OPENPUBLICA · PUBLIC MEETING RECORD
Record of Proceedings

Planning Director Hearing Approves 61-Unit Builder's Remedy Townhome Project on June 8, 2026

Planning CommissionMonday, June 8, 2026
BodySan Jose, California
SessionPlanning Commission
DateMonday, June 8, 2026
StatusFILED
Video Record
0:00 / 21:55
Transcript — Verbatim
0:01

Good morning.

0:02

We are calling to order the Planning Director hearing of May 27, 2026 at 9 o'clock a.m.

0:10

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.

0:20

This meeting is being held via Zoom conference call.

0:23

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

0:29

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

0:34

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.

0:47

Remember to keep your raise hand feature on until planning support staff identify your turn to speak.

0:54

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.

1:15

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

1:23

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

1:28

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

1:33

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

1:38

Please note the following.

1:40

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

1:43

First, I will identify each project as listed on the agenda.

1:47

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

1:52

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

1:58

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

2:04

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

2:09

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.

2:19

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.

2:31

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

2:37

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

2:43

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.

2:52

I will then take action on the item.

2:55

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.

3:09

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.

3:19

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

3:27

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.

3:40

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

3:46

This includes commenting on the specific agenda item only.

3:50

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

3:55

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

4:01

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.

4:11

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

4:16

We'll move on to the second portion of the agenda, which is deferrals.

4:20

Any item scheduled for this 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.

4:31

I will identify any items to be deferred and ask for comments from the audience.

4:36

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 9 to raise a hand to speak.

4:48

I will now open the public hearing.

4:50

And this morning there aren't any items proposed for deferral.

4:54

At this point, I'll ask if there are any members of the public who would like to defer any of the agenda items this morning.

5:02

If so, please raise your hand in Zoom or click star nine.

5:11

Okay, at this time I do not see any hands raised in Zoom.

5:16

So the matter of deferrals is now closed, and we'll move on to the third portion of the agenda, which is the consent calendar.

5:24

There will be no separate discussion of individual consent calendar items as they are considered to be routine and will be considered in one action unless an item is moved to the public hearing calendar for separate discussion by the hearing officer.

5:38

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

5:47

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

6:01

There's item 3A, file number H25-023, which is a site development permit on Doyle Road.

6:11

There's also consent calendar item 3B, which is file number SF25-010.

6:17

This is a single family house permit on Co.

6:20

Avenue.

6:21

And then lastly on the consent calendar item is item 3C, which is file number sp 25-022, which is a special use permit located on North First Street.

6:33

If there are any members of the public who wish to speak on this item, again, you can raise your hand in Zoom or click star nine to speak.

6:42

And again, otherwise, any items on the consent calendar will remain so for approval.

6:49

So just pause a bit in case anyone is looking for the raise hand feature in Zoom or clicking star nine on their phone.

7:00

Okay.

7:01

Seeing none, there are no hands raised.

7:04

So the consent calendar items 3A, 3B, and 3C are hereby approved.

Discussion Breakdown — Share of Meeting
Affordable Housing█████████████████████████████████████████████55%
Procedural█████████████████████████████████████45%
Summary of Proceedings

Planning Director Hearing Summary – June 8, 2026

This Planning Director hearing, presided over by Hearing Officer Sylvia Doe on behalf of Planning Director Christopher Burton, considered several routine permits and one major public hearing item: a 61-unit townhome development proposed under the state's Builder's Remedy provision of the Housing Accountability Act. The hearing took place via Zoom and concluded with the approval of all consent calendar items and the contested project.

Consent Calendar

  • Item 3A (File H25-023): Site development permit on Doyle Road – approved.
  • Item 3B (File SF25-010): Single-family house permit on Co. Avenue – approved.
  • Item 3C (File SP25-022): Special use permit on North First Street – approved.

Public Comments & Testimony

  • No members of the public spoke on any agenda item.

Discussion Items

  • Item 4A – 1655 Berriessa Road (Block I, Facino District) – Site Development Permit (H24-017) and Vesting Tentative Map (T2407).
    • Staff project manager Jason Lee presented the application: a 61-unit townhome development on 2.21 gross acres, with 8 units reserved for low-income households (13% of total). The project qualifies for Builder's Remedy because a preliminary application (SB 330) was submitted on October 13, 2023, before the city’s housing element was certified as substantially compliant on January 29, 2024. The formal application was submitted March 28, 2024, and AB 1893 was invoked April 24, 2025.
    • The project proposes a density of approximately 28.9 dwelling units per acre, well below the maximum 80 du/acre allowed for Builder's Remedy projects. The site is zoned for transit employment center and CPPD planned development, which do not permit housing, but under the Housing Accountability Act, the city must treat the project as consistent with the general plan and zoning.
    • Staff reviewed the project against objective health and safety standards and found no specific adverse impacts. The project also seeks one concession and eight waivers under state density bonus law.
    • The environmental review used an addendum to the 2023 Berriessa Road Mixed-Use Development FEIR, concluding no new significant impacts. Comment letters from VTA opposed the loss of commercial space and requested higher density residential or retention of commercial; PGE had no utility conflicts; tribal nations provided recommendations already addressed in prior mitigation.
    • Applicant representative Eric Schaenauer expressed gratitude to staff, reserved time for questions (none posed), and made no substantive opening or closing remarks beyond thanks.

Key Outcomes

  • Hearing Officer Sylvia Doe adopted the addendum to the 2023 Berriessa Road Mixed Use Development Final Environmental Impact Report and Addenda thereto under CEQA.
  • Approved Site Development Permit H24-017 and Vesting Tentative Map T2407 for the 61-unit townhome project.
  • The hearing officer stated that state law (HAA) limits the city’s authority to deny a qualifying Builder's Remedy project and that no specific adverse public health or safety impacts were identified, making approval mandatory.
  • The meeting adjourned at 9:21 a.m.

Meeting Transcript

Good morning. We are calling to order the Planning Director hearing of May 27, 2026 at 9 o'clock a.m. 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 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 speakers, 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 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. First, 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 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 removal from the meeting. The meeting of the director hearing will now come to order. We'll move on to the second portion of the agenda, which is deferrals. Any item scheduled for this 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 9 to raise a hand to speak. I will now open the public hearing. And this morning there aren't any items proposed for deferral. At this point, I'll ask if there are any members of the public who would like to defer any of the agenda items this morning. If so, please raise your hand in Zoom or click star nine. Okay, at this time I do not see any hands raised in Zoom. So the matter of deferrals is now closed, and we'll move on to the third portion of the agenda, which is the consent calendar. There will be no separate discussion of individual consent calendar items as they are considered to be routine and 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 comments on the entire consent calendar item 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 your raised hand feature in Zoom or click star nine to raise your hand to speak. There's item 3A, file number H25-023, which is a site development permit on Doyle Road.

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