The Stockton City Council will be dealing with a full agenda on Tuesday.
The council is expected to discuss the removal of Cesar Chavez’s name from the Stockton-San Joaquin County Public Library’s main branch, vote on nearly $9.2 million in new affordable housing loans and approve new rules for how they communicate during labor negotiations.
The library name discussion is expected to draw public interest. It follows recent allegations of rape and child molestation against the late farm labor leader, which have sparked national conversation and calls for renaming in some cities.
A local meeting in March gave air to community members including survivors of abuse, farm worker advocates, educators and concerned residents on the issue.
Some speakers stressed believing and supporting survivors, but cast doubt about the timing of the allegations. Others highlighted Cesar Chavez’s historic role in the farm workers movement, including gains in wages, breaks, shade, water and union protections for laborers. Several urged separating his “personal flaws” from the broader civil rights and labor legacy, equating Chavez to the movement’s accomplishments.
The allegations expressed in the New York Times article included interviews with several women who told their stories for the first time, as well as dozens of people including Chavez’s top aides and relatives. Their reports are corroborated by hundreds of pages of union records, confidential emails, photographs, DNA evidence and other material.
The agenda does not specify if a vote will take place, only that the council will discuss the library’s name and provide direction to staff on whether it should remain.
The council is scheduled to consider a resolution that would approve loan awards to two affordable housing projects that responded to the city’s 2025 Notice of Funding Availability, known as a NOFA. A NOFA is the city’s competitive request for proposals to develop or preserve affordable rental homes using local housing funds.
The staff recommendation calls for a $5 million loan to Visionary Home Builders for the Don Shalvey Apartments, a planned 108-unit family housing project, and a $4,179,838 loan to Delta Community Development Corporation for the Danny Drive project, which would create 66 senior units. Funding could come from any eligible mix of HOME, HOME American Rescue Plan, Permanent Local Housing Allocation and other housing sources, depending on project timelines and requirements.
At an earlier City Council meeting in March, previously committed $1.6 million in funds to Sierra Vista affordable housing were deobligated by the council. Then, they approved nearly $12 million in new loans to help new developments, including Visionary Home Builders and Delta Community Development Corp., move forward.
Stockton Economic Development Director Tina McCarty walked the council through the full NOFA review at the council meeting in March.. Eight proposals were submitted. Staff first checked that all met basic requirements. Three separate city raters then scored every proposal using a published matrix that awards points for developer experience, financial capacity, project readiness and other factors.
A consultant reviewed the financial sections, and an artificial intelligence program scored the proposals using the exact same criteria.
The council will also consider a proposal to adopt a resolution establishing guidelines for council member communication and conduct during active labor negotiations. The goal is to ensure compliance with the Meyers-Milias-Brown Act, the state law that governs collective bargaining for public employees, and to protect the confidentiality and integrity of the bargaining process.