Planning Director Hearing October 9, 2024: Tree Removal Permit and 334-Unit Apartment Project
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Planning Director Hearing October 9, 2024
On October 9, 2024, the Planning Director Hearing convened at 9:00 AM via Zoom, presided over by Hearing Officer Sylvia Doe. The meeting addressed two public hearing items: a live tree removal permit for a single-family property and a large-scale development permit for 334 multifamily residential units in North San Jose. No consent calendar items were scheduled. The hearing concluded at 9:26 AM.
Public Comments & Testimony
- Ada, a resident of the Venue apartments directly across from the proposed construction site at 210 Bay Point Parkway, expressed concerns about air quality and noise impacts during construction. She also asked for the anticipated groundbreaking date to better prepare.
Discussion Items
- Item 4A: Live Tree Removal Permit (TR 24-349) – Application to remove two ordinance-sized trees at 1768 Harmel Way: a Japanese loquat tree (75 inches in circumference) in the front yard and a bully tree (50 inches in circumference) in the side yard. Staff reported that a building permit for a demo-rebuild of the property is on file. The loquat tree was evaluated by Certified Arborist David Beckham as fair in structure, fair to poor health, with co-dominant stems, significant deadwood, and visible decay; the decay compromises structural integrity and poses a safety hazard. The bully tree lies within four feet of proposed construction, making removal necessary for safety. The applicant, Nettin Handa, confirmed the arborist’s findings and noted that the loquat tree would likely die during construction. He stated the applicant is willing to work with neighbors on replacement tree locations (two 15-gallon English laurel trees in the rear yard) but received no response from neighbors. No public comments were offered. Hearing Officer Doe approved the permit based on staff’s recommendation, citing declining health, decay, and proximity to construction.
- Item 4B: Site Development Permit, Vesting Tentative Map, and Environmental Review (File 22-037) – Proposal to demolish an existing single-story commercial building, remove 105 trees, and construct 334 multifamily residential units at 210 Bay Point Parkway. The project includes a 7-story, 292-unit apartment building and 42 townhouse units in six 3-story buildings, plus a request for Saturday construction hours (8 AM–5 PM). The site is within the Transit Employment Residential overlay, requiring a minimum average density of 75 dwelling units per acre; the project achieves approximately 77 units per acre. Staff confirmed consistency with zoning, parking, open space, and tree replacement requirements. An Environmental Impact Report (EIR) was prepared under CEQA, with a Notice of Preparation circulated December 12, 2022–January 16, 2023, and a Draft EIR circulated May 31–July 17, 2023; no significant unavoidable impacts were identified, and all potential impacts were reduced to less than significant with mitigation measures. A joint EIR scoping and community meeting was held on January 5, 2023, and an on-site sign was posted since November 2022. The applicant’s representative, Eric Shaneauer, emphasized the project’s alignment with the North San Jose plan to create residential neighborhoods. In response to Ada’s public comment, the applicant stated that site work (demolition/grading) is anticipated to begin in spring/summer 2025, with construction through 2026–2027. Environmental Planner Kara Hawkins detailed mitigation measures: a noise construction operations plan, notification to adjacent residents, 8-foot noise barriers, prohibition of unnecessary idling, and a noise disturbance coordinator’s contact information posted on-site.
Key Outcomes
- Item 4A (Tree Removal): Approved. The hearing officer found that the Japanese loquat tree is in declining health with visible decay, and the bully tree is within four feet of proposed construction, justifying removal under city findings.
- Item 4B (Development Permit): Approved. The hearing officer adopted the resolution certifying the EIR and approved the site development permit and vesting tentative map, subject to the mitigation measures described. The project will add 334 housing units, consistent with the general plan and zoning density requirements.
