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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, JUNE 17, 2026
The Committee meeting was held in the Council Chambers and convened at 2:00 p.m.
Present: Councilmembers - Cohe n, 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 June 23, 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 Domingo Candelas, and carried unanimously, the Committee approved the final agenda for the City Council meeting on June 23, 2026, including the add sheet . (5-0-0)
2. Review June 30, 2026 Draft Agenda – Meeting cancelled.
B. Consent Calendar
Public Comment: None provided.
Action: Upon motion by Councilmember Rosemary Kamei, seconded by Councilmember Bien Doan, 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. The Public Record for June 4, 2026 – June 11, 2026. (City Clerk) Receive and file the Public Record for June 4, 2026 – June 11, 2026.
Action: The Public Record for June 4, 2026 – June 11, 2026 was received and filed. (5-0-0)
2. Approval to Expend City Funds and Authorization to Accept Donations for the City's Participation in the Annual Rose, White & Blue Parade and Festival. (City Clerk)
1. Approve the expenditure of City funds for the City of San José’s participation in the Rose, White & Blue Parade and Festival as an annual July 4th community event.
2. Approve the solicitation and acceptance of donations from various individuals, businesses, or community groups to offset costs associated with the City’s participation in the event.
3. Place the item on the June 23, 2026 City Council Agenda for action.
Action: The City of San José’s participation in the Rose, White & Blue Parade and Festival as an annual July 4th community event was approved for placement on the June 23, 2026 City Council Agenda for action. (5-0-0)
C. Rules Committee Reviews, Recommendations and Approvals
1. Policy Analysis of Vacant Commercial Storefront Activation Tools. (Tordillos, Cohen, Ortiz, Mulcahy, and Doan)
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 Affairs and the Planning, Building, and Code Enforcement Department to identify opportunities to strengthen interdepartmental coordination and better align program resources towards 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 [Page 3]
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)]
[Deferred from 5/20/26 - Item C.1 (ROGC 26-224)]
[Deferred from 6/3/26 - Item C.1 (ROGC 26-234)]
Lee Wilcox, Assistant City Manager, City Manager’s Office, announced that the Workload Analysis contains both yellow and green lit recommendations. Recommendation 2 is recommended as green lit and the City Auditor's Office will include this referral as an audit report for their Fiscal Year 2026-2027 work plan; recommendations 1 and 3 are recommended as yellow lit by staff, with priority setting set in the Fall with the Citywide Planning Workplan in reference to the Department of Planning, Building and Code Enforcement (PBCE)
C
ouncilmember Michael Mulcahy introduced the item, bringing forward the recommendation as outlined in the April 30, 2026 joint memorandum co-authored by Councilmember Tordillos, Councilmember Cohen, Councilmember Mulcahy, and Councilmember Doan.
Public Comment: Jordan Moldow offered public comment.
Action: Upon motion by Councilmember Bien Doan, seconded by Councilmember Rosemary Kamei, and carried unanimously, recommendation 2 will be included in the City Auditor’s 2026-2027 work plan; and recommendations 1 and 3 will be deferred to the PBCE Citywide Planning Work Plan Reprioritization process which will come to City Council in the first quarter of Fiscal Year 2026-2027, pursuant to the 2026-2027 City Manager’s Budget Addendum #24. (5-0-0) D. Open Forum
No public c omment provided.
E. Adjournment
Chair David Cohen adjourned the Committee meeting at 2:10 p.m. [Page 4]
Minutes Recorded, Prepared, and Respectfully Submitted by,
______________________________________
Daniel Aguilar
Deputy City Clerk, City of San José
Approved at Council on:
Number of actions: 3
Attest by:
______________________________________
Toni J. Taber, MMC
City Clerk, City of San José