REPORT TO PLANNING COMMISSION
SUBJECT
Title
Public Hearing: Recommendation on a Prezone, Pre-designation of a General Plan Land Use, Application for Annexation, and Vesting Tentative Subdivision Map to Allow the Development of 408 residential units and Associated On- and Off-Site Improvements Located at 451 - 475 El Camino Real. CEQA: Environmental Impact Report (EIR) Prepared in Accordance with the California Environmental Quality Act (CEQA).
Report
REPORT IN BRIEF
Applicant /Owner: Bixby Land Company, Bixby SPE Finance 11 LLC
General Plan: Regional Mixed-Use (Santa Clara Station Area)
Zoning: Planned Development
Site Area: 10.96 acres
Existing Conditions: The site currently has three two-story office buildings and two parking garages.
Surrounding Land Uses:
• North: Railroad tracks
• South: Santa Clara University
• East: Three-story apartment
• West: Three-story hotel and one-story retail buildings
BACKGROUND
The proposed project site located at 451-475 El Camino Real is located south of the railroad tracks and north of El Camino Real between Franklin Street/ Palm Drive and Campbell Avenue; see Vicinity Map in Attachment 1. The site was rezoned in September of 1997 (File No. Z.1606) from Light Industrial to PD-Planned Development to allow for the development of the existing two retail buildings, commercial services, four research and development buildings and a three-story hotel..
On December 11, 2023, Bixby Land Company (Bixby) submitted a preliminary application (File No. PRE23-00139) pursuant to Senate Bill 330 (SB 330) to redevelop the 10.96-acre site as a residential development with apartment and townhouses. Most of the site, 10.02 acres, falls within the City of Santa Clara and the remaining 0.94 acre falls within the City of San José’s jurisdiction. As a portion of the site is within the City of San José, the applicant would like to annex the portion into the City of Santa Clara. The actions being considered by the Planning Commission is in connection with this proposed annexation.
On June, 3, 2024, Bixby (applicant) filed the formal applications for a Prezone, Pre-designation of a General Plan Land Use, Annexation, and Vesting Tentative Subdivision Map (File Nos. PLN24-00279, PLN24-00314, PLN24-00603 and PLN24-00604) for the University Station Residential project to redevelop the subject 10.96-acre site (APN: 230-09-020 and 230-09-021) as a 408-unit residential development including 297 apartment units and 98 townhouses on the City of Santa Clara’s site and 13 townhouses on the City of San José’s site.
On August 6, 2026, the project went before the Historical and Landmarks Commission (HLC) in accordance with the City’s Historic Preservation Ordinance (the “HPO”). SCCC Section 18.130.070, which is within the HPO, requires HLC referral for all projects located within 200 feet of a Historic Resource Inventory (HRI) property that will undergo Architectural Review. Here, the parcel within Santa Clara has a driveway that extends towards Franklin Street, which puts the site within 200 feet of the historic Santa Clara Railroad Depot structure. That hearing took place at the HLC meeting on August 6, 2026, at the conclusion of which, the HLC voted 7-0 to recommend approval, with a comment added by Commissioner Stocks to review the EIR carefully for impact to the Santa Clara Railroad Depot.
Requested Actions
The Planning Commission will consider and make recommendations to the City Council on the following actions:
1. A General Plan Pre-designation of the 0.94-acre parcel in the City of San José as Regional Mixed-Use. This is a legislative action not requiring any specific findings.
2. A Prezoning of the 0.94-acre parcel in the City of San José as Mixed-Use Regional Commercial (MU-RC). This is a legislative action not requiring any specific findings.
3. A Vesting Tentative Subdivision Map to combine two parcels to one and create 27 lots for the 111 townhouses and one apartment building with associated access and common areas. This is a quasi-judicial action with a list of required findings:
a. General Plan Consistency: The proposed subdivision, together with the design and proposed improvements, is consistent with the General Plan land use designation of Regional Mixed-Use (Santa Clara Station). The proposed subdivision Map would facilitate development of housing stock and construction of rental and ownership housing opportunities for the community; and furthermore redevelop an underutilized property (Policy 5.3.1-P8), provide adequate landscaping and replace trees at a 2:1 ratio (Policy 5.3.1-P10), include sidewalks (Policy 5.3.1-P16), and provide a design that is compatible with and sensitive to neighboring residential development (Policy 5.3.1-P29).
b. Site Suitability: The proposed subdivision, together with the provisions for its design and improvement, is suitable for the site because the Project is designed to provide high-quality housing consistent with existing and planned development in the surrounding area, and is designed to provide high-quality housing consistent with existing and planned development in the surrounding area. The density of the proposed project (37.2 du/ac) is within the allowable density of the Regional Mixed Use (Santa Clara Station) General Plan designation (37-50 du/ac).
d. No Adverse Effects: The design of the subdivision and type of improvements will not cause substantial environmental damage, as the Project Site is located in an urbanized setting, on a previously developed site, and includes mitigation measures, as identified in the EIR and MMRP, that reduce all identified impacts to less than significant levels.
e. Conflicts with Easements: As designed, the project would not conflict with any recorded public easements for access through or use the proposed subdivision. The VTM application was reviewed for potential conflicts with public easements by the Project Clearance Committee/Subdivision Committee which includes Public Works, Silicon Valley Power, and Water and Sewer departments.
f. Natural/Passive Heating and Cooling: The project will adhere to CALGreen energy efficiency measures to conserve energy through building design and site planning.
