REPORT TO CITY COUNCIL
SUBJECT
Title
PUBLIC HEARING: Action on a General Plan Text Amendment for the 2023-2031 Housing Element Sites Inventory List to Remove the Development Site located at 4701 Patrick Henry Drive, commonly referred to as the “Great America Technology Park,” and to add the Development Site located at 3005 Democracy Way, commonly known as the “Mission Point” site.
Report
BACKGROUND
The Housing Element, one of the required elements of the City’s General Plan, includes policies and programs intended to help the City meet the housing needs of all current and future Santa Clara residents. State law requires that local jurisdictions update their Housing Element every eight years and that the Housing Element be reviewed by the State Department of Housing and Community Development (HCD). HCD “certifies” housing elements that it determines to be in substantial compliance with State housing law. Since the Housing Element statutes were first enacted, six such cycles of adoption and certification have been completed. A certified Housing Element allows the City to pursue federal and State grant funding for housing and infrastructure, such as One Bay Area Grants (OBAG) and retain local control of the City’s land use plans and development regulations.
At the conclusion of the three-year Housing Element Update process that began in early 2021, the City’s sixth cycle Housing Element was adopted by the City Council on May 7, 2024, and certified by HCD on May 31, 2024. This latest cycle covers a planning period between 2023 and 2031.
One of the required components of the Housing Element is the development and maintenance of an inventory of specific sites that have been analyzed for their suitability to develop with residential uses within the current planning period (2023-2031). The Sites Inventory must include sufficient capacity to meet the City’s Regional Housing Needs Allocation (RHNA) in all affordability categories (i.e. Lower, Moderate, Above Moderate).
Staff requests an amendment to the Sites Inventory List that removes one of the sites from the list and adds a recently approved project to the list. Such action would implement the terms of a pending settlement agreement with Housing Action Coalition and would mitigate the risk of other potential challenges to the City’s Housing Element.
Attachment 1 is a comparison of the Sites to Meet the RHNA table from the certified adopted Housing Element and what is being proposed with this amendment.
Also included in this report as Attachment 2 (clean) and Attachment 3 (redlined) are excerpts from the Housing Element (Chapter 3 - Affirmatively Furthering Fair Housing AFFH, Chapter 6 - Housing Resources, and Appendix C - Supplemental Sites Inventory Analysis) showing the revisions associated with the proposed amendment. Should this amendment be adopted, a copy of the revisions, along with an updated Housing Element Appendix B - Electronic Sites Inventory (Excel workbook), will be submitted to HCD for their review to confirm the residential capacity in the City’s Sites Inventory remains adequate to meet the City’s RHNA.
Any amendment to the General Plan, including the Housing Element, is a legislative action requiring a recommendation from the Planning Commission and action by the City Council in accordance with City Code Chapter 18.142.
The discussion section in the April 16, 2025, Planning Commission staff report (Attachment 4) provides additional background information regarding the proposed amendment, including the settlement proposal (removal of the 4701 Patrick Henry Drive site, also known as the “Great America Technology Park”) and the addition of the Kylli “Mission Point” project, located at 3005 Democracy Way. The Planning Commission recommended that the City Council adopt the amendment. A summary regarding the meeting is contained in the Discussion section.
DISCUSSION
The Planning Commission hearing on this item took place on April 16, 2025. Staff provided a presentation (Attachment 5) with background information on housing elements in general, the City’s Housing Element Update process, and specifically about the proposed amendment.
The Commission asked questions and/or provided comments as follows (Commission questions/comments listed first with staff responses after each bullet):
• The high median income for Santa Clara
o Staff Response: The 2024 Area Median Income (AMI) for Santa Clara County is $184,300 for a family of four.
• Clarification was requested about potentially revising the definition of moderate-income units to lower the percentage of AMI from 120-percent to 100-percent.
o Staff Response: This was discussed during the Housing Element Update process and captured in Housing Plan Action 2 Affordable Housing Ordinance, Objective a.2, “Assess the feasibility of updating the ordinance’s definition of “moderate income” units from 120% AMI to 100% AMI to further distinguish the difference between “moderate income” and market rents. This responds to stakeholder feedback that 120% AMI is not affordable for many residents and in some cases exceeds market rents.”
• The status of any approvals for the site recommended to be removed (4701 Patrick Henry Drive) and why this site and not others.
o Staff Response: Although the 4701 Patrick Henry Drive site is part of the approved Patrick Henry Drive Specific Plan, they do not have any subsequent approvals (or a pending application on file). Unlike other sites, this site is a condominium development with multiple owners, which adds to the complexity of redevelopment.
