Rules and Open Government Committee Joint Meeting – May 20, 2026
Rules and Open Government Committee Joint Meeting – May 20, 2026
The Rules and Open Government Committee held a brief joint meeting at 2:00 PM on May 20, 2026. The agenda included the cancellation of the May 26 meeting, approval of the June 2 draft agenda, consent calendar items, and deferral of a policy analysis. Public comment addressed meeting decorum and traffic safety. The meeting adjourned at 2:07 PM.
Consent Calendar
- The committee approved three consent calendar items without discussion or public comment. The motion passed unanimously.
Public Comments & Testimony
- Brian (member of the public) spoke during the agenda review about public meeting decorum. He requested that the committee reciprocate public engagement by documenting and responding to letters and phone calls, noting that the current decorum policy mentions the possibility of arrest without equivalent expectations for city responsiveness. He urged a balanced agreement between the public and the dais.
- Brian spoke again during open forum. He first honored Memorial Day by reading about Medal of Honor recipients. He then raised traffic safety concerns, citing California road statistics: 3,800–4,500 fatalities per year, 200,000–250,000 injuries, and $6 billion in direct costs (with much higher total social costs). He noted that state and local governments control traffic safety policies and urged the committee to regularly ask what is being done to address dangerous driving, including red‑light running and unsafe conditions near bus stops.
Discussion Items
- Deferral of policy analysis on vacant commercial storefront activation tools (Item C): The committee voted unanimously to defer this item. No public comment was offered.
Key Outcomes
- Approval of May 26 meeting cancellation and June 2 draft agenda: The committee approved the proposed cancellation and the draft agenda for the next regular meeting. A member of the public (Brian) provided comment on decorum before the vote.
- Consent calendar approval: Three items were approved without objection.
- Deferral of policy analysis: The committee voted to defer the item on vacant storefront activation tools.
Meeting Transcript
Good afternoon. It's two o'clock, and I'd like to open the joint meeting for the rules and open government committee. Um roll call, please. Candelas here. Foley here. Come here. Cohen absent. We have a quorum. Thank you very much. Moving on to item A in our agenda. We uh have a cancellation of the May 26th meeting, and we have a draft agenda for June 2nd. Let's take a look at that. We have uh 9 30 a.m. closed session and uh regular session at 1 30. Uh we have consent starting on page five, going on to six, seven, eight, nine, ten, ending on page eleven, moving on to strategic support. We have uh reinstatement remote participation and amendments to council policy zero thirty-seven. We have public hearing on liens um on page 12. We have uh transportation aviation services on uh page 13, environmental services on 13 starting there, moving on to public hearing for residential garbage and recycling, uh public hearing for municipal water system on page 14. Going on to page 15, 6.4, public hearing for approving the Muni water system shortage contingency plan. Um we don't have anything in neighborhood services, community economic development starts on page 15, 8.1, 8.2, on page 16, 8.3, page 16, and then we have uh one item for the redevelopment successor agency on page 17. We have land use starting on page 17, going on to 18, and that's it. Is there any uh public comment? Yes, Brian. Thank you very much. This is the last part of the agenda, and it's on every agenda. It is the public meeting decorum, and all I would suggest is all this is understandable, but it's sort of an agreement between the people who participate on that side of the diet. It would be nice if something was written right on the same page, that our letters are lit red, our phone calls are answered, or at least documented in some way, and that that agreement between us sharing with you and you sharing with us is at least taking place as the same expectation that we have when we come here because at the end of this it says we can be arrested. Now, granted, that's an extreme example, and people aren't hauled out of here every day. Thank goodness. But if it makes sense, it does to me, maybe it doesn't to other people. It should be both ways that there's an agreement on that side of the dias that there is this. What we do does have an impact when we talk, when we write, when we make phone calls that it's it's numbered, it's tabulated. I know you can't give away with your methods of how you deal with your own internal communications with the public, but just something even generic because it does make a difference. Thank you. Thank you. Back to the committee, thank you. Move approval, second. There's a motion and a second. Any other questions? Listen, no, list vote. Motion passes. Thank you. Moving on to um item B consent calendar. We have one, two, three items on consent. Is there any questions on consent? Second. Okay. Public comment? No public comment. Okay, uh, seeing no question.
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