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Record of Proceedings

Joint Rules and Open Government Committee Meeting – April 16, 2025

City Council — Wednesday, April 16, 2025
BodySan Jose, California
SessionCity Council
DateWednesday, April 16, 2025
StatusFILED
Video Record
0:00 / 14:21

Original source
Transcript — VerbatimClick a timed line to jump · ⧉ to share it
0:11

So we're going to call the meeting of the rules and open government committee to order.

0:14

Let's have roll call, please.

0:16

Candles.

0:17

Here.

0:19

Fully.

0:20

Come.

0:21

Here.

0:21

Cohen.

0:22

Here.

0:22

Thank you of a quorum.

0:24

Thank you.

0:24

We're going to start by reviewing next week's council agenda for April 22nd.

0:29

Has a 9 30 closed session, 1 30 regular session.

0:34

And we are starting with consent on page 5.

0:44

Continuing on pages 6.

0:49

7.

0:52

8.

0:56

9 and 10.

1:01

In section 3, we have welcoming San Jose plan for the next five years.

1:06

We have Market Street Garage Improvement Project.

1:11

Section 5, we have resurfacing contract.

1:16

And section six, we have the San Jose Clean Energy Stat Program Status Report and the Climate Smart Semiannual Report.

1:24

And in section 7, we have our annual homelessness mid year report, which I'm sure will be a very short discussion.

1:33

All right.

1:34

Do we have any public comment on the agenda?

1:36

Yes, we do.

1:37

Lillian, please make your way to the podium.

2:03

Good afternoon.

2:05

I'm here to make some comments on your review of your final agenda.

2:10

And one of them is on number one and one is on number two.

2:14

And on number one, you have a ceremonial item that's 1.1 and 1.2.

2:19

It discusses Earth Day, which will be with the City Council on the 22nd, and that is on the agenda today.

3:35

We discussed the Norman Maneta Airport Environmental Report and how that impacts our environment and how that will again disrupt the Guadalupe Gardens, which I'm part of.

3:54

I guess you could say or divided in half in some in some way.

3:58

So do we preserve what we have?

4:00

Do we uproot hundreds of trees, ordinance, and non-ordinance trees in every city council district?

4:07

Thank you.

4:08

Your time is up.

4:09

That's our final speaker.

4:10

Back to the committee.

4:12

Okay, we're coming back to the committee.

4:13

We have an ad sheet and the agenda.

4:15

Do we have any questions or comments or a motion?

4:18

Move approval of the agenda with the ad sheet.

4:21

Second.

4:22

All right.

4:23

Anything else?

4:24

Seeing none, let's approve the agenda or vote on the agenda.

4:27

Motion carries 5-0.

4:29

Thank you so much.

4:31

Now we're going to do our preliminary review of the April 29th agenda.

4:38

Again, a 9 30 closed session, 1 30 afternoon open session.

4:45

And consent starts on page five.

4:48

Continues on pages six.

4:54

And eight.

5:00

Section three, we have statement of results from the April 8th special election.

5:06

The spring IGR report.

5:16

Section five, Better Bikeway San Jose delegation of authority.

5:21

And a bit of uh contract for major street resurfacing.

5:26

And section seven, the adoption of a mass a park master plan for the Sealy project.

Discussion Breakdown — Share of Meeting
Procedural███████████████████████████████████████39%
Public Comment█████████████████████████████████33%
Homelessness██████████████████18%
Procurement Policy██████████10%
Summary of Proceedings

Joint Rules and Open Government Committee Meeting – April 16, 2025

The San José Rules and Open Government Committee (ROGC) held a joint meeting with the Committee of the Whole on Wednesday, April 16, 2025, at 2:00 PM in Council Chambers. Chair David Cohen presided. The committee reviewed the final agenda for April 22 and the draft agenda for April 29, approved a consent calendar, and discussed a proposal to create a permit fee payment plan for small businesses. The meeting adjourned at 2:14 PM.

Consent Calendar

  • Public Record (April 3–10, 2025): Received and filed.
  • Deferred Compensation Advisory Committee Appointment: Approved the appointment of Andrew Gardanier (IAFF Local 230 nominee) for a term beginning April 22, 2025, ending March 1, 2029.
  • VEBA Advisory Committee Appointment: Approved the appointment of Scott Hamilton (IAFF Local 230 nominee) for a term ending May 31, 2025, and a succeeding term ending May 31, 2029.
  • All consent items were approved by a 5-0 vote.

