San Jose Planning Commission Regular Hearing - August 29, 2024

The San Jose Planning Commission met on August 29, 2024 (the hearing began on August 28, 2024, at 6:30 p.m. Pacific and concluded at 8:29 p.m. Pacific; the action date is recorded as August 29, 2024, for UTC purposes). The meeting included public comment, two deferrals, approval of a consent calendar, and two public hearing items: a proposed historic district designation for the Schiele Subdivision and Alameda Park, and an annual compliance review of six development agreements. The Commission voted 5-4 to recommend the historic district designation to the City Council and certified compliance for all six development agreements.

Consent Calendar

• Approved the action minutes from August 14, 2024.
• Approved a petition for release of a Covenant of Easement for ingress/egress access on a parcel at 4360 Stevens Creek Boulevard (ET24-001).
• Approved a Planned Development Rezoning, Tentative Map, and Planned Development Permit for a single-family residence at 1581 Minnesota Avenue (PDC22-078, T22-027, PD24-002 & ER22-156).
• All consent calendar items were adopted by one motion with a vote of 7-0-2 (two commissioners absent).

Public Comments & Testimony

On Non-Agendized Items: No speakers.

On Historic District Designation (HLD24-001):

• Ben Leach (PAC SJ): Expressed strong support for the historic district, arguing older places have relevance in contemporary society.
• Kay Gutnik (resident, Chile Avenue): Supported the designation, noting the negligible impact on SB9 housing potential in the 132-lot area near the Diridon plan area.
• Edward Salm (former HLC Chair, architect, neighborhood association president): Supported the designation, emphasizing that the most affordable housing is existing housing and that voluntary SB9 guidelines are being developed.
• Megan Halligan (resident, 900 Pershing Avenue): Opposed the designation, stating it would freeze the neighborhood in amber and prevent families from adding space for modern needs.
• Kelly Snyder (resident, 882 Pershing): Opposed, arguing the designation would restrict densification near downtown and impose costly restrictions on home improvements (e.g., window replacement).
• Fapa (resident, Harding Avenue): Opposed, citing high costs for historic preservation, challenges with global warming retrofits, and the concern that designating an entire group dilutes historical value.
• John Wolfram (resident): Opposed as currently described, arguing homes are architecturally inconsistent and restrictions would reduce property values; proposed that design guidelines should not apply retroactively.
• Meredith Muller (resident, 839 Schiele Avenue): Strongly in favor, noting her historic home is a duplex with an ADU in process; stated restoration costs can be reasonable and historic homes contribute to walkability.
• Mike Sodergren (PAC SJ): Supported the designation, emphasizing preserving existing affordable housing and value of landmarks.
• Joanne Buckley (resident, 858 Harding Avenue): Supported the designation after 20 years of effort, noting the neighborhood has improved and is a wonderful place to live.
• Susan Watanabe (resident, Schiele Avenue): Supported, describing her stewardship of a historic home on a limited income and the importance of preserving character.
• Unnamed speaker (second comment): Opposed, sharing personal difficulty getting a permit for window replacement and cost burden; called for modifications to make the designation more feasible for residents.

On Development Agreement Compliance (Item 5B): No public comments.

Discussion Items

1. HLD24-001 – Schiele Subdivision and Alameda Park Historic District Designation

• Staff (Dana Peak Edwards, Historic Preservation Officer) presented the proposal, noting the City Council nominated the district on April 30, 2024. The district consists of 132 parcels on approximately 25 acres, developed between the late 1880s and pre-WWII. The Historic Landmarks Commission had already recommended approval. Staff recommended the Planning Commission transmit a positive recommendation to City Council.
• Commissioners debated the historic significance, impact on housing supply, cost burdens on homeowners, and the neighborhood's proximity to transit.
• Commissioner Lardinois moved to recommend against the designation, citing a lack of clear historic value, broad architectural diversity over 60 years, and potential to undermine housing production near Diridon Station.
• Commissioner Oliverio made a substitute motion to support the staff recommendation, emphasizing the neighborhood's unique character and the community's 20-year effort. The substitute motion included a friendly amendment (by Commissioner Young) to recommend the City Council consider waiving or reducing historic permit fees citywide.
• After robust discussion, the substitute motion passed 5-4 (Commissioners Cantrell, Barocio, Bhandal, Oliverio, Young in favor; Commissioners Bickford, Lardinois, Rosario, and Chair Tordillos opposed). The dissenting votes and diversity of opinion were noted for transmission to City Council.

2. Annual Compliance Review of Development Agreements (2023-2024)

• Staff (Patrick Kelly) presented that six development agreements were in compliance for the period July 1, 2023 through June 30, 2024: Cisco (DA10-001), Shea Properties/Jackson Taylor (DA14-003), Apple (DA15-002), Google (DA21-001), Hitachi/Western Digital (DA-Hitachi), and Novellus/EQT Exeter (DA-Novellus/DA11-001).
• Chair Tordillos recused himself from the Google DA (DA21-001) due to employment at Google and stock ownership. Commissioner Bickford recused from Apple (DA15-002) and Google (DA21-001). Commissioner Barocio also recused from Google. Commissioner Lardinois recused from Google as well.
• The Commission first voted on all DAs except Apple and Google, approving compliance 9-0.
• Then voted separately on Apple DA15-002: approved 8-0-1 (Commissioner Bickford recused, others voted yes).
• Finally voted on Google DA21-002: Vice Chair Cantrell chaired the vote; the motion to approve passed with 5 votes (Vice Chair Cantrell, Commissioners Young, Oliverio, Bhandal, and one other yes; Chair Tordillos, Bickford, Barocio, Rosario, and Lardinois recused).

Key Outcomes

• Historic District (HLD24-001): The Planning Commission voted 5-4 to transmit a recommendation to the City Council to designate the Schiele Subdivision and Alameda Park as a City Landmark Historic District. The recommendation includes a request for the City Council to evaluate waiving or reducing historic permit fees citywide.
• Development Agreement Compliance: The Commission certified compliance for all six active development agreements for the 2023-2024 review period, with separate votes for Apple and Google due to commissioner recusals.
• Deferrals: Two items (CP24-002 & ER24-007, a private elementary school; and CP24-006 & ER24-050, a late-night restaurant permit) were deferred to a later date per staff request.
• Council Referral: Staff reported that a previous item (monopine on South King Road) was deferred by City Council to September 24, 2024, for additional neighborhood outreach.