COUNCIL AGENDA: 8/18/2026
FILE : 26-852
ITEM: 10.3
TO: HONORABLE MAYOR AND
CITY COUNCIL
FROM: Councilmember Domingo Candelas
Councilmember Peter Ortiz
Councilmember Michael Mulcahy
SUBJECT: SEE BELOW
DATE: August 14, 2026
Approved Date:
________________________
SUBJECT: General Plan Four-Year Review Policy Framework
RECOMMENDATION
1. Approve the memo from Mayor Mahan, Vice Mayor Foley, Councilmembers Campos, Cohen, and Casey, dated August 13th, with the following additions:
a. Approve Staff Recommendation (b), with the following additions:
i. Prohibit small multifamily projects for the following types of sites:
1. Moderate Fire Severity Zones
2. Immitigable High Vehicle Miles Traveled (VMT) Areas
3. Planned Developments
4. Area Specific Plans
b. Apply all General Plan amendments and ordinances only to new applications. c. Amend the Winchester Boulevard Corridor land use and zoning changes referenced in 1.a.iii such that properties currently designated Neighborhood/Community Commercial (NCC) or Neighborhood Residential (RN) that are proposed for Urban Residential (UR) are instead designated Mixed- Use Neighborhood (MUN) for both the General Plan land use designation and corresponding zoning district, except for APN 274-47-074 (2467–2477 Forest Avenue), which shall remain designated Neighborhood Residential (RN), and
COUNCIL AGENDA: 8/18/2026
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ITEM: 10.3
APN 274-47-075 (2485 Forest Avenue), which shall remain designated Neighborhood/Community Commercial (NCC).
d. Amend Staff Recommendation 1.a.iv to direct staff, in evaluating Mixed-Use Commercial (MUC)-designated parcels along West San Carlos Street, to prioritize opportunities for conversion to housing-oriented General Plan land use designations and corresponding zoning districts, where appropriate, while applying the same objective criteria identified by staff. e. Direct the City Manager's Office to establish an additional General Plan Amendment (GPA) cycle, occurring approximately six months apart from the existing annual cycle, for changes to sites currently designated as residential, commercial, or public-quasi-public.
f. Develop and return to Council a streamlined process and lower fee structure for Special Use Permits on Public/Quasi-Public Lands to allow for greater economic and public-serving benefits such as childcare, sports leagues, and community gathering spaces, that still allow for future PQP use.
BACKGROUND
Thank you to Planning Staff and the Planning Commission for your efforts in developing a comprehensive framework that will guide San José into its next stage of growth.
While we are broadly aligned with the direction of the staff recommendation and the memorandum from the Mayor, Vice Mayor, and Councilmembers Cohen, Campos, and Casey, there are several areas that warrant additional consideration and adjustment to reflect the complexities and diverse needs of our city. In some areas, we believe the City should push further to support our long-term growth goals, while in others, we must be thoughtful about potential unintended consequences for our residents and communities.
San José historically developed in a sprawling manner, with many residential areas located farther from jobs, transit, emergency services, and other community-serving amenities. In recent years, the City has shifted toward a more compact growth strategy that encourages new housing and development in areas that can support greater density. We support pushing the envelope on development as much as possible. However, significant barriers remain in parts of the city where limited access to transportation, jobs, services, and other daily needs result in residents traveling longer distances by car.
Vehicle Miles Traveled (VMT) is used to evaluate the transportation impacts of new development and the amount of driving it is expected to generate. In areas identified as having COUNCIL AGENDA: 8/18/2026
FILE : 26-852
ITEM: 10.3
High or Immitigable VMT impacts, new development can further increase vehicle travel and its associated impacts. The City’s VMT policies therefore play an important role in guiding growth toward areas where transportation impacts can be more effectively mitigated while considering the effects of development on both current and future residents.
Achieving San José's housing goals will require us to continue to identify and remove unnecessary barriers that can delay or prevent viable housing projects. Under the City's current General Plan Amendment (GPA) process, applicants have only one opportunity each year to advance an amendment, meaning housing projects requiring a land use redesignation, density increase, or mixed-use conversion that miss the annual cycle can face up to an additional year of delay. For projects already carrying significant land, financing, pre-development, and other costs, that delay can substantially increase costs and threaten a project's financial viability. Providing an additional GPA cycle would give viable housing and mixed-use projects another opportunity to move forward while maintaining the City's existing environmental review, staff analysis, Planning Commission review, and City Council approval requirements.
We also want to recognize and express our appreciation for the significant engagement from the Cory Neighbors throughout this process. The Cory Neighbors have been among the most consistently involved community groups in discussions regarding General Plan 4-Year Review process, and we are proud to have a neighborhood organization that is so deeply invested in the future of its community. We appreciate City staff for responding to the direction provided by the City Council in June 2025, following the Council’s denial of the General Plan Amendment for 826 N. Winchester Boulevard, to evaluate where there may be appropriate opportunities for additional growth along the corridor. We also appreciate the continued dialogue among the Planning Commission, the General Plan 4-Year Review process, neighborhood residents, and other interested parties as these potential changes have been evaluated. Ultimately, the proposal set forth in this Memorandum seeks to provide meaningful opportunities for additional, attainable housing along the Winchester Boulevard corridor while remaining responsive to the concerns and perspectives raised by neighboring residents. We believe the recommendation before the Council represents a thoughtful balance between supporting housing growth and respecting the character and interests of the surrounding neighborhoods.
With respect to the certain parcels along West San Carlos Street that staff identified in their review of Mixed Use Commercial (MUC) sites, we hope this direction will allow staff to identify appropriate opportunities for housing-oriented land use designations where the existing MUC designation may not be yielding the desired results. We believe there may be meaningful opportunities for additional housing along the parcels on this corridor and appreciate staff’s continued willingness to evaluate those opportunities using consistent and objective criteria.
COUNCIL AGENDA: 8/18/2026
FILE : 26-852
ITEM: 10.3
The signers of this memorandum have not had, and will not have, any private conversation with any other member of the City Council, or that member’s staff, concerning any action discussed in the memorandum, and that each signer’s staff members have not had, and have been instructed not to have, any such conversation with any other member of the City Council or that member's staff.