COUNCIL MEMO #
TO: City Council FROM: Councilmember Matt Mahan
SUBJECT: See Below DATE: 6/21/2022
Approved Date 6/21/22
SUBJECT: El Paseo/Saratoga Urban Village Plan Prioritization
RECOMMENDATION
Direct the City Manager to:
1. Work with the Planning, Building and Code Enforcement (PBCE) Director to prioritizeplanning for the designated Saratoga/El Paseo Urban Village in accordance with priorCouncil direction (Item 10.2, 12/07/21) to accelerate planning of designated urban villagesthat have strong market demand and high housing production potential,2. Return to the Community and Economic Development Committee (CED) in fall of 2022with a cost estimate and timeline for this work and, if necessary, a funding request that canbe brought to the full Council for consideration.
BACKGROUND
The proposed project at 1312 El Paseo and 1777 Saratoga Avenue exemplifies many of theattributes we want to see in new developments in San Jose. The applicant has worked to envision amixed-use and mixed-income project that provides valuable amenities, such as a new Whole Foodsmarket, as well as underground parking and road improvements, including a new pedestriancrossing. I especially appreciate that the applicant opted to meet their inclusionary housingrequirement by building affordable units on site. Socioeconomically diverse communities arestronger and more just communities.
What this and any individual future projects in the El Paseo/Saratoga area will struggle toadequately address, however, is the area’s lack of accessible public space, high traffic congestion,and limited mass transit options that meet few residents’ needs today. Our office has heardextensively from dozens of residents in the neighborhood who are concerned about the lack ofcommunication from the City and VTA about our high-level, long-term plans for this designatedurban village, and especially how we and partner agencies will provide adequate public space,such as parks, and traffic congestion mitigation, including viable alternatives to thesingle-occupancy vehicle. As for public space, while schools in the area have large sports fieldsand indoor facilities, public use of this space is limited by school district policies and fees, whichmay be an opportunity for future city-school district-community collaboration.
Many of the residents who reached out to our office recalled participating in the General Plan 2040planning process a decade ago, through which they came to understand that future development inthe El Paseo area would likely constitute three- to five-story developments, including newparkland (i.e. not simply in-lieu fees spent in other parts of the city) and connected by fast,frequent and safe transportation that would encourage residents to get out of their cars. In this case,a large project is moving forward with four towers of nine or more stories, parkland requirementsthat will be met primarily through in-lieu fees, and no concrete plans from our congestionmanagement agency, VTA, for how it will manage thousands of additional cars on local roads inthe years ahead.
Understandably, many residents fear that this pattern will only continue with individual futureprojects in the El Paseo/Saratoga urban village. The project before us today represents justone-third of an overall 30-acre shopping center, which itself is only one of three large shoppingcenters situated at the confluence of Saratoga Ave., Lawrence Expressway, and ProspectRd./Campbell Ave. In all, this designated urban village includes 174 acres, or roughly 17 times thesize of this project. Moreover, given its proximity to large regional employers, such as Apple andGoogle, and the investment being considered today, interest in redevelopment of other sites in thearea will likely accelerate.
Today we have an opportunity to show residents that we are prepared to plan for and positivelyshape growth for their benefit and that of their future neighbors. Specifically, as Council directedlast winter, designated urban villages that are experiencing strong market demand and provideopportunities to address our housing crisis, which is certainly true for the El Paseo/Saratoga urbanvillage, should be prioritized for proactive and holistic planning that includes robust communityengagement, new mobility solutions, and provision of adequate public space.
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