City Council
Staff Report
Report Type: BOARDS, COMMISSIONS, AND COMMITTEES
INTERVIEWS
Lead Department: City Clerk
Meeting Date: October 15, 2025
Report #:2510-5273
TITLE
Interview Candidates for Vacancies on the Human Relations Commission (HRC), Parks and Recreation Commission (PRC), and Public Art Commission (PAC); CEQA Status - Not a Project
BACKGROUND
The Fall 2025 Boards and Commissions recruitment opened on August 22, 2025, and closed on September 24, 2025. HRC, PAC, and PRC each have three full-term vacancies.
Membership requirements for HRC, PRC, and PAC are listed below. Additionally, no commissioners can be Councilmembers, officers, or employees of the City. Human Relations Commission – Palo Alto residency 1.
Parks and Recreation Commission – Palo Alto residency and demonstrated interest in parks, open space and recreation matters2.
Public Art Commission - shall be either members of the architectural review board or professional visual artists, professional visual arts educators, professional visual arts scholars, or visual arts collectors whose authorities and skills are known and respected in the community and, whenever feasible, who have demonstrated an interest in, and have participated in, the arts program of the city3.
Each candidate interview will be scheduled for 10 minutes. Candidates will have an opportunity to summarize their experiences, and the remaining time will be allocated to Councilmember questions.
1 Palo Alto Municipal Code Section 1.22.010 https://codelibrary.amlegal.com/codes/paloalto/latest/paloalto_ca/0- 0-0-61320
2 Palo Alto Municipal Code Section 2.25.020 https://codelibrary.amlegal.com/codes/paloalto/latest/paloalto_ca/0- 0-0-61402
3 Palo Alto Municipal Code Section 2.18.020 https://codelibrary.amlegal.com/codes/paloalto/latest/paloalto_ca/0- 0-0-61257
Appointments are tentatively scheduled for the October 22, 2025 City Council Special Meeting.
Councilmembers will appoint candidates through live voting conducted during the meeting. The City Clerk will announce the results of the vote.
The City Council is expected to select candidates for interview at the October 6, 2025 City Council meeting. The interview schedule will be published as a supplemental report on October 9, 2025.
FISCAL/RESOURCE IMPACT
None.
STAKEHOLDER ENGAGEMENT
City staff publicized the recruitment through the City’s Uplift Local community newsletter, City Clerk’s Office newsletters, the City’s website, and the City’s social media channels. The recruitment was also advertised in both print and online in the Palo Alto Daily Post and Palo Alto Weekly. Recruitment information was also posted at Palo Alto libraries and City Hall and emailed to previous applicants, community-based organizations and businesses related to the commissions’ issue areas.
ENVIRONMENTAL REVIEW
Council action on this item is not a project as defined by CEQA because it is an organizational or administrative activity that will not result in direct or indirect physical changes in the environment. CEQA Guidelines section 15378(b)(5).
APPROVED BY:
Mahealani Ah Yun, City Clerk