March 13, 2023
San Jose City Council
200 E. Santa Clara St.
San Jose, CA 95113
Via email to: mayoremail@sanjoseca.gov
city.clerk@sanjoseca.gov
Re: Agenda Item 3.5 - Measure T Status Report
Dear Mayor Mahan and Councilmembers,
The Sierra Club Loma Prieta Chapter urges the Council to approve the memo from Councilmembers Candelas and Ortiz to maintain the City’s commitment to improving water quality at Lake Cunningham through Measure T funding. Please do not take the $3.2M in Measure T funds that was committed to improving water quality at a park located in a lowincome community of color.
In 2018, the Sierra Club, with other organizations, engaged and mobilized our members and supporters to promote Measure T and provide information to voters. This $650M infrastructure bond measure allocated $50M for natural flood and water quality protection. With the City of San Jose, we celebrated the resulting acquisition of 937 acres of open space and farmland in North Coyote Valley for permanent conservation. The remaining $3.2M in the “Environmental and Flood Protection Projects” funding category should be dedicated to water quality projects, as envisioned in Measure T.
We support the allocation of the remaining $3.2M to improve the water quality at Lake Cunningham Park, which provides open space and recreation opportunities, as well as habitat restoration opportunities, to the less affluent community of East San Jose. Water quality in the lake has degraded so much that it has become toxic to fish and wildlife, and swimming and even boating have been prohibited for health and safety reasons. This is both an environmental embarrassment and an equity issue that San Jose should cure. The $3.2 million in environmental funding will help begin the path to improved water quality.
Lake Cunningham is not only a recreational resource, it is a remnant of San Jose’s historical geomorphology and heritage. Lake Cunningham was once known as Laguna Socayre, a wetland where creeks merged to support willow thickets and a rich fauna of fish, birds and wildlife. A project to restore water quality in Lake Cunningham could include constructed wetlands to remove contaminants from the water and provide valuable ecosystem benefits to the region, including flood protection, habitat, and climate resilience.
We urge the Council to approve the memo from Councilmembers Candelas and Ortiz and maintain the City’s commitment to improving water quality at Lake Cunningham through Measure T funding.
Sincerely,
James Eggers, Executive Director
Sierra Club Loma Prieta Chapter