• Adding language to the resolution, in response to public comment, to encourage developers and contractors to evaluate hiring local labor.
o Staff Response: The Commission and staff noted that it would be more appropriate to add such language to project approvals, such as what was recommended for the Mission Point development and other projects.
Public Comments:
Two members of the public provided comments:
• Daniel Alvarez, representing Carpenter’s Union Local 405, stated the biggest challenge members face is finding affordable housing that is closer to where they work and that new affordable housing that supports the community should be built by responsible contractors that pay fair wages, utilize apprenticeship programs and invest in skilled workers.
• Linda questioned why the City was proposing to reduce AMI for very low income
o Staff Response: Staff clarified that the proposed amendment to remove one site and add one site to the Sites Inventory would change the number of expected units in each of the affordability categories (Lower, Moderate, and Above Moderate-Income), but would not change the percent of AMI ranges for those categories.
The Commission voted 7-0-0 with Commissioner Cherukuru making the motion (Chair Saleme Seconded) to adopt a resolution (Attachment 6) to recommend City Council Amend the General Plan Housing Element with revisions associated with changes to the Housing Sites Inventory.
ENVIRONMENTAL REVIEW
On January 31, 2023, pursuant to Section 15164 of the CEQA Guidelines, the City Council approved an Addendum to the 2010-2035 General Plan Environmental Impact Report (EIR) (Attachment 7 and 8) for the sixth Cycle (2023-2031) Housing Element, which concluded that it did not constitute a substantial change to the General Plan that would require major revisions to the previous EIR; that there were no substantial changes in circumstances as a result of modifications to the General Plan that would cause new or substantially more severe impacts; and, that there was no new information of substantial importance that identified new or more intense significant impacts than those identified in the General Plan EIR. The removal of a single site from the adopted Housing Element Sites Inventory would not change these conclusions.
The potential environmental impacts of the Kylli “Mission Point” Project were analyzed in an EIR, approved and certified by the City Council on November 19, 2024. The EIR identified impacts in the areas of traffic, greenhouse gases, energy, biology, geology and soils, cultural resources, tribal cultural resources, utilities, water quality, and hazards and hazardous materials, which with the incorporation of mitigation measures would be reduced to less than significant. The EIR also identified air quality and noise as having significant unavoidable impacts with mitigation incorporated, and for those impacts the Council adopted a Statement of Overriding Considerations.
FISCAL IMPACT
There is no fiscal impact associated with this report other than administrative staff time and expense.
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, email clerk@santaclaraca.gov or at the public information desk at any City of Santa Clara public library.
On March 5, 2025, pursuant to Government Code Section 65353 and 65355, a notice of public hearing was published in The Santa Clara Weekly, a newspaper of general circulation, regarding the Planning Commission and City Council public hearings.
On March 7, 2025, pursuant to Government Code Section 65352(a), the City mailed referral letters to tribes and outside agencies advising them of the City’s intent to act on a General Plan Amendment to adopt revisions to the 2023-2031 Housing Element. The referral letters also included notice of the proposed Planning Commission and City Council hearings.
On March 14, 2025, and April 11, 2025, a GovDelivery bulletin was emailed to the City’s Housing Element Update topic subscribers (3,791 as of April 8, 2025), to let them know the availability of the draft revisions to the Housing Element and the proposed Planning Commission and City Council public hearings.
ALTERNATIVES
1. Adopt a Resolution to Amend the General Plan Housing Element with revisions associated with changes to the Housing Sites Inventory
RECOMMENDATION
Recommendation
Adopt a Resolution Amending the General Plan Housing Element with revisions associated with changes to the Housing Sites Inventory
Staff
Reviewed by: Afshan Hamid, Director, Community Development
Approved by: Jovan Grogan, City Manager
ATTACHMENTS
1. Comparison of Sites to Meet the RHNA Tables (adopted and proposed)
2. Excerpts showing revisions to Housing Element (clean)
3. Excerpts showing revisions to Housing Element (redlined)
4. Planning Commission Staff Report April 16, 2025
5. Planning Commission Presentation April 16, 2025
6. Planning Commission Draft Resolution No. 25-XXX
7. Addendum
8. City Council Addendum Resolution No. 23-9188
9. General Plan Amendment Resolution