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Fw: City council item number is 26-071; SB79
From City Clerk < [email protected]>
Date Mon 1/26/2026 8:16 AM
To Agendadesk <[email protected]>
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From: carol herzog
Sent: Sunday, January 25, 2026 1:49 PM
To: City Clerk <[email protected]>
Subject: City council item number is 26-071; SB79
[External Email. Do not open links or attachments from untrusted sources. Learn more] You don't often get email from Learn why this is important When will the San Jose neighborhoods be notified which neighborhoods will be mostly affected by SB79? Residents need to be notified of possibilities of 4-9 story buildings being built in their neighborhood.
Carol Herzog
This message is from outside the City email system. Do not open links or attachments from untrusted sources. 1/27/26, 1:28 PM Inbox - Agendadesk - Outlook
Outlook
FW: January 27, 2026 City Counci Item 8.1
From City Clerk < [email protected]>
Date Tue 1/27/2026 12:23 PM
To Agendadesk <[email protected]>
U 1 attachment (345 KB)
VTA Comment Letter on SB 79 Implementation.pdf;
From: Enright, Tonia <
Sent: Tuesday, January 27, 2026 11:38 AM
To: City Clerk <[email protected]>
Cc: O'malley Solis, Jessie < >; Greene, Beverly < >; Quigley, Aaron <
Subject: January 27, 2026 City Council Item 8.1
[External Email. Do not open links or attachments from untrusted sources. Learn morel You don't often get email from Learn why this is important Good morning City Clerk,
VTA would like to include the attached letter for the record today on item 8.1.
Thank you,
Tonia Nehil Enright
Management Administrative Assistant
Multimodal Planning & Real Estate
Santa Clara Valley Transportation Authority
Phone:
Santa Clara Valley
Transportation
Authority
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https://outlook.office365.com/mail/[email protected]/inbox/id/AAQkADUxOWI4ZjE3LTRkNDEtNGUzMS04MjAwLTlzNzdiYTdkMjc5NAAQA 1/2 Docusign Envelope ID: 9AACA9A9-8214-4BD0-8610-B3BB62A80058 Santa Clara Valley
Transportation
Authority
January 27, 2026
Honorable Mayor and Members of the City Council
City of San José
Subject: VTA Comments on SB 79 Memo to Council - Request for Coordination and Transit-Supportive Alternatives
Dear Mayor and Members of the City Council,
The Santa Clara Valley Transportation Authority (VTA) appreciates the City of San José's continued engagement on implementation of SB 79 and shares the City's overarching goals of advancing housing production. As the agency responsible for delivering and operating the region's major transit investments in Santa Clara County, VTA submits the following comments on the staff memorandum and recommendations.
Need for Coordination Prior to Action
VTA encourages further coordination and the opportunity to collaboratively develop alternatives in advance of any Council action on the proposed SB 79 exemptions. Given the direct relationship between land use decisions, transit ridership, and the long-term success of major transit investments, early and substantive coordination with VTA is essential to achieving outcomes that are both transit-supportive and consistent with state policy objectives.
Exemptions Near BART Stations
VTA is concerned with the direction to exempt parcels within a one-half mile radius of existing and planned BART stations, including areas surrounding the Milpitas and Berryessa stations as well as potentially near the future Santa Clara station. These locations are among the region's most significant transit investments and are expressly intended to support higher-intensity, transit-oriented land uses. Reducing residential potential in these station areas undermines ridership, system performance, and the long-term viability of the BART extension, while running counter to the core intent of SB 79.
Industrial Exemptions at Cerone and Santa Teresa
VTA has concern about the potential exemption of both the VTA Cerone and Santa Teresa sites under the Industrial Hub exemption without a coordinated effort to establish these sites as mixed- use in a manner that balances employment preservation with transit-supportive development. The City's prior interim housing uses on these sites reflect both the community's significant housing Administration
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Docusign Envelope ID: 9AACA9A9-8214-4BD0-8610-B3BB62A80058 needs and the flexibility of these locations to support housing in appropriate contexts.
VTA is willing to work collaboratively with the City to explore tools such as Transit Employment Residential Overlays (TEROs) or other tailored zoning approaches that support the City's employment land preservation goals while still allowing for meaningful residential intensity near high-capacity transit. VTA is also open to committing to minimum commercial or industrial floor area ratios to ensure employment uses meet or exceed policy objectives alongside residential development.
Pedestrian Access Mapping and Transit Integration
VTA also emphasizes the importance of coordination on pedestrian access mapping and designations prior to advancing any exemption recommendations. Clear, consistent, and transit- supportive pedestrian access assumptions are critical to ensuring that SB 79 implementation meaningfully improves access to high-quality transit.
Policy Alignment and Path Forward
The direction outlined in the staff memorandum raises the need for further coordination regarding alignment between VTA's transit investments and local land use policy. SB 79 was enacted to strengthen the connection between transit access and housing production, particularly during an ongoing housing crisis.
VTA requests that the City allow adequate time for coordinated planning with VTA prior to finalizing exemption decisions, with the shared goal of identifying transit-supportive land use designations that advance housing, employment, and mobility outcomes for San José and the broader region.
We appreciate the opportunity to provide these comments and look forward to continued collaboration.
Sincerely,
- DocuSigned by:
Jessie®d Malley Solis
Director of Multimodal Planning & Real Estate