COUNCIL AGENDA: 04/29/2025
FILE: 25-445
ITEM: 7.1
TO: HONORABLE MAYOR AND
MEMBERS OF THE CITY
COUNCIL
FROM:
Councilmember Kamei
SUBJECT: Adoption of a Park Master
Plan, Approval of a Turnkey
Parkland Agreement, and
Adoption of an Official Park
Name within the 0 Seely Ave
Mixed Use Project.
DATE: April 28, 2025
Approved:
RECOMMENDATION
1. Approve the staff-recommended action with the following additional direction to:
a. Prioritize the completion of the agreement between the City and History San José with respect the relocation of the Sakauye Farmhouse to History Park; and b. Facilitate the acquisition of funding for the relocation of the Sakauye Farmhouse to History Park.
BACKGROUND
On August 13, 2024, the City Council approved a Planned Development rezoning at 0 Seely Avenue,1 entitling a project allowing for the construction of a new mixed-use neighborhood including roughly 1,500 much-needed new homes and a 2.5-acre neighborhood park. This project approval occurs at a time when the actual construction of new multifamily housing is vanishingly rare in San José. At the time, the site hosted a functioning farmstead, historically owned by Eiichi Sakauye and his family. My office submitted a memo noting the historic contributions of Eiichi Sakauye and the relevance of his family farmstead as one of a tiny handful of properties in California to which a Japanese-American family had successfully 1 City Council Meeting of August 13, 2024, Draft Minutes at Item 10.3, available at https://sanjose.legistar.com/View.ashx?M=M&ID=1213452&GUID=F3D520DC-7EF3-43EF-A0A4- DEEEEFADC2BD.
HONORABLE MAYOR AND CITY COUNCIL
4/29/2025
Adoption of a Park Master Plan, Approval of a Turnkey Parkland Agreement, and Adoption of an Official Park Name within the 0 Seely Ave Mixed Use Project.
Rev 1/2018
returned after the Second World War era internment and dislocation of this community. 2 Council discussion of the item underscored a desire to find a means to preserve the Sakauye farmhouse (“Farmhouse”) as a symbol of this difficult history for future generations, either as part of the planned neighborhood park or by moving the Farmhouse to History Park.
After consultations with the Sakauye family and the broader Japanese-American community in Silicon Valley, a general consensus emerged in favor of moving the Farmhouse to History Park and restoring it there. Based on estimates provided to the administration and History San José, the total cost of such a move is expected to reach $750,000. Thus far, the project proponent, Hanover, has moved the Farmhouse from its original location to a secure space on the development site at 0 Seely and has successfully deconstructed portions of the structure and certain of its outbuildings. History San José has likewise successfully raised upwards of $400,000 in donations to support the move. Still, a gap of upwards of $350,000 remains to safeguard this special symbol of our community’s history. The deadline to move the Farmhouse off-site now looms: November 2025.
For these reasons, I ask my colleagues to join me in directing staff to prioritize the final steps in moving the Farmhouse to History Park: completing an agreement on the relocation and funding between the City and History San José,3 and facilitating the acquisition of the remaining funding.
For questions, please contact J.R. Fruen, District 1, at [email protected]. 2 City Council Meeting of August 13, 2024, Meeting Agenda at Item 10.3, Memorandum of Kamei dated August 13, 2024, available at
https://sanjoseca.primegov.com/api/compilemeetingattachmenthistory/historyattachment/?historyId=f4377 748-3ab0-4230-866a-515b4bb46532.
3 See City Council Meeting of April 29, 2025, Meeting Agenda at Item 7.1, Memorandum of John Cicirelli dated March 25, 2025, at p. 7 (“Moving and paying for the Sakauye House to be relocated to History Park requires a separate agreement between the City and History Park. The City Manager’s Office of Economic Development and Cultural Affairs is working with other City Departments on seeking City Council approval for the move of the Sakauye House.”).