Mayor says Fremont’s future ‘filled with hope’ in State of the City address

FREMONT Mayor Raj Salwan explained Fremont s future is filled with hope during his first State of the City address as mayor this week Before a packed room in the not long ago constructed event center Wednesday night Salwan reported the city s priorities are economic maturation and financial stability populace safety ending homelessness and environmental sustainability Salwan noted that residents can expect further retail improvement in the downtown area as well as venture in new parks We are ambitious diverse and unified by a shared believe that our best days are still ahead Salwan reported Let me be clear we are just getting started Salwan bragged about a flourishing tech manufacturing sector with several companies planning expansions or transfers into the city such as Pebble Penguin Solutions Sony Honda Mobility s Afeela electric car company and more Fremont plans to welcome an expansion of electric flying traveler automobile company called Wisk Aero which is based in Mountain View he declared The mayor who is a veterinarian by transaction received applause when he mentioned the city s efforts to hire a new full-time veterinarian for the Tri-City Animal Shelter Salwan who championed the hotly contested citywide camping ban declared leaders need to attack homelessness at its root cause which is a lack of affordable housing in the region He noted the opening of a new -unit affordable housing maturation the Fremont Family Apartments at Fremont Blvd as one of the city s efforts toward addressing homelessness Four other developments Bell Street Gardens Osgood North Osgood South and Serra Apartments have finished leasing and are expected to open this spring or summer Bell Street Gardens will have units Osgood North units Osgood South units and Serra Apartments units Fremont Mayor Raj Salwan Photo courtesy of Raj Salwan When we talk about homelessness we must acknowledge the complexity of the topic Salwan announced Homelessness does not look the same for everyone The city in the last few days passed a strict camping ban which prohibits homeless camping anywhere in Fremont The ban caught the ire of local housing advocates who sued the city over an aiding and abetting clause that would have criminalized anyone who was caught helping homeless residents with gear and support such as bedding or tents The clause was removed from the ordinance and the litigation is now still pending I like the idea because it makes the public more safe Fremont resident Tao Xu declared of the bans in an interview after Wednesday s event I think the city is doing a great job The -year-old who raised two children in Fremont noted he is the bulk interested in the city s efforts to open new parks bolster housing supply and improve business districts such as the popular Pacific Commons He added I see a lot of progress Nirva Kadakia a Fremont mother stated she has lived in the city for over years I feel the city has really changed in a good way she noted in an interview It s definitely established itself as one of the really nice places to raise a family As the owner of a small program company in Sunnyvale she declared she would like to see city executives invest more money and tools to bring more local small system and consulting companies to the area She stated that large companies get a lot of assistance where small businesses get less She noted the city s camping and RV bans are essential but called the previous aiding and abetting clause a misstep Kadakia announced homelessness is something that demands to be managed and declared particular of these measures are significant I think we need to continue to deal with these problems with empathy but with pragmatism as well she reported Her teenage son Neel Jani disclosed in an interview that he sees the city on an upwards trend Jani reported he wants leaders to continue investments into its business districts but noted he doesn t feel there is a real downtown in Fremont compared to other major cities in the region We just feel like a residential city Jani mentioned But we have to be more of a social city