Alex Shoor

http://alexshoor.com

1) PAC*SJ recently released its second annual “Endangered Eight” list of the most threatened historic places in San José. Which of these places (including those from our 2022 “Endangered Eight” of which some remain endangered) most resonates with you personally? Which of these would you use the power of your elected office to address, and how? 

Burbank Theater stands out as one of the most important landmarks that should be preserved to the best of our abilities. Through Catalyze SV, I have already been working closely with PAC*SJ on this site. We have made plans to schedule a community engagement process around the theater’s future. The plan would bring together property owners and community members to envision solutions and find a path of support. The goals for any redevelopment of this site should include as much preservation of the current building as possible. I will continue to fight to improve and restore the Burbank Theater (though not at the expense of seeing no redevelopment of the site occur).

Equally important to me is the preservation of Diridon Station. I would prefer to see it remain in the neighborhood, as well as continue to see the building used for transit. But, no matter what, we can’t allow it to be torn down.

With over 400 vendors selling at the Berryessa Flea Market, it is not only a huge source of economic vitality for our city and region, but an institution we cannot afford to lose. I will continue my role in a coalition of organizations and individuals seeking to protect and prevent the displacement of hundreds of largely Latino and Asian Berryessa Flea Market vendors, who successfully secured a better deal for these businesses as this redevelopment unfolds. Yet the issue hasn’t been resolved because the vendors still don’t have a long-term place where they can stay.

2) Is there a historic place or preservation issue not on our 2022 or 2023 “Endangered Eight” lists that you would nominate to be added? If so, what solutions would you offer as an elected official to address the issue/threat?

I would love for the City of San Jose to buy it and re-sell The Towne Theater on The Alameda to a developer willing to restore it. Additionally, I would welcome seeing it added to the City’s historic registry if it hasn’t already. And I would certainly oppose its demolition because we need more neighborhood theaters if San Jose is going to return to a walkable city built around neighborhood villages.

As part of proposing new “districts” in San Jose, I would like to create a place to celebrate Cannery Workers of the past by renaming the area around Del Monte “The Cannery District”

3) In the past three years alone, at least six vacant historic buildings in San José have been lost to fire, and many more have suffered from chronic neglect and vandalism. Often, these properties were left vacant after former tenants were displaced in anticipation of future development that never materialized.  How would you propose more effective code enforcement and security measures to encourage better stewardship and to prevent the continued loss of our historic resources to neglect? What additional solutions would you propose to address these systemic problems?  

First and foremost, I would aim to prevent the premature eviction of residential tenants. In 2019, a development was proposed in an existing DIstrict 6 building with the new owner swiftly evicting eight families that had been living in the affordably-priced homes. However, the development wasn’t approved by San Jose’s City Council until four years later and it’s not clear that the developer has any immediate plans to actually build the approved project. As a result, these eight families were displaced from their homes many years before they needed to be. San Jose should allow tenants to stay on a redevelopment site until demolition or construction is ready to begin.


Empty Storefronts & Spaces: San Joséans have told me how concerned they are about all the empty storefronts, commercial buildings, and offices sitting empty. Empty buildings are not just a waste of space, they encourage blight, vandalism, squatting, drug use, fires, etc. Moreover, they can bring down property values. We should fill these empty buildings with housing and jobs. I want to address this by:
- Putting forward policies that first encourage property owners to lease their storefronts to small, local businesses shortly after they open. This could take the form of reduced property taxes for 5 years if new retail spaces are filled within the first year of vacancy.
- Formalizing a penalty system for empty buildings. When owners choose to leave their buildings vacant and neglected for years. I suggest assessing an annual vacant fee on property owners who leave their land or buildings empty for more than 9 consecutive months without initiating any planned improvements. This would discourage property owners from leaving spaces empty long-term. It’s similar to the effort proposed in the 8/24/23 memo from Mayor Matt Mahan, Vice Mayor Rosemary Kamei, Councilmember Pam Foley, & Councilmember Omar Torres to increase the fee on the delinquent owner of the dilapidated First Church of Christ Scientist building.
- Encouraging property owners sitting on empty buildings or empty land to convert the land to urban agriculture using the Urban Agricultural Incentive Zone I worked on at the County and City or other policies).