What we are tracking in San Leandro

Sidewalk inspection requests that sit for months, with 189 of 405 still open

San Leandro · Anza Way, Lexington Avenue, Washington Avenue, Oakes Boulevard, Durant Avenue and other blocks · raised since December 2024

On 6 April 2026, a resident of Anza Way sent San Leandro a sidewalk inspection request through SeeClickFix, the app and website where residents report problems to the city. In a resident's SeeClickFix report, 6 April 2026, the resident described damage that had come back:

"The sidewalk concrete was damaged again, this is the third time within a decade, it damaged my sewage system too years ago, it caused my $7000 to fix the sewage. Now, I was retired"

A resident of Anza Way, SeeClickFix report, 6 April 2026

Other residents have written in the same way. On 30 July 2025, a resident's SeeClickFix report about Washington Avenue described a "Broken sidewalk, tripping hazard". On 13 December 2025, a resident's SeeClickFix report from Lexington Avenue asked the city to "schedule some to take a look to see any temporary measures for this to prevent everyone safety". On 1 September 2026, a resident's SeeClickFix report from Oakes Boulevard said, "the sidewalk was previously ground but it needs it again. There is about a 2" step in the raised sidewalk that needs attention." Grinding is a way of shaving down a raised edge in concrete. All four requests were listed as open on 1 October 2026.

San Leandro answers most of what residents send quickly. Of the 13,295 requests filed since October 2024 in the SeeClickFix data, only 4% are still open. Pothole requests, 422 of them, closed in a median of 11 days, with 3% still open. A median is the middle value, so half of the requests closed faster than that and half took longer.

Sidewalk inspection is the exception. Of 405 sidewalk inspection requests filed between October 2024 and September 2026, 189 (47%) are still open. The open ones have been waiting a median of 174 days. The requests that were closed took a median of 91 days, compared with 11 days for potholes. The oldest open one was filed on 24 January 2025 at Estudillo Avenue and Harrison Street. A smaller, separate sidewalk repair category shows the same slowness: 6 of 20 requests are open (30%), a median of 365 days after they were filed, and the oldest was filed on 17 December 2024 at Fleming Street and Manor Boulevard.

One caution applies to all of these figures. "Open" is the city's own status label, and in SeeClickFix it covers both "open" and "acknowledged," which means the city marked the report as received. Neither word says whether anyone visited the sidewalk, and the report descriptions are written by residents.

The data does not say why sidewalk requests move differently. The status labels do not show what stage a request has reached, and we have not tracked a published explanation from the city. The city has also been spending on walking routes elsewhere. On 20 July 2026 the council voted on a $976,775 contract to replace the Cary-Haas pedestrian bridge over San Leandro Creek.

Worth tracking

What would show movement: the share of sidewalk inspection requests still open falling below 47%, the median age of open requests dropping below 174 days, and the oldest ones, such as the January 2025 request at Estudillo Avenue and Harrison Street, receiving a visible response.

Sidewalk repair is mostly a question of money and crew time. A direct appropriation request, which is how a member of Congress asks Congress to fund a named local project (called Community Project Funding), could cover part or all of a sidewalk repair program, depending on its cost. The cost of clearing San Leandro's sidewalk queue is not public. The office could also help the city apply for existing federal programs, such as the Safe Streets and Roads for All grants from the U.S. Department of Transportation, which pay for walking and safety projects, if the city decides to pursue one.

Which sidewalks come first is a decision for San Leandro and its residents. The office would work with the city rather than arrive with a list. If you have filed a sidewalk request that is still waiting, or you live on a block where the sidewalk has been repaired more than once, tell us what you would put first.

Sources: SeeClickFix public data, San Leandro requests, October 2024 to September 2026, SeeClickFix report 21402391, SeeClickFix report 19632051, SeeClickFix report 20601460, SeeClickFix report 22670999, San Leandro City Council agenda, 20 July 2026

Curb ramps and crossings where residents report that the sidewalk does not work for everyone

San Leandro · Estudillo Avenue and Harrison Street; Bancroft Avenue and Elsie Avenue; East 14th Street (State Route 185) in front of a school · raised since January 2025

On 24 January 2025, a resident filed a sidewalk inspection request about the corner of Estudillo Avenue and Harrison Street, the corner by the Main Library in downtown San Leandro. In a resident's SeeClickFix report, 24 January 2025, which is the oldest sidewalk inspection request still open in the city's data, the resident described what a wheelchair user meets at the crossing:

"The handicapped access at this crosswalk requires that the wheelchair move out into the street itself before being able to continue up the sidewalk (coming and going from the library). Quite a hazard"

A resident, SeeClickFix report for Estudillo Avenue and Harrison Street, 24 January 2025

Two other reports from 2025 describe different problems at the edges of the sidewalk network. On 6 February 2025, a resident's SeeClickFix report about the corner of Bancroft Avenue and Elsie Avenue said, "Ramp flooded when raining. Safety issue". A curb ramp is the sloped section of curb that lets someone using a wheelchair, a stroller or a walker move between the sidewalk and the street. On 23 June 2025, a resident's SeeClickFix report about East 14th Street, also known as State Route 185, in front of a school, said, "Uneven sidewalk in front of school, tripping hazard, not ADA compliant". ADA stands for the Americans with Disabilities Act, the federal law that sets accessibility requirements, including for curb ramps and sidewalks that a city builds or maintains. All three requests were listed as open on 1 October 2026.

Three reports at three places over one year is a thin pattern, and it should be read that way. The reports do not show whether the problem at each corner is a design issue, a repair issue or both. What makes the three worth following is where they sit. All three were filed as sidewalk inspection requests, the request type with the longest wait in San Leandro. Of 405 sidewalk inspection requests filed since October 2024, 189 (47%) are still open, a median of 174 days after they were filed. For comparison, only 4% of all 13,295 requests in the same data are still open.

The city is not slow on everything along these routes. Along East 14th Street at the state route's mile marker 5.8, residents filed 59 requests, mostly about dumping and homeless outreach, and none of them is open.

It is also hard to say who is responsible for each corner. East 14th Street is a state highway, and the report does not say whether the city or the state maintains that stretch of sidewalk. The reports also leave open what the city's answer has been. One caution applies to the numbers above: "open" is the city's own status label, and in SeeClickFix it covers both "open" and "acknowledged," which means the city marked the report as received. It does not say whether anyone visited, and the descriptions are written by residents.

Worth tracking

What would show movement: the Estudillo and Harrison request, the oldest open one, receiving a response that residents can see, a visible repair or a note on the report about what is planned.

Accessible crossings are partly a question of money, because rebuilding a ramp means concrete work. A direct appropriation request, which is how a member of Congress asks Congress to fund a named local project (called Community Project Funding), could cover part or all of a ramp program, depending on cost, and the cost for these corners is not public. The office could also ask the Federal Highway Administration, the federal agency that oversees road programs, what technical help is available on ramp design, and could help the city apply to existing federal safety grants such as Safe Streets and Roads for All. If the East 14th Street sidewalk is the state's responsibility, the office could ask Caltrans, the state transportation agency, for an answer on the school frontage.

Which corners come first is for San Leandro and its residents to decide. The office would work with the city rather than arrive with a list. If you use a wheelchair, push a stroller or walk with a school child, and there is a corner you would put first, tell us where it is.

Sources: SeeClickFix public data, San Leandro requests, October 2024 to September 2026, SeeClickFix report 18254032, SeeClickFix report 18333729, SeeClickFix report 19315497

Speeding corners, and a slow path from a resident's complaint to a change on the street

San Leandro · Tudor Road and Cascade Road; Oakes Boulevard; Woodland Avenue; East 14th Street · raised since October 2024

On 10 December 2025, a resident of Tudor Road filed a request that was sorted under Roads. In a resident's SeeClickFix report, 10 December 2025, the resident wrote about the corner in front of their house:

"The intersection in front of my house (Tudor Road and Cascade Road) is dangerous and has been reported to the City of San Leandro Transportation Dept. for 13 years now (08-12-2012)."

A resident of Tudor Road, SeeClickFix report, 10 December 2025

In the American date format, 08-12-2012 is 12 August 2012. That is the resident's own account, and the city's side of the history is not documented. The request was still listed as open on 1 October 2026.

