Council approves delivery robot rules; new developer for the Arena Hotel

A ceremonial proclamation, brought by Pamela Campos (Councilmember, District 2), declaring October 2026 National Arts and Humanities Month in San Jose. The Arts Commission chair used the moment to announce this year's Cornerstone of the Arts Awards. 00:05:14

• A councilmember said she was proud to celebrate the arts and humanities and the impact they have on the community, at a time when major cultural institutions in the country are under threat 00:05:41
• A speaker announced that the annual Cornerstone of the Arts Awards will be celebrated on October 16 at the Hammer Theatre Center 00:08:34

A ceremonial proclamation, brought by Pam Foley (Councilmember, District 9; Vice Mayor), declaring October 7, 2026 Walk and Roll to School Day, to promote safe routes to school and encourage children to walk, bike or roll instead of being driven. 00:10:41

• Pam Foley (Councilmember, District 9; Vice Mayor) described the day as a way to encourage parents to walk their children to school instead of driving, and called for continued investment in crosswalks, sidewalks and protected bike lanes 00:10:57
• A speaker said the Department of Transportation's walk and roll program has grown to 115 participating schools 00:14:09

A ceremonial proclamation, brought by Anthony Tordillos (Councilmember, District 3), declaring October 2026 Filipino American History Month. A guest from San José State University's Filipino alumni network accepted it and invited the public to the unveiling of a new Filipino American history mural on campus. 00:16:54

• A councilmember noted that he is the first Filipino American elected to the San Jose City Council and recounted the history of the month's national recognition 00:17:05

The council set the day's agenda. The clerk recommended deferring item 3.3, interviews for two Civil Service Commission seats, to the October 20, 2026 meeting. The electronic voting system was showing only 10 members, so the vote was taken by voice. 00:22:36

• Motion to approve the orders of the day, deferring item 3.3 to the October 20, 2026 meeting (mover and seconder not identified). Result: passed, unanimous. 00:23:34

• The meeting chair relayed the clerk's recommendation to defer item 3.3 to October 20 00:22:36
• The city clerk reported the voting system was showing only 10 members and asked for a voice vote while it was fixed 00:23:20

The meeting was adjourned in memory of a lifelong San Jose resident who died on September 8, 2026. He was a standout athlete at Lincoln High School and San José City College and taught and coached at Yerba Buena High School from its opening in 1971 until he retired in 2010 (agenda). Domingo Candelas (Councilmember, District 8) brought the adjournment forward, and the family spoke. 00:23:34

• A speaker described his nearly four decades at Yerba Buena High School teaching business, leading the cheer program and coaching basketball 00:24:04

Report on the morning closed session. One litigation matter listed on the closed session agenda was reported as taken off calendar. 00:29:03

• A speaker reported that the first case listed for closed session was taken off calendar 00:29:31

Routine items approved together in one vote, with no items pulled. They included a $109,975 one-year amendment for access to the county's criminal justice information systems, sewer flow monitoring contracts worth up to $2,000,000 and $750,000, and a step toward annexing territory into the Communications Hill community facilities district, with a hearing set for November 10 (agenda). 00:29:45

• Motion to approve the consent calendar (mover and seconder not identified). Result: passed, unanimous. 00:30:23

The City Manager introduced the new director of the City Manager's Office of Racial and Social Equity, who starts October 25. The office has six employees and an annual operating budget of about $3.3 million, per the City Manager. 00:30:26

• City staff said the new director will lead an office of six employees with an annual operating budget of about $3.3 million, and described her past work as the first chief equity officer for the District of Columbia 00:30:31
• A speaker said she sees the work as changing outcomes and centering the experiences of the people most affected, including sharing power with the communities the city serves 00:35:34

