San Jose Planning Director Hearing - September 2, 2026: Approval of 168-Unit Affordable Housing Project with Conditions
San Jose Planning Director Hearing - September 2, 2026
The hearing, presided over by Hearing Officer Ruth Cueto on behalf of Planning Director Christopher Burton, addressed a site development permit (H26013) for a 100% affordable 168-unit multifamily residential building at 275 feet south of East San Fernando on South Second Street (Council District 3). The project includes a state density bonus law application and extended Saturday construction hours (7 a.m. to 7 p.m.). Staff recommended CEQA exemption (Section 15332, infill development) and permit approval. After public testimony and discussion, the hearing officer approved the permit with modified conditions, including a later Saturday start time for non-concrete work.
Consent Calendar
- Item 3A (the affordable housing project) was initially on the consent calendar but was moved to the public hearing portion after several attendees raised hands to speak. No other consent items were discussed.
Public Comments & Testimony
- Caprice Scarborough (condo owner at the 88): Expressed support for affordable housing but requested a pre-construction condition survey of the 88, vibration monitoring during excavation/shoring, and protections for Central Place (no truck queuing, maintain access).
- Ami (owner at the 88): Emphasized concerns about vibrations and noise, specifically questioning the need for Saturday work and requesting earlier construction hours be reevaluated.
- Peter Ollman (downtown resident, 30 years): Supported housing but criticized ground-floor dead space along South Third Street and Paseo de San Antonio. Urged enforcement of objective zoning standards under SJMC Chapter 20.90, noting SB330 limits subjective design guidelines but not objective metrics.
- Raul Aldana (resident at the 88): Requested construction start at 8 a.m. rather than 7 a.m. and raised concerns about noise, vibration, and access to Central Place parking.
- Kirk Pennington (resident at the 88): Requested a 24/7 construction coordinator phone number prominently posted, expressed concern about Central Place used for staging/idling, and noted that weekend 7 a.m. starts allow only 4 hours of sleep after late-night entertainment zone noise.
- Kathy (resident at the 88): Supported a 9 a.m. Saturday start as a compromise, and requested future meetings allow chat/visibility of attendees.
- Corey Bridges (resident at the 88): Asked for documentation justifying the 7 a.m. Saturday start and pointed out inaccuracies in the applicant’s presentation (referencing "Hammerhead Theater" instead of "Hammer Theater" and calling the 88 "apartments" instead of condos).
- Caprice Scarborough (second round): Restated her request for specific construction management protections for Central Place.
Discussion Items
- Staff Presentation (Jacqueline Guerrero, project manager): Summarized the project review under General Plan, Downtown Design Guidelines, CEQA, and state density bonus law. Noted public comments received regarding construction hours, permit compliance, and removal of accessible parking spaces. The environmental team confirmed the project meets Section 15332 criteria (urban infill, no endangered species, mitigated impacts).
- Applicant Presentation (Lauren Alexander, Pacific West Communities): Explained the project’s modular construction, which reduces noise and timeline. The 24-month schedule includes foundation/podium concrete pours requiring continuous work (7–10 Saturdays starting at 7 a.m.). After concrete, module placement (1.5 months) may need extended hours, but most work is interior/exterior finishes. Committed to coordinating with the 88 HOA on construction updates.
- Environmental Team (Court Hitchens, supervising planner): Detailed permit conditions for noise/vibration: a construction noise disturbance coordinator available during working hours, a site-specific vibration assessment before demolition/grading, measures to reduce impacts (smaller equipment, avoid dropping, distance from sensitive structures). Concluded impacts would be less than significant.
- Hearing Officer: Asked about vibration protections and the possibility of a 9 a.m. Saturday start. Staff noted they had already explored a 9 a.m. start with the applicant. The applicant agreed to limit Saturday extended hours to concrete pours (approx. 7–10 days) and start other Saturday work at 9 a.m. The hearing officer also requested voluntary consideration of ground-floor activation along Paseo de San Antonio (e.g., murals, rotating art gallery).
Key Outcomes
- Approved: Site development permit and CEQA exemption (Section 15332), with conditions.
- Modified Condition: Saturday construction hours for non-concrete activities shall start at 9 a.m. instead of 7 a.m. Extended 7 a.m. starts are limited to concrete pours (approx. 7–10 days); the applicant will coordinate specific dates with the 88 HOA and neighbors.
- Other Conditions: Vibration assessment and monitoring during excavation/shoring; construction disturbance coordinator available during all work hours; contact information posted and provided to neighbors; Central Place access maintained with no unnecessary truck queuing/idling.
- Next Steps: The applicant plans to submit a Low-Income Housing Tax Credit application by September 8, 2026. Construction is expected to commence June 2027 if credits are awarded.
Meeting Transcript
Good morning. We are calling to order the planning director hearing of September 2nd, 2026. My name is Ruth Cueto, 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. One 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 nine on their phone. Remember to keep your raise hand feature on until planning support staff identify your turn to speak. Second, during the meeting, please call 408 535 8517 or email planning support staff at San Jose CA dot GOV and identify your name that's listed on Zoom, the phone number that you'll call into Zoom with, and what items or items, 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. 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 staff to provide a brief report. The applicant or their 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 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 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 zoning ordinance. The planning director's actions on the environmental review for the permits under the California Environmental Quality Act, CEQA, are separately appealable in accordance with the requirements of Title 21 of the municipal code, the environmental clearance 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 disrupt, 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. We will begin today's meeting with 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 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 nine to raise a hand to speak. We have no items proposed for deferral today. Anyone wish to speak on that? Seeing none, the matter of deferrals is now closed, and we will move on to item three on the agenda, which is a 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 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 a raised hand feature in Zoom or click star nine to raise a hand to speak. A site development permit to allow the construction of a 100% affordable seven-story 168 unit multifamily residential building on an approximately 1.34 gross acre site located on the east side of South Second Street, approximately 275 feet south of East San Fernando. The project includes an application under state density bonus law and an extended construction hours for 7 to 7 a.m. to 7 p.m. on Saturdays in Council District 3. CECOA is an exemption pursuant to SQL guidelines, Section 1532 for infill development. Staff recommendation is to consider the exemption in accordance with CEQA and approve a site development permit.
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