REPORT TO COUNCIL
SUBJECT
Title
Study Session on the Santa Clara Station Area Specific Plan
Report
BACKGROUND
The City’s General Plan identifies the Santa Clara Station Area as a near-term Focus Area. The General Plan identifies Focus Areas to support future growth through redevelopment and intensification of existing land uses. Because of their integral location, changes in these areas offer an opportunity to implement the General Plan Major Strategies to enhance the City’s quality of life and foster economic vitality. An adopted Specific Plan provides a detailed blueprint for growth in the Station Area, ensuring its development aligns with the City's long-term vision, sets specific development standards, and guides future growth more granularly than the broader General Plan. It details land use, design standards, infrastructure, public facilities, and implementation strategies for the area, making it a primary tool for implementing the City's broader General Plan. Without an adopted Specific Plan, current development projects may still proceed in the Focus Areas; however, once adopted, future new development will be required to conform with the Specific Plan.
The Santa Clara Station Focus Area consists of 244 acres generally bounded by De La Cruz Boulevard, Reed Street, and Martin Avenue to the northeast, and Franklin Street and El Camino Real to the southwest, as shown in Attachment 1. At the center of this area is the existing Santa Clara Station, which is served by Caltrain and Altamont Commuter Express (ACE) rail lines, as well as Santa Clara Valley Transportation Authority (VTA) bus service. The Station Area will also become the terminus for the VTA’s planned extension of the Bay Area Rapid Transit (BART) system also known as BART Silicon Valley Phase II (BART Phase II). BART Phase II is an approximately six-mile-long extension of the BART system from the Berryessa/North San Jose BART Station in San Jose to the proposed Santa Clara BART Station. The Station Area is envisioned to transform into an important transit hub for the Bay Area.
Additionally, the Station Area is a Priority Development Area (PDA) as identified by the Association of Bay Area Governments (ABAG) and the Metropolitan Transportation Commission (MTC). PDAs are places with convenient public transit service prioritized by local governments for housing, jobs, and services, and are included in Plan Bay Area 2050 - the region’s long-range strategy for reducing greenhouse gas emissions, meeting the housing needs of every community, and advancing equity, mobility and economic vitality.
The Station Area is also identified by ABAG/MTC as a Transit-Oriented Community (TOC). TOCs enable people to access and use transit more often for more types of trips by centering housing, jobs, services and shopping around public transit. MTC’s TOC Policy is one piece of Plan Bay Area 2050 that sets to advance the goal of making it easier for people in the Bay Area to live a car-free or a car-light lifestyle and have jobs near housing.
DISCUSSION
The City received two grants totaling $900,000; of which $400,000 is from MTC/ABAG and $500,000 from VTA which is through the Federal Transportation Authority (FTA). The City Council agreed to have VTA manage both grants. In 2022, the City entered into a Cooperative Agreement with VTA for the purpose of defining the working relationship for the tasks related to development of the specific plan. This included the selection of a consultant through a competitive Request for Proposals (RFP) process in 2023, and resulted in the selection of Williams Robert Todd Planning and Design (WRT) and their sub-consultants. WRT was selected for their expertise in urban planning around station areas. In December of 2022 and April 2023, the City Council appointed an 11 member Station Area Task Force (SATF). The role of the SATF is to provide input throughout the planning process and to make a recommendation to the City Council on the Final Plan. The City Council will make the decision on the adoption of the final Plan. Since 2023, staff has been working closely with WRT, VTA staff and the SATF to develop the preferred land use plan.
Since 2023, the SATF has held 12 taskforce meetings to help define the vision, objectives, and land uses for the Plan Area. As part of the outreach plan, staff has held a property owner meeting, two community workshops and one pop up event at the 2024 Art & Wine Festival for broader input. The Art & Wine Festival pop up included an interactive dot exercise around visioning of the Station Area, which was then incorporated into the draft Vision Plan.
WRT prepared a Santa Clara Station Area Specific Plan Existing Conditions Report, which included an economic analysis of underutilized parcels completed by Strategic Economics (See the weblinks in Attachment 5). Once the Existing Conditions Report was prepared, the consultant and staff, with SATF and community input, prepared an overarching Vision Plan to guide three draft land use plans. The preferred land use plans began with a review of the following three initial concepts for which the SATF and the community provided input:
• The VTA Playbook Vision (a document developed by VTA to implement the Transit-Oriented Communities vision for each BART Phase II station area),
• Residential Priority Concept, and
• Strategic Growth Mix.
The VTA Playbook Vision was the densest option with up to 11,525 residential units and 3.7 million square feet of office space, plus industrial and academic square footage allowances.
The Residential Priority Concept envisioned approximately 9,000 residential units and 3.7 million square feet of office space, with similar allowances for industrial and academic uses.
The Strategic Growth Mix emerged as the preferred concept based on input from the SATF and feedback gathered during the May 2025 community workshop. It includes approximately 5,500 residential units and 3.6 million square feet of office space, with an increased emphasis on industrial uses and comparable academic space. The plan would include up to 13.6 acres of public park space.
The community and SATF recommended the Strategic Growth Mix as the Preferred Land Use Plan that is now being presented to the City Council (Attachment 2). The SATF provided refinement of the Preferred Land Use Plan, and additional themes emerged from the community and the SATF. Some of the input included preserving views of the historic train station through thoughtful redevelopment of the VTA/City-owned parcel along El Camino Real, maintaining the downtown area as the primary retail hub, and enhancing east-west connectivity across the railroad tracks.
