Item 10.2
Glider Residential Project
September 15, 2026
File Nos. H23-028, T23-022, and ER23-230
Presenters:
Christopher Burton, Director – PBCE
Manira Sandhir, Deputy Director – Planning
John Tu, Division Manager – Development Review
1 Project Components
www.sanjoseca.gov/planning
• Site Development Permit submitted under the Housing
A
ccountability Act (“Builder’s Remedy”) for:
• Construction of 80 single-family houses (64
det
ached, 16 attached)
• 11 units (13% of total) reserved for low-income
househol
ds
• Construction of a 0.68-acre privately-owned,
publicly-accessible park
• Demolition of the former Glider Elementary
School
• Removal of 48 trees (18 ordinance-size)
• State Density Bonus Law incentive/concession
and w
aivers
• Vesting Tentative Map for:
• Subdivision of one 9.51-gross acre lot into 81 lots
(
80 residential lots, one common lot)
• Environmental Impact Report, including a Statement of Overriding Considerations for GHG and VMT impacts
2 PROPOSED
Builder’s Remedy
3 www.sanjoseca.gov/planning
• What is the Builder’s Remedy?
• T
he Builder’s Remedy is defined by Section (h)(11) of the Housing Accountability Act (HAA) as a project that:
• Provides a certain amount of affordable housing to extremely low, very low, low, or moderate-income households;
• Submitted an application while a city did not have a substantially compliant Housing Element (as certified by the State Department of Housing and C
ommunity Development (HCD);
• Is within the minimum and maximum density provisions as defined by the def
inition of a Builder’s Remedy project; and
• Does not abut a heavy industrial or Title V industrial use. • Cities cannot deny a qualifying Builder’s Remedy project based on inconsistency with the City’s General Plan land use designation and zoning ordinance. • The HAA prohibits a city from denying a qualifying Builder’s Remedy project unless a
c
ity can show that the project will cause a specific, adverse impact to the public health and safety.
PROPOSED
Builder’s Remedy
4 www.sanjoseca.gov/planning
• For this project:
• Senate Bill 330 Preliminary Application submitted: June 2, 2023 • Formal project application submitted: October 23, 2023 • Housing Element certified and found in substantial compliance: January 29, 2024 • Assembly Bill 1893 invoked: December 13, 2024; including change to 13% LI threshold under BR 2.0 from 20% LI threshold under BR 1.0 • What does this mean for project review?
• The City must treat the project as if it meets the General Plan land use designation and requirements of the Zoning District.
• The project does not require approval of a General Plan Amendment, Rezoning, and shall be deemed consistent with applicable plans, programs, policies, ordinance, standards, requirements, redevelopment plans, implementing instruments, or other similar provisions for all purposes. • The City must evaluate the project for compliance with objective health and safety standards.
Project Review
5 www.sanjoseca.gov/planning
Staff reviewed the project for consistency
with the following:
• Envision San José 2040 General
Plan
• Municipal Code (Zoni
ng and
S
ubdivision Ordinances)
• State Density Bonus Law
• City Council Policy 6-30
(Public Outreach)
• City Council Policy 5-
1 (
Transportation Analysis)
• California Environmental Quality Act
(C
EQA)
Environmental Review
www.sanjoseca.gov/planning
• Environmental Impact Report (EIR) f or California Environmental Quality Act (CEQA) compliance.
• EIR circulated from January 9 to February 23, 2026, with 54 formal letters received during t
hat period.
• The EIR identified mitigation measures that reduce impacts related to air quality, cultural resources, hazards and hazardous materials, noise, and tribal cultural resources to less-than-significant levels, as detailed in the Mitigation Monitoring and Reporting Program (MMRP).
• The MMRP prepared for the project also includes mitigation measures to reduce impacts to gr
eenhouse gas emissions and transportation, but not to less-than-significant levels. • The EIR found that the project would result in significant and unavoidable impacts to gre
enhouse gas emissions and transportation due to the project's location in an I
mmitigable Vehicle Miles Traveled area, requiring a Statement of Overriding C
onsiderations.