Other residents describe the same kind of wait. On 7 March 2025, a resident's SeeClickFix report about Oakes Boulevard said, "Speeding on Oakes from Bancroft to E14th. Ignoring Stop signs on cross streets Woodland and Lee. An array of neighbors want a traffic study and possibly speed bumps." The report adds that the last ticket on the subject was archived, which is one of SeeClickFix's status labels. On 23 February 2025, a resident's SeeClickFix report about Woodland Avenue named "Dangerous traffic speeding, not stopping at STOP signs" as the problem. On 1 October 2024, a resident's SeeClickFix report about a crosswalk at 900 East 14th Street said, "I was nearly run over at this crosswalk this morning." On 25 November 2024, a resident who wrote under General Questions said in a resident's SeeClickFix report, "I submitted a request to have Pedestrian Crossing amber LED crossing almost 2 years ago using the old 311 San Leandro website" and "I have not had an update since last year 2023."

San Leandro does respond to this kind of request. Of the 13,295 requests in the SeeClickFix data since October 2024, 36 were filed under traffic calming, which means changes meant to slow drivers down. Staff closed them in a median (middle value) of 79 days, and 3 (8%) are still open, a median of 42 days after they were filed. The oldest open one was filed on 20 March 2025 at 1621 Cedar Avenue.

The numbers look different when a request is filed under a broader label. A category called Engineering and Transportation Issue has 21 requests, with 8 (38%) still open at a median age of 226 days. The Tudor Road report came in under Roads and the amber crossing request under General Questions, so a count of 36 does not capture every speeding complaint.

One caution applies to the figures. "Open" is the city's own status label, and in SeeClickFix it covers both "open" and "acknowledged," which means the city marked the report as received. It does not say whether anyone visited, and a closed status does not show whether anything on the street changed. The descriptions are written by residents.

The city has put money behind one traffic problem in the northeast part of town. The roundabout at MacArthur Boulevard and Superior Avenue, a circular intersection that replaces a two-way stop, is fully funded at $7,219,100 and is scheduled to go out to bid in February 2027. The reports do not say what the city has told residents about cost, studies or timing at their corners.

Worth tracking

What would show movement: a traffic study or a speed measurement reported for Oakes Boulevard or the Tudor Road corner, the oldest open traffic calming request at 1621 Cedar Avenue closing with a stated outcome, and the Engineering and Transportation Issue backlog shrinking from 8 open.

San Leandro has used federal money for safety before. Council accepted $100,000 from the federal Highway Safety Improvement Program, a fund for safety work at locations with crash records, for a signal upgrade at Wicks Boulevard and Manor Boulevard. The office could help the city look for similar programs for residential corners, such as Safe Streets and Roads for All grants. A direct appropriation request, which is how a member of Congress asks Congress to fund a named local project (called Community Project Funding), could cover part or all of a set of traffic calming projects, depending on cost, and the cost for these corners is not public. If a crossing on East 14th Street is the state's responsibility, the office could ask Caltrans, the state transportation agency, for an answer.

Which corners come first is a decision for San Leandro and the people who live there. The office would work with the city rather than arrive with a list. If you have waited on a request like these, tell us which corner you would put first.

Sources: SeeClickFix public data, San Leandro requests, October 2024 to September 2026, SeeClickFix report 20579705, SeeClickFix report 18519821, SeeClickFix report 18435607, SeeClickFix report 17618792, SeeClickFix report 17949534, City of San Leandro, MacArthur and Superior roundabout

Broken speed bumps left in the road

San Leandro · 1257 Pacific Avenue, the 1700 block of Wayne Avenue, 464 Juana Avenue · raised since October 2024

On 1 October 2024, a resident used SeeClickFix, the app and website where residents report problems to the city, to tell San Leandro about a speed bump at 1257 Pacific Avenue. A speed bump is a raised strip across a street that makes drivers slow down. In a resident's SeeClickFix report, 1 October 2024, the description reads:

"Broken rubber speed bump on the road Loose nuts and bolts on the road, it might cause flatten car tires"

A resident, SeeClickFix report about 1257 Pacific Avenue, 1 October 2024

As of 1 October 2026, two years to the day later, the city still lists that report as open.

Residents have described broken speed bumps in two other places. In a resident's SeeClickFix report, 30 July 2026, a resident wrote that "Multiple speed bumps have been broken on Wayne Ave between Williams st and Davis st." The same report said the bumps "were installed around 15 years ago and now the pieces are literally breaking off". In a resident's SeeClickFix report, 25 August 2026, a resident of Juana Avenue wrote that "both speed bumps on Juana Ave between Santa Rosa and Santa Maria were damaged during recent street repair".

Three places is a small number, and the reports describe different causes: loose hardware on Pacific Avenue, age on Wayne Avenue, and street work on Juana Avenue.

The city's record on this request type is mostly good. Since October 2024, residents have filed 9 requests under the city's "Speed Bump/Cushion" type. A cushion is a speed bump with gaps that let wider vehicles pass. Eight of the nine are closed, and requests of this type that were closed took a median of 4 days, meaning half closed faster and half took longer. That includes the Wayne Avenue and Juana Avenue reports, which are marked closed. A closed report does not say whether the bumps were repaired, so we have not been able to tell what was done on those two streets. The Pacific Avenue report is the one still open, at 730 days. Across all request types, 4% of 13,295 requests are still open. The status open is the one SeeClickFix shows for a report, and it does not say whether anyone has visited the spot. A report marked acknowledged means the city marked it as received, and the descriptions are written by residents.

The city's reason for the long wait on Pacific Avenue is not documented in anything we have seen. A single rubber speed bump may be a small job, and we do not know whether the delay is about who owns the street, who maintains the device, or something else.

Worth tracking

What would show movement: the Pacific Avenue report being closed with a note saying what was done, and the Wayne Avenue and Juana Avenue bumps being repaired or replaced.

Replacing a rubber speed bump is a small local cost, and it is not the kind of project a federal appropriation, meaning money Congress sets aside for a named local project, is built for. There is no direct federal lever for this one. The office can still ask the city in writing why the Pacific Avenue report has stayed open, and can ask for the answer to be shared with the resident who filed it. If San Leandro wants to do more about speeding on residential streets, the US Department of Transportation runs a grant program called Safe Streets and Roads for All, which pays cities for road safety plans and projects. We have not checked whether San Leandro has applied.

What gets fixed first on San Leandro's streets is a decision for the city and the people who live on them. The office would work with the city rather than arrive with a list. If you live near one of these three places, or near a speed bump that is broken somewhere else, tell us what you would put first.

Sources: SeeClickFix public data, San Leandro requests, October 2024 to September 2026, SeeClickFix report, 1 October 2024, SeeClickFix report, 30 July 2026, SeeClickFix report, 25 August 2026

Streets that flood or crumble: Galt Street, Tiffany Road, Begier Avenue and Williams Street

San Leandro · Galt Street, Tiffany Road, Begier Avenue, Williams Street · raised since May 2025

After a week of rain in February 2026, a resident of 15223 Galt Street used SeeClickFix, the app and website where residents report problems to the city, to describe the street outside. In a resident's SeeClickFix report, 25 February 2026, the resident wrote:

"The street is crumbling into pieces. There are multiple potholes every rainy season. There are potholes currently on the street due to this week rain. It need to be repaved."

A resident of Galt Street, SeeClickFix report about 15223 Galt Street, 25 February 2026

Residents on three other streets have raised related problems. In a resident's SeeClickFix report, 25 December 2025, a resident of Tiffany Road wrote that "Street gets flooded with rain The street is uneven and floods in front of three houses". In a resident's SeeClickFix report, 24 December 2025, a resident of Begier Avenue described "a recurring issue with standing water pooling along the side of the road" and wrote that "The water has been present for some time, produces a strong odor". In a resident's SeeClickFix report, 23 May 2025, a resident of Williams Street wrote "Wavy Road, unsafe for driver, extremely bumpy, poor workmanship". As of 1 October 2026, the city still lists all four reports as open.

San Leandro does fix one kind of road problem quickly. Residents filed 422 pothole requests between October 2024 and September 2026. Only 13 (3%) are still open, and the ones that closed did so in a median of 11 days, meaning half closed faster and half took longer.

