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MINUTES OF THE
JOINT MEETING OF THE RULES AND OPEN GOVERNMENT COMMITTEE AND
COMMITTEE OF THE WHOLE
SAN JOSÉ, CALIFORNIA WEDNESDAY, MAY 13, 2026
The Committee meeting was held in the Council Chambers and convened at 2:00 p.m.
Present: Councilmembers - Cohen, Kamei, Foley, Doan, Candelas.
Absent: Councilmembers - None.
Staff: Lee Wilcox, Assistant City Manager, City Manager’s Office; Kevin Fisher, Assistant City Attorney, City Attorney’s Office; Joy Rodriguez, Assistant City Clerk, City Clerk’s Office; Rachelle Blattman, Senior Executive Analyst, City Manager’s Office; and Daniel Aguilar, Deputy City Clerk, City Clerk’s Office.
A. City Council (City Clerk)
1. Review May 19, 2026 Final Agenda
a) Add New Items to Final Agenda
b) Assign "Time Certain" to Agenda Items (if needed)
c) Review of Notice of Waiver Requirements for Agenda Items or Documents (if needed) Public Comment: None provided.
Action: Upon motion by Vice Mayor Pam Foley, seconded by Councilmember Rosemary Kamei, and carried unanimously, the Committee approved the final agenda for the City Council meeting on May 19, 2026. (5-0-0)
2. Review May 26, 2026 Draft Agenda – Cancelled.
B. Consent Calendar
Public Comment: None provided.
Action: Upon motion by Vice Mayor Pam Foley, seconded by Councilmember Rosemary Kamei, and carried unanimously, the Consent Calendar was approved as a whole, with the following actions taken as indicated. (5-0-0)
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1. Fiscal Year 2026 - 2027 City Council Meeting Schedule. (City Manager) Approve the City Council Meeting Schedule for the period August 2026 – June 2027.
Action: The City Council meeting schedule for the period of August 2026 – June 2027 was approved. (5-0-0)
2. City Council Appointments to Committees, Boards, and Commissions. (Mayor)
1. Appoint Councilmember Anthony Tordillos to the Santa Clara Valley Transportation Authority Policy Advisory Committee as an alternate.
2. Place the item on the May 19, 2026 City Council Agenda for action.
Action: The appointment of Councilmember Anthony Tordillos to the Santa Clara Valley Transportation Authority Policy Advisory Committee as an alternate was approved for placement on the May 19, 2026 City Council Agenda for action. (5-0-0)
3. Request to Travel. (Foley)
1. Authorize travel for Vice Mayor Pam Foley to Washington, D.C. from July 21-26, 2026, for the Sister Cities International 70th Anniversary Homecoming event and Annual Business Meeting.
2. Place the item on the May 19, 2026 City Council Agenda for action.
Action: Travel for Vice Mayor Pam Foley was approved for placement on the May 19, 2026 City Council agenda for action. (5-0-0)
4. Request to Travel. (Campos)
1. Authorize travel for Councilmember Campos to Baltimore, Maryland, on July 8-12, 2026, for the Local Progress Policy Institute, Impact Lab event.
2. Place the item on the May 19, 2026 City Council Agenda for action.
Action: Travel for Councilmember Pamela Campos was approved for placement on the May 19, 2026 City Council agenda for action. (5-0-0)
5. Approval of Philippine Independence Day Flag Raising Sponsored by Council District 3 as a City Council Sponsored Special Event to Expend City Funds and Accept Donations of Materials and Services for the Event. (Tordillos)
1. Approve the Philippine Independence Day Flag Raising scheduled on June 12, 2026 as a City Council sponsored Special Event and approve the expenditure of funds.