An ordinance adding Chapter 11.91 to the Municipal Code to regulate personal delivery devices (delivery robots) in the public right-of-way, along with new fees and fines. The agenda sets a $200-per-device annual permit fee for sidewalk robots and a $250-per-device fee for a pilot permit for robots that use roadways and bike lanes. Three operators, Coco, Serve and DoorDash, approached the city this spring. Coco and Serve already run sidewalk robots in San Jose. DoorDash, whose robot uses bikeways, travels up to 20 mph and stands five feet tall, was waiting on this action. Staff said no state or local law currently regulates these devices, so without the ordinance the city has no authority over them. The proposed rules include a 5 mph limit on sidewalks and in crosswalks, lights that stay on, identification shown in braille and raised letters, removal of a disabled robot within thirty minutes, and fines of $100, $200 and $500 for first, second and third offenses. The Transportation Director could change the rules or suspend operations. 00:36:40

▶ Hear it Are $100 fines enough to keep robots off the curb? · 0:35

• A speaker moved approval of the staff recommendation. Result: passed. 01:32:09

• A speaker said three operators approached the city this spring, and with no regulations in place the city let them operate while it developed a framework 00:39:53
• A speaker described the proposed 5 mph limit on sidewalks, pedestrian paths and crosswalks 00:42:57
• A speaker said a disabled robot must be moved within thirty minutes or the operator faces a fine 00:42:57
• A speaker said that on the advice of the Bicycle and Pedestrian Advisory Committee, bikeway robots would match the pace of cyclists instead of having a fixed speed limit 00:43:58
• The meeting chair asked what the city is doing to limit its liability exposure in future accidents, noting past lawsuits involving scooters and e-bikes 00:52:12
• City staff said the ordinance has a robust indemnification provision modeled on lessons from the city's micromobility programs 00:52:54
• Pam Foley (Councilmember, District 9; Vice Mayor) said she is very concerned about congestion on sidewalks, and asked whether the companies have the financial strength to back their indemnification 00:53:16
• City staff said the ordinance requires the city to be named as an additional insured, with policy limits to be set in administrative regulations before permits are issued 00:55:04
• Pam Foley (Councilmember, District 9; Vice Mayor) criticized outreach to the disability community as limited to a few organization leaders, and asked how many people with disabilities staff had heard from 00:55:25
• A speaker said staff will work with the Independent Living Center to set up a focus group of San Jose residents with disabilities to give ongoing feedback 00:56:32
• A speaker said more than 50 people attended the outreach webinar, though she did not recall the exact number 00:58:06
• A speaker gave the fines for improperly parked devices as $100, $200 and $500 for first, second and third offenses 00:58:06
• Pam Foley (Councilmember, District 9; Vice Mayor) said the fines did not seem stiff compared with the harm to someone in a wheelchair blocked by a device 00:59:09
• Pam Foley (Councilmember, District 9; Vice Mayor) raised concern about robots sharing sidewalks with electric scooters and said she was not sure she could support the item 01:00:09
• A speaker urged a go-slow-to-go-fast approach and limits on the number of devices, warning that congestion builds quickly when many devices share limited space 01:03:16
• City staff said the regulations reserve the right to limit operators, device numbers and service areas, but staff is not proposing those limits yet 01:04:58
• A councilmember said that downtown has been the testing ground, and that robots replacing car trips and double-parked delivery drivers could be a net safety benefit 01:09:54
• City staff said no state or local law currently regulates these devices, so without the ordinance the city has no direct authority to stop or shape their operation 01:11:07
• A councilmember asked about the process for making property owners whole, citing reports of a dispute over repairing a window broken by a robot on the Paseo 01:11:56
• City staff said a Coco robot cracked the window while under human remote control, and that his understanding is the company quickly agreed with the owner on responsibility and cost 01:12:48
• A speaker asked whether the department has the staff to oversee the program, especially in the pilot phase 01:13:55
• City staff said a paid-for position to oversee the program has been filled, and the hire accepted last week 01:14:31
• City staff said operators are expected to indemnify the city for ordinary sidewalk irregularities, but the city cannot waive liability where it is the sole cause of negligence 01:15:27
• A speaker asked whether data from the robots could be used to find sidewalk trouble spots before they become problems 01:16:21
• City staff said staff will evaluate using operator data during the pilot, weighing liability and accuracy concerns 01:17:03
• A speaker urged the operators to maintain their devices so they do not add to sidewalk clutter and blight, as he said scooters have 01:19:55
• City staff said the plan is nine months of operation followed by about three months of analysis before returning to council, with operations continuing in the meantime 01:21:17
• The meeting chair noted the city has roughly a $2 billion deferred maintenance backlog, while saying the city should still push to fix sidewalk problems quickly 01:21:52
• A speaker argued that human delivery drivers stopping in traffic are a bigger problem than robots 01:23:00
• A speaker described seeing delivery robots move safely through crowds at Oregon State University 01:24:08
• City staff said the regulations can be changed on twenty-four hours' notice to the companies 01:25:32
• City staff said staff could recommend ending the bikeway pilot if it pushes cyclists into traffic, and will do both quantitative and qualitative outreach 01:26:44
• Pamela Campos (Councilmember, District 2) asked what fees Los Angeles and West Hollywood charge, since the staff report describes them as the highest 01:29:29
• A speaker said Los Angeles charges $10,000 for up to 50 devices and a flat $20,000 above that, and West Hollywood works out to about $250 per device 01:29:55
• Pamela Campos (Councilmember, District 2) asked whether the city could raise the fee after a year if warranted 01:30:57
• City staff said fees are reviewed every year for cost recovery and go back to council in the budget cycle 01:31:21

