San Jose Planning Director Hearing Summary: April 15, 2026
San Jose Planning Director Hearing Summary: April 15, 2026
On April 15, 2026, the Planning Director meeting was called to order at 9:00 AM by Hearing Officer Sylvia Doe, acting on behalf of Director Christopher Burton. The meeting was conducted via Zoom, with a consent calendar item and a public hearing item on the agenda. One item was approved on consent, and one public hearing item was approved with conditions after receiving public testimony.
Consent Calendar
- Item 3A (PD24-011 / ER24-138): Approved on consent. The permit allows construction of an elevated pedestrian entry plaza for a church, removal of an existing front staircase, and removal of three ordinance-sized trees at 4600 Highland Avenue. Staff recommended the CEQA exemption and approval. Two members of the public (Gustavo and Mary Louis) spoke in favor; no opposition was voiced. The item remained on consent and was approved unanimously.
Public Comments & Testimony
- Item 4A (PD24-010 / ER24-167): A planned development permit to convert an 11,868 square foot building into a restaurant and banquet hall with late-night use until 2 a.m., plus removal of one ordinance-sized tree and four parking stalls at 113 Burnell Road.
- Idra Flaxa (neighbor, closest residence ~235 feet away): Expressed concern about noise from patrons leaving after 2 a.m., particularly car traffic on Bernal Road, and its impact on sleep for her family (including a newborn expected in late October/early November). She requested the hearing officer consider these concerns before approving.
- Jumin (read by Idra Flaxa): A schoolteacher and neighbor stated they had retained legal counsel, arguing the 2 a.m. permit violates San Jose Municipal Code and citing WHO research on health risks of late-night noise. She requested denial of the 2 a.m. request and a 9 p.m. closing time on weekdays and weekends.
- Dowwin (neighbor adjacent to Idra): Opposed the 2 a.m. closing due to existing traffic noise and disruption to his family (two children aged 12 and parents aged 70–80), stating it would be a big disruption.
Discussion Items
- Item 4A – Staff Presentation: Project Manager Rena Shah presented the proposal. The restaurant and banquet hall would operate daily 11 a.m. to 2 a.m., with no exterior modifications or outdoor uses. Four parking stalls would be removed (shopping center retains 1,121 spaces, exceeding the required 956). Traffic impacts were found minimal. A noise consultant, Jacob Bernard, analyzed sound levels and concluded the project would comply with the 55 dBA limit. Conditions include: doors/windows closed after 10 p.m., no loitering, security measures, and no outdoor amplified sound. The project is consistent with General Plan policies and CEQA exempt under Section 15301.
- Applicant Remarks: Thornton (architect) noted the building was formerly a Sweet Tomatoes and is under construction for a restaurant permit; new owners Amon and Margit Cooner hope to open in May/June 2026. Outdoor dining was removed due to concerns from other tenants. He clarified most events would be private (weddings) on weekends with 100–200 guests, not the full 600-person capacity. Deliveries would occur weekdays 9 a.m. to 12 p.m.
- Hearing Officer Clarifications: The hearing officer noted that restaurants are allowed by right to operate until midnight; the planned development permit is required only for the banquet facility and late-night use (midnight–2 a.m.), allowing the city to impose conditions to mitigate potential noise and security impacts. She acknowledged the residential uses across a six-lane major arterial street and stated that the removal of outdoor activities and strict permit conditions address neighbor concerns.
Key Outcomes
- Item 4A – Approved: The hearing officer approved the planned development permit (PD24-010) and the CEQA exemption (ER24-167) as recommended by staff, with conditions including: doors and windows closed after 10 p.m., no outdoor amplified sound, security and anti-loitering requirements per San Jose Police Department conditions, and adherence to noise ordinances. The approval allows the restaurant and banquet hall to operate daily from 11 a.m. to 2 a.m. The action is final unless appealed per Titles 20 and 21 of the Municipal Code.
The meeting adjourned at 9:45 AM.
Meeting Transcript
Good morning. It is 9 a.m. and we are calling to order the Planning Director hearing of April 15th, 2026. 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 2 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 or click star 9 on their phone. Remember to keep your raised hand feature on until planning support staff identify your name to speak. During the meeting, you can also call 408-535-8517 or email planning support staff at San Jose CA.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 first 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 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. This brings us to the third part of the agenda, which is the consent calendar. I'm sorry, let me start off with the second portion of the agenda, which 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 first 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 raised hand feature in Zoom or click star 9 to raise your hand to speak. I will now open the public hearing. The following items are proposed for deferral, on which case there are two agendized items on today's agenda, none of which is being proposed for deferral. But if there are any members of the public today that would like to request any of these two agendized items for deferral, now is a time. And if so, please raise your hand on the matter of deferrals. Just pausing a bit here to see if there's anyone raising their hand and would like to request any of today's hearing items to be heard at a future date rather than today. Okay. Seeing none, the matter of deferrals is now closed. And we will move on to the third part of the agenda, which is the consent calendar.
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