Policy Analysis of Vacant Commercial Storefront Activation Tools. (Tordillos, Cohen, Ortiz, Mulcahy, and Doan) - RECOMMEND DEFERRAL TO 6/3/26 PER COUNCILMEMBER MULCAHY
Direct the City Manager’s Office to work with the appropriate departments, including but not limited to, Planning, Building, and Code Enforcement, the City Manager's Office of Economic Development and Cultural Affairs, and the City Attorney’s Office, to return with an analysis and options for potential administrative, regulatory, and programmatic actions to support the activation of vacant commercial storefronts and reduction of blight citywide. This referral is intended to initiate policy analysis and return with recommendations. The analysis should include identification of workload impacts, fiscal implications, and alignment with existing departmental work plans.
The analysis should include, but not be limited to, evaluation of the following:
1. Evaluate potential amendments to San José Municipal Code Section 20.150, as well as any other relevant ordinances, Municipal Code sections, or City Council policies, to extend the allowable period for reestablishing a legal nonconforming use without requiring a new Special Use Permit from six months to up to three years. Additionally, evaluate appropriate limitations, safeguards, or categorical exclusions that may be necessary to address potential impacts associated with such an extension.
2. Evaluate existing restaurant and small business programs within the City Manager's Office of Economic Development and Cultural Affair and the Planning, Building, and Code Enforcement Department to identify opportunities to strengthen interdepartmental coordination and better align program resources toward the activation of vacant storefronts. The analysis should assess program effectiveness, administrative feasibility, fiscal impacts, and policy implications and return with recommendations and implementation direction informed by these considerations.
3. Evaluate potential amendments to San José Municipal Code Section 20.80 and relevant City Council Policies, including 6-28, 6-29, and 8-14, to determine whether establishing a ministerial stand-alone demolition permit process for certain vacant industrial and commercial buildings is legally feasible and advisable. This evaluation should consider applicability only where California Environmental Quality Act permits ministerial approval and where the building is not a designated or potentially historic resource, and should preserve environmental screening requirements for polychlorinated biphenyls, commonly known as PCBs (as referenced in City Council Policy 6-28) and maintain waste diversion obligations under Section 9.10 of the San José Municipal Code.
a. The analysis should be options-based and may identify and assess a range of potential regulatory and implementation approaches for City Council consideration, without presuming a preferred outcome. Such options may include, but are not limited to, alternative post-demolition site management pathways and compliance or monitoring frameworks. The analysis should assess legal, fiscal, workload, and policy implications before recommending any amendments.
[Referred from 5/6/26 - Item C.1 (ROGC 26-201)]
Updated 5.15.2026 8:44:33 PM UTC