Genny Altwer
Running for:
Council District 9
Campaign Website:
1) The Preservation Action Council of San Jose (PAC*SJ) was formed in 1990 with concern for the abandonment of Willis Polk's First Church of Christ, Scientist on St. James Square. The continued abandonment has vexed residents and City officials for years. As Councilmember, what actions would you take to hold the current owner accountable for the neglect and re-establish its presence in the St. James Square Historic District? What actions would you take to facilitate its urgently-needed rehabilitation? Do you have a vision for the adaptive reuse of the structure?
Are there other properties on PAC*SJ’s Endangered 8 list, or any other culturally important sites, that you would encourage San Jose to collaborate on revitalization?
I support the action Mayor Mahan took to regain ownership of the site. But our City needs to do better ensuring we quickly rehabilitate and revitalize abandoned structures. I currently sit on the Appeals Hearing Board, where I work with our City Staff to clean up blight, and I’ve seen firsthand how we get in our own way with unnecessary processes that slow things down and make cleaning our City up more expensive. On the council, I’ll work with stakeholders including city staff, local advocates, nonprofit groups, and other reuse partners to move this project forward and ensure that we can preserve our history while continuing to invest in the neighborhood — I think those two priorities go hand in hand. Our neighbors deserve to have input on the plan, through a fair, transparent, and quick process.
2) In the past five years alone, at least ten vacant historic buildings in San José have been lost to fire. Often, these properties are left vacant after tenants are displaced in anticipation of future development that may never materialize. Would you support entitlement conditions that would hold property owners accountable? If so, what would those look like?
Yes. This is exactly the issue I've worked on as an Appeals Hearing Board Commissioner. The problem with our system today is that the consequences for letting a building rot are too small, too slow, and too easy to ignore. Owners pencil that out and decide it's cheaper to neglect the building than to take care of it. Ten vacant historic buildings lost to fire in five years is what happens when that's the math.
On the council, I’ll be a strong voice for enforcing our codes to make sure that no property that is at risk of fire remains vulnerable. It’s a risk to our neighborhoods, our quality of life, and preserving our history. I support holding property owners accountable when they impose danger onto their neighbors and put us all at risk.
3) California Senate Bill SB 79 was recently signed into law by Governor Newsom, allowing by-right multistory new construction within a half-mile of qualifying transit stops, including 56 in San Jose. Many of these new TOD (Transit-Oriented Development) zones cover areas with high concentrations of historic buildings and pedestrian-scaled commercial corridors. SB 79 specifically allowed cities to exempt locally-designated historic resources from upzoning through the creation of local alternative plans, yet San Jose City Council recently voted not to do so. What do you think the role of the Council should be in exercising local control of planning decisions impacting historic resources?
My number one priority is housing. My own daughters are growing up in a city they may not be able to afford. So I support building more housing in San José, especially near jobs and transit. That being said, I’m a strong supporter of local control of land use and zoning. Our neighborhoods know best, and I’m not afraid to stand up to anyone, including Sacramento, to advocate for our communities. I believe it is our job as leaders to use our power to plan for the future, not let people who don’t know our city tell us what we need to do. The potential upzoning mandated by Sacramento does not prevent us from preserving, but it does mean that if we fail to, someone else may take the opportunity to do something different with the process. I’m not afraid of having the tough conversations we need to have to make sure that our city’s history is preserved, while also building the housing we need for my daughters’ generation.
4) How would you motivate and incentivize the development community to view adaptive reuse of historic structures not as an obstacle, but as a design opportunity? What partnerships do you envision for stewardship of sites and buildings?
Throughout this campaign, I’ve heard the same feedback from the development community: city hall is too slow, makes things too expensive, and too unpredictable. Mayor Mahan has made great progress on this issue, but there’s much more to do. If we want the development community to work with us, we also need to work with them on other issues like development taxes and fees. We also need to make sure our city staff are trained on working with historic buildings, as different construction methods are needed, so those working with historic sites can move as fast as those starting from scratch. The same red tape that makes housing hard to build makes adaptive reuse even harder. Cutting through it benefits everyone.
5) How do you think that preserving historic buildings and districts might contribute to the economic vitality of San Jose by enhancing its distinctive qualities of place, drawing visitors and local residents alike?
Our city is the home of so much incredible history for the region, state, and country. Beautiful historic sites can draw in visitors and support our city’s dynamism. Well maintained and preserved historic sites can be an incredible boost to our city’s economy, bringing in jobs, and customers for retail. When I’m knocking on doors, I hear people say they love San José, and we can honor that feeling by preserving our most beautiful buildings for everyone.