While San Jose scored relatively well in access and acreage, suggesting many residents live within reach of a park, the city\u2019s low investment score highlights ongoing concerns about whether funding levels are sufficient to maintain facilities and address long-term infrastructure needs. San Jose received a 29 out of 100 points for investment, spending $122 per capita on parks and recreation compared with $476 per capita in San Francisco, which ranked sixth nationally.<\/p>\n
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The bathrooms at Bellevue Park in South San Jose are unusable and boarded up. One resident said the park is not being used because it\u2019s in disrepair. Photo by Maryanne Casas-Perez.<\/p>\n
The findings come as San Jose continues to grapple with a parks maintenance\u00a0backlog<\/a> estimated at more than $550 million, and faces allegations of mismanagement<\/a> from a parks commissioner.<\/p>\n Ed Bautista, spokesperson for Parks, Recreation and Neighborhood Services, acknowledged San Jose\u2019s low investment score and said funding constraints have made it difficult to keep pace with the city\u2019s growing<\/a> park system.<\/p>\n \u201cThat methodology (for the $550 million maintenance backlog) is based on a 2015 backlog study and accounts with different factors, including inflation and cost escalation factors, which means it does increase annually,\u201d Bautista told San Jos\u00e9 Spotlight.<\/p>\n Bautista said the city\u2019s park maintenance funding is largely tied to the general fund, which must also support public safety, libraries, streets and other services. Elected city leaders have also taken steps in recent years to incentivize developers to build housing by reducing park fees<\/a>.<\/p>\n \u201cThe reduction in development-related fees means truly less funding for park development projects,\u201d Bautista said.<\/p>\n Still, he said the department is proud the city remains in the top half of the nation\u2019s largest city park systems.<\/p>\n Bautista said San Jose maintained 1,475 acres of parkland with 227 employees in 2003 \u2014 the city now maintains 1,801 acres with 183 employees. He said the department is working to reduce deferred maintenance through in-house construction teams, playground replacements and other improvement projects.<\/p>\n The effects of limited resources can be seen in parks across East San Jose, where maintenance crews spend much of their time addressing illegal dumping instead of routine upkeep. Matthew Chavez, a city employee who helps maintain parks in the area, said discarded furniture, tires, appliances and construction debris regularly end up in neighborhood parks.<\/p>\n \u201cMore than half of our job is just dealing with garbage,\u201d Chavez told San Jos\u00e9 Spotlight. \u201cWe got three guys. Sometimes we have a fourth, and we have seven parks to take care of.\u201d<\/p>\n The city\u2019s park system has faced funding challenges for years, with officials and advocates debating how best to fund repairs and improvements. The issue has prompted discussions about dedicated funding sources, including a proposed parks measure<\/a> that ultimately did not advance to the ballot.<\/p>\n District 5 Councilmember Peter Ortiz, who represents East San Jose, said the ParkScore findings reflect concerns his constituents have raised for years<\/a>.\u00a0He attributed the maintenance backlog to decades of underinvestment and a funding system that prioritizes building new parks over maintaining existing ones.<\/p>\n \u201cEvery day I hear residents raise concerns about aging infrastructure, deferred maintenance, landscaping, cleanliness and the condition of park amenities,\u201d Ortiz told San Jos\u00e9 Spotlight.<\/p>\n![\"In-line](\"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ca\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/03\/interactive-321838904008.png\")
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