REPORT TO NEIGHBORHOOD UNIVERSITY RELATIONS COMMITTEE
SUBJECT
Title
Update on Neighborhood University Relations Committee Restructuring
Report
BACKGROUND
The Neighborhood University Relations Committee (NURC) was established in 1990 to review student housing issues (formerly Student Housing Committee).
In 2006, the Santa Clara University/City Liaison Committee and NURC were combined because of their overlapping subject areas. These two committees met as needed.
June 23, 2009, the NURC requested City Council hold three NURC meetings per year (October /November, February and April/May) as it was agreed that more time was needed for dialogue between the residents and the students.
The new NURC established a forum for on-going communication and problem solving among City officials, neighborhoods, property owners and Santa Clara University officials and students.
At present, the City's the Community Development Department provides primary staff support and serve in an advisory role to the NURC. Additional staff from the Police Department regularly attend and provide updates. The agendas are not structured for new work items to be referred to staff. In years past, Councilmembers participating in the NURC would refer certain concerns to the Director of Community Development to inquire about certain projects or address certain issues. This structure poses a challenge because an individual or a committee of Councilmembers cannot provide direction staff, as the City Manager is charged with overseeing operations and managing the workprogram of all City employees, under direction and policy guidance from the City Council. Additionally, having primary staff support provided by the Community Development Department limits the scope of issues that can be directly supported by staff assigned to the Committee.
In addition to the direct work of the Committee, a Team 300 was established to deal with enforcement issues in the University area. This team meets monthly to coordin...
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