.
Action 7: Endorse the 2020 Community Plan to End Homelessness and Develop Implementation Plans.
Description: The 2020 Community Plan to End Homelessness is endorsed by the CASCC and
seven Santa Clara County jurisdictions with several others in the process of formally endorsing.
The Plan will aim to house 20,000 residents over 5 years, prevent future homelessness from
occurring for at-risk and housing-insecure individuals, and improve the lives of those individuals
residing in shelters and encampments. It is also critical that Cities develop their own individual
implementation plans and identify resources to address homelessness consistent with the
20202025 Community Plan to End Homelessness.
2. Public Safety Reform – Rebuilding Trust with the Community in collaboration with the Santa Clara
County Police Chiefs Association
Following the murder of George Floyd, nationwide protests erupted that called for police reform in
the United States. In the past 11 months this has led to new laws, proposals, and public directives at
all levels of government to address the key issues of police misconduct, systemic racism, racial bias,
CASCC Racial Justice Committee
Draft Recommendations
May 8, 2021
Page 6 of 8
and police brutality. In reaching out to the Santa Clara Police Chiefs Association, we strive to
collaborate on rebuilding trust between our police departments and members of the public through
accountability, transparency and community engagement. In doing so, our various police
departments shared their police reform efforts, which are displayed in Attachment A.
The law enforcement agencies within Santa Clara County have been diligently working towards
police reform that works for the safety of both the community and the officers. Though they have
made much progress, there is still much left to do, especially in terms of addressing the crux of the
issue that has led to brutal deaths of civilians at the hands of police officers: Use of Force.
Thus, as a collaborative effort with the Santa Clara County Police Chiefs Association, the CASCC
strongly supports advancing training for our police officers through the utilization of Virtual Reality
(VRDT) technology for Crisis Intervention Training and encourages all public safety departments
within the County to complete it. This technology is considered new and is being used in
Sacramento to recreate real-world police encounters and incorporate lessons learned into the
training curriculum such as cultural competency, de-escalation, critical decision-making, peer
intervention and implicit bias training. This technology would allow for controversial police incidents
that occur across the country to be turned into virtual reality simulations almost instantaneously
after they occur, allowing officers to learn from real life mistakes, and train for real world situations.
VRDT technology increases efficiency in scenario-based training and allows officers to train with all
of their tools – handgun, Taser, rifle, OC, and flashlight. Additional benefits include decreasing the
need for instructor’s/role players during real life scenario drills, alleviating the need for different
training locations, and introducing an array of virtual environments with different environmental
factors at play. All equipment needed for this training will be provided by California’s Commission
on Peace Officer Standards and Training (POST) with an estimated delivery date of June 2021. Two
departments that applied for utilization of the technology include San Jose and Sunnyvale. Both
agencies are willing to host the training of other departments.
This new technology is a critical tool that all departments should utilize as an effort to improve the
training of our police officers and further reform policing in Santa Clara County.
3. Hate Crimes Against Asian American Pacific Islander (AAPI) Community in collaboration with the
Santa Clara County Task Force on Hate Crimes
Santa Clara County formed a new Task Force on Hate Crimes to address the recent spike in hate
crimes, particularly among Asian Americans. The Task Force was formed in December 2020 and is
co-led by San Jose Council Member Maya Esparza and County Board of Supervisor Cindy Chavez.
The Task Force includes a body of voting members and a body of advisory members. President and
Los Gatos Mayor Marico Sayoc represents the Cities Association as an Advisory Board Member. She
will be bring forward efforts to the CASCC Board that will benefit from action by our member cities
to address and curb the spike in hate crimes against Asian American members of our communities
to create a more inclusive society.
CASCC Racial Justice Committee
Draft Recommendations
May 8, 2021
Page 7 of 8
The Hate Crimes Task Force will be a multisector effort to investigate, educate, prevent, and combat
hate incidents and hate crimes in the County of Santa Clara. The Task Force will advise on strategies
and areas for improvements and investments, and strategies relative to appropriate services and
programs to address, reduce, and prevent hate incidents and hate crimes. The Task Force shall
consider the following:
• Facilitating coordinated responses by local, state, and federal investigators and prosecutors;
• Engaging law enforcement’s response to the hate crime problem and providing input for
improvements;
• Appropriate educational and community outreach programs designed to reduce and address
hate incidents and hate crimes;
• Appropriate services, resources, and programs for victims;
• Collaborating with multisector partners regionally, nationally, and internationally to share
information and strategies for ending hate incidents and hate crimes.
A holistic approach will leverage existing efforts to improve and expand data collection, study and
evaluate the pathology of hate incidents and hate crimes, educate the community and expand on
school programming, implement programs and services for victims, and offer resources and tools to
drive the County towards a hate free community.
The meetings are scheduled to take place in the Board of Supervisors’ Chambers, County
Government Center, 70 West Hedding Street, San Jose, or by virtual teleconference on the following
days:
Friday, February 26, 12pm*
Friday, March 26, 12pm
Friday, April 23, 12pm
Friday, June 25, 12pm
Friday, August 27, 12pm
Friday, October 29, 12pm
*Denotes Special Meeting
In addition to collaboration with the Santa Clara County Task Force on Hate Crimes, the committee
shall explore sponsorship of bystander intervention training for the community members of all of
our member jurisdictions. Bystander intervention training has been proven to empower bystanders
to intervene when witnessing disrespect or harassment.
CASCC Racial Justice Committee
Draft Recommendations
May 8, 2021
Page 8 of 8