San Jose legislative update: Proposed ban defeated
We are pleased to announce our successful efforts in defeating a proposed one-year ban on any new development of quick-service restaurants in San Jose City, the nation’s tenth largest city, and an indefinite ban within a 1,000-foot radius of San Jose schools. The measure proposed by Council Members Nora Campos, Kansen Chu and Forrest Williams was the latest government effort to target the restaurant industry on obesity and had the backing of the Santa Clara County Public Health Department.
The measure failed to pass out of the city’s Rules and Open Government Committee on Wednesday, August 20, 2008. The full proposal can be viewed here.
The CRA joined several business owners, the San Jose Downtown Association and San Jose Silicon Valley Chamber of Commerce to voice opposition to the proposed bans at the public meeting.
Committee Members Mayor Chuck Reed, Vice Mayor Dave Cortese and Council Member Pete Constant argued that the proposed bans would stifle economic growth and development in the city and are not the solution to the obesity problem. Council Member Judy Chirco, also a committee member, was not present. The committee unanimously voted against the proposal, choosing not to move it forward to the full council for further consideration. Instead, the committee opted to refer discussion of general fitness and nutrition to two low-profile forums, the city’s school-city collaborative and healthy neighborhood venture fund.
The School/City Collaborative is a partnership with the City of San Jose, its school districts, the County Office of Education and additional education stakeholders. The goal of the Collaborative is to address and solve educational issues on a continual and ongoing basis by opening up a dialogue not only between the City of San Jose and its school districts, but also between the various school districts themselves.
The healthy neighborhood venture fund distributes funds each year through a public competitive process using the following allocation categories: tobacco-free community; health education; health and senior services; and Health. Funding is provided from a national settlement with tobacco companies.
The CRA commends San Jose Mayor Chuck Reed, Vice Mayor Dave Cortese and Council Member Pete Constant for their sound decision-making on this issue. If passed, the measure would have been very damaging for the restaurant industry and would have set bad precedent for other cities to follow.
For more information, please contact Amalia Chamorro via e-mail at achamorro@calrest.org.
