OPENPUBLICA · PUBLIC MEETING RECORD
Record of Proceedings

Planning Commission Study Session on 2025 General Plan Annual Performance Review – May 27, 2026

Planning Commission — Wednesday, May 27, 2026
BodySan Jose, California
SessionPlanning Commission
DateWednesday, May 27, 2026
StatusFILED
Video Record
0:00 / 1:01:44
Transcript — Verbatim
0:09

Okay, apologies for my tardiness, Commissioner Rosario will not be here this evening.

0:15

And so you are stuck with me.

0:18

There we go.

0:19

This is our special meeting of the it's a study session.

0:24

We're presenting the 2025 General Plan Annual Performance Review Report.

0:29

I am going to do a quick roll call just to make sure that we know who is here, except I don't have the roll call list, but that's okay.

0:40

Commissioner Barroso.

0:42

Yes.

0:43

Commissioner Cantrell is not here.

0:46

Commissioner Casey?

0:47

Here.

0:49

Oh, I saw Commissioner Bandal in the hallway.

0:52

We'll wait for him.

0:53

Commissioner Cow.

0:55

Not here.

0:56

Commissioner Escobar?

0:58

Here.

0:59

Commissioner Newing?

1:01

Yes.

1:03

Commissioner Oliveria.

1:05

Yes.

1:06

And Commissioner Young is not here.

1:09

Just note that Commissioner Bandal is walking in the door right now.

1:16

Okay.

1:18

With that, I think we have a staff presentation for this evening.

1:23

So Commissioner Bandal has just walked in the door.

1:27

Let's go ahead with the staff presentation.

1:31

Thank you, Vice Chair.

1:33

Good evening, Planning Commissioners.

1:35

My name is Sanjita Kochan, supervising planner in the general plan team in the planning department.

1:41

I have the pleasure of presenting the 2025 general plan annual review report today.

1:47

I'm joined by my team, David and Laura.

1:51

They'll introduce themselves.

1:53

Take it away.

1:54

Thank you.

1:56

Hi.

1:56

Good evening, Commissioners and Chair.

1:58

My name is Laura Maurer.

2:00

I'm a planner on the general plan team.

2:02

And I'm going to be joined today by David Fong, who is also a planner on the general plan team in our presentation today.

2:09

Before we start, we also just want to acknowledge and express our appreciation to all the departments that helped us with this report, including PRNS, DOT, ESD, OED, and other teams within PBCE.

2:23

We do ask if you please leave questions until the end of the presentation.

2:27

There are slide numbers on the slide, so uh you can use that for easy reference.

2:33

Today, as we mentioned, we are going to be presenting some highlights of the envisions and 2040 General Plan 2025 annual performance review report.

2:43

This annual review report is mandated by the state law and by a general plan policy.

2:51

The general plan sets forth a vision and a comprehensive roadmap to guide the city's continued growth through the year 2040.

2:59

It contains 12 major strategies supported by goals, policies, and actions to achieve the vision of the general plan.

3:08

They guide the standards for city services, land use patterns, and the quality of life and development.

3:27

This evening's presentation, we're going to give an overview of each strategy and present a summary of the implementation highlights from each strategy.

3:36

David and I will be dividing the presentation.

3:48

Uh those strategies that are mostly related to planning and development and then cover all the other strategies that cover topics like transportation, parks, economics, etc.

3:59

I'll hand it over to David.

4:03

Thank you, Laura.

4:04

We're going to start off with the community-based planning major strategy.

4:08

This is a commitment to effectively engage all segments of the community in a meaningful planning process.

4:14

Public outreach is implemented using our city's public outreach policy, Council Policy 6-30.

4:21

The picture tabled shows the number of community meetings held by the plan division by fiscal year since the fiscal year 2011, which was the year the Vision 2008 2040 general plan was adopted.

4:36

For the last fiscal year 2024 to 2025, the planning division held 34 in-person and virtual community meetings with approximately 1002 community members and stakeholders.

4:49

Out of the 34 meetings, 24 were virtual, eight were in person, and two were hybrid.

4:55

A majority of the meetings were held virtually, but meetings for large or controversial projects such as the Saratoga Urban Village Plan, the Pleasant Hill Golf Course Guiding Principles Meeting, and the Builders Remedies Projects Incorporated in-person meetings.

Discussion Breakdown — Share of Meeting
Land Use█████████████████████████████████████████████49%
Economic Development█████████████████19%
Community Engagement███████████12%
Transportation Safety██████7%
Climate and Environment█████5%
Procedural███3%
Parks and Recreation███3%
Municipal Finance██2%
Summary of Proceedings

Planning Commission Study Session on 2025 General Plan Annual Performance Review – May 27, 2026

The San José Planning Commission held a special study session on May 27, 2026, to receive the 2025 General Plan Annual Performance Review Report. The presentation covered progress under the Envision San José 2040 General Plan’s 12 major strategies, including land use, housing, transportation, sustainability, and fiscal health. No action was taken; the session was informational.

