OPENPUBLICA · PUBLIC MEETING RECORD
Record of Proceedings

Planning Director Hearing Approves Harker School Project and Elm Street Subdivision – January 7, 2026

Planning CommissionWednesday, January 7, 2026
BodySan Jose, California
SessionPlanning Commission
DateWednesday, January 7, 2026
StatusFILED
Video Record
0:00 / 10:58
Transcript — Verbatim
0:00

Good morning. We are calling to order the Planning Director hearing of January 7, 2026.

0:07

My name is David Kian and I'm the hearing officer for today's agenda on behalf of and designated by

0:12

the Director of Planning, Building and Code Enforcement, Christopher Burton.

0:17

This meeting is being held via Zoom conference call.

0:20

Members of the public may participate by following the instructions listed on page 2 of the agenda.

0:25

If you would like to provide public comment, you have two methods to do so.

0:28

One, for participants who joined electronically and audio input available on their computer or smartphone, they can use the raised hand feature in Zoom during the agenda item they'd like to speak or click star 9 on their phone.

0:42

Remember to keep your raised hand feature on into the planning support staff, identify it as your turn to speak.

0:47

Other option is that during the meeting, you can call 408-535-8517 or email planningsupportstaff at sanjoseca.gov and identify your name that is listed on Zoom, the phone number that you'll be calling into Zoom with, and what item or items you'd like to comment on.

1:10

All members of the public remain on mute until the individual identifies they would like to speak and they are unmuted.

1:18

Planning support staff will identify you by name when it is your turn to speak.

1:23

At that time, you will be unmuted and can provide public comment for the allotted time.

1:28

If you exceed your allotted time, you may be muted so we can move on to the next speaker.

1:33

Please note the following.

1:35

The hearing procedure and order of input will be as follows.

1:38

I will identify each project as described on the agenda.

1:42

For those items on the consent calendar, I will ask if anyone wishes to speak on the item.

1:47

If a separate discussion is warranted, I will move the item to the public hearing portion of the agenda.

1:53

If a separate discussion is not needed, the item will remain on the consent calendar for approval.

1:59

For those items listed under public hearing, I will ask the staff to write a brief report.

2:04

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.

2:13

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.

2:24

All members of the public should identify their name or the record, although it is not required.

2:29

Following comments from the public, the applicant may make additional remarks for up to five minutes.

2:37

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.

2:45

I will then take an action on the item.

2:48

If you challenge these line-use decisions in court, you may be limited to raising only those issues you or someone else raised at this public hearing

2:55

or in written correspondence delivered to the city at or prior to the public hearing.

3:00

The planning director's actions on agenda items will be final when the permit is signed in mail,

3:05

unless the permit or the environmental clearance determination is appealed.

3:09

The planning director's actions on permits are appealable in accordance with the requirements of Title 20 of the Municipal Code, the zoning ordinance.

3:17

The planning director's actions on environmental review for the permits under the California Environmental Quality Act

3:22

are separately appealable in accordance with requirements under Title 21 of the Municipal Code under environmental clearance.

3:29

Before we begin, I want to remind members of the public to follow our Code of Conduct at meetings.

3:35

This includes commenting on specific agenda items only.

3:38

Public speakers will not engage in a conversation with the hearing officer or staff.

3:43

The hearing officer, staff, and the public are expected to refrain from abusive language.

3:48

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.

3:56

This meeting of the director hearing will now come to order.

4:01

So the first item is the item of deferrals.

4:05

So any item scheduled for hearing this morning for which a 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.

4:15

Are there any items that I see no items currently scheduled for deferral?

4:21

Does anybody have any desire to defer any of the current items that are scheduled to deferral?

4:30

If anybody, please raise their, any planning staff does, please raise their hand.

4:38

Otherwise, I'm going to consider the matter of deferrals now closed.

4:42

Next, I'll move on to the main part of our agenda, which is the consent calendar.

4:48

There will be no separate discussion of individual consent calendar items.

4:52

As they are considered to be routine, it will be considered in one action unless an item is moved to the public hearing calendar for separate discussion by the hearing officer.

5:00

The public may comment on the entire consent calendar and any items removed from the consent calendar by the hearing officer.

5:06

If you wish to speak on one of these items, please use the raise hand feature in Zoom or click star 9 to raise your hand to speak.

