San Jose Planning Director Hearing Summary - December 18, 2025
San Jose Planning Director Hearing Summary - December 18, 2025
This hearing, conducted by Hearing Officer Sylvia Doe on behalf of the Director of Planning, Building, and Code Enforcement, addressed deferrals, a consent calendar, and two public hearing items. Key decisions included approval of a parking structure at Good Samaritan Hospital and certification of an Environmental Impact Report and approval of a Builder’s Remedy housing project at 1000 S De Anza Boulevard.
Consent Calendar
- Six items were initially on the consent calendar (3A–3F). Item 3D (Plan Development Permit PD25-003 for a parking structure at Samaritan Drive) was moved to the public hearing portion after a resident requested to speak. The remaining five items (3A, 3B, 3C, 3E, 3F) were approved as part of the consent calendar without separate discussion.
- For item 3C (1803 Bradford Way), staff read an update regarding an incentive concession for private open space reduction. The project proposes 696 sq ft of private open space against a requirement of 846 sq ft, with a cost savings of $300 per sq ft, justifying the concession.
Public Comments & Testimony
- Lillian Koenig spoke on item 3D, opposing the removal of 66 trees (21 ordinance-size, 45 non-ordinance) for the parking structure. She questioned the justification and urged preservation of existing trees.
- Rebecca (neighboring condo resident) asked about design considerations for the parking garage, particularly regarding the adjacent senior housing complex and nearby residents.
- Becky (representing Ventana Place residents) spoke on item 4A, raising concerns about construction vibration potentially compromising the post-tension slab of nearby townhomes, noise, traffic, parking adequacy, and the building’s height (7 stories) contrasting with the neighborhood. She requested a scaled-down design.
Discussion Items
- Deferrals: Item 2A (Special Use Permit for Harker School, SP24-047/ER24-258) was dropped from the agenda to be re-noticed for a future hearing. No public comment.
- Item 3D – Samaritan Drive Parking Structure (PD25-003): Staff (Jacqueline Guerrero) presented a request for a plan development permit to construct a 221,000 sq ft, six-level parking structure with 658 spaces, demolition of a vacant 11,000 sq ft office building, and removal of 66 trees. The project is part of a phased expansion of Good Samaritan Hospital and was found consistent with the hospital’s certified EIR. The applicant (Rob Hamby, Gresham Smith) responded to tree concerns by noting the site layout necessitated removals, with replacement trees planted on-site across multiple phases (740-inch and 1136-inch box trees initially). The design includes landscaping and materials to screen the structure. Staff confirmed mitigation measures for noise and debris. Hearing Officer approved the permit, citing compliance with city codes and tree replacement standards.
- Item 4A – 1000 S De Anza Boulevard (H23-029/ER23-232): Staff (Alec Atienza and Nu Nguyen) presented a Builder’s Remedy project (under the Housing Accountability Act) for a seven-story, 118-unit multifamily building with 20% low-income units. The project includes demolition of a 2,658 sq ft building and removal of 12 trees. Because the SB 330 preliminary application was submitted before the city’s housing element was certified (June 2023 vs. January 2024), the city must treat the project as consistent with zoning and general plan. The EIR identified potentially significant impacts (air quality, noise, etc.) reduced to less than significant with mitigation. The applicant (Eric Schenauer) argued the project implements the city’s vision for high-density corridors and must be approved under state law. Staff clarified no extended construction hours are requested, and the building height (under 120 ft maximum) is consistent with the urban village plan. Hearing Officer approved after finding no specific adverse impact to public health or safety.
Key Outcomes
- Item 3D Approved: Plan Development Permit PD25-003 was approved, including a determination of consistency with the Good Samaritan Hospital Project EIR. Tree removal was permitted with phased replacement planting on-site and potential in-lieu fees for any unplanted trees after the final phase.
- Item 4A Approved: The Environmental Impact Report for 1000 S De Anza Boulevard was certified, and the Site Development Permit was approved. The project is subject to noise and vibration mitigation measures, a Transportation Demand Management plan, and standard construction hour limitations (7 a.m. to 7 p.m., Monday–Friday).
- Consent Calendar: Five items (3A, 3B, 3C, 3E, 3F) were approved without separate discussion. Item 3C had an additional incentive concession added to the permit.
- Meeting Adjourned: The hearing concluded at approximately 9:55 a.m. (as noted in the transcript).
Meeting Transcript
Good morning, everyone. It is 9 a.m., so we are calling to order the Planning Director Hearing of December 17, 2025. 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 9 on their phone. Remember to keep your raise hand feature on until planning support staff identify your turn to speak. During the meeting, you can also call 408-535-8517 or email planning support staff at sanjoseca.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 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 order of input will be as follows. I will identify each project as listed 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 their 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 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. This brings us to the third part of the agenda. Oops, I apologize. The second part of the agenda, deferrals. Any items 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 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 nine to raise your hand to speak. I will now open the public hearing. The following items are proposed for deferral. So this morning, there's only one item proposed for deferral, which is item 2A SP 24-047 slash ER24-258.
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