Discussion Items

  • Staff Presentation: Supervising Planner Sanjita Kochan, planner Laura Maurer, and planner David Fong presented highlights from the report. Key data points included:
    • Community Planning: 34 community meetings held in FY 2024-25 (24 virtual, 8 in-person, 2 hybrid) with ~1,002 attendees. Fewer meetings and attendance than pre-pandemic levels.
    • Growth Areas (Focus Growth): 79% of residential, 87% of commercial, and 91% of industrial building permits issued in designated growth areas since FY 2011-12.
    • Residential Permits: 525 multifamily units permitted in FY 2024-25 (lowest since adoption), but 1,659 multifamily units permitted in the first six months of FY 2025-26. 508 ADUs permitted (slight decrease).
    • Commercial/Industrial Permits: 1.2 million sq ft of commercial and 1.7 million sq ft of industrial permitted in FY 2024-25. Industrial near record levels; 93% in growth areas.
    • Urban Villages: 16 urban village plans adopted; none completed in FY 2024-25. Five Wounds and other plans in progress. 11,975 residential units and 9.5 million sq ft of commercial permitted in urban villages since adoption.
    • Downtown: Office vacancy rate decreased to 29% (from 31% prior year). 113 downtown events with over 2 million attendees.
    • Population & Jobs: Population 979,000 as of Dec 2025 (up ~9,500 since 2011). 57,000 new jobs added since 2011. San José has the lowest jobs-per-resident ratio among surrounding cities (below 1.0).
    • Transportation: 7.4 miles of new on-street bikeways installed; 32.8 miles upgraded. Transit signal priority at 671 signals. East Ridge to BART connector under construction.
    • Sustainability: San José on track to meet 2050 climate goals but slightly behind 2030 carbon neutrality. Transportation accounts for 51% of GHG emissions, buildings 29%.
    • Parks & Trails: 5 new parks opened; 2 miles of new trails added. 79% of residents within a 10-minute walk of a park. 3.2 acres of recreational land per 1,000 residents (goal 3.5).
    • Safety & Vision Zero: 2025 Vision Zero Action Plan adopted targeting 30% reduction in fatalities by 2030. Speed safety cameras installed at 33 locations.
    • Four-Year Review: Third four-year review began summer 2025, focusing on residential capacity, missing middle housing, urban village process, and jobs ratio. Hearings expected end of 2027.
  • Commissioner Questions & Discussion:
    • Commissioners inquired about the gap between entitlements and building permits, the number of projects behind square-footage figures, and the impact of work-from-home on jobs data. Staff clarified that building permits reflect actual construction, while entitlements are approvals that may not proceed. Staff committed to providing additional data on project counts.
    • Discussion on remote work: Commissioners noted that work-from-home is not captured in traditional job counts (tied to business location). Director Chris Burton noted challenges in balancing housing and employment land preservation, and the need to adapt metrics for evolving work patterns.
    • Commissioners asked about specific projects (e.g., zero-emissions neighborhood pilot) and forward-looking projections. Staff outlined ongoing work to track entitlement expiration and improve development forecasting.

Key Outcomes

  • No votes or formal actions were taken. The presentation was received as informational.
  • Staff agreed to follow up on several data requests, including the number of projects behind commercial/industrial permit figures and a map of the zero-emissions neighborhood pilot.
  • The next steps for the General Plan include the ongoing four-year review and a future Tri-Elements update (safety, open space, environmental justice).

Meeting Transcript

Okay, apologies for my tardiness, Commissioner Rosario will not be here this evening. And so you are stuck with me. There we go. This is our special meeting of the it's a study session. We're presenting the 2025 General Plan Annual Performance Review Report. I am going to do a quick roll call just to make sure that we know who is here, except I don't have the roll call list, but that's okay. Commissioner Barroso. Yes. Commissioner Cantrell is not here. Commissioner Casey? Here. Oh, I saw Commissioner Bandal in the hallway. We'll wait for him. Commissioner Cow. Not here. Commissioner Escobar? Here. Commissioner Newing? Yes. Commissioner Oliveria. Yes. And Commissioner Young is not here. Just note that Commissioner Bandal is walking in the door right now. Okay. With that, I think we have a staff presentation for this evening. So Commissioner Bandal has just walked in the door. Let's go ahead with the staff presentation. Thank you, Vice Chair. Good evening, Planning Commissioners. My name is Sanjita Kochan, supervising planner in the general plan team in the planning department. I have the pleasure of presenting the 2025 general plan annual review report today. I'm joined by my team, David and Laura. They'll introduce themselves. Take it away. Thank you. Hi. Good evening, Commissioners and Chair. My name is Laura Maurer. I'm a planner on the general plan team. And I'm going to be joined today by David Fong, who is also a planner on the general plan team in our presentation today. Before we start, we also just want to acknowledge and express our appreciation to all the departments that helped us with this report, including PRNS, DOT, ESD, OED, and other teams within PBCE. We do ask if you please leave questions until the end of the presentation. There are slide numbers on the slide, so uh you can use that for easy reference. Today, as we mentioned, we are going to be presenting some highlights of the envisions and 2040 General Plan 2025 annual performance review report. This annual review report is mandated by the state law and by a general plan policy. The general plan sets forth a vision and a comprehensive roadmap to guide the city's continued growth through the year 2040. It contains 12 major strategies supported by goals, policies, and actions to achieve the vision of the general plan. They guide the standards for city services, land use patterns, and the quality of life and development. This evening's presentation, we're going to give an overview of each strategy and present a summary of the implementation highlights from each strategy. David and I will be dividing the presentation.

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