Other road requests move more slowly. Under the "Roads" type, 213 requests were filed, and 17 (8%) are still open, a median of 87 days old. Under "Paving (not pothole)", 68 were filed and 10 (15%) are still open, a median of 50 days old. Across all request types, 4% of 13,295 requests are still open. The status open is the one SeeClickFix shows for a report, and it does not say whether anyone has visited the spot. A report marked acknowledged means the city marked it as received, and the descriptions are written by residents.

The size of the job is part of why this is hard. In November 2025, East Bay Insiders reported that San Leandro's Pavement Condition Index, a score of how worn a city's street surfaces are, was 57. That placed the city 14th of the 15 cities in Alameda County. At the April 2026 State of the City, the mayor's yearly public address about how the city is doing, the cost of rebuilding failed roads was put at about $500 million.

Standing water on Tiffany Road and Begier Avenue may be a drainage question as much as a paving one. CitizenPortal, a site that summarizes council meetings, reported that city staff described the stormwater fund, the account that pays for storm drains, as running on rates set in 1993, and said a stormwater fee update with public outreach would begin in October 2026. We have not found anything that ties those two streets to that fund, so this is background and not a cause.

Worth tracking

What would show movement: the four reports being closed with a note saying what was done, and the stormwater fee outreach starting in October 2026 as staff described.

Filling potholes is a local job and the city is doing it quickly. Rebuilding a failed street is a question of capital, meaning construction money. A direct appropriation request, which is how a member of Congress asks Congress to fund a named local project, could cover part or all of one street's rebuild depending on the cost. Costs for these four streets are not public. Federal road money also reaches Bay Area cities through the Metropolitan Transportation Commission, the regional transportation agency, and whether a residential street qualifies is worth checking street by street. For drainage work, the Clean Water State Revolving Fund, a federal loan program for water projects that the state passes along, is another route, though it is repaid by ratepayers.

Which streets come first is San Leandro's call, made with the people who live on them. The office would work with the city rather than arrive with a list. If you live on one of these streets, or on another that floods or crumbles, tell us what you would put first.

Sources: SeeClickFix public data, San Leandro requests, October 2024 to September 2026, SeeClickFix report, 25 February 2026, SeeClickFix report, 25 December 2025, SeeClickFix report, 24 December 2025, SeeClickFix report, 23 May 2025, East Bay Insiders, pavement ratings, November 2025, Tri-City Voice, State of the City, April 2026, CitizenPortal, council work plans and stormwater

Steel plates, steps and drainage left behind by street work

San Leandro · Dutton Avenue, Hubbard Avenue, Fleming Street and Manor Boulevard, Bancroft Avenue and Lee Avenue · raised since December 2024

On 20 December 2024, a resident of 30 Dutton Avenue used SeeClickFix, the app and website where residents report problems to the city, to report a noise outside. In a resident's SeeClickFix report, 20 December 2024, the resident wrote:

"The steel plates that were put in the street during ongoing road work have come loose and make a very loud banging noise every time a car passes."

A resident of Dutton Avenue, SeeClickFix report about 30 Dutton Avenue, 20 December 2024

As of 1 October 2026, the city still lists that report as open. Steel plates are laid over a trench or hole in a road so that traffic can drive over it while work continues.

Residents in three other places have described what was left behind after road work. In a resident's SeeClickFix report, 31 March 2026, a resident wrote that a "Large metal plate has been in the road for months. No active repair seems to be going on" on the 1200 block of Hubbard Avenue. In a resident's SeeClickFix report, 17 December 2024, a resident at Fleming Street and Manor Boulevard wrote, "The street was just done and now we have water not draining properly. Is this going to be fixed?" That report is also still listed as open. In a resident's SeeClickFix report, 2 August 2025, a resident at Bancroft Avenue and Lee Avenue wrote, "New paving project left a step in southbound lane. Please repair."

These four places have a pattern in common. Each report describes something left in or on the street around repair work: a plate, a step in the pavement, or water that stopped draining. Residents raised it in four places over about fifteen months.

The city is doing paving work, which is why these reports exist at all. Under "Paving (not pothole)", the request type for repaving work, 68 requests were filed and 10 (15%) are still open, a median of 50 days old. The oldest open one is from 16 October 2025 at Orchard Avenue and Estabrook Street. Across all request types, 4% of 13,295 requests are still open. The status open is the one SeeClickFix shows for a report, and it does not say whether anyone has visited the spot. A report marked acknowledged means the city marked it as received, and the descriptions are written by residents. The Hubbard Avenue and Bancroft Avenue reports were not shown as open in the data we reviewed, and a closed report does not say whether the plate or the step was removed.

We have not found who is responsible for each of these four places. The work could have been done by a city crew, a contractor hired by the city, or a utility, and the reports do not say. Because of that, we cannot say whether the plates, the step and the drainage are leftovers from unfinished work or part of work that is still under way.

Worth tracking

What would show movement: the Dutton Avenue and Fleming Street reports being closed with a note about what was done, the Hubbard Avenue plate being removed or paved over, and the Bancroft Avenue step being repaired.

These are mostly small fixes, and they are not the kind of project a federal appropriation, which is money Congress sets aside for a named local project, is built for. We have not found which funding source paid for any of these projects. If one of them used federal road money, which California administers through Caltrans, the state transportation department, the office could ask Caltrans how finished work is inspected. In any case, the office can ask the city in writing for the status of each report and for the answer to be shared with the resident who filed it.

Which of these gets attention first is for San Leandro and the people who live on these streets to decide. The office would work with the city rather than arrive with a list. If you live near one of these places, or near a repair that was left unfinished somewhere else, tell us what you would put first.

Sources: SeeClickFix public data, San Leandro requests, October 2024 to September 2026, SeeClickFix report, 20 December 2024, SeeClickFix report, 31 March 2026, SeeClickFix report, 17 December 2024, SeeClickFix report, 2 August 2025

Worn streets across San Leandro: a pavement score near the bottom of the county and a rebuild estimate of about $500 million

San Leandro · Citywide, including Sybil Avenue · raised since December 2025

Jesse Lee wrote to the San Leandro Times on 26 February 2026 about potholes on Sybil Avenue between East 14th Street and Bancroft Avenue. He had reported them through My-SL, the city's online reporting tool, and the roads department emailed that the request was closed. He emailed the City Administrator on 9 February 2026 and had not heard back. He wrote:

"If you've driven on Sybil Avenue between East 14th and Bancroft, you know nothing has changed."

Jesse Lee, San Leandro resident, letter to the editor, San Leandro Times, 26 February 2026

That is one block. Citywide, the pothole numbers look different. Residents filed 13,295 requests through SeeClickFix, a service for reporting problems to the city from 1 October 2024 to 30 September 2026. Of 422 pothole requests, 13 (3%) are open, and the median time to close was 11 days. "Open" is the city's own status label, "acknowledged" means the city marked a report as received, and residents write the descriptions.

San Leandro scored 57 on the Pavement Condition Index, the standard score for road wear, 14th of 15 Alameda County cities in 2024 data published in November 2025. That is second-worst in the county, on ratings by the Metropolitan Transportation Commission, the regional agency that plans and funds Bay Area transportation. On 2 December 2025, resident Sarah Blady Bailey urged the council to prioritize roads, and a motion to keep exploring a November 2026 revenue measure failed, three yes votes to two no with one abstention.

At the State of the City address on 28 April 2026, Mayor Juan González said consultants estimated that rebuilding roads from scratch would cost about $500 million, and that a revenue measure, a tax proposal for voters, is needed to start addressing infrastructure challenges. The two latest contracts are $6.64 million for sealing, a protective coat on a street, and $4.0 million for overlay, a new layer of asphalt. The city also commissioned a $137,000 study of a fee on utilities for trench damage and awarded a $5.76 million design contract for the Bancroft Avenue and Williams Street corridors.

The city's own page described a business license tax update as possible for the 3 November 2026 ballot, if the council placed it there. The Tri-City Voice reported that on 14 July 2026 the council voted to work on the November 2028 ballot instead.

Worth tracking

Movement would look like the 2028 timetable holding or moving, the utility-fee study becoming a fee, and the Bancroft and Williams design reaching construction.

