\u201cMoving to hybrid meetings for all bodies is consistent with our commitment to transparency and inclusion,\u201d City Clerk Toni Taber told San Jos\u00e9 Spotlight.<\/p>\n
San Jose reintroduced remote access<\/a> for council meetings in June to comply with a state mandate, but, at the time, left it to individual commissions to decide whether to opt in to the hybrid format. The June decision and this week\u2019s extension of the policy come two years after the city discontinued virtual participation<\/a> due to a series of incidents in which online commenters disrupted meetings with racial slurs and hate speech<\/a>.<\/p>\n The update has generated enthusiasm from residents, who said the online option will ease access to commission meetings for groups that face barriers to appearing in person, such as low-income workers, parents and those with disabilities.<\/p>\n \u201cAllowing them to call in from home or from work comfortably over Zoom gives a lot more options to members of the public to be involved in the decision-making process and discussion of things that are important to them,\u201d Jordan Moldow, chair of the city\u2019s Bicycle and Pedestrian Advisory Committee, told San Jos\u00e9 Spotlight.<\/p>\n As a follow on measure, Moldow and other residents are asking for the city to allow commissioners to participate in meetings remotely as well.<\/p>\n Ahead of the vote, councilmembers received a flood of letters from mobile home residents who urged them to approve the remote access expansion.<\/p>\n Daniel Finn, a housing commissioner who represents mobile home residents, said the end of remote access in 2024 hit this community especially hard, given its aging demographics and high prevalence of mobility challenges.<\/p>\n \u201cSo they are left on the outs. They have no input,\u201d Finn told San Jos\u00e9 Spotlight. \u201cThey can write in questions, but a lot of those questions just don\u2019t really get answered.\u201d<\/p>\n The issue of public participation has been a flashpoint in an ongoing battle over a policy proposal that could lead to steep rent increases<\/a> across San Jose\u2019s mobile home parks<\/a>, which offer some of the last affordable housing in the city.<\/p>\n Tuesday\u2019s decision will lead to a number of other reforms for San Jose\u2019s commissions, each of which plays a distinct role in city governance, such as advising city departments\u00a0and signing off on land use decisions.<\/p>\n Among the changes, the new reforms will provide more flexibility in how staff reviews commissioner candidates, helping to cut down on a labor intensive process that has contributed to protracted vacancies on some bodies, such as the Planning Commission<\/a>. Another change eliminates the defunct Council Appointment Advisory Commission and transfers its authority to fill certain commission vacancies to the mayor.<\/p>\n The reforms will also do away with a requirement mandating background checks for those applying to serve on advisory bodies, such as the Climate Advisory Commission, the Library and Education Commission and the Measure T Oversight Committee. The requirement will remain in place for policy-making and quasi-judicial bodies.<\/p>\n The change is intended to cut out barriers to participate on commissions that do not make decisions with a direct financial impact, Taber said in a memo outlining the policy.<\/p>\n![\"In-line](\"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ca\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/03\/interactive-321838904008.png\")
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