6 Council Policy 5-1 (Transportation Analysis)
www.sanjoseca.gov/planning
• Project is located within an area of immitigable Vehicle Miles Traveled (VMT) per capita, and therefore results in significant and unavoidable impacts under CEQA • Council Policy 5-1 offers a pathway to achieve overriding community benefits for projects located in immitigable VMT areas
• Project must meet the following requirements under Council Policy 5-1 for mixed-income residential projects without a General Plan Amendment:
• Consistent with General Plan land use designation
• Demonstrate overriding benefits to the City, as determined by the City Council
• Consistent with applicable area plans and policies
7 Project-Specific VMT Analysis & Mitigations
www.sanjoseca.gov/planning
• Unmitigated VMT is 19 .52 per capita
• Feasible mitigation measures reduce this to 17.04 VMT per capita • Mitigation measures include a Transportation Demand Management (TDM) Plan with t
he following programmatic measures to promote use of multimodal transportation m
ethods: School Pool Program, Safe Routes to School Program/Access to N
eighborhood Schools, and Voluntary Travel Behavior Change Program. • Residential threshold is 11.39 VMT per capita; 5.65 VMT per capita remains unmitigated • Offset value under Council Policy 5-1: 5.65 VMT per capita x $2,991 per VMT x 80 units x 3 per
sons per unit = $4,055,796
• The project will provide payment of the VMT impact offset payment for the remaining unm
itigated VMT. The payment will go towards Transportation System Improvements that will improve system efficiency and/or safety, enhance non-auto travel modes and pr
omote Citywide reduction of VMT. Improvements will be identified and implemented by
the Department of Transportation.
8 Statement of Overriding Considerations
www.sanjoseca.gov/planning
• City Council must adopt a Statement of Overriding Considerations to certify the EIR • P
roject's overriding benefits:
• Diverse Income Housing Options: 11 units (13.8%) restricted to low-income hous
eholds
• Transportation Improvements: Payment of the VMT offset value of $4,055,796.
Thi
s payment would fund the construction of transportation improvements to be i
dentified and implemented by the Department of Transportation. • O
pen Space: Construction of a 0.68-gross-acre privately-owned publicly- accessible park to be maintained by the HOA.
9 Major Topics of Planning Commission Discussion
www.sanjoseca.gov/planning
• Builder’s Remedy and State Laws
• S
taff previously did not support a General Plan Amendment on this site • Builder’s Remedy means that proposed reduced setbacks are deemed consistent so long as it is not found to cause a health and safety impact, and State Density Bonus Law also allows for the reduction of rear setbacks
• Saturday construction hours
• MMRP includes noise mitigation requirements, including neighbor notification, constructi on
s
chedule, and a noise disturbance coordinator, and a construction noise mitigation plan is included in the Site Development Permit condition for non-standard construction hours. • Project would have internal roads, and construction activity could take place mainly in t he i
nterior of the site
10 Major Topics of Planning Commission Discussion
www.sanjoseca.gov/planning
• Location and provenance of funding for private park
• Loc
ation was determined as part of project design, as it is privately owned • Operations and maintenance of park would be borne by the future Homeowners’ Association • Sewer infrastructure
• The project is at a former school site, and analysis shows that the mains have sufficient capacity to accommodate additional flows from the project • Further sewer design would be subject to Public Works review to demonstrate adequat e
c
onveyance capacity
• VMT offset fee
• Funds would be allocated to the Department of Transportation • DOT would have discretion to use funds for multimodal improvements in the area, such as traffic calming within the neighborhood or safety and transit improvements at nearby intersections
11 Recommendation
12 www.sanjoseca.gov/planning
Recommendation from the Planning Commission (10-0-1) that City Council adopt resolutions to:
1. Certify the Environmental Impact Report, including a Statement of Overriding Considerations and the Mitigated Monitoring and Reporting Program in accordance with CEQA; and
2. Approve a Vesting Tentative Map to split the existing school parcel into 81 lots (80 residential lots and one common lot); and
3. Approve a Site Development Permit for the construction of 80 single-family houses (64 detached and 16 attached) and an approximately 0.68-gross-acre privately-owned publicly-accessible park, and associated demolition, tree removals, extended construction hours (Saturdays from 8:00 a.m./ to 5:00 p.m. and State Density Bonus Law requests.
Item 10.2
Glider Residential Project
September 15, 2026
File Nos. H23-028, T23-022, and ER23-230
Presenters:
Christopher Burton, Director – PBCE
Manira Sandhir, Deputy Director – Planning
John Tu, Division Manager – Development Review
13