Federal formula money reaches local streets through the Surface Transportation Block Grant and the Bridge Formula Program. It could supplement sealing, overlay and the Bancroft and Williams corridors, but it has eligibility rules and is a small fraction of a $500 million rebuild. A direct appropriation, in which a member of Congress requests funding for a specific local project, is a different route, and residential paving has been funded that way. A request could cover part of the need, depending on its size.

Which streets come first is San Leandro's decision, made with the people who live on them. The office would work with the city rather than arrive with a list. If you live on a street you would put first, tell us which and why.

Sources: San Leandro Times letters, 26 Feb 2026, SeeClickFix data, East Bay Insiders, Citizen Portal, 2 December 2025, Tri-City Voice, State of the City, City ballot page, Tri-City Voice, business license tax

The Hesperian Gardens rail-corridor encampment, present since December 2020, and the written response residents asked for

San Leandro · Union Pacific/BART rail corridor at Hesperian Gardens and Bay Fair BART · raised since June 2025

Celine Huang, a resident of Hesperian Gardens, spoke to the San Leandro City Council on 2 June 2025 about the encampment along the rail corridor near her neighborhood. She told the council it had been there since December 2020. That was four and a half years then, and if her account holds, close to six as of October 2026. Bonita Kitt, another resident, asked the council for a higher retaining wall:

"We need to have that retaining wall higher so that the trash, the debris, the feces, and the other garbage does not come over on our property."

Bonita Kitt, Hesperian Gardens resident, public comment to the San Leandro City Council, 2 June 2025

Jason Lee asked a question the council did not answer that night:

"Do I need to defend myself? Because the last thing I want is to see my dog hurt, me getting hurt, my neighbors getting hurt."

Jason Lee, Hesperian Gardens resident, public comment to the San Leandro City Council, 2 June 2025

Raymond Jin said, "It only takes one ember to land on our roof and cause something devastating." Residents described fires, rock-throwing and assaults, and Huang mentioned an attempted stabbing in 2021. These quotations come from Citizen Portal's summaries of the meeting. Residents said they had reported the locations through SeeClickFix, an online reporting service, and other channels, and got only temporary cleanups. They asked for a written response setting out next steps. The corridor is owned by Union Pacific, the freight railroad, and BART, the Bay Area Rapid Transit train system.

The city does respond, and reports have produced cleanups. Staff pointed to the city's encampment cleanup program and an alternative response unit. The council took no formal action, since public comment is time for residents to speak, not for the council to deliberate. Members and staff said coordination with Caltrans, the state transportation agency, Alameda County and Union Pacific would be appropriate. We have not found a later update or a written response. A city can clear only what it can reach, and the ground here belongs to the railroad and BART, which is a hard position for a city to be in.

Homeless-service advocates often point out that clearing an encampment without offering a shelter bed can move people a short distance, so the next neighbors begin calling. That is not documented for this corridor, and it does not answer the danger residents describe.

Worth tracking

The first thing to watch is whether the city sends the written response residents asked for, and names a standing contact with Union Pacific, BART, the county and the state. Reports that keep producing only temporary cleanups would suggest the matter is stuck. One number nobody has stated is how many people live on the corridor.

Union Pacific is regulated by the federal government. The Federal Railroad Administration oversees rail safety and the railroad's right-of-way, the strip of land its tracks run on. The Surface Transportation Board oversees its rates and service. A congressional office can invite those agencies and Union Pacific to meet together, press the railroad on trespass, fire risk and fencing near Hesperian Gardens, and ask for the written response. It cannot order a result, because neither agency can direct Union Pacific to clear or fence its own land. The housing side runs through the Alameda County Continuum of Care, the county's federally funded homelessness planning body.

Shelter capacity is a funding question too. A direct appropriation request, in which a member of Congress asks Congress to fund a specific local shelter or housing project, does not carry the eligibility rules of formula programs, which divide money by a fixed formula, and depending on cost it could cover some or all of a project. What to prioritize is for San Leandro, the county and residents to decide. The office would work with them rather than bring a list, and we would like to hear what you would put first.

Sources: Citizen Portal, residents urge San Leandro to act, Citizen Portal, residents urge action on railroad encampments, Citizen Portal, Hesperian Gardens residents tell council

The same places, again: Hesperian Boulevard, East 14th Street and the Pacific Avenue corridor

San Leandro · Hesperian Boulevard, East 14th Street, Pacific Avenue, Callan Avenue, Lewelling Boulevard · raised since October 2024

On 23 November 2024, a resident's SeeClickFix report about 655 Lewelling Boulevard asked the city to send patrols. SeeClickFix is the app and website where residents report problems to the city. The resident wrote: "Please patrol this area The small alcove on the north west corner of this building has become the new hangout and location for illegal activity Every afternoon". The report is still marked open as of 1 October 2026.

On 9 December 2024, another resident's report described a spot near Davis Street and Interstate 880: "People living for months in blue tent in fenced area in front of Home Depot in grassy area at Davis Street and intersection of 880S freeway". It is also still open. A post about constant vandalism at a business on r/sanleandro, the city's community forum on Reddit, raises a similar concern from the storefront side.

What stands out in SeeClickFix's public data, which covers 13,295 San Leandro requests filed between 1 October 2024 and 30 September 2026, is repetition at particular addresses. A location at 15205 Hesperian Boulevard has 56 requests, including 19 for homeless outreach and 11 for illegal dumping, and two other Hesperian addresses have 19 and 22. Mile 5.8 of State Route 185, which is East 14th Street, has 59, with 19 for dumping and 12 for outreach. On Pacific Avenue, three addresses have 23, 21 and 14 requests, mostly for removal of dumped items by the city's hauler, the contractor that carries it away. Several neighbors reporting one problem look the same here as one problem returning.

The city closes these reports fast. Illegal dumping reports (2,327 across three labels) close in a median of 1 day. Of 421 outreach requests, 16 (4%) are open, and the rest closed in a median of 3 days. All 22 encampment cleanup requests are closed. "Open" is the city's own status label, and a closed status does not say whether anyone visited or whether the location looked different a week later. Acknowledged means the city marked the report as received, and the descriptions are written by residents.

Residents who keep reporting a location are asking for something that lasts longer than a cleanup. The city has built a response: its Alternative Response Unit is described in a May 2026 city announcement as "a dedicated outreach team purpose-built to de-escalate behavioral health crises and connect community members to services and shelter". It also reports that unsheltered homelessness dropped 8.3% (19 fewer people sleeping outside than in 2024), and that the Lewelling Interim Housing and Drop-In Center, opened on 31 March 2025, has connected more than 30 people to permanent housing.

Advocates for people living outdoors add a third view. NPR reported on 19 January 2026 on encampment clearings, quoting Dr. Aislinn Bird, listed with Alameda County: "It's really challenging for our street health teams who would always go to an encampment or place and be able to see their patients and provide care, and now just not knowing where people are." That comment is not specific to San Leandro, and how the city decides when a bed is offered before a cleanup is not documented.

Where things stand: the same addresses keep returning, reports close quickly, and whether closings change what residents see is not documented.

Worth tracking

What would show movement: requests at addresses such as 15205 Hesperian Boulevard and mile 5.8 of East 14th Street falling over a year.

Dumping pickup and patrols are local jobs. State Route 185 is a state highway, so Caltrans, the state transportation agency, may be responsible for part of that roadside, and a congressional office can ask it in writing. For outreach and shelter, the federal Department of Housing and Urban Development funds Continuum of Care and Emergency Solutions Grants, which pay for outreach and beds and reach San Leandro through the Alameda County Continuum of Care, the local homelessness coalition. A member of Congress can ask for and defend that money in the annual transportation and housing spending bill. Those programs have eligibility rules. A direct appropriation request could cover part or all of a project such as outreach staff or beds, depending on cost, which has not been tracked.

Which places come first is San Leandro's call, made with the people who live and work near them. The office would work with the city rather than arrive with a list. Tell us what you would put first.

Sources: SeeClickFix report, 655 Lewelling Boulevard, SeeClickFix report, Davis Street at Interstate 880, SeeClickFix public data, r/sanleandro post, vandalism at a business, City of San Leandro announcement, 20 May 2026, NPR, 19 January 2026

Washington Avenue: a bus bench destroyed again and graffiti reports closed without action

San Leandro · 14794 and 14315 Washington Avenue, 130 to 138 Washington Avenue · raised since October 2024

In October 2024, a resident's SeeClickFix report about graffiti on a fence at 14794 and 14315 Washington Avenue said the graffiti was still there. SeeClickFix is the app and website where residents report problems to the city. The resident wrote that a "Previous request many months ago closed out without any action taken", and asked, "What's the point of this app if requests just get closed and ignored?"

