RESOLUTION NO. _____
A RESOLUTION OF THE CITY OF SANTA CLARA, CALIFORNIA APPROVING AND ADOPTING A GENERAL PLAN AMENDMENT TO REVISE THE PERMITTED USES UNDER URBAN CENTER/ENTERTAINMENT DISTRICT LAND USE DESIGNATION 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, 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, 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, maintain the already-approved office, retail, commercial, hotel, and residential on Parcels 4 and 5 of the Project Site, and maintain park and open space uses already allowed 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, this General Plan amendment proposes a text amendment to revise the permitted uses under the Urban Center/Entertainment District land use designation to include a range of light industrial uses within that land use designation (“General Plan Amendment”); and WHEREAS, the Developer has simultaneously applied to amend the Planned Development Master Community (PD-MC) zoning designation and associated approved Master Community Plan (“MCP”) that governs the Project Site to allow for the Proposed Project (“Zoning 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 recommend 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, 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, on June 11, 2025, the Planning Commission held a duly noticed public hearing, at the conclusion of which, the Planning Commission recommended approval of the General Plan Amendment by a vote of 5-2; 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; and 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, a notice of public hearing 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 finds and determines that the General Plan Amendment is in the interest of the public good for the following reasons:
A. The proposed General Plan Amendment is deemed to be in the public interest, in that the project introduces a new “Light Industrial” land use to the approved Master Community Plan (MCP) creating a further mix of uses and creating employment opportunities and retaining the City’s economic base, while helping to create the opportunity for catalytic development that will encourage further development of the Project Site and investment in the City Center component of the Project; B. The proposed General Plan Amendment is consistent and compatible with the rest of the General Plan and any implementation programs that may be affected, in that the introduction of an opportunity for a range of new light industrial land uses in connection with the Proposed Project will advance the purpose of the Urban Center/Entertainment District land use designation by catalyzing redevelopment of the Project Site into tax-generating uses that support community vitality and enhance the City’s fiscal health while preserving the ability to concentrate transit-oriented entertainment, retail, dining, office, residential, and recreational uses in the City Center and maintaining the total approved gross square footage of 9.16 million square feet for the Approved Project. In addition, on June 8, 2016, the Planning Commission recommended adoption of, and on June 28, 2016, the City Council adopted, a set of General Plan Consistency Findings for the Approved Project, attached hereto and incorporated herein by this reference. The City Council re-adopts those Consistency Findings by reference, because the Proposed Project will continue to advance the findings adopted in connection with the Approved Project as recommended by the Planning Commission on June 11, 2025.
C. The General Plan Amendment has been processed in accordance with the applicable provisions of CEQA, in that the City caused the preparation of the Addendum to the certified Santa Clara City Place EIR, which demonstrates that the Proposed Project would not result in any new or more severe significant environmental effects than the certified EIR analyzed; D. The potential impacts of the General Plan Amendment have been determined not to be detrimental to the public health, safety, or welfare, in that the Proposed Project continues to be subject to an adopted Mitigation Monitoring and Reporting Program that includes all feasible mitigation measure to reduce potentially significant environmental effects of the project to less-than-significant levels, and a set of CEQA Findings and a Statement of Overriding Considerations for the significant and unavoidable impacts that cannot feasibly be mitigations to less-than-significant levels have been adopted in connection with the previously-certified Santa Clara City Place EIR; and
3. That the City Council hereby amends the General Plan by revising the definition of “Urban Center/Entertainment District” in Subsection 5.2.2 (“Land Use Classifications and Diagram”) of Section 5.2 (“Land Use Diagram”) of Chapter 5 (“Goals and Policies”), located immediately after the definition of “Regional Mixed Use” and immediately before the definition of “Downtown Core,” to read as follows:
“Urban Center/Entertainment District
This classification is intended for local and regional scale destinations that feature a mixture of some or all of the following: pedestrian-oriented commercial retail and services, urban residential, hotel and employment generating uses, and a range of light industrial uses, including general service, warehousing, storage, distribution, manufacturing and data centers, within a defined planning area. It accommodates an intensity of development intended to create a lively place of focus for community and commerce. Master planned projects are encouraged, which may proceed through multiple phases and may entail several individual parcels or development areas. The intensity of development within individual parcels or sub-areas may vary, thereby allowing a more dense urban form in key locations (for example, concentrated employment, retail services and/or housing served by nearby transit facilities). The planning area may be designated as one of the following:
Low Intensity Urban Center that allows an overall project that shall not exceed a gross FAR of 1.0 for all combined office, commercial, retail hotel and light industrial uses; High Intensity Urban Center that allows an overall project that shall not exceed a gross FAR of 2.0 for all combined office, commercial, retail hotel and light industrial uses.
Accordingly, this classification accommodates a wide variety and mix of commercial and light industrial activities serving residents, businesses and visitors from the local community and surrounding region. Some combination of the following uses are allowed in vertical or horizontal mixed-use arrangements: 1) retail sales and services; 2) restaurants and other food and beverage uses; 3) entertainment venues such as cinemas, performance venues, other interactive experiences, and active open space and plaza amenities; 4) hotels; 5) corporate and general office; 6) commercial services; 7) a range of light industrial uses, including general service, warehousing, storage, distribution and manufacturing, and data centers; and (8) compatible uses of a similar commercial character. Auto-oriented uses such as drive-through restaurants and auto service facilities are not appropriate uses.
Medium to very high density residential use (ranging from 37 to 90 du/ac) is also suitable to this classification, while not subject to FAR limitations, the buildings could be restricted by FAA or other applicable height restrictions/regulations. The integration of urban scale housing is intended to contribute to a balanced community, reduce reliance on the automobile, and promote the desired pedestrian-oriented character. Horizontal and vertical mixing of compatible uses is permissible, bringing residents and workers in close proximity to basic services and desirable conveniences. Mixed use developments that afford active lower floor(s) retail or commercial space along street frontages with residential units arranged on upper floors are especially fitting as part of an urban core.
Development should support alternative modes of travel, incorporating accommodations for transit users, bicyclists, and pedestrians, as well as utilizing and incentivizing transportation demand management. Parking should be provided in a manner that does not disrupt the desired pedestrian-orientation, and instead is arranged and scaled to help activate street spaces. Shared parking among compatible uses is encouraged. Both structured and surface parking are permissible, as appropriate to location and uses, Open spaces and landscape features that enhance the public realm and meet the active and passive recreational needs of multiple users shall be incorporated throughout a project. In particular, open spaces should encompass some or all of the following: at-grade plazas, greens and similar shared outdoor spaces suitable for formal and informal gatherings, as well as pedestrian-friendly streetscapes that feature wide sidewalks, canopy trees, street furniture, and other amenities, Upper/podium level courtyards and tenaces, as well as public and private rooftop gardens are also encouraged.”
3. Effective date. This resolution shall become effective at such time as Ordinance No. _____ approving the DA Amendment becomes effective, and if such Ordinance has not become effective by December 31, 2025, this resolution shall be deemed to be void and of no further force or effect.
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. General Plan Consistency Findings
Resolution/ Related Santa Clara Project – General Plan Amendment Page PAGE 3 of 8 Rev: 7/27/2023
Ordinance/*Insert brief description Page PAGE 1 of *
Rev: 03-09-10; Typed: *Insert date