Joint Meeting of Rules and Open Government Committee and Committee of the Whole - August 5, 2026
Joint Meeting of Rules and Open Government Committee and Committee of the Whole - August 5, 2026
The Rules and Open Government Committee and Committee of the Whole held a joint meeting on Wednesday, August 5, 2026, at 2:00 PM in Council Chambers. The meeting was chaired by David Cohen and included members Kamei, Foley, Doan, and Candelas. The committee reviewed upcoming City Council agendas, approved consent calendar items, and heard public comment.
Consent Calendar
- Public Record (June 11 – July 29, 2026): Received and filed.
- Neighborhood Services and Education Committee Work Plan Updates: Approved amendments to drop and add items for the December 10, 2026 and February 11, 2027 meetings, including replacing an annual report with a verbal status report and adding a Parks and Recreation Plan Update.
- District 2 Village Fest Special Event: Approved the September 19, 2026 event as a City Council sponsored special event, authorizing expenditure of funds and acceptance of donations.
- Councilmember Tordillos Travel and Excused Absence: Authorized travel to Vienna, Austria for the Social Housing Field Study (September 13-19, 2026) and excused absence from the September 15, 2026 Council meeting. All consent items were approved unanimously (5-0).
Public Comments & Testimony
- Jordan Moldow (District 3): Speaking on the August 11, 2026 agenda item concerning boards and commissions policy, Mr. Moldow expressed concern that the staff recommendation to set default meeting frequency at once a quarter was too infrequent. He suggested the default should be more frequent and that commissions should argue for less frequency if needed.
- Jordan Moldow (Open Forum): Also addressed the committee during open forum, urging the council to adopt optional provisions of SB 707 allowing advisory committees with no power to meet remotely. He supported a hybrid option for commissioners while maintaining in-person public meetings.
Discussion Items
- Review of August 11, 2026 Final Agenda: Chair Cohen summarized the agenda, including a closed session at 9:30 AM, regular session at 1:30 PM, consent items on pages 5-12, resolutions, public hearings on solid waste and sewer rates, boards and commissions policy amendment, deferral of Item 5.1, response to grand jury report on tree canopy, and a land use consent item. The committee approved the agenda unanimously (5-0).
- Review of August 18, 2026 Draft Agenda: Summarized included closed session at 9:30 AM, regular session at 1:30 PM, consent items, housing department loan portfolio audit report, response to civil grand jury report on animal care center, land use consent, appeal hearing for 1295 Kurtner Avenue, and general plan policy framework discussion. Approved unanimously (5-0).
Key Outcomes
- Approved the August 11, 2026 Final Agenda (5-0).
- Approved the August 18, 2026 Draft Agenda (5-0).
- Approved the Consent Calendar for the August 5, 2026 meeting (5-0).
- Adjourned at 2:06 PM.
Meeting Transcript
2 o'clock. Welcome back, everyone. It is time for our August 5th rule meet rules and open government committee meeting. Let's start with roll call, please. Candelas. Here. Here. Foley. Here. Come here. Here. Cohen. Here. We have a quorum. Okay. We start by reviewing the agenda for the Tuesday, August 11th Council meeting. This one has a 10 9 30 closed session and 1 30 regular session and consent starts on page five. Continues on pages six. 10 11. And ends on page 12. On section three, we have a uh a resolution to support proposition one in November. Resolution on an agreement with CalPers and our property tax levy for general obligation bonds. We also have a public hearing on solid waste rates and a public hearing on sanitary sewer rates. And then an amendment on the boards and commissions policy. Item 5.1 is being deferred to September. Item 5.2 is a response to the grand jury report on the tree canopy. Section 7, an agreement with Bell properties, and one item on land use consent. Do we have public comment? Yes, we do. Before I call the name, just as a reminder, speakers must comply with the city's code of conduct for public meetings. Please direct comments to the body, limit remarks to the agenda item and observe the time limit. Contact that materially disrupts the meeting or interferes with others' ability to participate may result in muting or removal as authorized by a law. Hi, Jordan Moldow, District 3. Uh, welcome back. I appreciate the clerk's office and the administration for putting the boards and commissions item on the first agenda. Uh I appreciate that. Uh looking forward to getting back to uh hybrid public comment as soon as possible. Um thing in the staff recommendation in that concern me is moving the commissions to a default meeting frequency of once a quarter. That seems way too infrequent as a default meeting frequency. Uh it does say that if the board needs to meet more regularly for uh necessary reasons that they can do that. Uh but that seems like the opposite uh default. I feel like the default should be more frequent, and if the board doesn't need to meet that frequently, that then the argument should be made that okay. This board can meet less regularly, but once a quarter by default and have to argue up doesn't seem right. Thank you. Back to the committee. Thank you. Do we have any comments on next week's agenda from members of the committee? Move approval second. Okay, we have a motion and a second, so let's vote. And the motion carries five zero.
openpublica.com