On 19 May 2026, another resident's SeeClickFix report came in from 130 to 138 Washington Avenue, beside a McDonald's. It said the "Bus stop bench destroyed again". The resident also wrote, "Your community is tired of the non action by city staff." The report goes on to attribute the damage to people who gather at the stop, and asks for policing. That is the resident's account. The city's account of the bench, and any account from the people the report describes, is not documented in what has been tracked, and nothing shows who owns the bench or when it was last repaired. As of 1 October 2026 that report is still marked open.

In SeeClickFix's public data for San Leandro, covering 13,295 requests filed between 1 October 2024 and 30 September 2026, Washington Avenue has 25 requests. Two are open, and 12 are graffiti reports. A sidewalk report at 1446 Washington Avenue, filed on 30 July 2025, reads "Broken sidewalk, tripping hazard" and is also still open. Sidewalk requests across the city are a larger pattern of their own.

Graffiti elsewhere in San Leandro is handled quickly, and that deserves credit first. Of 296 graffiti abatement requests, none are open and the median time to close is 1 day. Of 147 requests about graffiti on public property, none are open, again with a median of 1 day. Of 210 requests about graffiti on private property, 3 (1%) are open, and the median time to close is 4 days. "Open" is the city's own status label and does not say whether anyone visited. A closed status also does not say whether the graffiti was removed, which is what the first resident was asking about. Acknowledged means the city marked the report as received, and the descriptions are written by residents.

Two places on one street is a thin pattern, and one resident asserting that a request closed without action is a single account. They are worth holding next to each other because they ask the same question from two angles: what a closed report tells a neighbor, and how a repeated problem at a bus stop gets noticed when each report stands alone.

Where things stand: graffiti reports are closed in days across the city, the Washington Avenue bench report is open, and whether the closed fence reports led to any work is not shown in what has been tracked.

Worth tracking

What would show movement: the May 2026 bench report being closed with a note on what was done, a repair or replacement of the bench, and the fence reports at 14794 and 14315 Washington Avenue getting a visible result. Another bench report at the same stop would suggest the problem is repeating.

Bus stop benches can belong to a city or to a transit agency, in this area AC Transit, and which one applies here has not been confirmed. Graffiti removal and bench repair are local jobs, and there is little federal role in them directly. A congressional office could still ask the city or the transit agency in writing who is responsible and request an answer. If the bench belongs to the transit agency, the Federal Transit Administration funds bus stop improvements through transit agencies, and the office could help an agency apply to that program or push for an answer on timing. Policing at the stop is a San Leandro decision, and the report's account of who is responsible for the damage is the resident's view, not a finding.

What comes first on Washington Avenue is the city's call, made with the people who live and ride there. The office would work with the city rather than arrive with a list. If you use that stop or live nearby, tell us what you would put first.

Sources: SeeClickFix report, 14794 and 14315 Washington Avenue, SeeClickFix report, 130 to 138 Washington Avenue, SeeClickFix report, 1446 Washington Avenue, SeeClickFix public data

Broken-down cars and oversized vehicles on residential streets, and a parking rule that looks the same as in 2007

San Leandro · Estudillo Estates, Trinidad Road, MacArthur Boulevard and residential streets citywide · raised since October 2024

Margaret Delacruz lives in Estudillo Estates, and on 23 April 2026 the San Leandro Times printed her letter to the editor. She wrote about cars that leak oil and a large truck that has sat on jacks in a driveway for more than a year. She had complained to the mayor, and in her words, "he stated nothing could be done."

"Does the city of San Leandro no longer do community compliance inspections? I live in Estudillo Estates. We have people here who have multiple cars hogging all the parking spaces on the street. I complained to the mayor and he stated nothing could be done. These cars have oil leaks and debris piled up around the gutter. There is a large truck parked in a driveway that has been up on jacks for more than a year. It is dangerous to children and unsightly. If the city cares about our neighborhoods they should do something."

Margaret Delacruz, Estudillo Estates resident, letter to the editor, San Leandro Times, 23 April 2026

Others have raised it through SeeClickFix, a service for reporting problems to the city. On 7 October 2024 a resident wrote about 14512 Trinidad Road that "there are 5 broken down cars at this address" and that they had been there for years. On 2 October 2024 a resident wrote of cars on MacArthur Boulevard, "These cars stay in the location for weeks on end."

The city logs these quickly. Residents filed 2,714 Vehicle Violation reports from 1 October 2024 to 30 September 2026, and none is open. They closed the same day, which appears to mean the report was logged for parking enforcement. "Open" is the city's own status label, and it does not say whether a car was moved. Residents write the descriptions.

Delacruz asks whether the city has the code enforcement authority and staffing, the legal power and staff to enforce rules on property conditions, to abate a derelict vehicle, meaning order a broken-down or abandoned one removed. It is one resident's account, and the city's side of that conversation is not documented.

The oversized-vehicle rules are harder to pin down. The city's page on RVs, boats and trailers, read on 1 October 2026, lists a March 2007 rule: vehicles over 20 feet long, 7 feet high or with two or more axles may not park on residential streets between 2 am and 6 am. In 2025 the city worked on zoning amendments, called ZCA24-002, which change what the city's rules allow where. On 7 July 2025, a Citizen Portal summary described an ordinance with a two-hour on-street limit for certain oversized vehicles, but the city meeting record reads that the council approved the staff report "except for portions pertaining to tobacco retailing and oversized vehicle parking." We have not found a later adoption vote, and have not checked whether the 2026 zoning rewrite changed the rule.

Both sides deserve a hearing. Business owners at that meeting described long-running RV and abandoned-vehicle encampments in industrial areas and backed enforcement. Homelessness service providers warned that stricter rules without safe parking would destabilize people living in RVs. For some, the vehicle is home.

Worth tracking

Watch whether an oversized-vehicle ordinance returns for an adoption vote and how it treats people who live in their vehicles. Silence would suggest it has stalled, and a homeowner with a derelict vehicle next door may have few options meanwhile.

Much of this is not about money and not within federal authority. Abating a car on private property and the parking rules are city code enforcement and zoning matters. The office can still put a resident's question on the record and hear from people who have run into it.

The safe parking providers asked for is a money question, and a direct appropriation request, in which a member of Congress asks Congress to fund a specific local project, could cover part or all of a site, depending on cost. What comes first is San Leandro's call. The office would work with the city rather than arrive with a list, and we would like to hear what you would put at the top.

Sources: San Leandro Times, 23 April 2026, SeeClickFix 17656575, SeeClickFix 17630576, City code enforcement, City RV page, Citizen Portal, zoning package, Legistar history, 7 July 2025, Legistar, ZCA24-002

Street trees: trim requests open for months while the tree plan is put into practice

San Leandro · Wiley Street, Lloyd Avenue, Farrelly Drive and citywide · raised since October 2024

On 16 January 2025, a resident's phone call about a Callery Pear tree on Wiley Street was logged by city staff in SeeClickFix, the app and website where residents report problems to the city. The description says the tree "is very overgrown and needs to be trimmed back. It is getting into the wires". As of 1 October 2026, SeeClickFix still lists it as open, the oldest open tree trim request in the data.

In a resident's SeeClickFix report on 10 June 2025, a person on Lloyd Avenue wrote:

"Modesto Ash is raining sap all over my driveway and cars. Please cut back as it is getting out of control."

A resident's SeeClickFix report for 416 Lloyd Avenue, 10 June 2025

On 28 March 2026, a resident's SeeClickFix report from Farrelly Drive said that an "old tree was removed few years ago however, the roots from the tree is still growing in many areas infront of my house". Both were still open on 1 October 2026.

In SeeClickFix's public data for San Leandro, covering 13,295 requests filed between 1 October 2024 and 30 September 2026, tree work is one of the slower categories. Of 264 requests to trim a tree, 22 (8%) are still open. The open ones have waited a median of 136 days, while trims that closed took a median of 56 days. Of 128 planting requests, 15 (12%) are open, the oldest from 30 October 2024 at 553 Mitchell Avenue. Of 73 removal requests, 10 are open. "Open" is the city's own status label and does not say whether anyone visited. Acknowledged means the city marked the report as received, and the descriptions are written by residents.

