RESOLUTION NO. __________
A RESOLUTION OF THE THE CITY OF SANTA CLARA, CALIFORNIA ADOPTING THE EL CAMINO REAL SPECIFIC PLAN, A SPECIFIC PLAN PURSUANT TO GOVERNMENT CODE SECTION 65450, et seq.
El Camino Real Specific Plan
WHEREAS, the City intends to adopt the El Camino Real Specific Plan, a Specific Plan for a transit-oriented pedestrian-friendly corridor of up to 4,390 residential units with supportive commercial uses, located on approximately 240 acres along the 3.2 mile El Camino Real corridor between the western City limits and Lafayette Street in the east, which is currently largely developed with auto oriented uses; WHEREAS, the El Camino Real Specific Plan is intended to be a tree‐lined, pedestrian‐ and transit‐oriented corridor with a mix of residential and retail uses; and, WHEREAS, the El Camino Real area will include a variety of forms of urban housing, including podium buildings, mid-rise residential mixed-use buildings, and medium density townhomes; WHEREAS, a Specific Plan is a tool for providing regulatory direction for specific parts of a city, and can include policy guidance, regulatory requirements, and design guidelines; WHEREAS, as a part of implementation of the Specific Plan, the City intends to adopt a General Plan Amendment (“GPA”) to align the General Plan land use diagram by changing the existing land use designations of the Project Site from Community Mixed Use and Regional Mixed Use to Regional Commercial Mixed Use (55-100 dwelling units per acre; 0.20 FAR of commercial required), Corridor Mixed Use (45-65 dwelling units per acre; commercial allowed but not required), Corridor Residential (26-45 dwelling units per acre; commercial allowed but not required), Corridor Residential-Low (12-25 dwelling units per acre; commercial allowed but not required), and Ground Floor Commercial Overlay which requires commercial uses at specific sites; WHEREAS, as a part of implementation the Specific Plan, the City is also proposing to amend Title 18 (“Zoning”), of the City Code to create the new El Camino Real zoning districts; WHEREAS, the proposed El Camino Real Specific Plan is consistent with the Goals and Policies of the El Camino Real Focus Area in the General Plan; WHEREAS, Santa Clara City Charter Section 1007 and Government Code sections 65353 and 65453 require that the Planning Commission provide input to the City Council on proposed Specific Plans and General Plan Amendments; WHEREAS, notice of the public hearing on the proposed Specific Plan was published in the Santa Clara Weekly, a newspaper of general circulation for the City, on March 18, 2026; and WHEREAS, notices of the public hearing on the Specific Plan and General Plan Amendment were mailed to all property owners within 300 feet of the Project Site, according to the most recent assessor’s roll, on March 18, 2026; WHEREAS, notice of the hearing was mailed to each local agency expected to provide water, sewage, streets, roads, schools, or other essential facilities or services to the project, including the Santa Clara Unified School District, on March 18, 2026; WHEREAS, before considering recommending adoption of the Specific Plan for the area, the Planning Commission reviewed and considered the potential environmental impacts of the Project, including the implementing General Plan Amendment, Zoning Code Amendment, and identified mitigation measures, and recommended that the City Council adopt and certify the Environmental Impact Report (“EIR”) for the Project (SCH #2025010508), as well as a set of CEQA Findings, in accordance with the requirements of CEQA; and WHEREAS, on April 8, 2026, the Planning Commission reviewed the Specific Plan and conducted a public hearing, at the conclusion of which, the Planning Commission voted to recommend approval of the Specific Plan to the City Council; WHEREAS, on May 19, 2026, the City Council conducted a duly noticed public hearing, at which time all interested persons were given an opportunity to give testimony and provide evidence in support of and in opposition to the proposed Specific Plan.
NOW THEREFORE, BE IT RESOLVED BY THE CITY OF SANTA CLARA AS FOLLOWS:
1. That the City Council hereby finds that the above Recitals are true and correct and by this reference makes them a part hereof.
2. Specific Plan Findings. That the City Council finds and determines that the Specific Plan is in the interest of the public good for the following reasons:
A. The proposed Specific Plan is deemed to be in the public interest, in that:
The Specific Plan is located in an urbanized area served by existing municipal services and implements smart growth principles by redeveloping underutilized properties with high intensity mixed-use, pedestrian- and transit-oriented development that will contribute to the City both socially and economically.
B. The proposed Specific Plan is consistent and compatible with the General Plan and any implementation programs that may be affected, in that:
The Plan furthers and is consistent with the goals, policies and major strategies of the General Plan that enhance the City’s quality of life, preserve and cultivate neighborhoods, promote sustainability, enhance City identity, support Focus Areas and community vitality, maintain the City’s fiscal health and quality of services, and maximize health and safety benefits with the creation of new land use designations that allow for the development of a high-density mixed-use transit-oriented environment.
C. The proposed Plan has been processed in accordance with the applicable provisions of the California Government Code and the California Environmental Quality Act (CEQA), in that:
A Draft Environmental Impact Report (“DEIR”) was prepared in accordance with CEQA and the City circulated copies of the DEIR and Notice of Availability to the public agencies which have jurisdiction by law with respect to the Project, as well as to other interested persons, organizations and agencies, and the City sought the comments of such persons, organizations and agencies. The City prepared and circulated written responses to the comments received during the Comment Period and included those responses in a Final Environmental Impact Report (“FEIR”), in accordance with CEQA.
D. The potential impacts of the proposed amendment have been assessed and have been determined not to be detrimental to the public health, safety, or welfare, in that:
A Mitigation Monitoring and Reporting Program (MMRP) has been prepared for implementation with Project development to reduce potentially significant impacts identified in the DEIR and FEIR, that combined constitute the EIR for the Project, to less than significant; and the City Council adopted all of these documents.
3. That based on the findings set forth in this Resolution, the EIR Resolution and the evidence in the City Staff Report and such other evidence as received at the public hearing on this matter, the City Council hereby adopts the Specific Plan. //
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4. 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 19th DAY OF MAY, 2026, BY THE FOLLOWING VOTE:
AYES: COUNCILORS:
NOES: COUNCILORS:
ABSENT: COUNCILORS:
ABSTAINED: COUNCILORS:
ATTEST:
Nora Pimentel, MMC
ASISTANT CITY CLERK
CITY OF SANTA CLARA
Resolution/ El Camino Real Specific Plan Page PAGE 1 of * Rev. 1/9/2024