OPENPUBLICA · PUBLIC MEETING RECORD
Record of Proceedings

San José City Council Meeting - September 1, 2026

City Council — Tuesday, September 1, 2026
BodySan Jose, California
SessionCity Council
DateTuesday, September 1, 2026
StatusFILED
Video Record
0:00 / 1:30:50

Transcript — Verbatim
0:09

All right.

0:10

Good afternoon and welcome to this city council meeting, uh, which I'd like to call to order.

0:16

This is the afternoon of September 1st, 2026.

0:19

Tony, would you please call the roll?

0:22

Kameh.

0:22

Here.

0:23

Campos.

0:24

Present.

0:24

Tordillos.

0:25

Here.

0:25

Cohen.

0:26

Ortiz.

0:27

Present.

0:28

Mulcahi.

0:29

Here.

0:29

Duan.

0:30

Here.

0:30

Candelas.

0:31

Here.

0:32

Casey.

0:32

Fully.

0:33

Here.

0:33

Mayhem.

0:34

Here.

0:35

Thank you.

0:36

Now, if you're able, please stand and join us in the pledge of allegiance.

0:43

I pledge allegiance to the flag of the United States of America.

0:48

And to the Republic for which it stands.

0:51

One nation.

0:53

Indivisible of liberty and justice for all.

1:00

Thank you.

1:04

Today's invoced by Jaindra.

1:10

Calakendra.

1:12

Dance School.

1:13

And Councilmember Candela's will tell us more.

1:16

Welcome.

1:18

Thank you, Mayor.

1:19

Um, good afternoon, and happy September.

1:21

Uh, I'm excited for District Eight to host invocation this month, and especially excited to kick it off with uh Jayendra Kalakendra, uh dance school founded in nineteen eighty-nine uh by Suganda Ier, Jayendra Kalakendra is dedicated to preserving and sharing Barathan na Titi Natiyam.

1:39

Sorry, I probably messed it up.

1:40

Um, but the classical dance tradition of South India.

1:43

What began as a class of just one student has grown into an institution uh with teaching centers across the Bay Area, including right here in San Jose, as well as locations in India.

1:53

Now celebrating its thirty-seventh year, the school has trained more than five thousand students and helped more than a hundred and twenty-five dancers compete, uh complete their solo recitals.

2:03

Today we are joined by two talented students, Ashkara Sayani and Ashkara Rajesh.

2:09

Their dance honors goddess Shivakshakti, the divine mother, and celebrate strength, compassion, and protection.

2:17

Uh, please join me in welcoming them for today's invocation.

2:21

Take it away, so good, thank good, thank good, that's a tea wishes.

8:21

She was a beautiful way.

8:50

Thank you.

8:53

Thank you so much.

8:54

We really appreciate you joining us today and sharing your talent with us as we begin our city council meeting.

9:00

Thank you very much.

9:01

Thank you, Councilman Candles for arranging today's invocation.

9:04

We're going to move on to our ceremonial items.

9:07

Councilmember Ortiz, if you would join me at the podium, we will recognize and proclaim September sixth as Lowrider Day.

9:14

We'll invite our guests down as well.

9:37

I'm no stranger to a low rider or a cruise.

9:52

An area in which I'm proud to represent.

9:55

For me, Low Riding has always been about so much more than cars.

10:00

It's history, it's family, and it's cultura.

Discussion Breakdown — Share of Meeting
Affordable Housing█████████████████████████████████████████████47%
Procedural█████████████14%
Public Comment███████████12%
Child Care████████8%
Cultural Recognition███3%
Public Health███3%
Animal Services███3%
Public Finance███3%
Economic Development███3%
Summary of Proceedings

San José City Council Meeting - September 1, 2026

The San José City Council met on September 1, 2026, at 1:30 p.m. in a hybrid meeting (in Council Chambers and virtually). The agenda included ceremonial proclamations, a consent calendar, a report from the City Manager, and several housing and financing items. The council also deferred one housing item and heard public comments during Open Forum.

Ceremonial Items

  • Councilmember Ortiz presented a proclamation declaring September 6, 2026 as Lowrider Day in San José, honoring the city's lowrider community and the United Lowrider Council. David Polanco, president of the United Lowrider Council, accepted.
  • Councilmember Candelas presented a proclamation declaring September 2026 as National Childhood Cancer Awareness Month, recognizing the Mithil Prasad Foundation. Sarva Prasad spoke about the foundation's work supporting DIPG research and families.

Consent Calendar

  • Councilmember Campos pulled Item 2.11 (amendment to City Council Policy 6-14, Guidelines for Child Care) for separate discussion. She moved approval of her memo (co-authored with Mayor Mahan and Councilmembers Tordillos, Cohen, and Casey) and the remainder of the consent calendar. The motion passed unanimously.
  • The consent calendar included approval of City Council minutes, final adoption of Ordinance No. 31345 (rezoning at Harry Road), committee minutes, and other routine items.

