San Jose housing commissioners are raising concerns over how much authority the city housing director has — with some commissioners saying they’re being sidelined.
Officials at the Housing and Development Commission meeting on Thursday had a disagreement over what information commissioners have the right to request from the Housing Department. Some commissioners said it’s been difficult getting data from the department to inform their recommendations — information that has been provided in the past.
When it came time to decide on whether the requests should be formalized through a public records request, commissioners voted 9-1-1 to table the discussion. Commissioner Gabriela Gabrian voted no and Commissioner Daniel Finn, who represents mobile home residents, abstained.
“Tabling this item does not address the underlying need,” Chair Ruben Navarro, who brought forth the item, told San José Spotlight. “Commissioners require access to essential data and information to provide meaningful recommendations to City Council. This is a fundamental responsibility of an advisory body. The residents of San Jose deserve a fully informed commission. We will revisit this matter.”
Finn said the housing department isn’t providing information that commissioners typically have had access to, including the mobile home call logs. The report is normally provided on a quarterly basis with a catalog of the date of the call, who called, which park they called, the topic and a brief synopsis of the call. Current call logs lack the description of the call, which provides pertinent information about the issues residents are inquiring about, Finn said.
The issue with the call logs led to a spat between the commissioners and Housing Director Erik Soliván on how and when commissioners can get information.
When commissioners tried to get a clearer answer on when they can expect to receive requested information from city staff, Soliván said requests are weighed against time constraints and existing obligations to council.
“There is no timing dictated in council policy regarding the timeliness of staff expectation response to any commission,” Soliván said at the meeting.
Soliván did not respond to a request for comment.
Other commissioners said they haven’t had an issue with getting the information they need from the housing department. They did express concerns about changing the format for requesting information.
“I don’t think they’ve ever denied anything,” Commissioner Ryan Jasinsky, who represents mobile home park owners, said at the meeting. “I think there’s been discussions about time and resources, but it’s never been a straight denial.”
Commissioner Oscar Quiroz-Medrano said he feels they are not being heard.
“We get snubbed at or overlooked when it comes to our opinions or our thoughts, even if we have the lived experience or the work experience,” Quiroz-Medrano told San José Spotlight. “It just dismisses what we’re offering to the table, and it dismisses that we’re entrusted not only by the district (councilmember), but also their constituents in our districts to have good faith in what we’re trying to advise.”
Finn said the issue is larger than just getting information for call logs — it’s about the fight to keep rents affordable at mobile home parks and the lack of transparency regarding policies the department is proposing.
Last year, the housing department proposed a 10% increase to space rents once a mobile home is sold. Soliván previously said it was a way to provide more revenue for capital improvements as the department updates its decades-old mobile home rent policy. Dozens of mobile home residents spoke out against the rent increases, saying that it would take away the city’s last affordable housing options.
Emails shared with San José Spotlight revealed the policy was being drafted with mobile home park owners in mind long before residents knew. The city council voted in January to delay the rent increase and have it return back to council in the fall.
“In the past, this hasn’t been a problem. When we asked for information, we always got it,” Finn told San José Spotlight. “(Now) it seems like the commission and housing is a much more adversarial relationship, and that they want to fight us over everything since Erik tried to push through these proposals to change the mobile home rental ordinance, and he didn’t like it that we fought back.”
Contact Joyce Chu at joyce@sanjosespotlgiht.com or @joyce_speaks on X.
This story originally appeared in San José Spotlight.