Development
Review Hearing
Item # 4
860 and 858 Civic Center
Drive and 1526 Alviso
Street
June 17, 2026
Meha Patel, Associate Planner
Request
• Architectural Review for the demolition of existing buildings and construction of three separate multi-family buildings, including an eight-unit 20,672 square-foot building, a six- unit 15,323 square-foot building, and a two-unit 6,012 square-foot building with 715 square- foot commercial space. CEQA Status: Exempt from CEQA per Assembly Bill (AB) 130 (2025) (Public Resource Code § 21080.66).
• Architectural Review required per the Santa Clara City Code 18.120.020.D.3 and
18.120.020.D.7 for new construction of new multi-family development of any size 2 Existing Site
3 • Acreage: 0.61
• Surrounding Uses:
– N: Commercial
– S: Commercial
– E: Multi-Family Residential/Townhomes
– W: Single-Family Residential
• Zoning: MU-CC - Mixed-Use Community
Commercial
• General Plan Designation: Mixed-Use
Neighborhood Commercial
4 Alviso Street
Civic Center Drive
5 Townhome Building Type
6 Duplex and Commercial Building Type
7 Colors and Materials
Consistency with Zoning Code
• Site Layout and Design
– Two four-story attached townhome buildings
– A three-story building with two units, two ADUs, and commercial space – 2,097 square-foot common open space
– 6-foot masonry wall along all property lines, except the frontage • Building Architecture
– Incorporates contemporary Spanish architectural style, using a variety of building materials, textures, styles.
– Materials proposed are stucco and brick veneer with metal railings for balconies. – Corner townhomes’ entrances oriented towards the street frontage 8 Consistency with Zoning Code
• Circulation and Parking
– Direct vehicular access to the site is provided with 22-foot-wide two-way driveway. – Pedestrian walkways are proposed on the northeast and southwest sides of the parcel – Building 3 (duplex unit with ADUs and commercial space) does not have driveway access.
One back-out parking space is provided for accessible, unassigned guest parking. • Landscaping and Open Spaces
– Projects includes a mixture of plant species and trees for planting along both frontages, pedestrian walkways, common open space, and along the project perimeter. – A total of seven trees are proposed to be removed and replaced with 24 trees on site. – Project includes approximately 2,097 square-foot common open space. 9 Consistency with Zoning Code
• State Density Bonus Law and Affordable Housing Ordinance – The project proposes 2 affordable units and pay an in-lieu fee for the 0.4 remaining fraction, consistent with the 15% City’s Affordable Housing Ordinance. – Requests waivers for a reduction in the rear setback and the front setback along Civic Center Drive, to waive multi-story step-back requirements, daylight plane, and for a height increase.
– Requests a concession to reduce the commercial Floor Area Ratio (FAR) requirement. 10 Public Outreach – Community Meetings
• September 16, 2025: Online + In-person meeting
– 7 members of the public in-person and no members were present online • Overall concerns: on-street parking, the existing width of Civic Center Drive, and privacy concerns.
• The applicant addressed some of the comments in that each townhome unit will be provided with a two-car garage, the duplex unit will have assigned parking, and ADUs are exempt from parking requirements, additionally, applicant is proposing a six-foot masonry wall and planting landscaping along the perimeter to provide additional privacy. 11 Public Outreach – Public Comments
• Overall concerns: privacy, height, and parking concerns. • Staff provided responses to address the comments by explaining the role of the state housing laws regarding waivers to request an increase in height and waiving transitional development objective standards.
12 Post Meeting Materials – Public Comments
• Staff received a letter in opposition of the project after the meeting agenda was posted. • The letter provides the following comments:
– The project does not meet the Brown Act requirements because it does not list the statutory CEQA exemption.
– The project does not provide substantial evidence supporting the requested waivers of development standards.
– The project design is inconsistent with the zoning code and adjacent residential uses. 13 Post Meeting Materials – Public Comments
• Staff has reviewed the letter and is providing the following information in response:
– The Notice of Public Hearing and the Agenda include the CEQA exemption under Assembly Bill 130 (2025). The staff report published with the Agenda outlines, under the Environmental Review section, how the project meets the requirement in Public Resource Code § 21080.66 for the exemption. It also clarifies that Tribal Consultation was completed on July 31, 2025. – The project applicant submitted a completed Density Bonus Supplemental Form to document the requested concession and waivers and the affordable units. The completed Density Bonus Supplemental Form is the provided substantial evidence. Under Background, in the staff report, the explanation for their qualification is provided. They qualify because they are providing the required affordable units. Under State law, no justification is necessary, other than complying with density bonus law.
14 Post Meeting Materials – Public Comments
• Staff has reviewed the letter and is providing the following information in response:
– The project can only be reviewed for consistency with objective development standards under State density bonus law. The project design is consistent with the objective development standards, except for the standards requested to be waived. The City cannot review the project on subjective design.
• The listed concerns were in regards to the incompatible architecture style and privacy concerns.
– The City has discussed the listed revised design with the applicant. The applicant is not interested in making changes to their proposed design at this time. 15 Revised Condition of Approval
• Revise G8 General condition to update the reach code year from 2022 to 2025. 16 CEQA Evaluation
• The action being considered is exempt from the California Environmental Quality Act (CEQA) pursuant to Assembly Bill (AB) 130 (2025), pursuant to Public Resource Code § 21080.66.
• AB 130 codifies CEQA streamlining measures from AB609, exempting qualifying infill projects from full environmental review if the proposed project meets the qualifying criteria. 17 Recommendation
• Determine the project to be exempt from California Environmental Quality Act (CEQA) pursuant to AB 130 (2025) (Public Resource Code § 21080.66); and • Approve the Architectural Review for the demolition of existing buildings and construction of three separate multi-family buildings, including an eight-unit 20,672 square-foot building, a six-unit 15,323 square-foot building, and a two-unit 6,012 square-foot building with 715 square-foot commercial space, located at 860 and 858 Civic Center Drive and 1526 Alviso Street, subject to findings and conditions of approval, with the revised G8 condition. 18 19