The city moves quickly on damage: all 180 reports of a damaged tree or limb are closed, with a median of 1 day. On 6 January 2025 the City Council approved the Tree Master Plan, the city's plan for how it prunes, removes and plants trees (File 24-572, item 10.b). The minutes record that "Comments were made by approximately 4 people." According to a summary on CitizenPortal, a site that summarizes council meetings, the plan rests on an inventory of about 16,140 street and right-of-way trees, identifies more than 4,000 potential planting sites, and moves from reactive management to "a proactive five-year maintenance program and long-term canopy goals". A $1,000,000 Cal Fire grant has been spent on earlier plantings, and a $224,000 extreme-heat planning grant has a preliminary notice of award.

This is hard in a particular way. Tree crews compete with street and pipe work for the same budget, and a citywide plan ranks which trees come first, so the street that has waited longest is not always visited next.

Where things stand, as far as we understand it: a plan is adopted, planting money is in hand, and some trim requests have been open for months. The crew time needed to deliver the plan, and whether the budget covers it, are not shown in what has been tracked.

Worth tracking

What would show movement: the oldest open requests, such as the Wiley Street trim, closing; the median wait for open trim requests falling below 136 days; a published response time; and a budget line for tree crews.

Crew staffing is a city budget question, and federal help is possible for part of it. The U.S. Forest Service runs an Urban and Community Forestry program that funds tree inventories (counts of a city's trees), canopy assessments (measurements of how much of a city the trees shade) and planting, and a congressional office can help a city apply. As we understand it, its eligibility rules may not cover routine pruning, so that is worth confirming. A direct appropriation request, in which a member of Congress asks Congress to fund one named local project, is not bound by those rules. Depending on the cost, it could cover part or all of something one-time, such as equipment or a round of planting. Crew time has not been costed, and ongoing salaries are harder to fund that way, so we would check before promising it.

What comes first is San Leandro's call, made with its residents. The office would work with the city rather than arrive with a list. Tell us which streets or trees you would put first.

Sources: SeeClickFix report, 14623 Wiley Street, SeeClickFix report, 416 Lloyd Avenue, SeeClickFix report, 135 Farrelly Drive, SeeClickFix public data, San Leandro City Council meeting detail, 6 January 2025, CitizenPortal, Tree Master Plan summary

Lake Chabot Road, closed since December 2022, and hillside risk after the geologic hazard district was dissolved

San Leandro · Lake Chabot Road / Bay-O-Vista hillside / Anthony Chabot Regional Park · raised since December 2024

Douglas Spalding, a San Leandro resident, spoke to the City Council on 18 February 2025 about Lake Chabot Road, closed since storm damage in December 2022. A Citizen Portal summary says he described what the latest atmospheric river, a long, heavy storm, had done to it.

"Since the last atmospheric river, the road has again shifted. There's a bevy of new cracks. Slide number 3 has dropped another couple inches. This is a road that's in movement. It is not safe."

Douglas Spalding, San Leandro resident, City Council public comment, 18 February 2025

He said three properties on Chabot Court are "hanging above Slide 4", and he thanked the mayor and Councilmember Simon for arranging temporary tarping (sheeting over the slopes).

The road between Chabot Terrace and Astor Drive has been closed since December 2022. Bay-O-Vista is a hillside neighborhood with few ways in and out, and its residents and Castro Valley neighbors have lost a route for nearly four years. A group called Open Lake Chabot Road has kept pressing the city to reopen it. On 9 December 2024 Helen Cataldo called it "a vital evacuation route", as Citizen Portal summarized her comment, and Payal Vora, a structural engineer, offered to volunteer time to help find geotechnical (ground-stability) consultants. On 7 July 2025, as the council weighed its ten-year capital plan, its list of projects to fund, Anne Callwood said:

"We need to reopen Lake Chabot Road so that we have all potential evacuation routes available."

Anne Callwood, San Leandro resident, City Council public comment, 7 July 2025

The council adopted the plan 5-2 that day. The latest resident comments we have tracked are from that meeting, so we cannot say whether pressure has continued.

The city has moved on part of the repair. The summary says funding exists to design and build repairs at two of the four landslide sites, slides 1 and 4. The city's Phase I page puts that first stabilization phase, work to keep the slope from moving, at $3.42 million, with bidding in February 2027 and construction July to October 2027. It lists $720,000 from the General Fund, $2.09 million in Federal Highway Administration Emergency Relief (money for disaster-damaged roads), $720,000 from Measure BB (the county transportation sales tax) and $280,000 from SB1 (state road repair funds). Those add up to $3.81 million, not $3.42 million, and we have not found why.

Slides 2 and 3 are harder: about $4.5 million is needed and about $714,000 is available, a gap of about $3.8 million. Fully reopening to two-way traffic is estimated at about $11 million. Test borings and a LiDAR laser survey are done, and a geotechnical report and new cost estimate could follow. The next Alameda County Transportation Commission grant cycle, run by the county transportation agency, is expected in October 2026.

Council rejected an immediate motion to study a one-way opening after staff and fire officials urged keeping the road closed, since it is in active movement.

The East Bay Regional Park District completed 667 acres of eucalyptus fuels reduction (clearing wildfire fuel) at Anthony Chabot Regional Park, funded with $12.5 million. In October 2025 the city dissolved the Hillside Geologic Hazard Abatement District, a local district that funded landslide-risk work. We have not found a replacement.

Worth tracking

Bids opening in February 2027, funding for slides 2 and 3, the geotechnical report, the October 2026 grants and a replacement district would each show movement. February 2027 passing with no path for the other slides would suggest it is stuck. One idea, which residents may tell us is wrong: publish readings from ground-tilt sensors on the active slides, with a movement limit set in advance.

Emergency Relief already supplies $2.09 million of Phase I through Caltrans, the state transportation agency. A congressional office can ask the Federal Highway Administration and Caltrans to say in writing whether slides 2 and 3 qualify. If not, that is the limit of one program, not of the federal role. A direct appropriation request, money a member of Congress asks for to fund a named local project, could cover the remaining work in whole or in part, depending on cost. FEMA, the Federal Emergency Management Agency, also runs hazard mitigation grants. Staff and fire officials have urged keeping the road closed regardless of funding. What comes first is for San Leandro and the people along the road to decide. We would work with the city rather than arrive with a list, and we would like to hear what you would put first.

Sources: San Leandro council correspondence, 2 October 2025, City of San Leandro, Lake Chabot Road stabilization repair, Citizen Portal, residents warn of ongoing movement on Lake Chabot Road, Citizen Portal, San Leandro adopts 10-year capital plan, Citizen Portal, council approves ARPA reallocation, 9 December 2024, Citizen Portal, council rejects immediate move to study one-way opening, Citizen Portal, council reviews work plans, City of San Leandro legislative records, October to December 2025, Open Lake Chabot Road, Castro Valley Forum, road closure longer than expected

Mission Bay mobile-home owners and a space-rent ordinance that has not come to a vote

San Leandro · Mission Bay manufactured-home park · raised since September 2024

Chris Beebe, a senior who has lived in the Mission Bay mobile-home park in San Leandro for 25 years, spoke to the San Leandro City Council on 2 September 2025. He owns his home. What he said he cannot pay is the space rent, the monthly charge for the ground under it.

"I own my mobile home; at the end of this year I'm going to be homeless. I don't have the money to pay the space rent. Please do something."

Chris Beebe, Mission Bay mobile-home park resident, public comment to the San Leandro City Council, 2 September 2025

Manufactured homes, often called mobile homes, are houses that people own on land they rent. Owners at Mission Bay cannot in practice move them. In a Citizen Portal summary dated 8 September 2024, Deborah Acosta of the Mission Bay Residents Association told the council that "mobile-home residents are being displaced monthly" and asked it to send a resident-drafted ordinance to the city attorney. As we understand it, it died without a motion, meaning no councilmember moved to take it up, and was never sent.

