City Council
Staff Report
Report Type: BOARDS, COMMISSIONS, AND COMMITTEES
APPOINTMENTS
Lead Department: City Clerk
Meeting Date: October 22, 2025
Report #:2508-5097
TITLE
Appointment of Candidates to the Human Relations Commission (HRC), Parks and Recreation Commission (PRC), and Public Art Commission (PAC); CEQA Status: Not a Project
RECOMMENDATION
Staff recommends the City Council appoint members to fill 3 vacancies on HRC, 3 vacancies on PRC, and 3 vacancies on PAC.
BACKGROUND
Recruitment
The Fall 2025 Boards and Commissions recruitment opened on August 22, 2025, and closed on September 24, 2025. Details on the vacancies and recruitment are summarized in the below table. Applications may be accessed online 1. The City Council conducted interviews on October 15, 2025, which may be viewed on the City’s YouTube Channel2 .
Board/
Commission
Number of
Vacancies
Term Number of
Applicants
Number of Applicants
Advanced to Interview
Stage
HRC 3 (Seat #s: 2, 3, 7) 11/1/25 – 10/31/28 12 8
PRC 3 (Seat #s: 2, 3, 4) 11/1/25 – 10/31/28 10 6
PAC 3 (Seat #s: 1, 4, 7) 11/1/25 – 10/31/28 10 7
Commission Membership Requirements
Membership requirements for HRC, PRC, and PAC are listed below. Additionally, no commissioners can be Councilmembers, officers, or employees of the City. 1 City Council, October 6, 2025; Agenda Item #2; SR # 2508-5096 https://portal.laserfiche.com/Portal/DocView.aspx?id=227109&repo=r-704298fc&searchid=01023e7f-f8c6-4c2b- 936d-ab3cd0cc41fa
2 City of Palo Alto YouTube Channel: https://www.youtube.com/@cityofpaloalto
Human Relations Commission – Palo Alto residency 5
Parks and Recreation Commission – Palo Alto residency and demonstrated interest in parks, open space and recreation matters6
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 city7
Voting
The City Clerk will conduct live voting during the meeting and will announce the results and how each Councilmember voted. Each Councilmember may select up to 3 applicants per commission.
A majority of 4 votes is required to appoint a candidate. Additional rounds of voting may be required if there is a tie or no candidates receive a majority of votes.
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
5 Palo Alto Municipal Code Section 1.22.010 https://codelibrary.amlegal.com/codes/paloalto/latest/paloalto_ca/0- 0-0-61320
6 Palo Alto Municipal Code Section 2.25.020 https://codelibrary.amlegal.com/codes/paloalto/latest/paloalto_ca/0- 0-0-61402
7 Palo Alto Municipal Code Section 2.18.020 https://codelibrary.amlegal.com/codes/paloalto/latest/paloalto_ca/0- 0-0-61257