• In 2018-2021, the City of San José conducted a comprehensive community engagement for the Diridon Station Area, including the Downtown West project proposed by Google in partnership with Lendlease (for more information: www.diridonsj.org/archive).

• May 2021: City Council approved the Downtown West project, including a Development Agreement that outlined up to $200 million in community benefits. Exhibit H established the framework for the Fund.

• In spring 2022, the City hosted a series of events to get feedback on the ordinance to establish the Commission, based on Exhibit H.

• In August 2022, the City Council added the Commission to Chapter 2.08 of the City's Municipal Code as Part 50 (memo).

• In fall 2022, staff conducted an application process for the initial members of the Commission.

• In December 2022, the City Council appointed the initial members to the Commission, based on staff’s recommendation (memo).

• In June 2023, City Council filled a vacancy on the Commission, following the withdrawal of an appointee in a Work Experience seat. See the staff memo here.

• In December 2023, the Commission held a meeting to review the RFP process for the selection of a Fund Manager.  (Video Linked) (Audio Linked)

• Google deposited $7.5 Million to the Fund, which was distributed to:
  • $1.5 Million – San Jose Aspires (San Jose Public Library).

  • $625,000 – Goodwill (46 program participates received a paid work experience and occupational skills training). 

  • $600,000 – Work2Future (A County of Education program which subsided childcare to individuals in W2F’s training programs).
  • $525,000 – City of San Jose Public Library (College and Career Pathways Coordinator). 
  • $1 Million – Distributed to South Bay Community Land Trust $300,000, Sacred Heart Community Service $265,000, Somos Mayfair, Inc. $260,000, School of Arts & Culture at the Mexican Heritage Plaza $175,000 (Capacity Building Grants for non-profit organizations). 
  • $1.25 Million – City of San Jose Housing Department (Utilized for outreach to tenants and landlords about the eviction memorandum and rental relief funding). 
  • $500,000 – Preservation pilot
  • $250,000 – South Bay GLT (Land trust predevelopment grant enabled SBCLT to expand its capacity to explore community ownership models, outreach and education).  
  • $250,000 – City of San Jose Office of Economic Development and Cultural Affairs (Administrative staff and support). 

  • $1 Million – Gardner Community Center (Used to equipped senior programs in computer lab and sewing machines in addition to an RFQ to seek proposals from local nonprofits to activate Gardner). 

• Upon distribution of the $7.5 Million the commission was paused as additional community benefits were not anticipated until later in the development cycle.
• Subsequent to the Commission being paused, Google advanced a voluntary early payment of an additional $5 Million to the Fund for distribution over a minimum of three grant cycles of 12 to 18 months each.  

After the Commission has been reactivated and vacant seats have been filled, the City will launch a procurement process to select a third-party Fund Manager. Once selected and onboarded, the Fund Manager will begin to prepare the first Strategic Plan to distribute the $5 Million in Google’s early community benefit payments. The Strategic Plan will be presented to the City Council for approval. This process will involve coordination with the Commission and staff, as well as community engagement. It is expected to take 12-18 months to complete.

Membership for the Commission is intended to reflect a balanced mix of perspectives, backgrounds, and demographic diversity. At least five of the 13 voting members must have “lived experience” in the program areas the Fund will address, such as housing insecurity, neighborhood instability, homelessness, low-income, unemployment, and/or barriers to opportunity and economic mobility. At least eight members must have work experience in the relevant fields. One of the seats may be an academic/research role.  

Membership also includes one non-voting member (a Google representative) and an alternate. The alternate commissioner may serve in place of any of voting member in the event of an absence at a given meeting. The alternate is expected to attend all Commission meetings and trainings. 

Refer to Section 2.08.5020 of the Municipal Code for the full list of membership criteria. 

Commission members may be reappointed to serve additional terms, but for no more than two consecutive terms. Commission members will serve four-year terms. 

NEW COMMISSIONER SELECTION PROCESS

Due to the Commission being paused, all previously appointed commissioners will be offered a new term of four years, subject to Council approval. Applications are being accepted for all vacant seats. If you are interested in becoming a commissioner on this commission or any other City commission and would like information about the application process, please contact the City Clerk. 

When commissioners reach their term limits, the City will open the recruitment process for selecting new members of the commission. This process includes the following steps:

1. An application period will be opened for people interested in participating on the commission.
   
   
2. Interested community members will be required to complete an application. At the close of the application period, a panel of City staff will evaluate all complete applications against the membership criteria. Staff will recommend a slate of members, which may include reappointment of eligible existing members (incumbents). 
   
   
3. Staff will take the recommended slate to City Council for appointment as part of a regular Council meeting.
   City Council may accept staff's recommendation or make substitutions from the pool of eligible applicants.

If you are interested in becoming a commissioner on this commission or any other City commission and would like information about the application process, please contact the City Clerk.

After the Commission has been reactivated and vacant seats have been filled, the City will launch a procurement process to select a third-party Fund Manager. Once selected and onboarded, the Fund Manager will begin to prepare the first Strategic Plan to distribute the $5 Million in Google’s early community benefit payments.. The Strategic Plan will be presented to the City Council for approval. This process will involve coordination with the Commission and staff, as well as community engagement. It is expected to take 12-18 months to complete.

Following approval of the Strategic Plan for the $5 million Fund, the Fund Manager will administer the first grant process in coordination with the Commission. The Fund Manager will recommend grant recipients to the Commission, for review and approval. The grants must be consistent with the Strategic Plan.

The Fund Manager will prepare Annual Performance Reports, for the Commission’s review and then for the City Council to receive at a public meeting. The Fund Manager shall be responsible for ongoing community engagement and public communication, in coordination with the Commission and City staff.

 The Commission’s roles and responsibilities are to:

• Work with staff to develop a set of procedural rules and regulations (i.e., bylaws)
• Advise on selection of the third-party Fund Manager
• Participate in the development of the Strategic Plan
• Guide and support public outreach/engagement related to the Fund and its Strategic Plan
• Guide scoping of competitive grant solicitations
• Receive recommendations from the Fund Manager and approve grants
• Review and provide feedback on Annual Performance Reports
• Participate in fundraising activities

The Commission will make its recommendations and decisions at public meetings. Commissioners are expected to prepare for and actively participate in these meetings. 
 
The alternate commissioner may serve in place of any of voting member in the event of an absence at a given meeting. The alternate is expected to attend all Commission meetings and trainings.

Title 2, Part 50 of the Municipal Code outlines the details on the Commission. The Commission is also subject to the regulations for all City boards and commissions outlined in Chapter 2.08, Part 1 of the Municipal Code and Council Policy 0-4 (which will be updated to reflect this new Commission). These policies support compliance with other local and state laws, such as the City’s Ethics and Open Government provisions, Brown Act, and Political Reform Act.  

In accordance with these rules, appointed Commissioners are required to complete several trainings and forms, such as Form 700 and the City’s Boards and Commissions training.  

The Commission will adopt its own procedural rules and regulations for the conduct of its business (i.e., Bylaws). The Commission’s procedural rules may be based on the standardized Rules and Regulations established by the City Clerk’s Office.