RESOLUTION NO. _____
A RESOLUTION OF THE CITY OF SANTA CLARA, CALIFORNIA APPROVING AND ADOPTING AN ADDENDUM TO THE SANTA CLARA CITY PLACE ENVIRONMENTAL IMPACT REPORT, ANALYZING A NEW “SCHEME C” LAND USE SCENARIO FOR THE APPROVED MASTER COMMUNITY PLAN (MCP) FOR RELATED SANTA CLARA PROJECT LOCATED AT 5155 STARS AND STRIPES DRIVE, SANTA CLARA Addendum to the Santa Clara City Place Environmental Impact Report (SCH #2014072078) PLN24-00060 (General Plan Amendment, Rezoning, and Development Agreement Amendment) WHEREAS, on January 31, 2024, Related Santa Clara, LLC (“Developer”), filed a development application to modify the approvals for a mixed-use development project for the approximately 240-acre City-owned site generally located north of Tasman Drive, east of Great America Parkway and San Tomas Aquino Creek, west of Guadalupe River, and south of State Route 237 (APNs: 104-03-043, 104-03-042, 104-03-041, 104-03-036, 104-01-102, 097-01-039, and 097-01-073), most of which was formerly occupied by a landfill, Santa Clara Golf & Tennis Club, Fire Station 10, and is now occupied by a Bicycle-Motocross (BMX) track, the Ameresco Methane Plant, the Eastside retention Basin and vacant lots (“Project Site”); and WHEREAS, on June 28, 2016, the City Council: certified the Santa Clara City Place Environmental Impact Report (“EIR”) [SCH #2014072078] and adopted a set of CEQA Findings, a Statement of Overriding Considerations, and a Mitigation Monitoring and Reporting Program (“MMRP”) in accordance with the requirements of the California Environmental Quality Act (“CEQA”); adopted a General Plan Amendment changing the Project Site’s land use designation to Urban Center/Entertainment District and making corresponding text and figure changes throughout the General Plan; approved a rezoning of the Project Site to the Planned Development - Master Community (PD-MC) Zoning designation governed by the accompanying Master Community Plan (“MCP”) for the Related Santa Clara project (the “Approved Project,” previously known as “City Place”); and approved a Development Agreement (“DA”) and a Disposition and Development Agreement (“DDA”) to define the Developer’s obligations to develop the Approved Project and define terms for ground leasing the Project Site to the Developer; and WHEREAS, the Developer proposes to modify the Approved Project to allow a range of light industrial uses on Parcels 1 and 2 (APN 097-01-073 and 097-01-039) of the Project Site while maintaining the already-approved office, retail, commercial, hotel, and residential uses on Parcels 4 and 5 of the Project Site, and maintaining the park and open space uses already approved on Parcel 3 and throughout the Project Site without modifying the 9.16 million gross square feet of development or overall development intensities already allowed on the Project Site (the “Proposed Project”); and WHEREAS, the Zoning amendment proposes a text amendment to revise the permitted uses under the PD-MC Zoning designation to include a range of light industrial uses as permitted or conditionally permitted uses within that Zoning district and would add a new “Scheme C” land use scenario to the MCP and is more particularly described in the attached MCP Scheme C Supplement (“Zoning Amendment”); and WHEREAS, the Developer has simultaneously applied to amend the General Plan land use designation applicable to the Project Site to allow for a range of light industrial uses within the Urban Center/Entertainment District (“General Plan Amendment”); and WHEREAS, the Developer has also requested to amend its existing Development Agreement (“DA”) with the City to incorporate provisions related to the Proposed Project (“DA Amendment”), and City staff have negotiated and recommended the DA Amendment; and WHEREAS, the Developer has also requested to amend its existing DDA with the City, as previously amended, to incorporate provisions related to the Proposed Project (“DDA Amendment”), and City staff have negotiated and recommended the DDA Amendment (the DDA Amendment, together with the General Plan Amendment, Zoning Amendment, and DA Amendment are the “Project Approvals”); and WHEREAS, on May 6, 2025, the City Council held a Study Session focused on the Proposed Project, public comments and the Project Approvals; and WHEREAS, CEQA Guidelines Section 15164(a) states that the lead agency shall prepare an Addendum to a previously certified EIR if some changes are necessary but none of the conditions described in the CEQA Guidelines Section 15162, which call for the preparation of a subsequent EIR, have occurred; and WHEREAS, in 2020 and 2021, the City adopted First, Second, and Third Addenda to the 2016 Santa Clara City Place EIR in connection with its approval of the Development Area Plan (“DAP”) for Phase 1, the DAP for Phase 2, and the City Place Revised Soil Import and Earthwork Plans Project, respectively (together, the First, Second, and Third Addenda to the 2016 EIR constitute the “Santa Clara City Place EIR”); and WHEREAS, in order to ensure that all potential environmental impacts of the Proposed Project were thoroughly analyzed, the City caused a fourth Addendum to the Santa Clara City Place EIR (“Addendum”) to be prepared in accordance with CEQA Guidelines Section 15164; and WHEREAS, following an analysis of the Proposed Project’s changes, no new significant environmental impacts were identified, no substantial increases in the severity of previously identified impacts were discovered, and the Proposed Project