Discussion Items

  • Item 3.1 – City Manager's Report: City Manager Jennifer Maguire reported on the Clear the Shelters campaign, noting more than 460 adoptions in August and that the Animal Care Center remains at capacity. She encouraged adoption and fostering.
  • Item 3.3 – CalPERS Contract Amendment: The council approved an ordinance amending the city's contract with CalPERS to allow employees in the Deputy Chief Investment Officer classification to enroll in CalPERS retirement benefits. Public comment from Brian expressed support. Approved unanimously.
  • Item 3.4 – Tokay Energy Storage Franchise: The council approved a franchise to Tokay Energy Storage 1, LLC for electric services in public rights-of-way. A public commenter, Roland, raised concerns about battery trailers and project details; Councilmember Casey said he had emailed Roland and offered to discuss. Approved unanimously.
  • Item 8.1 – Alternative Financing for Affordable Housing: Housing Director Eric Sullivan and Deputy Director Banu Sun presented four mixed-financing frameworks (gap financing + inclusionary housing; private activity bonds + master lease; production incentives + master lease; master lease + inclusionary housing). Public commenters included Oscar Castro (Working Partnerships) supporting the effort, Daniel Alvarez (union) urging responsible contractors, Alison Cingalani (SB at Home) urging focus on lowest-income renters, and Brian generally supportive. Councilmembers discussed preserving resources for ELI/VLI households, the working families housing initiative, and property tax implications. The motion passed unanimously.
  • Item 8.3 – Exclusive Negotiation Agreement at 71 Vista Montana: Staff presented the selection of LH Housing for a four-phase, roughly 572-unit modular development with up to 80% AMI and no city subsidy request. A second-ranked proposal from Propertyworx LLC was also discussed. Public comment from Brian was supportive. Approved unanimously.

Public Comments & Testimony (Open Forum)

  • Jen Grilly described parking and abandoned vehicle issues near 17th and St. James, criticizing DOT policy.
  • Richard Monty Kinsall III spoke about a physics paper he released.
  • Elena Churchill alleged counterfeit products at an Apple store and disability claim fraud.
  • Another speaker urged caution on siting battery plants and discussed data center power needs.
  • Brian commented on tariffs and economic policy.
  • A virtual caller complained about overgrown weeds and road diets in District 9.

Key Outcomes

  • Deferred Item 8.2 (Arena Hotel Redevelopment and Homekey Transition) to September 22, 2026, by a 9-0 vote with Councilmembers Cohen and Ortiz absent.
  • Approved the consent calendar, including the amended child care policy, unanimously.
  • Approved all discussed resolutions and ordinances unanimously.
  • Directed staff to pilot-test the alternative financing models and report back to Council around March 2027.

Meeting Transcript

All right. Good afternoon and welcome to this city council meeting, uh, which I'd like to call to order. This is the afternoon of September 1st, 2026. Tony, would you please call the roll? Kameh. Here. Campos. Present. Tordillos. Here. Cohen. Ortiz. Present. Mulcahi. Here. Duan. Here. Candelas. Here. Casey. Fully. Here. Mayhem. Here. Thank you. Now, if you're able, please stand and join us in the pledge of allegiance. I pledge allegiance to the flag of the United States of America. And to the Republic for which it stands. One nation. Indivisible of liberty and justice for all. Thank you. Today's invoced by Jaindra. Calakendra. Dance School. And Councilmember Candela's will tell us more. Welcome. Thank you, Mayor. Um, good afternoon, and happy September. Uh, I'm excited for District Eight to host invocation this month, and especially excited to kick it off with uh Jayendra Kalakendra, uh dance school founded in nineteen eighty-nine uh by Suganda Ier, Jayendra Kalakendra is dedicated to preserving and sharing Barathan na Titi Natiyam. Sorry, I probably messed it up. Um, but the classical dance tradition of South India. What began as a class of just one student has grown into an institution uh with teaching centers across the Bay Area, including right here in San Jose, as well as locations in India. Now celebrating its thirty-seventh year, the school has trained more than five thousand students and helped more than a hundred and twenty-five dancers compete, uh complete their solo recitals. Today we are joined by two talented students, Ashkara Sayani and Ashkara Rajesh. Their dance honors goddess Shivakshakti, the divine mother, and celebrate strength, compassion, and protection. Uh, please join me in welcoming them for today's invocation. Take it away, so good, thank good, thank good, that's a tea wishes. She was a beautiful way. Thank you. Thank you so much.

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