A construction-permanent loan commitment of up to $5,700,000 from the Low and Moderate Income Housing Asset Fund to the Santa Clara County Housing Authority to convert the former Comfort Suites hotel at 1510 North 1st Street (District 6) into 57 units for extremely low-income residents at 30% of area median income or below, with services. The item also moves $5,700,000 from the Housing Project Reserve to the Housing Loans and Grants appropriation (agenda). It is a Homekey project dating to 2022. The Housing Authority plans to move residents of the nearby SureStay interim housing site into the converted building. 01:32:18

• A speaker moved to approve item 8.1; a councilmember seconded. Result: passed, unanimous. 01:40:21

• City staff said the conversion will create 57 units at 30% of area median income and below, with services 01:32:56
• City staff said the city is contributing a total of $5.7 million, and the Housing Authority is developing the site and fully project-basing its vouchers there to cover operating costs 01:34:01
• City staff said the cost per unit, excluding the $10 million acquisition cost, is about $366,000 01:34:56
• City staff said the Housing Authority's plan is to move the roughly 43 participants now living at the SureStay interim site into the converted building 01:35:57
• City staff described the financing as a 9% low-income housing tax credit project, with about $11 million in permanent financing from the Housing Authority and $5.7 million from the city 01:37:01
• A speaker said the area needs a lift and has been a challenge for the surrounding neighborhood, including Rosemary Gardens 01:38:28
• City staff said the official transfer of the neighboring SureStay property to the Housing Authority is expected around the end of October or November 01:39:10
• A speaker noted that a privately owned motel just south of the site, which had been a trouble spot, has been shut down and the owner plans to reinvest 01:39:30

The resolution authorizes a three-year exclusive negotiation agreement, with two six-month extensions, with Episcopal Community Services of San Francisco to convert the city-owned Arena Hotel in District 6 from interim to permanent housing, and possibly to build mixed-income housing for households at or below 120% of area median income on the site's parking lot. If ECS does not perform, the city can turn to the runner-up, Propertyworx LLC. It also authorizes amending the state Homekey agreement with HCD to remove the original developer and partners (A0729 San José L.P., Urban Housing Communities LLC, and HomeFirst) and make the city the sole grantee, and unwinding the original project agreements (agenda). Staff will ask HCD to let the city move the 30%-of-median-income units to another site. The motion added direction from a memo by Matt Mahan (Mayor) and Michael Mulcahy (Councilmember, District 6) for staff to report back in six months. 01:40:24

• A speaker moved to approve the staff recommendation with additional direction to the city manager from the memorandum by Matt Mahan (Mayor) and Michael Mulcahy (Councilmember, District 6), to return to council in six months with an update on negotiations and to return with an amended Homekey standard agreement when ready; seconded by Rosemary Kamei (Councilmember, District 1). Result: passed, unanimous. 01:57:39