Regarding the VTA/City-owned parcel more specifically, the City, VTA, and SATF conducted a deeper dive into the land use and design of this parcel as it is an important opportunity to advance the shared VTA and City goal of leveraging development potential near transit. The group envisioned an expansion of the station plaza from in front of the historic train station across Railroad Avenue to this parcel while maintaining views and sensitivity to the historic train station. With these objectives in mind, VTA’s design consultant provided various scenarios for discussion that resulted in the development of a set of draft Objectives for any future development on the parcel.
As a major milestone in the project has now been reached, and as part of the on-going outreach, staff is now requesting input and feedback from the Planning Commission and the City Council on the Preferred Land Use/Development Plan (Attachment 2), building height diagram (Attachment 3), and Plaza Design Objectives (Attachment 4). The Planning Commission held a Study Session on October 8, 2025, and their comments included:
• Ensure Coleman Avenue could accommodate new higher intensity development especially given existing traffic patterns and congestion;
• Evaluate a connection between the station and airport;
• Consideration of design standards for the wind effects of tall buildings on airport activities;
• The station plaza (VTA/City owned property) is too wide and should be a smaller cozy space and not a large suburban design;
• Consider drop-off spaces, especially around the train station;
• Ensure adequate protection of new housing from airport impacts; and
• Provide a bolder and more visionary urban plan along with design principles which could include tree lined avenues, retail away from traffic, historic station framed by smaller scaled open spaces, water elements and food as a draw.
Following the Planning Commission input, staff is now requesting input from the City Council on the Preferred Land Use Plan. Once feedback is provided, the next steps will include initiating the CEQA process (including a traffic analysis) and developing the full Specific Plan, including detailed policies, guidelines, and standards. Staff will engage multiple stakeholders and the community at large through internal Technical Advisory Committee (TAC) meetings, which includes City Departments and outside partner agencies through social media, a community workshop and an open house. Staff will conduct additional Study Session prior to final adoption hearings of the Specific Plan.
SB 79
On November 20, 2025, staff held a SATF meeting to update the task force on a new State Law, Senate Bill 79 (SB 79). SB 79, known as the Abundant and Affordable Homes Near Transit Act, was signed into law on October 10, 2025, and will go into effect on July 1, 2026 while the Specific Plan is still under development. SB 79 makes qualified transit-oriented housing developments (TOD) an allowed use on sites zoned for residential, mixed-use, or commercial development that are located near specified TOD transit stops and sets standards for height, density, and residential floor area ratios (FAR) for such development. The standards vary based on how close a project is to the transit stop and how the stop is classified as follows:
Within 200 Feet Within ¼ Mile Within ½ Mile
Minimum Height 95 feet 75 feet 65 feet
Minimum Density 160 du/ac 120 du/ac 100 du/ac
Residential FAR 4.5 3.5 3.0
Staff will be assessing whether any Plan modifications are necessary to address SB79. One possible outcome may be to include additional area within the Specific Plan boundary that falls within the ½ mile distance from the Santa Clara Transit Station.
The City’s consultant has overlain the ¼ and ½ mile radii locations on the proposed building height maximums diagram of the Plan (Attachment 6). There are three blocks between Lafayette and Alviso Streets and two and a half blocks between Lafayette and Washington Streets that fall within the ½ mile radius that the City may want to consider including within the Plan boundary.
The Metropolitan Transportation Commission (MTC) is required to create a map of TOD stops and zones by tier in accordance with guidance from the State Department of Housing and Community Development (HCD). However, HCD is not required to prepare the guidance until July 1, 2026, when SB 79 goes into effect. The mapping schedule is currently undetermined as MTC awaits HCD guidance.
ENVIRONMENTAL REVIEW
The action being considered does not constitute a “project” within the meaning of the California Environmental Quality Act (“CEQA”) pursuant to CEQA Guidelines Section 15378(b)(5) in that it is a governmental organization or administrative activity that will not result in direct or indirect changes in the environment.
The Specific Plan will go through the CEQA process, including a Notice of Preparation (NOP) and the circulation of the Environmental Impact Report (EIR).
FISCAL IMPACT
The City received two grants that collectively provide $900,000 to support preparation of the Specific Plan. On December 7, 2021, the City Council accepted and approved $400,000 in grant funding from the Metropolitan Transportation Commission (MTC). The City also received $500,000 from the VTA provided from a Federal Transportation Administration grant award to fund consultant work to develop a Station Area Specific Plan with oversight by the City of Santa Clara.
There is no fiscal impact to the City other than administrative staff time.
COORDINATION
This report was coordinated with the City Attorney’s Office.
PUBLIC CONTACT
Public contact was made by posting the Council agenda on the City’s official notice bulletin board outside City Hall Council Chambers. A complete agenda packet is available on the City’s website and in the City Clerk’s Office at least 72 hours prior to a Regular Meeting and 24 hours prior to a Special Meeting. A hard copy of any agenda report may be requested by contacting the City Clerk’s Office at (408) 615-2220, emailing clerk@santaclaraca.gov, or at the public information desk at any City of Santa Clara public library.
RECOMMENDATION
Recommendation
As this is a Study Session, no formal action is required from City Council, however, staff is requesting feedback on the proposed elements of the Santa Clara Station Area Specific Plan. Specifically, staff would like feedback on:
1. The Preferred Land Use Plan with the Strategic Growth Mix
2. Building Height Diagram
3. Plaza Design Objectives
Staff
Reviewed by: Afshan Hamid, Director, Community Development
Approved by: Jovan Grogan, City Manager
ATTACHMENTS
1. Station Area Boundary Map
2. Preferred Land Use/Development Plan
3. Building Height Diagram
4. Plaza Design Objectives
5. Weblinks: Existing Conditions Report, May 2024, by WRT and Economic and Financial Analysis Report, November 2024, by Strategic Economics
6. ¼ and ½ mile Radii on Building Height Diagram