Meeting Transcript
Good morning everyone. It's 9 a.m., so we are calling to order the planning director hearing of October 9, 2024. My name is Sylvia Doe, and I am the hearing officer for today's agenda on behalf of and delegated by the Director of Planning, Building, and Code Enforcement, Christopher Burton. This meeting is being held via Zoom conference call. Members of the public may participate by following the instructions listed on page two of the agenda. If you would like to provide public comment, you have two methods to do so. For participants who joined electronically and have audio input available on their computer or smartphone, they can use the raised hand feature in Zoom during the agenda item they would like to speak to, or click star nine on their phone. Remember to keep your raised hand feature on until planning support staff identify your turn to speak. During the meeting, you could also call 4085 3505 or email planning support staff at San Jose BA.gov and identify your name that is listed on Zoom, the phone number that you'll call into Zoom with, and what item or items you would like to comment on. All members of the public will remain on mute until the individual identifies they would like to speak and they are unmuted. Planning support staff will identify you by name when it's your turn to speak. At that time, you will be unmuted and can provide public comment for the allotted time. If you exceed your allotted time, you may be muted so we can move on to the next speaker. Please note the following. The hearing procedure and order of input will be as follows. First, I will identify each project as described on the agenda. For those items on the consent calendar, I will ask if anyone wishes to speak on the item. If a separate discussion is warranted, I will move the item to the public hearing portion of the agenda. If a separate discussion is not needed, the item will remain on the consent calendar for approval. For those items listed under public hearing, I will ask staff to provide a brief report. The applicant or the representative who wishes to speak on the item will have up to five minutes to speak and should identify themselves by stating their name for the record. After the applicant or the representative has spoken, any member of the public who wishes to speak on the item may provide testimony, up to two minutes per speaker, either for or against the project. All members of the public should identify their name for the record, although it is not required. Following comments from the public, the applicant may make additional remarks for up to five minutes. I will then close the public hearing and I may ask staff to answer questions, respond to comments made by the applicant or the public, or further discuss the item. I will then take action on the item. If you challenge these land use decisions in court, you may be limited to raising only those issues you or someone else raised at this public hearing or in written correspondence delivered to the city at or prior to the public hearing. The planning director's actions on the agenda items will be final when the permit is signed and mailed, unless the permit or the environmental clearance determination is appealed. The planning director's actions on the permits are appealable in accordance with the requirements of Title 20 of the Municipal Code. The planning director's actions on the environmental review for the permits under the California Environmental Quality Act are separately appealable in accordance with the requirements of Title 21 of the Municipal Code. Before we begin, I want to remind members of the public to follow our code of conduct at meetings. This includes commenting on the specific agenda item only. Public speakers will not engage in a conversation with the hearing officer or staff. The hearing officer, staff, and the public are expected to refrain from abusive language. Repeated failure to comply with the code of conduct, which will disturb, disrupt, or impede the orderly conduct of this meeting may result in the removal from the meeting. This meeting of the director hearing will now come to order. Next on our agenda is deferrals. Any item scheduled for hearing this morning for which deferral to a future meeting date is being requested will be moved to this portion of the agenda and considered on the matter of deferral. I will identify any items to be deferred and ask for comments from the audience. If you want any change of the deferral dates or speak to the question of deferring these or any other items, please use the raised hand feature in Zoom or click star 9 to raise a hand to speak. And there are no items proposed for deferral this morning. Would anyone like to speak on the matter of deferrals? Okay, seeing none in Zoom, the matter of deferrals is now closed. Moving on to part three of the agenda, the consent calendar. There will be no separate discussion of individual consent calendar items as they are just considered to be routine and will be considered in one action unless an item is moved to the public hearing calendar for separate discussion by the hearing officer. The public may comment on the entire consent calendar and any items removed from the consent calendar by the hearing officer. If you wish to speak on one of these items, please use the raised hand feature in Zoom or click star nine to raise a hand to speak. And this morning we do not have any items listed on the consent calendar. So then I will move on to part four of the agenda, which is the public hearing. And this morning there are two public hearing items.
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