On June 2, 2026, the San Jose City Council convened at 1:30 p.m. for a regular meeting that included ceremonial proclamations, a consent calendar, public hearings on utility rate increases, and discussions on reinstating remote public participation. The meeting also featured updates on business improvement districts, affordable housing grants, and open forum comments. The council took several votes, with most items passing on split votes.
All right, welcome. Good afternoon, everyone. Welcome. Good afternoon and welcome. I'd like to call to order this meeting of the San Jose City Council for the afternoon of June 2nd. Happy election day, everybody. Get your ballots in by 8 p.m. All right. Let's take the roll, Tony. Campos. Present. Tordillos. Here. Cohen. Here. Ortiz. Present. Fulkehi. Here. Candelas. Here. Casey. Foley. Mayhan. Here. You have a quorum. Great. Thank you so much. Now, if you are able, please stand and join us in the Pledge of Allegiance. The flag of the United States of America and to the Republic for which it stands. One nation under God, indivisible with liberty and justice for all. Thank you. Today's invocation will be provided by the Guadalupe River Park Conservancy, and Councilmember Mulcahy will tell us more. Thank you, Mayor. It is my sincere pleasure to welcome Ash Namdar, interim executive director of the Guadalupe River Park Conservancy, GRPC. Since 1996, the Conservancy has helped preserve and activate San Jose's front yard and civic greenway, the Guadalupe River Park and Gardens and Trail Network, creating spaces that connect residents to nature, recreation, and to each other. Without doubt, we're seeing a renaissance of momentum and attention around the park with residents, community organizations, the sharks, private business, San Jose Downtown Association, and civic leaders like the Salada, Salas, and Brandenburg families all coming together around a shared vision for its future. And I want to shout out to our city team, the key part of our effort, want to especially acknowledge Parks, Recreation, and Neighborhood Services, Office of Economic Development and Cultural Arts, Affairs, Public Works, and San Jose PD for embracing this effort and their partnership with our office. This is a big week for our GRPC friends, and I want to personally invite all of my colleagues and the community to consider attending Windows on the River Park, their annual fundraiser and celebration this Thursday, June 4th, 5 30 to 7 30 at the Rotary Playgarden of Coleman. So for today, Ash is joined by Jay, GRPC's horticulturalist, and Hillary, the organization's volunteer coordinator, for a special rose deadheading demonstration. Everybody's gonna need that right now to highlight the Conservancy's stewardship and activation of the Heritage Rose Garden at the northern end of the park along Heading Street. Their work reflects the broader effort to create cleaner, safer, and more vibrant public spaces for generations to come. Please join me in welcoming the Guadalupe River Park Conservancy. Thank you, Councilmember Mulkey. My name's Ash Nandar, and I'm the interim executive director at the Guadalupe River Park Conservancy. The Guadalupe River Park Conservancy is responsible for managing and activating the three-mile stretch of the Guadalupe River, which includes spaces like the Rotary Playgarden, the historic orchard, and the Rose Garden, the Heritage Rose Garden. With me today, I have Jay Thompson, our horticulturist, and Hilary Trang, our volunteer coordinator, who are going to give you a demonstration of one of our activations, which is Deadheading the Roses at the Heritage Rose Garden. Jay. Hello, everyone. This is a very, very brief uh generalized demonstration of Deadheading.