Oakland Rules & Legislation Committee Meeting Summary

January 29, 2026 | 10:31 AM

The Rules and Legislation Committee met on January 29, 2026, to review and schedule items for upcoming City Council and committee meetings. Four members were present: President Jenkins (Chair), Councilmember Brown, Councilmember Fyfe, and Councilmember Ramachandran. The committee approved the draft minutes from January 15, approved a slate of scheduling items (Item 3) with amendments, and modified the draft agendas for the week of February 9 (Item 4).

Key Outcomes

• Minutes Approved: Unanimous vote (4-0) to approve the draft minutes from the January 15, 2026, committee meeting.
• Item 3 (New Scheduling) Approved as Amended: Unanimous vote (4-0) to approve the following:
  • 3.1 (Cannabis Commission Appointment): Urgency finding approved; item sent directly to the February 5 City Council consent agenda to ensure quorum for the commission's February meeting.
  • 3.2 (Disparity Study Report): Item to proceed to the February 10 Life Enrichment Committee agenda without co-sponsors after Councilmember Fyfe expressed concerns and requested that she and other council members remove their names as co-sponsors. The report comes from the City Administrator's office.
  • 3.3 (Public Safety Vice Chair): Title changed to "Motion to designate council member Houston as vice chair of the Public Safety Committee."
  • 3.16 (OMC Section Amendment): Moved from consent to non-consent on the February 3 City Council agenda at the request of Councilmember Wong's office, who wishes to give the issue full attention and will bring amendments. Councilmember Ramachandran noted that the committee has authority over consent designations.
• Item 4 (Draft Agendas & Pending List) Approved as Amended: Unanimous vote (4-0) to approve the following scheduling changes:
  • February 3 Council meeting, Item 4.1 (Protected Tree Ordinance): Rescheduled to April 14 Council meeting (non-consent) to allow more time for document review.
  • February 10 Public Works & Transportation Committee, Item 3 (Pavement Rehabilitation): Title changed to reflect a requested increase in the change order limit with McGuire and Huster from 25% to 27.5%, for a total contract not to exceed $19,230,418.75.
  • February 10 Public Safety Committee, Item 4 (ITPSA with Image Trend LLC): Rescheduled to February 24 Public Safety Committee.
  • February 10 CED Committee, Item 3 (Anti-Displacement Strategic Action Plan): Rescheduled to March 10 CED Committee to allow more time for modifications.
  • February 10 CED Committee, Item 6 (Advertising Signs Relocation Agreement): Rescheduled to March 24 CED Committee.

Public Comments & Testimony

• Blair Beekman spoke on Items 3.8 (Sanctuary City Policy), 3.11, and 3.12, advocating for dialogue with the federal administration and highlighting best practices in social services. They also commended the SAMHSA program discussed in the Life Enrichment Committee.
• Kevin Daly (Transport Oakland) spoke on Item 3.7 (SB 79/Abundant Affordable Homes Near Transit), noting that while SB 79 excludes bus service, Oakland is not required to limit itself and could push for more housing near buses. He also expressed concern about the City's plan to move parking division positions to other departments on February 7, three days before a scheduled February 10 Public Works hearing on the matter, urging council members to attend.
• Councilmember Houston briefly commented on his work clearing an automobile graveyard and expressed appreciation for his new vice chair role on Public Safety.
• Councilmember Fyfe spoke extensively on Item 3.2, asserting she has worked on the disparity study process for six years and requesting she and other co-sponsors be removed to let the item proceed directly from the City Administrator's office without council co-sponsorship.

Open Forum

• Kevin Daly noted that the most complex council items often have speaking time shortened to 60 seconds, making it difficult to present complex statements.
• Blair Beekman, attending their last meeting before leaving Oakland, advocated for the use of 90-second speaking limits (as used in San Diego) as a more effective middle ground than the typical 60 or 120 seconds.