Planning Commission General Plan Four-Year Review Task Force Meeting – January 21, 2026

This was the third meeting of the 2025-2026 General Plan four-year review, with the Planning Commission serving as the task force. Chair Carlos Rosario presided. Staff presented an update on public outreach, discussed residential capacity background, and introduced four recommended strategies to increase housing capacity. The task force heard public testimony and deliberated on growth area boundaries, density targets, and equity considerations. No formal votes were taken; staff will return in April with more detailed analysis.

Public Comments & Testimony

• Robert Swierk (VTA Principal Planner) – Expressed support for increasing housing capacity near high-quality bus corridors and emphasized the importance of streamlining transit-oriented development. Recommended consolidating urban village plans and considering the jobs-to-employed-residence ratio.
• Robert Wood (Teachers/Students representative) – Stated that changes are too marginal and that the city needs bigger actions, noting a gap between nominal capacity in housing element proposals and realistic development potential.
• Jeff Santucci (Construction manager, Winchester corridor resident) – Questioned whether the city has coordinated with Santa Clara on pedestrian safety improvements on Winchester Boulevard, arguing the corridor may not be viable for new growth without addressing existing traffic and safety issues.
• Ben White (Winchester corridor resident) – Opposed rezoning the Winchester corridor, asserting that increased density leads to more litter, noise, and petty crime, negatively affecting existing homeowners’ quality of life.
• Lindy Hayes (Concerned Cory Neighbors) – Recommended that if the Winchester corridor is rezoned, it should be designated mixed-use neighborhood (MUN) rather than higher density, to remain consistent with the existing character. Noted the neighborhood's racial diversity.
• Delores Nelson (Cory Neighborhood Group) – Urged comprehensive traffic studies before any zoning changes, citing dangerous intersections, pedestrian hazards, emergency response time delays, and parking shortages near the Winchester/Heading intersection.
• Ken Hittleman (Cory Neighborhood Association) – Noted the absence of neighborhood associations from staff’s stakeholder outreach list and invited staff to present at neighborhood meetings. Supported mixed-use neighborhood designation.
• Daniel Mai (NovoTech) – Asked how to identify developers in proposed growth areas to collaborate on affordable internet infrastructure.
• Jessica (Cory neighborhood resident) – Raised concerns about privacy, quiet neighborhood character, and solar panel shading if high-rise towers are built next to single-family homes.
• Kelly Arardi (VCI Director of Entitlements, developer of former 17-story proposal on Winchester) – Acknowledged the community’s input and stated the developer is working on a new, smaller proposal (eight stories) and continuing dialogue with staff and neighbors.

Discussion Items

• Public Outreach Update (Sanita Ghoshal, Planner 4) – Staff reported that informational videos, a December webinar (29 participants, Spanish/Vietnamese interpretation), and stakeholder meetings (including Youth Commission and interdepartmental TAC) have taken place. An interactive online platform (Conveo) will launch in February, and four in-person open houses are planned with an outreach consultant.
• Residential Capacity Background – The 2011 General Plan 2040 planned for 120,000 housing units and 320,000 jobs. To date, ~57,000 units are built/entitled, plus 44,800 in the housing element site inventory, leaving ~18,000 units of remaining capacity. Staff recommends increasing capacity to between 30,000 and 60,000 units to prepare for the next Regional Housing Needs Allocation (RHNA) cycle (7th cycle, estimated to begin 2027-28) and to accommodate state mandates like the housing element programs P40 (urban village planning) and P35 (missing middle).
• Strategy 1: New Growth Areas – Staff identified six potential new growth areas along high-quality bus lines (66, 73, 77, 61, 22/522, 60) with a proposed two-block depth from the corridor. Many commissioners (Young, Bigford, Escobar, Bickford, Cantrell) argued this is too conservative and called for a layered approach (e.g., two-, four-, and six-block depths with decreasing density further in). Commissioner Young suggested half-mile radii (six blocks or more) to align with SB 79. Several noted the proposed areas are concentrated in north-central San Jose, unfairly burdening certain districts, and asked for more equitable geographic distribution. Staff agreed to return with analysis for both two- and six-block depths and to explore additional growth area criteria, including high VMT areas and equity overlays (redlining data).
• Strategy 2: Missing Middle State Housing Laws – Staff highlighted SB 9, SB 684, SB 1123, and ADU law updates as separate tracks that will be presented in more detail at the March task force meeting. Commissioner Young suggested increasing the RN density beyond 16 dwelling units per acre, but staff noted that further density above 16 would be addressed through the missing middle framework.
• Strategy 3: Residential Neighborhood (RN) Density Increase – Staff proposed updating the RN designation to allow up to 16 dwelling units per acre citywide without the current prevailing density requirement. Commissioners noted this could yield significant capacity but requested demographic and redlining overlays to ensure equitable distribution.
• Strategy 4: Targeted General Plan Amendments – Staff is evaluating three site types: (1) Neighborhood Community Commercial (NCC) parcels with long-standing residential uses (~80 parcels, ~500 units potential), (2) Mixed-Use Commercial (MUC) sites where commercial requirements are often not viable, and (3) Public Quasi-Public (PQP) lands (schools, churches) where affordable housing could be allowed. Commissioner Borosio cautioned against over-relying on school land sales due to long-term enrollment cycles. Staff clarified that most interest comes from the institutions themselves, not the city.
• SB 79 (Abundant and Affordable Homes Near Transit Act) – Effective July 2026, this law will allow densities up to 160 dwelling units per acre within half-mile of qualifying transit (rail, BRT), potentially overlapping with many proposed growth areas. Staff is still analyzing its implications and presented a draft SB 79 map. Several commissioners questioned its impact on historic resources and conservation areas; staff noted that some protections remain under CEQA and the historic preservation ordinance.

Key Outcomes

• Staff will return at the April task force meeting with: (1) refined residential capacity numbers, (2) analysis of growth area depths (two-block, four-block, six-block options), (3) an equity overlay (redlining/racial demographics) for proposed growth areas, (4) a more detailed assessment of SB 79 impacts on each strategy, (5) a proposal for a citywide missing middle framework (to be presented first at the March meeting), and (6) evaluation of potential growth areas in underserved parts of the city (e.g., South San Jose, District 9/10) using alternative transit or land use criteria.
• Staff will conduct a straw poll at a future meeting to gauge commissioner consensus on growth area depth and geographic distribution.
• No formal votes or decisions were made; the task force will continue to refine recommended strategies for eventual City Council action.