City of San José

200 East Santa Clara Street

San Jose, CA 95113

City of San José

Agenda

Joint Meeting for the Rules and Open Government Committee and

Committee of the Whole

Committee Members

David Cohen, Chair

Rosemary Kamei, Vice Chair

Pam Foley, Member

Bien Doan, Member

Domingo Candelas, Member

Committee Staff

Lee Wilcox, Assistant City Manager

Joy Rodriguez, Assistant City Clerk

Kevin Fisher, Assistant City Attorney

Rachelle Blattman, City Manager's Office

Wednesday, May 20, 2026

2:00 PM

Council Chambers

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Fill out a Yellow Speaker's Card and submit it to boxes at the bottom of the Chambers.

A. City Council (City Clerk)

1. Review Final Agenda

ROGC

26-214

Review May 26, 2026 Final Agenda. - Cancelled.

2. Review Draft Agenda

ROGC

26-215

Review June 2, 2026 Draft Agenda.

a. Add New Items to Draft Agenda

b. Assign "Time Certain" to Agenda Items (if needed)

c. Review of Notice of Waiver Requirements for Agenda Items or

Documents (if needed)

Agenda to be posted on the day of the meeting.

Notice to the public: There will be no separate discussion of individual Consent Calendar items as they

are considered to be routine and will be adopted by one motion. If a member of the Committee requests

debate, separate vote or recusal on a particular item, that item may be removed from the Consent

Calendar by the Chair and considered separately. The public may comment on the entire Consent

Calendar and any items removed from the Consent Calendar by the Chair.

B. Consent Calendar

ROGC

26-222

Update to the January - June 2026 Neighborhood Services and

Education Committee Work Plan. (City Manager)

Recommendation:

Approve an amendment to the January - June 2026 Neighborhood

Services and Education Committee Work Plan to drop the following

item scheduled from the June 11, 2026, Committee meeting agenda.

Animal Care and Services Status Report.

Purpose: Provide a status report on the Animal Care and Services

Division's provision of services. (Public Works)

Attachments

Memorandum

ROGC

26-225

Rules and Open Government Committee Work Plan. (City Clerk)

Recommendation:

Approve the Rules and Open Government Committee work plan for the

period of August 2026 through June 2027 and set its meeting schedule

as every Wednesday at 2:00 p.m. in the City Hall Council Chambers.

The agendas will be posted as the Joint Rules and Open Government

Committee and Committee of the Whole.

Attachments

Memorandum

ROGC

26-223

Retroactive Approval and Approval of Various Events Sponsored by

Council District 8 as City Council Sponsored Special Events to Expend

City Funds and Accept Donations of Materials and Services for the

Events. (Candelas)

Recommendation:

1. Retroactively approve the Music in the Villages event scheduled on

April 30, 2026 as a City Council sponsored Special Event and approve

the expenditure of funds.

2. Approve the Music in the Square events scheduled on June 5, 12,

19, and 26; July 10, 17, 24, and 31; and August 7, 14, 21, and 28, 2026

as City Council sponsored Special Events and approve the expenditure

of funds.

3. Approve the July 4th Celebration at Lake Cunningham scheduled on

July 4, 2026 as a City Council sponsored Special Event and approve the

expenditure of funds.

4. Approve the Indian Flag Raising scheduled on August 14, 2026 as a

City Council sponsored Special Event and approve the expenditure of

funds.

5. Approve and accept donations from various individuals, businesses

or community groups to support the events.

6. Place the item on the June 2, 2026 City Council Agenda for action.

Attachments

Memorandum from Candelas

C. Rules Committee Reviews, Recommendations and Approvals

Recommendation:

Direct the City Manager’s Office to work with the appropriate

departments, including but not limited to, Planning, Building, and Code

Enforcement, the City Manager's Office of Economic Development and

Cultural Affairs, and the City Attorney’s Office, to return with an

analysis and options for potential administrative, regulatory, and

programmatic actions to support the activation of vacant commercial

storefronts and reduction of blight citywide. This referral is intended to

initiate policy analysis and return with recommendations. The analysis

should include identification of workload impacts, fiscal implications,

and alignment with existing departmental work plans.

The analysis should include, but not be limited to, evaluation of the

following:

1. Evaluate potential amendments to San José Municipal Code

Section 20.150, as well as any other relevant ordinances, Municipal

Code sections, or City Council policies, to extend the allowable period

for reestablishing a legal nonconforming use without requiring a new

Special Use Permit from six months to up to three years. Additionally,

evaluate appropriate limitations, safeguards, or categorical exclusions

that may be necessary to address potential impacts associated with such

an extension.

2. Evaluate existing restaurant and small business programs within

the City Manager's Office of Economic Development and Cultural

Affair and the Planning, Building, and Code Enforcement Department

to identify opportunities to strengthen interdepartmental coordination

and better align program resources toward the activation of vacant

storefronts. The analysis should assess program effectiveness,

administrative feasibility, fiscal impacts, and policy implications and

return with recommendations and implementation direction informed by

these considerations.

3. Evaluate potential amendments to San José Municipal Code

Section 20.80 and relevant City Council Policies, including 6-28, 6-29,

and 8-14, to determine whether establishing a ministerial stand-alone

demolition permit process for certain vacant industrial and commercial

buildings is legally feasible and advisable. This evaluation should

consider applicability only where California Environmental Quality Act

permits ministerial approval and where the building is not a designated

or potentially historic resource, and should preserve environmental

screening requirements for polychlorinated biphenyls, commonly known

as PCBs (as referenced in City Council Policy 6-28) and maintain waste

diversion obligations under Section 9.10 of the San José Municipal

Code.

a. The analysis should be options-based and may identify and

assess a range of potential regulatory and implementation approaches

for City Council consideration, without presuming a preferred outcome.

Such options may include, but are not limited to, alternative

post-demolition site management pathways and compliance or

monitoring frameworks. The analysis should assess legal, fiscal,

workload, and policy implications before recommending any

amendments.

[Referred from 5/6/26 - Item C.1 (ROGC 26-201)]

Attachments

Memorandum from Tordillos, Cohen, Ortiz, Mulcahy, and Doan

D. Open Forum

Members of the Public are invited to speak on any item that does not appear on today’s Agenda and

that is within the subject matter jurisdiction of the Committee.

E. Adjournment

The Code of Conduct (https://www.sanjoseca.gov/home/showpublisheddocument/12901/636670004966630000) is intended to promote

open meetings that welcome debate of public policy issues being discussed by the City Council, their Committees, and City Boards and

Commissions in an atmosphere of fairness, courtesy, and respect for differing points of view.

The City of San José is committed to open and honest government and strives to consistently meet the community's expectations by

providing excellent services, in a positive and timely manner, and in the full view of the public. The City Code of Ethics may be viewed

online.

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permit, or use entitlement to disclose any campaign contributions to City elected or appointed officials totaling more than $500 within the

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Records Act, that are distributed to a majority of the legislative body will be available for public inspection at San José City Hall, Office of

the City Clerk, 200 E. Santa Clara Street, 14th Floor, San José, CA 95113 at the same time that the public records are distributed or made

available to the legislative body.

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