Planning Director Hearing - April 9, 2025: Affordable Housing Project Approved
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Planning Director Hearing - April 9, 2025
Planning Director David Keon, on behalf of Director Christopher Burton, called to order the April 9, 2025 Planning Director Hearing at approximately 9:33 a.m. via Zoom. The hearing covered three items on the consent calendar and one item moved to a public hearing. No deferrals were requested.
Consent Calendar
- Item 3B (H24-048) – Site development permit for installation of three automatic vehicular access gates and fences at 1500 Cunningham Avenue. Approved as routine.
- Item 3C (T24-036) – Vesting tentative map for subdivision at 14200 and 14420 Union Avenue (southeast corner of Union and Camden Avenues) into 48 single-family lots, 25 condominium units, and seven parcels. Staff read a revised condition #2 (map expiration terms) into the record. The applicant agreed to the change. Approved with the amended condition.
Item 3A was initially on the consent calendar but was moved to the public hearing after a speaker requested discussion.
Public Comments & Testimony
Item 3A – 2165 The Alameda (100% Affordable Housing Project)
- Judy (neighborhood resident) expressed concerns about removal of a mature sycamore street tree, lack of promised elevation views from neighboring streets, unanswered questions about pet relief areas, privacy impacts on adjacent homes, noise from parking garage signals, and the need for a traffic study regarding the Idaho Street stoplight. She stated that neighborhood input meetings were requested but not held.
- Karsten (new resident) echoed concerns, focusing on insufficient parking (120 spaces for 174 units) leading to congestion on narrow neighborhood streets.
- Jim Leal supported prior speakers, adding concerns about over-density and traffic/pedestrian safety.
- Mari (Idaho Street resident) highlighted narrow street conditions, existing parking shortages, speeding traffic from an alley, and safety risks for children.
Discussion Items
Item 3A – Site Development Permit for 2165 The Alameda
Project description: Removal of 10 trees (six ordinance-size) to construct a seven-story, 100% affordable residential building with 174 units, utilizing the State Density Bonus Law, on a 0.55-acre vacant lot in the Alameda West Urban Village. Staff report by Cora McNaughton confirmed the project is consistent with the General Plan, zoning (CO commercial office), and Citywide Design Standards. A Class 32 Categorical Exemption (CEQA) was recommended.
Applicant representatives Curtis Warren and Bruce Greenfield responded: the sycamore tree removal is driven by Public Works off-site storm drain requirements; the project complies with all zoning and is below the 120-foot height limit; a 25-foot landscaped rear setback will provide privacy; and parking garage noise is not expected to be an issue given the location of the entrance on The Alameda, away from residences.
Staff clarified that:
- Elevation views from specific private points are not required by the city.
- The tree removal for the sycamore is not part of this permit and would need separate approval from the Department of Transportation.
- A traffic memorandum found no significant impact at studied intersections, including Idaho Street.
- No parking minimums apply; the project is on a high-quality transit corridor (The Alameda) with frequent bus service.
Hearing Officer David Keon noted the city’s Housing Element (adopted 2023) requires planning for 62,000 housing units by 2032, with over a third for lower-income households, and that the Alameda West Urban Village is a priority growth area. He cited the Housing Accountability Act, which limits the city’s ability to deny housing projects that meet objective standards and state law. The project is 100% affordable and meets all objective design standards.
Key Outcomes
- Consent Calendar Approval: Items 3B and 3C approved unanimously without public comment (3C with the revised condition #2).
- Item 3A Approval: The hearing officer approved the site development permit and the CEQA Class 32 Exemption, finding the project consistent with the General Plan and zoning, and meeting state and city housing requirements.
- No deferrals were requested.
The hearing adjourned at 9:33 a.m.
Meeting Transcript
Good morning. We are calling to order the planning director hearing of April 9th, 2025. My name is David Keon, 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 held being held via Zoom conference call. Members of the public can participate by following the instructions listed on page two of the agenda. If you'd like to provide public comment, you have two methods to do so. For participants who join electronically and have audio input available on their computer or smartphone, they can use the raise hand feature in Zoom during the agenda item they would like to speak or click star nine on their phone. Remember to keep your raise hand feature on until planning support staff identifies your turn to speak. Another option is that during the meeting, please call 408 535 3505 or email planning support staff, all one word at San Jose CA.gov and identify your name that is listed on Zoom, the phone number that you'd be calling into Zoom with, and what item or items you'd 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 is your turn to speak. At that time, you will be unmuted and can provide 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 input will be as follows. 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 take an additional, 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 written correspondence delivered to the city at or prior to the public hearing. The planning director's actions on agenda items will be final when the permit is signed and mailed, unless the permit or 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 zoning ordinance. The planning director's actions on the environmental review for the permits under the California Environmental Quality Act are separately appealable in accordance to the requirements of Title 21 of the Municipal Code, environmental clearance. Before we begin, I want to remind members of the public to follow our code of conduct at all 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's 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 removal from the meeting. This meeting of the director hearing will now come to order. The first item is the item of deferrals. Any items scheduled for hearing this morning for its deferral to a future meeting date is being requested will move to this portion of the agenda and be considered as a matter of deferral. I will identify any items to be deferred and ask for comments from the audience. If you want to change any of the deferral dates or speak to the question of deferring these or any other items, please use the raise hand feature in Zoom or click star 9 to raise a hand to speak. I will now open the public hearing regard to deferrals. Are there any items that are proposed for deferral? Any staff would like to move to deferral. No, we do not. Okay, seeing none on the agenda. The matter of deferrals is now closed. The next item is the consent calendar. There will be no separate discussion of individual consent calendar items as they are 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 raise hand feature in Zoom or click star nine to raise a hand to speak.
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