remains subject to all previously adopted mitigation measures, as applicable and identified in the MMRP included as Appendix A to the Addendum; and WHEREAS, on June 11, 2025, the Planning Commission held a duly noticed public hearing, opened and closed for public comments, and at the conclusion of which, the Planning Commission unanimously recommended the City Council adopt the Addendum; and WHEREAS, prior to taking action on this Resolution, the City Council has exercised its independent judgement and reviewed and considered the Santa Clara City Place EIR and the Addendum and concluded that, for the reasons set forth in the Addendum, no further environmental review is required for the modifications to the Approved Project contemplated by the Proposed Project; WHEREAS, on June 18, 2025, a notice of public hearing the July 8, 2025, City Council Hearing for this item was published in the Santa Clara Weekly; and WHEREAS, on June 18, 2025, the notice of public hearings for the July 8, 2025, City Council Hearing for this item was mailed to property owners within a 1,000 foot radius of the Project Site boundaries; and WHEREAS, pursuant to SCCC Section 18.146.020, on June 26, 2025, notice of the City Council Hearing on July 8, 2025, was posted at City Hall, the Central Park Library, the Mission Branch Library, the Northside Branch Library, and on the City’s website; and WHEREAS, on July 8, 2025, the City Council held a duly noticed public hearing to consider the Addendum to the Santa Clara City Place EIR, the MMRP included as Appendix A to the Addendum identifying applicable mitigation measures from the original MMRP, the Project Approvals, and all pertinent information in the record during which the City Council invited and considered any and all verbal and written testimony and evidence offered in favor of and in opposition to the Proposed Project.
NOW THEREFORE, BE IT RESOLVED BY THE CITY OF SANTA CLARA AS FOLLOWS:
The City Council hereby finds that the above Recitals are true and correct and by this reference makes them a part hereof.
The City Council hereby finds that the Proposed Project would not cause substantial changes to the Approved Project that would require major revisions to the Santa Clara City Place EIR due to the involvement of new or more severe significant environmental effects.
The City Council further finds that no substantial changes would occur with respect to the circumstances under which the Proposed Project is undertaken that would require major revisions to the Santa Clara City Place EIR due to the involvement of new or more severe significant environmental effects.
The City Council also finds that there is no new information of substantial importance, which was not known and could not have been known with reasonable diligence at the time the Santa Clara City Place EIR was certified, that shows (1) that the Proposed Project would have one or more significant effects not discussed in the EIR, (2) significant effects previously examined in the EIR would be substantially more severe than shown in the EIR, (3) mitigation measures or alternatives previously found not feasible would in fact be feasible and would substantially reduce one or more significant effects of the proposed project, but the Developer declined to adopt the mitigation or alternative, or (4) mitigation measures or alternatives which are considerably different from those analyzed in the EIR would substantially reduce one or more significant effects on the environment, but the Developer declined to adopt the mitigation measure or alternative.
The City Council further finds that this Addendum does not require any new mitigation measures, because the Proposed Project would not cause new significant impacts not previously identified and mitigated to the greatest extent feasible in the Santa Clara City Place EIR.
The City Council finds that no new or substantially more severe significant environmental impacts have been identified compared to the Santa Clara City Place EIR, and therefore none of the conditions described in CEQA Guidelines Section 15162 requiring subsequent or supplemental environmental review are present. Accordingly, pursuant to CEQA Guidelines Section 15164, the changes and additions to the Santa Clara City Place EIR necessary to analyze the Proposed Project are appropriately detailed in the Addendum, which is attached to this Resolution and incorporated by this reference.
The City Council hereby designates the Director of Community Development as the Custodian of Records for the Project, and the Planning Division at City Hall, 1500 Warburton Avenue, Santa Clara, California, is the location of the documents and other material that constitute the record of proceedings upon which this decision is based.
Effective date. This resolution shall become effective immediately.
I HEREBY CERTIFY THE FOREGOING TO BE A TRUE COPY OF A RESOLUTION PASSED AND ADOPTED BY THE CITY OF SANTA CLARA, CALIFORNIA, AT A REGULAR MEETING THEREOF HELD ON THE 8TH DAY OF JULY 2025, BY THE FOLLOWING VOTE:
AYES: COUNCILORS:
NOES: COUNCILORS:
ABSENT: COUNCILORS:
ABSTAINED: COUNCILORS:
ATTEST: ______________________________
NORA PIMENTEL, MMC
ASSISTANT CITY CLERK
CITY OF SANTA CLARA
Attachments incorporated by reference:
1. Addendum to the Santa Clara City Place EIR
Resolution/ Related Santa Clara Project – Addendum to the Santa Clara City Place EIR Page PAGE 6 of 6 Rev: 7/27/2023
Ordinance/*Insert brief description Page PAGE 1 of *
Rev: 03-09-10; Typed: *Insert date