5:14

So there are two items.

5:16

The first is item 3A.

5:18

This is SP24047 and ER24258.

5:23

This is a special use permit to allow the construction of approximately 3,730 square foot field house, seven tennis courts, and a soccer field for the Harker School,

5:32

including demolition of existing church and three school buildings and removal of 86 trees,

5:38

including 27 ordnance-sized trees on an approximately 4.25 gross acre site located at 860 and 878 Boynton Avenue.

5:47

The CEQA for this project is exempt pursuant to CEQA Guidelines Section 15332 for infill development projects.

5:54

so this the staff recommendation is considered the exemption in accordance with sequel and

6:01

approve the special use from it is there anybody who wishes to speak on this item if there

6:07

is please raise your hand now i see

Discussion Breakdown — Share of Meeting
Procedural█████████████████████████████████████████████59%
Land Use██████████████████████29%
Engineering And Infrastructure█████████12%
Summary of Proceedings

Planning Director Hearing Approves Harker School Project and Elm Street Subdivision – January 7, 2026

The Planning Director Hearing of January 7, 2026, was conducted via Zoom by Hearing Officer David Kian. The meeting considered two consent calendar items: a special use permit for the Harker School expansion and a vesting tentative map extension for a residential subdivision. No public testimony was offered, and both items were approved without separate discussion.

Consent Calendar

  • Item 3A (SP24047 / ER24258): Special use permit for the Harker School to construct a 3,730-square-foot field house, seven tennis courts, and a soccer field at 860 and 878 Boynton Avenue. The project includes demolition of existing structures and removal of 86 trees (27 ordinance-sized) on a 4.25-acre site. The CEQA exemption was based on Guidelines Section 15332 (infill development). Planning Project Manager Jacqueline Guerrero read into the record amendments to conditions of approval regarding stormwater runoff and public flow-through planters; the applicant accepted all changes. No public comments were received.
  • Item 3B (TE20-031-01 / ER25-228): Vesting tentative map extension for a 24-month extension of a previously approved subdivision (PT20-031) to create eight single-family residential lots and one common lot on a 0.443-acre site at 972 Elm Street. The CEQA determination was consistency with the 972 Elm Street Villas Project mitigated negative declaration. No public comments were received.

Key Outcomes

  • The hearing officer approved the consent calendar as presented, including both Item 3A and Item 3B.
  • No items were deferred, and no items were moved to the public hearing portion of the agenda.
  • The meeting adjourned with no further business.

Meeting Transcript

Good morning. We are calling to order the Planning Director hearing of January 7, 2026. My name is David Kian and I'm the hearing officer for today's agenda on behalf of and designated 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 2 of the agenda. If you would like to provide public comment, you have two methods to do so. One, for participants who joined electronically and audio input available on their computer or smartphone, they can use the raised hand feature in Zoom during the agenda item they'd like to speak or click star 9 on their phone. Remember to keep your raised hand feature on into the planning support staff, identify it as your turn to speak. Other option is that during the meeting, you can call 408-535-8517 or email planningsupportstaff at sanjoseca.gov and identify your name that is listed on Zoom, the phone number that you'll be calling into Zoom with, and what item or items you'd like to comment on. All members of the public 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 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. 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 the staff to write 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 or 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 an action on the item. If you challenge these line-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 in mail, unless the permit or the environmental clearance determination is appealed. The planning director's actions on permits are appealable in accordance with the requirements of Title 20 of the Municipal Code, the zoning ordinance. The planning director's actions on environmental review for the permits under the California Environmental Quality Act are separately appealable in accordance with requirements under Title 21 of the Municipal Code under environmental clearance. Before we begin, I want to remind members of the public to follow our Code of Conduct at meetings. This includes commenting on specific agenda items 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 removal from the meeting. This meeting of the director hearing will now come to order. So the first item is the item of deferrals. So any item scheduled for hearing this morning for which a 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. Are there any items that I see no items currently scheduled for deferral? Does anybody have any desire to defer any of the current items that are scheduled to deferral? If anybody, please raise their, any planning staff does, please raise their hand. Otherwise, I'm going to consider the matter of deferrals now closed. Next, I'll move on to the main part of our agenda, which is the consent calendar. There will be no separate discussion of individual consent calendar items. As they are considered to be routine, it 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 9 to raise your hand to speak.

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