Dozens of speakers returned in 2025 asking for a firm 3% annual cap on space rent, and for limits on capital pass-throughs, which let park management add the cost of large repairs to what homeowners pay. A revised ordinance, a proposed city law on space rent, was circulated, a speaker said, only on the morning of the meeting. The council took no formal action that evening.

The park's side has weight. Management has told the council that the electrical, plumbing and sewer systems are so old that some spaces cannot be rented until they are replaced. Its case is that if the cap leaves no way to recover capital costs, the work will not happen and the park will keep deteriorating. Replacement is expensive, and the cost has not been made public.

The city has acted on rents more broadly. On 16 December 2025 the council backed a citywide rent stabilization program limiting yearly increases to the lesser of 3% or 65% of the change in the consumer price index (CPI), a measure of price changes, from 1 January 2027. A one-time General Fund loan of $1.3 million to $2.2 million would launch it for 7,000 to 10,000 rental units. Whether it covers Mission Bay is unclear. A draft dated 2 February 2026 exempts "Mobile homes or mobile home lots (which are subject to the requirements of City of San Leandro Municipal Code Chapter 4-39)". We have not confirmed the adopted text or what Chapter 4-39 says about space rent, and we have not found a vote on a separate mobile-home ordinance since September 2025.

Worth tracking

A mobile-home ordinance coming to a vote with a 3% cap and a regulated capital pass-through (rules for how repair costs may be added to space rent), and a published cost for the utility replacement, would show movement. Another late revision would suggest it is stuck.

A firm space-rent cap and pass-through limits can only come from a San Leandro ordinance under California's Mobilehome Residency Law, the state law governing mobile-home parks. No federal rule sets space rent. The Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD) sets the construction and safety standard for the homes, not what a park charges.

Replacing the utilities is a money question, and federal help is possible. HUD's Preservation and Reinvestment Initiative for Community Enhancement (PRICE) funds infrastructure work and conversions of manufactured housing parks into resident-owned communities. It would take the replacement out of the rent argument, though it delivers no cap. A congressional office can help the city or residents apply and ask HUD whether a park like this is eligible. A direct appropriation request, asking Congress to fund one named project, carries no such eligibility rules and could cover part or all of the cost, which is not yet public. What comes first is for San Leandro and the people who live there to decide, and we would work with them rather than arrive with a list. If you live at Mission Bay, tell us what you would put first.

What could make the difference

A published cost for replacing the park's old electrical, plumbing and sewer systems, and funding to help pay for that work, could give owners and park management firmer ground. Whether San Leandro takes up a space-rent ordinance could then be weighed against those facts and what mobile-home owners have said.

We are still collecting feedback. If you feel strongly about this issue, please reach out to team@jamiejoyce.com to discuss further.

Sources: Citizen Portal, residents press council for mobile-home protections, Citizen Portal, residents urge council to act on mobile home rent stabilization, Citizen Portal, council backs rent registry and stabilization, December 2025, City of San Leandro, draft Ordinance 2026-001, 2 February 2026

Downtown San Leandro: the $1.1 million Community Benefit District, empty storefronts and the 1897 Casa Peralta

San Leandro · Downtown San Leandro (Parrott St / E. 14th St / W. Estudillo Ave)

By 28 September 2026, 757 people had signed an online petition asking the city to keep a dollar store out of 1355 MacArthur Boulevard in San Leandro. The organizers put their request in one line: "Stop the dollar store from renting space at 1355 Macarthur Blvd."

We have not tracked a response to the petition from the city or from the property's owner.

Residents are paying close attention to what fills downtown's spaces, and there are some encouraging developments. Philz Coffee opened at Centro Callan in downtown San Leandro in March 2026. The farmers market entered its 19th season on 1 April. The Arts, Culture and Library Commission awarded $46,500 across seven projects, including downtown murals.

The services that keep downtown clean and safe rest on funding that is less certain. Downtown has a Community Benefit District, an area where property owners pay an added charge, called an assessment, that pays for extra services. The owners must vote to renew that charge in 2028. Morgan Mack-Rose of the San Leandro Improvement Association told the council in March 2026 that the Community Benefit District had an excellent year in 2025. Its $1.1 million annual budget pays for sidewalk cleaning, safety patrols and events across 30 blocks around Parrott Street, East 14th Street and West Estudillo Avenue. It was a good year, and the services depend on a renewal vote that has not happened yet.

The city's 1897 landmark, Casa Peralta, is a historic house, and restoring it could be costly. The council contracted Page & Turnbull, a specializt firm, for $566,596 to estimate what restoring it would cost. That is a cost estimate, not committed restoration money. So more than half a million dollars will be spent before any physical repair begins. The city is also in a deficit year, meaning it is spending more than it takes in, and it has competing capital priorities, meaning other large building and infrastructure projects. We have not tracked residents pressing for or against the work.

Sources: San Leandro council correspondence, 11 September 2025, San Leandro City Council agenda, San Leandro council correspondence, 12 March 2026, San Leandro Next, Philz Coffee opens at Centro Callan, Change.org, San Leandro petitions, sanleandronext.com, sanleandronext.com, sanleandro.legistar.com

Warehouses, tow yards and data centers in West San Leandro, approved one project at a time with no written standards

San Leandro · West San Leandro industrial area (880 Doolittle Dr; 476 Whitney St)

In a letter the San Leandro Times published on 30 July 2026, a San Leandro resident, Patty Breslin, wrote to the city about data centers. The letter questioned the comparisons the city has drawn between San Leandro and Santa Clara, another Bay Area city, when describing what data centers would mean here. It warned that data centers bring energy and water demands, heat, noise and air quality impacts with few permanent jobs. It asked for enforceable standards to be written before the next application arrives, not after.

Residents are raising something the city has not yet written down. San Leandro has no adopted standards for how much energy or water data centers may use, or for how much heat, noise or air pollution they may produce, and the city is actively seeking data center projects. No sign has surfaced that any are being drafted.

Concern about how projects in the West San Leandro industrial area get approved goes back before that letter. In March 2025 the council rejected an appeal by Carpenters Local 713, a carpenters' union, and Advocates for the Environment, an environmental group. The council approved a 50-foot, 244,573-square-foot warehouse at 880 Doolittle Drive, proposed by the developer Prologis, and upheld the certification of its environmental impact report (the study of a project's effects that the state requires before approval). In June 2026 the Planning Commission, the city body that reviews land use proposals, took up a request for a conditional use permit, which is special permission for a use the zoning does not allow outright. The request was for an outdoor storage yard for tow-company vehicles at 476 Whitney Street. Each project was decided separately, on its own application. Residents, the union and the environmental group are concerned about the truck traffic, diesel exhaust, heat and noise in the district, and about the way approvals come one project at a time.

The city's side has real weight. West San Leandro's industrial land is the tax base of a city, meaning the businesses and property whose taxes pay for city services, that is carrying an $11.6 million three-year General Fund gap (a shortfall in its main operating budget). The city formally approved the Doolittle Drive environmental impact report after a complete review, and the appeal was rejected after the process the law provides. Economic development staff and applicants answer that industrial land brings in revenue the city relies on while it runs a deficit, and that the Doolittle Drive approval process was followed properly.

Sources: San Leandro Legistar council matters, San Leandro Legistar council matters, mid-2026, San Leandro council correspondence, 30 July 2026

No permanent police chief, an outside organizational assessment and the gap between falling crime numbers and resident fear

San Leandro · Citywide

On 13 May 2026, Chief Angela Averiett was placed on administrative leave after the Alameda County District Attorney filed misdemeanor hit-and-run charges. San Leandro has been without a permanent police chief since that day.

Assistant Chief Luis Torres served as acting chief in the meantime. In June 2026 the council appointed Joseph Kreins, a retired annuitant, meaning a retiree brought back on a temporary basis, as interim chief. So the department has had someone at its head throughout.

Residents have raised the turnover itself. By their count there have been six or seven chiefs since 2020. They also point to costly payouts from lawsuits, and to the fact that the city now pays an outside contractor several hundred thousand dollars a year to run professional-standards investigations, meaning investigations into officer conduct. Complaints on social media compare San Leandro to South Oakland, a neighboring part of Oakland. The complaints are less about reported crime than about what residents see downtown: people in psychiatric distress shouting on the street, and frequent police presence that does not seem to resolve anything. They also describe a sense that the department now relies on cameras in places where it used to send patrol officers.