Public Comments & Testimony

  • Lillian (on final agenda review): Commented on the Earth Day ceremonial item and the Norman Maneta Airport Environmental Report, expressing concern about disruption to Guadalupe Gardens and the removal of hundreds of trees.
  • Lillian (on draft agenda review): Did not provide substantive comments on the draft agenda.
  • Brian (on consent calendar): Requested improved public comment access via Zoom, provided a list of seven alternative platforms, and asked for acknowledgment of submitted public comments.
  • Speaker on Item C1 (name not given): Expressed support for the permit fee payment plan, noting that upfront fees can be burdensome for small businesses.
  • Open Forum:
    • Lillian: Highlighted that seniors account for about one-third of unhoused deaths in San José and urged the city to prioritize housing stability for seniors, especially during Older Americans Month in May.
    • Brian: Shared personal experiences of witnessing homeless individuals die from sepsis and exposure, and urged the committee to ensure that the community feels heard on homelessness.

Discussion Items

  • Review of Final Agenda (April 22, 2025): Chair Cohen summarized the agenda, including a 9:30 AM closed session, 1:30 PM regular session, consent calendar items, and notable items such as the San José Homelessness Mid-Year Report. The committee approved the agenda (with add sheet) by a 5-0 vote.
  • Review of Draft Agenda (April 29, 2025): Summarized similarly, including a special election results report, Better Bikeway San José, and a park master plan for the Sealy project. Approved by a 5-0 vote.
  • Item C1 – Permit Fee Payment Plan for Small Businesses: Vice Mayor Kamei introduced a memorandum from Councilmembers Foley, Campos, and Casey requesting staff to explore a payment plan program for small business permit fees. Assistant City Manager Lee Wilcox recommended folding the proposal into an existing workload analysis of council referrals, to be prioritized through the budget process. The committee voted 5-0 to direct staff to include this item in that analysis.

Key Outcomes

  • Approved the final agenda for April 22, 2025, and the draft agenda for April 29, 2025.
  • Approved the consent calendar, including the public record and two committee appointments.
  • Directed the City Manager to include the exploration of a permit fee payment plan for small businesses in the ongoing workload analysis of council referrals, with prioritization tied to budget focus areas.

Meeting Transcript

So we're going to call the meeting of the rules and open government committee to order. Let's have roll call, please. Candles. Here. Fully. Come. Here. Cohen. Here. Thank you of a quorum. Thank you. We're going to start by reviewing next week's council agenda for April 22nd. Has a 9 30 closed session, 1 30 regular session. And we are starting with consent on page 5. Continuing on pages 6. 7. 8. 9 and 10. In section 3, we have welcoming San Jose plan for the next five years. We have Market Street Garage Improvement Project. Section 5, we have resurfacing contract. And section six, we have the San Jose Clean Energy Stat Program Status Report and the Climate Smart Semiannual Report. And in section 7, we have our annual homelessness mid year report, which I'm sure will be a very short discussion. All right. Do we have any public comment on the agenda? Yes, we do. Lillian, please make your way to the podium. Good afternoon. I'm here to make some comments on your review of your final agenda. And one of them is on number one and one is on number two. And on number one, you have a ceremonial item that's 1.1 and 1.2. It discusses Earth Day, which will be with the City Council on the 22nd, and that is on the agenda today. We discussed the Norman Maneta Airport Environmental Report and how that impacts our environment and how that will again disrupt the Guadalupe Gardens, which I'm part of. I guess you could say or divided in half in some in some way. So do we preserve what we have? Do we uproot hundreds of trees, ordinance, and non-ordinance trees in every city council district? Thank you. Your time is up. That's our final speaker. Back to the committee. Okay, we're coming back to the committee. We have an ad sheet and the agenda. Do we have any questions or comments or a motion? Move approval of the agenda with the ad sheet. Second. All right. Anything else? Seeing none, let's approve the agenda or vote on the agenda. Motion carries 5-0. Thank you so much.

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