San Jose Rules Committee: EIH Policy & Development Costs – March 11, 2026
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San Jose Rules and Open Government Committee Meeting – March 11, 2026
The Rules and Open Government Committee of the San Jose City Council met on March 11, 2026, at 2:00 PM. The meeting was called to order by the Chair with a quorum present: Councilmembers Candelas, Duane, and Foley were present; Councilmember Going was absent. The committee reviewed and approved agendas for March 17 and March 24, approved a consent calendar, and discussed two items: an emergency interim housing (EIH) siting policy memo and the cost of residential development in San Jose. Public comment was offered on the EIH item only.
Agenda Approval
- March 17, 2026 agenda: Approved 4-0 (one absent) with a motion to move item 3.3 to the end of the agenda. The agenda included ceremonial items, consent items (pages 4–6), strategic support items (FY 2026-27 and child care opportunities 3.4), land use items 10.2 and 10.3 on page 8, no public safety, transportation, environmental, neighborhood services, or land use consent items, and an ad sheet.
- March 24, 2026 agenda: Approved 4-0 (one absent). The agenda included closed session at 9:30 AM, regular session at 1:30 PM, consent items (pages 4–7), strategic supports (pages 7–8), no public safety or transportation, environmental services item six on page 9, no neighborhood services or community and economic development, continuing on pages 10–12 ending on page 13, and no land use consent.
Consent Calendar
Approved 4-0 (one absent). The consent calendar included:
- Monthly report of activities
- Approval of Asian American Pacific Islander Month Festival 2026
- Approval of Wepa Salsa Festival
- Approval of Greek flag raising
- Approval of dumpster days in council district nine
- Approval of autism awareness month flag raising sponsored by district six
Discussion Item 1: Emergency Interim Housing (EIH) Siting Policy
Councilmember Campos, co-author of the memo, explained that the memo seeks to codify previously approved council policy language around geographical equity of EIHs, ensuring council moves forward on that already-approved policy. The item was sent for a workload analysis.
Public Comments:
- Alan Wadd, president of the VEP neighborhood association representing Carson, Vista Park, and Parkview in District 2, expressed support for the memo. He argued that homelessness is a citywide challenge and responsibility must be shared citywide; for too long the lack of a formal policy has allowed facilities to cluster in certain areas like District 2, placing disproportionate impacts on specific neighborhoods. He stated that codifying equitable distribution ensures fairness and builds trust, and is not about opposing housing solutions.
- Lori, a 23-year resident of District 6 speaking on behalf of Showing Up for Racial Justice Santa Clara County, supported moving the memo to council. She said equitable distribution of EIH is an opportunity for all residents to care for vulnerable neighbors, and that having safe places near where people live is important. She also noted that equitable distribution can help reduce long-standing segregation in housing policy and build community bridges. She added that her perspective also includes affordable housing in equitable distribution.
Committee Discussion:
- Councilmember Candelas appreciated the equity approach but noted the city faces a $56 million deficit and the administration has repeatedly stated it is not in expansion mode due to $95 million in annual operating costs for the 2,100 existing EIH spaces. She expressed hope that the workload analysis balances trade-offs with the Mayor's March budget message.
- Vice Mayor Foley (co-author) clarified the council has already decided not to move forward with any more EIHs at this time; the memo says if and when that decision is made in the future, the city should look at districts that do not have EIHs. She noted that District 9 recently opened an EIH facility on Valley Water-owned land, while Districts 3, 6, 2, and 7 have had their share of EIHs and emergency housing.
- Councilmember Duane emphasized that Districts 2 and 7 tend to bear the larger brunt of unsheltered residents. He argued that to be fair and equitable, other districts should bear the burden as well because homelessness is a city, county, state, and nationwide problem.
Vote: The motion to send the memo to workload analysis passed 4-0 (one absent).
Discussion Item 2: Cost of Residential Development in San Jose
This item had been seen the previous week and the administration had greenlit it. There was no public comment and no discussion. A motion to approve was made and seconded, and passed 4-0 (one absent).
Open Forum
No public comment was offered.
Key Outcomes
- March 17 and March 24 agendas approved (both 4-0).
- Consent calendar approved (4-0).
- EIH siting policy memo referred for workload analysis (4-0).
- Cost of residential development item approved (4-0).
- The meeting adjourned at 2:14 PM.
Meeting Transcript
Okay, it is two o'clock, and the rules and open government committee uh will now come to order. Uh welcome to the rules and open government committee meeting. As a reminder, we expect all attending to follow the code of conduct located in the agenda. Failure to comply with this code of conduct and behavior will disturb, disrupt, or impede the orderly conduct of the meeting, may result in a removal from the meeting. Will you please call the roll? Candelas. Here Duane? Here Foley here. Going absent. We have a quorum. Thank you very much. Um we are uh reviewing item A one, uh review of March 17th agenda, and we have ceremonial items and consent on uh goes from page four five, more consent, uh ending in six. We have strategic support, approval of fiscal year twenty-six twenty-seven, and then child care opportunities three point four on um item on page seven. Uh we have no public safety, no transportation, no environmental, no neighborhood services, and no land use. We have two items under land use. Oh, no consent, but under regular land use, there is um item 10.2 and 10.3 on page eight and nothing else. I I do have a uh request to move item 3.4 before 3.3. Other than that, uh Vice Mayor Foley. Thank you. Yeah, I'd like to move approval of the agenda moving item 3.3 to the end of the agenda to be heard last. Second, and include the ad sheet. Okay. Do we have uh any comment? No public comment. Thank you. We will vote now. Great. Thank you very much. That passes four to zero with one absent. Uh okay, moving on to uh March 24th. Uh okay, we have uh closed session at 9 30, regular session at 1 30. We have consent on page four, five, six, ending on page seven. Uh we have strategic supports starting on page seven, moving on to page eight. And we have no public safety, no transportation, environmental services, item number six on page nine, no neighborhood services or community and economic development. We have oh community economic development. We have uh continuing on page 10 11 12 ending on 13th, and then uh we do not have any land use consent, and that is the end of our agenda. Is there a motion to approve? Oh, Bien, oh excuse me. Oh, any public comment on this? No public comment. Move for approval. Thank you. We have a motion and a second. Uh let's vote. And that passes four to with one absent. Okay, moving on to our uh consent calendar. We have uh monthly report of activities. We have approval of Asian American Pacific Islander Month Festival 2026. We have approval of the Wepa Salsa Festival. Um we have approval of the Greek flag raising.
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