San Jose Considers Banning Nondisclosure Agreements for City Officials on Development Projects
San Jose is moving towards prohibiting city officials, including councilmembers, from signing nondisclosure agreements (NDAs) related to development projects. The Rules and Open Government Committee unanimously voted to direct the city manager to create a policy ensuring transparency in development, particularly concerning data centers. This initiative stems from growing community distrust regarding the secrecy surrounding such projects. District 5 Councilmember Peter Ortiz, a key proponent, emphasized that elected representatives work for the public and should not be restricted by private companies from discussing projects that shape the city. The proposed policy aims to establish a process for reviewing proprietary information without requiring officials to sign NDAs. This move is considered preemptive, as current San Jose councilmembers are not known to have signed NDAs for data center projects, but the city has a history of officials signing NDAs, such as with Google in 2017.