• City staff said the city bought the site in 2023 intending 30%-and-below permanent supportive housing with Urban Housing Communities, and is now recasting the project as mixed-income in two phases 01:40:43
• City staff said ECS was the highest-scoring respondent and has about forty years of experience, including converting eight hotels 01:43:12
• City staff said the parking lot phase is expected to hold around 200 or more units 01:43:12
• City staff said the city will ask HCD to move the 100% 30%-of-median-income occupancy requirement to other sites, giving the Arena property income flexibility 01:44:18
• City staff said the agreement includes a right to switch to a second developer if the first cannot move forward on time, a structure staff plans to use going forward 01:45:50
• A speaker said the city spent $46 million between Homekey and Measure E on the roughly acre-and-a-half site for 87 units, and that the BART tunnel's path now limits density there 01:47:46
• A speaker argued the community was promised new investment but got the opposite, and that the site was awarded to a developer that was not qualified 01:48:50
• A speaker described the memo's direction for staff to return in six months with an update on negotiations and, when ready, an amended Homekey agreement 01:51:59
• Pamela Campos (Councilmember, District 2) asked which parts of the transition from interim to permanent housing are in the city's control and which need approval from HCD, saying her district faces a similar situation at 1 Branham Lane 01:53:14
• City staff said all approvals go through HCD, and in early conversations HCD has been open to the city's requests, with no guarantees 01:55:07
• City staff said the conversion will need a fully funded financing plan, likely low-income housing tax credits, and the building is structurally suitable for permanent housing 01:55:33
• City staff said the city's 22 interim housing sites are too varied for one conversion approach, though the city wants a consistent policy framework 01:56:33

Public comment on city business not on the agenda. Two members of the public spoke. 01:57:39

• The meeting chair thanked the speaker who raised bike lane debris and said the city would follow up offline 01:59:51

• Orders of the Day and consent calendar: no public comment.
• Item 5.1 (delivery robots): four speakers. Representatives of two robot delivery companies, Serve and Coco, supported the ordinance. Serve's representative said it works with 34 local businesses, more than 90% of them small and independent restaurants, and Coco's representative cited 38 businesses. One caller mocked the idea and predicted it would be a disaster, comparing it to unused bike-share bikes. A District 3 resident was cautiously optimistic but raised the DoorDash robot's weight, which the resident put at 350 pounds, asked for per-minute rather than flat penalties for blocking people, called the thirty-minute removal window too long, and urged wider bikeways.
• Item 8.1: one online speaker, whose comment the transcript captures only as a thank-you.
• Item 8.2: one speaker asked the city to tell residents, through newsletters or similar, how they can help bring about more hotel-to-housing conversions.
• Open Forum: two speakers. One thanked staff and asked the city to publish guidance on how to write emails to the council. One described glass, bolts and thorny branches in the Santa Teresa Boulevard bike lanes through Coyote Valley on September 12, said the plastic posts keep street sweepers out, and asked that it be fixed before someone is hurt.

• Item 3.3, interviews for two Civil Service Commission member-at-large seats, was deferred to the October 20, 2026 council meeting.
• Public hearing on annexing Annexation Area No. 4 to Community Facilities District No. 8 (Communications Hill) set for November 10, 2026 at 1:30 p.m., with an election to follow (agenda, item 2.9).
• Delivery robots: staff plans about nine months of operation and then about three months of analysis before reporting back to council. Operations continue in the meantime. Insurance limits are to be set in administrative regulations before permits are issued. Fees will be reviewed in the annual fees-and-charges budget process. Staff is forming a disability focus group with the Independent Living Center.
• A councilmember and transportation staff to follow up offline on the window broken by a delivery robot on the Paseo.
• Arena Hotel: staff to return to council in six months with an update on negotiations, and with an amended Homekey standard agreement when ready. Staff is identifying an alternative site for the 30%-of-median-income units to propose to HCD.
• Transfer of the SureStay interim housing property to the Housing Authority is expected around the end of October or November, and before year end. Construction at 1510 North 1st Street is expected to start at year end and take about twelve months.
• The new director of the Office of Racial and Social Equity starts October 25.
• Cornerstone of the Arts Awards on October 16 at the Hammer Theatre Center. Unveiling of the SJSU Filipino American history mural on Friday, October 30 at 1:00.
• The mayor said the city would follow up offline on the bike lane debris raised in open forum.