E D W A R D S A U M
August 25th, 2025
VIA EMAIL
City of San José Planning Commission
Honorable Carlos Rosario, Chair
City of San José
200 East Santa Clara St
San José, CA 95113
Re: August 27
th, 2025, Planning Commission Agenda Item 6a. GP25-002
General Plan Early Consideration Public Hearing
Honorable Chair Rosario and Commission Members:
Please consider this letter my formal support for the proposed General Plan Amendment for the parcel at the northeasterly corner of Emory St. and The Alameda (APN 261-12-084). For twelve years, I have served as the Director for Planning and Land Use of the Shasta Hanchett Park Neighborhood Association (SHPNA).
While my comments contained herein are my own, that time has provided invaluable insights into the strengths and weaknesses of the City of San José’s land use processes and its attempts to address a substantive housing shortage. For forty years, my predecessors and I have sought to work with the City of San José, designers, developers, and our neighbors to create a vibrant, balanced neighborhood.
As an architect and sixteen-year resident of a 1905 farmhouse four blocks from the site, I have seen empty and underutilized parcels in the neighborhood that are in desperate need of redevelopment. Having spent eight years on the City of San José’s Historic Landmarks Commission, including six years as Chair, I guided the design and development taking place within and around the City’s historic resources, including the City Landmark that is The Alameda right-of-way.
The principal of Emory Holdings LLC, Dan Mountsier, has a longstanding relationship with the neighborhood and a proven track record of substantive engagement and sensitive, appropriate designs.
Over a decade ago, he approached SHPNA about Modera The Alameda, the apartment building at 787 The Alameda. That project – with its highly successful Ace Hardware, expansive sidewalk, and thorough, lengthy community engagement – has been cited by SHPNA on multiple occasions as a textbook example of proper, responsive design and collaboration.
At Madera The Alameda, Diridon Ace Hardware required an extra year of permits and revisions, which Dan took on willingly, as he understood how important such a tenant could be to the vibrancy of The Alameda. To this day, it remains one of the best additions to the street in many years.
In 2020 Dupont Station, a market-rate
project within the neighborhood, a few blocks from Diridon Station. The project faced numerous Planning Department challenges during the COVID-19 pandemic, which, when coupled with the decreased ava
brought the process to a halt.
neighborhood for years. He helped plan and lead the Rose, White and Blue Parade, and has been a consistent volunteer during SHPNA’s Stroll The Alameda beer and wine walks.
Having a market-rate developer with such extensive commitment to the area bring forward proposed housing for a blighted parcel on The Alameda is, quite simply, the best case scenario.
No project is perfect, nor will it please all parties. The quote often misattributed to Voltaire is very applicable in this instance; we mustn’t let perfect be the enemy of the good. Therefore, I would like to emphasize a few key points about the proposed project. These include, but are not limited to, the following:
detracts from the neighborhood and the value of The Alameda City Landmark historic right-of-way.
Commercial uses along The Alameda have been permissible for decades. The current commercial vacancy rate in San Jose stands at 19.3%, continuing a
With hybrid work environments and internet commerce, they are less viable now than ever.
New residential developments directly support existing commercial and retail corridors, especially local restaurants and small businesses that do not have an online equivalent. As Secretary of The Alameda Business Association, I can attest to how hard local businesses are working to remain retail uses along The Alameda.
Much of the nearby commercial space along The Alameda can be found within converted estate homes built in the early decades of the 20th century. The existing physical context is predominantly one of a residential scale.
There are no fewer than eight Historic Resources within 200’ of the site. The proposed use that
In the earliest pre-design stages, the developer reached out to the Director of Planning and Land Use for a nearby Neighborhood Association, engaging in substantive discussions about process, massing, and siting.
The developer has engaged the surrounding property owners, which should be a standard requirement for any proposal. Changes in state and local laws have minimized and devalued community input. Despite that, the developer has actively sought it on several fronts.
At my recommendation, the developer approached Preservation Action Council San Jose, for which I serve as a member of the Advocacy Committee. The number of historic resources in proximity to the site makes the architectural style, detailing, and massing of the proposal of the utmost importance. Without fail, the developer has taken advice to heart.
Density and additional development are inevitable. The Alameda and our neighborhood will a
well-designed residential development that engages with its surroundings, while providing amenities and housing to both current and new residents. I wholeheartedly believe that this proposal meets all these requirements. I therefore ask you to approve the proposed General Plan Amendment before you.
Sincerely,
Edward Saum