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Council Agenda: 02-25-2025
Item No.: 8.1(b)
DRAFT--Contact the Office of the City Clerk at (408) 535-1260 or [email protected] for final document.
RESOLUTION NO. ______
A RESOLUTION OF THE COUNCIL OF THE CITY OF SAN
JOSE TO DETERMINE THAT A PEDESTRIAN MALL ON
POST STREET BETWEEN SOUTH FIRST STREET AND
LIGHTSTON ALLEY SHALL BE ESTABLISHED
PURSUANT TO THE PEDESTRIAN MALL LAW OF 1960
WHEREAS, between June 2020 and September 2020, the San José City Manager issued five emergency declarations in response to the COVID -19 pandemic to allow the expansion of business operations outdoors while maintaining compliance with the County of Santa Clara’s Order and Social Distancing Protocol; and
WHEREAS, in July 2020, the City of San José (“City”) temporarily closed Post Street between South First Street and Lightston Alley (“Post Street”) as part of the San José Al Fresco initiative to facilitate outdoor dining during the COVID-19 pandemic; and
WHEREAS, following the end of the COVID-19 state of emergency, businesses on Post Street, community members, and this City Council have called for the one- block portion of Post Street to be permanently converted to a pedestrian mall to enhance this key public space in the heart of downtown San José; and
WHEREAS, in January 2022, Post Street reopened to vehicular traffic, but in the summer of 2022 the City implemented the Post Street Traffic Closure Pilot (“Pilot”) to temporarily close Post Street to vehicular traffic from Thursday through Sunday; the Pilot was subsequently extended through December 2024; and
WHEREAS, the Pedestrian Mall Law of 1960 (Streets and Highways Code Section 11000 et seq.) authorizes municipalities to close streets to vehicular traffic and to establish pedestrian malls; and
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Council Agenda: 02-25-2025
Item No.: 8.1(b)
DRAFT--Contact the Office of the City Clerk at (408) 535-1260 or [email protected] for final document.
WHEREAS, Post Street is a 5 0-foot-wide, public right -of-way (building face to building face), and the establishment of a pedestrian mall on Post Street will centralize a 20-foot pedestrian right-of-way down the middle of the street; and WHEREAS, the City wishes to prohibit vehicular traffic on the pedestrian mall except for emergency and utility maintenance vehicles, which shall be allowed access at all times.
In addition, private maintenance vehicles and other vehicles for large equipment drop- offs may be allowed by appointment or in conjunction with a special event permit; and
WHEREAS, service and delivery vehicles will be able to access the pedestri an mall between the hours of 5 a.m. and 10 a.m. daily; and
WHEREAS, there are no new permanent infrastructure installations or street improvements proposed, but overhead festoon/decorative lighting, a street mural, and additional temporary planter boxes may also be installed down the street in the future to enhance the pedestrian experience; and once funding is secured, retractable or removable bollards will be installed to increase pedestrian safety, all of which will be financed by the City; and
WHEREAS, the City does not intend to form an assessment district at this time to pay for the proposed improvements, but may consider the formation of such an assessment district in the future to pay for additional improvements that may be contemplated at a later date; and
WHEREAS, on November 5, 2024, in accordance with the Pedestrian Mall Law of 1960, the City Council adopted a resolution, declaring its intention to establish a pedestrian mall on the one-block portion of Post Street and setting February 25, 2025, as the date to hear protests and objections to the establishment of the proposed pedestrian mall and to review any claims of damages from those having any legal or equitable interest in any NVF:DHZ:KMF
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Item No.: 8.1(b)
DRAFT--Contact the Office of the City Clerk at (408) 535-1260 or [email protected] for final document.
real property which might suffer legal damage by reason of establishment of the proposed pedestrian mall (Resolution No. RES2024-386); and
WHEREAS, copies of the resolution with the header “Notice of Intention to Establish a Pedestrian Mall” in letters one- half inch in height were posted not more than 300 feet apart on all city streets and intersecting streets, or portions thereof, proposed to be established as a pedestrian mall on the one- block portion of Post Street , in accordance with Streets and Highways Code Section 11301; and
WHEREAS, copies of the resolutio n were mailed, not less than 45 days prior to the hearing on February 25, 2025, to all interested parties, in accordance with Streets and Highways Code Section 11302; and
WHEREAS, a copy of the resolution was recorded in the O ffice of the County Recorder for Santa Clara County not less than 90 days prior to the hearing , in accordance with Streets and Highways Code Section 11302.5; and
WHEREAS, no objections, protests, or claims for damages were received or heard by the City regarding the establishment of a pedestrian mall on the one- block portion of Post Street; and
WHEREAS, the conversion of Post Street to a pedestrian mall, including any temporary improvements and the installation of bollards, is exempt from the California Environmental Quality Act un der Sections 15301 (Existing Facilities) and 15304 (Minor Alterations to Land) of the state CEQA Guidelines, and no further environmental review is warranted under Title 21 of the San José Municipal Code;
NOW, THEREFORE, BE IT RESOLVED BY THE COUNCIL OF THE CITY OF SAN JOSE THAT:
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Item No.: 8.1(b)
DRAFT--Contact the Office of the City Clerk at (408) 535-1260 or [email protected] for final document.
1. The foregoing recitals are hereby incorporated by reference.
2. Pursuant to the Pedestrian Mall Law of 1960 (California Streets and Highways Code Section 11000 et seq.), the City Council hereby establishes a pedestrian mall on Post Street between South First Street and Lightston Alley.
3. The City Council determines that the public interest and convenience require the establishment of pedestrian malls and that vehicular traffic will not be unduly inconvenienced.
4. If funding is secured, removable bollards could be installed to increase pedestrian safety and enhance aesthetics. Until then, pedestrians will continue to be protected from vehicular traffic through the existing Meridian safety barricades located at the east and west ends of the street. Any temporary improvements and traffic control devices (e.g., bollards) will be financed either by general funds, other available moneys, or the proceeds of assessments levied on lands benefited by the establishment of a pedestrian mall.
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Council Agenda: 02-25-2025
Item No.: 8.1(b)
DRAFT--Contact the Office of the City Clerk at (408) 535-1260 or [email protected] for final document.
ADOPTED this ____ day of _________, 2025, by the following vote:
AYES:
NOES:
ABSENT:
DISQUALIFIED:
____________________________
MATT MAHAN
Mayor
ATTEST:
____________________________
TONI J. TABER, MMC
City Clerk