The city's case rests on crime statistics, and those figures show real improvement. The mayor reported crime down sharply from 2023 to 2025: homicides down 50%, robberies down 60% and thefts down 30% over those two years. Those are real improvements, and the official framing is that San Leandro is safer. A 60% drop in robberies measures crime reports, and a downtown a resident will not walk through at night measures how safe people feel. Both can be true.

Meliora Public Safety Consulting is conducting an organizational assessment of the department, an outside review of how it is run. The city did open that work to the public: it held a community focus group on 26 April 2026. Nothing from the assessment has been released. Council also bought five replacement patrol vehicles for up to $450,000. The staffing and structure questions the assessment was hired to answer remain open.

Sources: City of San Leandro, Chief Averiett on leave, San Leandro council correspondence, 23 April 2026, San Leandro Legistar council matters, webapi.legistar.com, tricityvoice.com

The $11.6 million three-year General Fund deficit and the demand for an accounting before any new tax

San Leandro · Citywide

T. Hudson wrote to the San Leandro Times in a letter printed on 30 July 2026, opposing additional taxes. Hudson cited pension liabilities, which are retirement payments the city has promised. Hudson wrote that 32 retirees collect more than $5 million a year, and also cited a $100,000 salary for a tree trimmer and pay of over $300,000 for the city administrator. Other residents have raised the same kind of question. When Monday closures at the Main Library were announced, the city said they would save about $0.6 million. Residents set that figure against police budget lines many times larger and asked why the library was first.

Residents have written to the city repeatedly, and what they ask for is a public accounting, meaning a clear report of where the money goes, before the city asks them for any new tax or fee. They cite $5 million a year in pensions for 32 retirees, a city administrator paid over $300,000, and a branding consultant hired in the middle of a deficit.

The deficit is a projected $11.6 million gap in the General Fund, the city's main operating budget, over three years. Staff put the projection forward in March 2026 and said meaningful reductions would be required. No adopted plan closes the gap without cutting services residents use. The council has taken several steps since then. It has adopted guiding principles for budget decisions, held community budget sessions, and approved changes to the budget partway through the year. It also raised the master fee schedule, which is the city's list of fees for services, the emergency medical services tax and the 911 access tax. Those steps ease the shortfall without closing it.

Part of the gap comes from a decision the city made deliberately. The FY2026-27 biennial (two-year) budget, in which FY means fiscal year (the city's budget year), was adopted in June 2025 after the council approved multi-year pay raises for city employees of 6.5% in 2025, followed by 3.75% a year in the years after. Competitive pay is how a city keeps staff it has spent years training, and vacancies carry their own costs. It is also part of why the projection moved. Retiree benefits are tracked quarterly through reports on OPEB (retiree benefits other than pensions) and on the pension trust, the fund set aside to pay pensions, which keeps the obligation visible to the council. No concrete steps to reduce the unfunded liability itself, meaning benefits promised but not yet set aside, have been reported.

Staff and council answer that the items residents cite are small next to an $11.6 million gap and that the reductions residents would accept do not add up to $11.6 million. Residents' request is still for the figures to be published before any new tax is proposed.

Annual fee adjustments for business licenses and emergency services have their own logic: they keep costs level with inflation and avoid a single shocking increase later. Stacked in one year, on top of each other, they land on the same merchants and households at once. That is how a set of defensible individual decisions becomes an unpopular one in total.

Sources: City of San Leandro budget document, Tri-City Voice, 2026 State of the City, City of San Leandro, adopted budget FY2026-27, San Leandro Legistar council matters, webapi.legistar.com, 0201.nccdn.net, 0201.nccdn.net, 0201.nccdn.net, sanleandronext.com, sanleandronext.com

Questions about council ethics and conduct, from a new ethics section to a federal bribery plea and discipline hearings

San Leandro · City Council; District 2; citywide · raised since September 2024

Residents were raising ethics questions at council, according to a Citizen Portal summary of a meeting dated 8 September 2024, when the City Council was considering a proposed ethics section, a set of written rules on how councilmembers should behave. Roseanne Menina, a San Leandro resident, told the council about allegations of "misuse of public funds, improper pressure on staff", and said the proposed section was missing "whistleblower protections and stronger consequences." Mitch Heidema, another resident, called it "shocking" that a code of ethics was not already in the council handbook.

The summary says it adopted the handbook at that meeting, and on 21 October 2024 it adopted a City Council Internal Discipline Policy, which lets a councilmember or resident file a complaint and sets steps from a letter of reprimand up to censure, a formal public rebuke.

The questions continued. A September 2025 letter aired ethics allegations in the San Leandro Times. On 7 October 2025 Jamie Mann, a San Francisco State University instructor speaking for the League of San Leandro Voters, told the council:

"We are appalled by the sexist and racist behavior of Council members Victor Aguilar and Fred Simon"

Jamie Mann, San Francisco State University instructor, speaking for the League of San Leandro Voters at the City Council meeting of 7 October 2025

On 24 October 2025 Vice Mayor Bowen filed internal discipline requests against Councilmembers Aguilar and Simon, meaning Victor Aguilar and Fred Simon, asking the council to review their conduct. A request is not a finding. The council acted on them by minute order, a short entry in its minutes, in January 2026. Citizen Portal summaries describe an investigative report dated 31 October 2025, a vote on 8 December 2025 to set a disciplinary hearing for 20 January 2026, and a 6 January 2026 vote to release a redacted version of the report, one with passages blacked out. The summaries disagree on details, so the votes are worth checking against minutes. We have not tracked the hearing's outcome.

Restorative-justice mediation, in which the people in a dispute meet to work it out, was discussed in January, March and June 2026 as something to add to the council's discipline policy. In May 2026 the council raised, by $150,000, its contract for outside investigators of conduct complaints, to $400,000 through 30 June 2028. The city also settled former City Manager Fran Robustelli's lawsuit in May 2026 on undisclosed terms, so residents do not know the contents, including any amount.

A federal case also touched the council. Councilmember Bryan Azevedo retired on 11 February 2026 and pleaded guilty to accepting bribes and making false statements in the federal Duong-family corruption prosecution, brought by the Justice Department. That left the District 2 seat vacant. On 23 March 2026 the council appointed James Aguilar, a former San Leandro Unified School District trustee (school board member) and a different person from Victor Aguilar, to the seat, by a vote of 4-0 with two abstentions. The seat is now held by appointment rather than by the voters. One resident said the plea made them suspicious of a land deal for workforce housing, meaning housing for moderate-income local workers. That is one resident's suspicion, not a finding, and we have not tracked a city response.

Worth tracking

Several things are open: the outcome of the discipline hearing for Councilmembers Aguilar and Simon, whether restorative-justice mediation is added to the discipline policy, how the $400,000 contract is used, whether the Robustelli settlement terms are released, and whether District 2 is filled by appointment or by election after December 2026. Released terms and a published outcome would show movement. More outside investigations with no resolution would suggest it is stuck.

The federal part is finished. Azevedo's plea came from the Justice Department's prosecution, and a congressional office has no role in a concluded federal criminal case and should not claim one. Everything still open is a San Leandro decision, and none of it turns on federal money. An office can still take casework (help with a problem a resident has with a government agency) and ask questions publicly on the record. If federal grant funds were shown to touch the conduct at issue, an office could ask the relevant inspector general, an independent federal watchdog, to look, though nothing we have tracked suggests it. What comes first is for the council and residents to decide, and we would work with the city rather than arrive with a list. If you have a concern about federal money in San Leandro, tell us.

Sources: San Leandro council correspondence, 11 September 2025, Citizen Portal, residents urge council to act on stronger ethics rules, City of San Leandro, City Council Internal Discipline Policy, Local News Matters, Azevedo retires amid federal corruption case, City of San Leandro, Council Member Azevedo to retire, Oaklandside, Azevedo guilty plea, East Bay Insiders, Azevedo resigns, San Leandro council correspondence, 2 April 2026, San Leandro council correspondence, 26 February 2026, City of San Leandro, document 15420, City of San Leandro legislative records, January to March 2026, City of San Leandro legislative records, May 2026, City of San Leandro, joint statement on the Robustelli settlement, Citizen Portal, council sets January 20 disciplinary hearing, Citizen Portal, council votes to release investigation report