2. Approve and accept donations from various individuals, businesses or community groups to support the event.
3. Place the item on the May 19, 2026 City Council Agenda for action.
Action: The Philippine Independence Day Flag Raising, sponsored by Council District 3, was approved for placement on the May 19, 2026 City Council agenda for action. (5-0-0) [Page 3]
6. Approval of Pride and Transgender Flag Raisings and Lighting for Pride Month and Silicon Valley Pride Week Sponsored by Council District 9, 3, and 4 as City Council Sponsored Special Events to Expend City Funds and Accept Donations of Materials and Services for the Events. (Foley, Tordillos, and Cohen)
1. Approve the Progress Pride and Transgender Flag Raisings scheduled on June 3, 2026 for Pride Month and on August 24, 2026 for Silicon Valley Pride Week as City Council sponsored Special Events and approve the expenditure of funds;
2. Approve the 2026 Pride Month Lighting Programming on June 1-7, 2026 and the Silicon Valley Pride Week Lighting Programming on August 24-30, 2026 in the Tower and Rotunda as City Council sponsored Special Events and approve the expenditure of funds;
3. Approve and accept donations from various individuals, businesses or community groups to support the events; and
4. Place the item on the May 19, 2026 City Council Agenda for action.
Action: The Progress Pride and Transgender Flag Raisings for Pride Month and for Silicon Valley Pride Week; and the 2026 Pride Month Lighting and the Silicon Valley Pride Week Lighting, sponsored by Council Districts 9, 3, and 4, were approved for placement on the May 19, 2026 City Council agenda for action. (5-0-0)
C. Rules Committee Reviews, Recommendations and Approvals
1. Ministerial Approval for Assembly Bill 130 Qualifying Projects. (Tordillos, Campos, Cohen, and Kamei)
Direct the City Manager to return to City Council by September 2026 with an ordinance to expand ministerial approval processes citywide to housing development project applications that meet the eligibility criteria for a statutory exemption to the California Environmental Quality Act pursuant to Assembly Bill 130 (2025).
[Deferred from 4/22/26 - Item C.3 (ROGC 26-179)]
[Referred from 4/29/26 - Item C.2 (ROGC 26-190)]
Lee Wilcox, Assistant City Manager, City Manager’s Office, announced that the item has received a yellow light recommendation, as detailed in the Workload Analysis.
Public Comment: Alison Cingolani offered public comment.
Chris Burton, Director, Department of Planning, Building, and Code Enforcement, responded to questions from the Committee.
Councilmember Anthony Tordillos addressed the item and provided context related to the recommendation.
Action: Upon motion by Vice Mayor Pam Foley, seconded by Councilmember Domingo Candelas, and carried unanimously, the item regarding the ministerial approval for Assembly Bill 130 qualifying projects was referred to the Fiscal Year 2027-2028 budget process; and is directed to be included in Planning, Building, and Code Enforcement’s (PBCE) report to the Community & Economic Development Committee (CED) in October 2026, to be cross-referenced to City Council thereafter. (5-0-0)
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2. Reinstate Remote Participation. (Candelas, Ortiz, Cohen, and Casey) Direct the City Clerk to reinstate remote public participation to Council in time for the FY 2026-2027 June Budget deliberations.
Councilmember Domingo Candelas introduced the item, bringing forward the recommendation as outlined in the May 7, 2026 joint memorandum co-authored by Councilmember Domingo Candelas, Councilmember Peter Ortiz, Councilmember David Cohen, and Councilmember George Casey.
City Clerk Toni Taber announced that the item can return to Council for approval at the June 2, 2026 City Council meeting, coupled updates to Policy 0-37.
Public Comment: Alex Shoor, Karen, Michele Coleman, Rachel Stratman, Rebeca Armendariz, Alison Cingolani, Sandra Asher, Gianella Ordonez, Misrayn, Jordan Moldow, and Gia Pham offered public comment.
Action: Upon motion by Councilmember Domingo Candelas, seconded by Councilmember David Cohen, and carried unanimously, the item was approved with direction to place the item on the June 2, 2026 City Council agenda for action, and with the City Clerk to provide the updated Council Policy 0- 37, regarding speaker code of conduct for public meetings in the Council Chambers and Committee Rooms. (5-0-0)
D. Open Forum
1. Jordan Moldow informed the Committee that proposed changes to California’s Cap-and-Invest program could reduce funding available for environmental projects and encouraged the Committee to advocate for preserving those funds.
2. Alex Shoor urged the Rules Committee and City Council to prioritize housing production in order to address affordability, displacement, and inequality in San José.
E. Adjournment
Chair David Cohen adjourned the Committee meeting at 3:00 p.m. [Page 5]
Minutes Recorded, Prepared, and Respectfully Submitted by, ______________________________________
Daniel Aguilar
Deputy City Clerk, City of San José
Approved at Council on:
Number of actions: 4
Attest by:
______________________________________
Toni J. Taber, MMC
City Clerk, City of San José
6/2/2026