TO: HONORABLE MAYOR AND
CITY COUNCIL
FROM: Councilmember Casey
Councilmember Candelas
SUBJECT: 2026 Summer Intergovernmental
Relations Report
DATE: September 18, 2026
Approved: Date: 9/18/26
RECOMMENDATION:
Accept the staff recommendation and direct the City Manager to:
1. Add a policy position to the 2027 Legislative Program supporting legislation that restores and strengthens local control over housing and land use matters such as those identified in the League of California Cities 2026 Annual Conference Resolution No. 11.
2. Write and submit a letter of concurrence for the League of California Cities 2026 Annual Conference Resolution No. 1.
BACKGROUND:
Since 2017, the State of California has passed over 200 new laws on housing and land use, many of which apply financial or legal pressure on cities to allow for development that supersedes local standards and zoning2. The increasing scale and scope of these laws have intruded on the ability of cities to make planning decisions that respect the interests and wishes of their voters. For example, here in San José, we have been required to advance zoning changes that complicate thoughtful mixed-use planning or densify in ways that risk worsening traffic congestion and carbon emissions3.
Our Intergovernmental Relations team (IGR), acting in alignment with our existing Council- approved legislative priorities, has done excellent work advocating for the protection of local control with the ultimate goal to keep land use power as close to the people as possible. Like- minded cities are proposing a legislative solution to halt the further erosion of local land use authority and go further by restoring powers that were lost in the last few years. Specifically, they propose developing and advancing a state constitutional amendment or other legislative strategy that:
1 Officers, 2025-2026 Cal Cities. (2026, August 10). Advocacy | Resolutions and the General Assembly. Retrieved from League of California Cities: https://www.calcities.org/docs/default-source/advocacy/2026-cal-cities-resolution- packet.pdf?sfvrsn=36139ca0_1
2 SPUR. (2026, June). California Housing Laws. Retrieved from SPUR:
https://www.spur.org/publications/research/2026-06-30/california-housing-laws 3 City of San José | Department of Planning, B. &. (n.d.). Planning, Building & Code Enforcement | Planning Division | Ordinances & Proposed Updates. Retrieved from City of San José: https://www.sanjoseca.gov/your- government/departments-offices/planning-building-code-enforcement/planning-division/ordinances-proposed-updates COUNCIL AGENDA: 9/22/26
FILE: 26-969
ITEM: 3.3
HONORABLE MAYOR AND CITY COUNCIL
9/22/2026
Subject: 2026 Summer Intergovernmental Relations Report
- Restores and strengthens local authority over housing and land use matters within municipal boundaries, including general plans, housing elements, zoning, density, design and development standards, project siting, and the approval or denial of housing development applications.
- Preserves the State’s authority to establish broad statewide housing goals and enforce constitutional and civil rights, fair housing requirements, building and life-safety standards, and generally applicable environmental protections, while protecting cities from state actions that compel, through funding conditions or state law, the approval of housing developments that are inconsistent with locally adopted requirements; override local zoning or density standards; or invalidate locally adopted housing or land use decisions when a city has planned in good faith to accommodate its regional housing needs allocation and maintains adequate capacity for housing at all income levels.
The resolution also proposes that the League of California Cities, of which San José is a member, consider establishing a working group to evaluate and develop this specific strategy further.
Supporting a solution in this vein would align with our pre-approved legislative priorities, as unanimously adopted by Council in January 2026, and build upon them by providing early backing for an idea that could alleviate pressure on San José to make planning decisions that fail to advance our housing and development goals and contradict the wishes of our constituents.