4. Certification of the Environmental Impact Report and adoption of CEQA Findings and a Mitigation Monitoring or Reporting Program. This is an administrative action, which is neither a legislative nor quasi-judicial decision. CEQA requires that the Planning Commission find that it has reviewed the EIR, that the EIR has been completed in compliance with CEQA, and that it reflects the Planning Commission’s independent judgment and analysis. There is also a separate CEQA Findings document (Attachment 4) that the Planning Commission is asked to recommend that the Council adopt, as a part of its CEQA resolution.
Should these pre-annexation actions and related project entitlements be approved by City Council, a request for annexation shall be submitted to San José and LAFCO for processing, and the 408-unit residential development project will be considered in a separate review at staff level through Architectural Review. The development will be required to meet the City’s General Plan Land Use, the Zoning Code Standards and Objective Design Standards. The staff level Architectural Review will address the demolition of the buildings, site design and architecture. Architectural Review will occur after the City Council decision on the above actions.
DISCUSSION
The proposed University Station Residential project would remove the existing four office buildings (which total 217,000 square feet of office space) and two parking garages and construct a new five-story building with 297 multi-family residential units and 111 three-story townhouse units distributed among 26 buildings. Thirteen of the townhouse units would be located on what is currently the 0.94-acre San José parcel (APN: 230-09-021), which will be annexed to Santa Clara as described below, and the remaining townhouse units and the multi-family building would be on the Santa Clara parcel (APN: 230-09-020). The project uses provisions in State Law to streamline the process for new housing development, including not having to rezone the site.
As the project is meeting the City’s Affordable Housing Ordinance, the applicant is applying the State Density Bonus Law (SDBL). The SDBL entitles the applicant to waivers and concessions. The waivers are reductions of development standards that would have the effect of physically precluding construction of the project. Concessions result in identifiable, actual cost reductions to provide for affordable housing.
Annexation
The project proposes to annex the 0.94-acre San José parcel to the City of Santa Clara, which would require the City of San José to approve the detachment of the parcel. In addition to annexation, the City of Santa Clara must approve the pre-zoning and pre-designation of a General Plan land use for the subject parcel. Pursuant to Government Code § 56654(a), the City Council will consider and adopt a resolution to authorize the application to LAFCO to approve the annexation request. The overall steps for annexation are:
1. City of Santa Clara approval of the pre-zoning and pre-designation of the General Plan land use, resolution of application to LAFCO, and environmental review (EIR). Vesting Tentative Map is also included at this step.
2. Separate City of San José detachment application process.
3. Local Agency Formation Commission of Santa Clara County approval.
Since submission of the application, staff has coordinated with City of San José staff to discuss the annexation and detachment of the 0.94-acre parcel. The subject parcel is landlocked and accessible through the current development via a Santa Clara street (Campbell Avenue). Given its location, the annexation of this parcel will not require an equal exchange of land, population or tax base by the City of San José.
Should the City of Santa Clara approve the annexation request, the City of San José will process and consider the detachment application. If the City of San José does not approve the detachment of the 0.94-acre San José parcel, the parcel would remain in the City of San José and be subjected to their entitlement process. The 10.02-acre Santa Clara portion of the site would then be developed independently.
Under the scenario of both annexation and detachment approval, Santa Clara will apply to the Local Agency Formation Commission of Santa Clara County (LAFCO) for approval of the 0.94-acre San José parcel detachment from the City of San José and annexation to the City of Santa Clara. LAFCO will then hold a hearing on whether to approve the request, the final approval step of the annexation process.
General Plan Conformance
The existing General Plan land use designation for the project site is Santa Clara Station Regional Mixed-Use. This General Plan designation is intended for a combination of Santa Clara Station Regional Commercial and Santa Clara Station High Density Residential. This classification is intended for residential development at density ranging from 37 to 50 dwelling units per gross acre (du/ac). This High-Density Residential land use is characterized by urban surroundings with mid‐rise buildings, structured or below‐grade parking, and shared open space. Although the City is in the process of preparing a Station Area Plan, no plan has yet been adopted. This General Plan does have a reference to a maximum commercial Floor Area Ratio (FAR) of 3.0 for this area, but it does not currently specify a specific minimum FAR; it simply states that commercial uses are required. Theoretically, this means that a developer could construct a single square foot of commercial space and comply with the General Plan’s mandate. The project proposes residential uses in an area that is immediately adjacent to existing hotel, retail, and other office use. Given this existing condition, the applicant is requesting a concession under the State Density Bonus Law to not provide any commercial use.
To maintain consistency for the entire project site, the 0.94-acre parcel currently in San José would be pre-designated as the same General Plan land use as the rest of the site, Santa Clara Station Regional Mixed-Use.
Staff find that the project is consistent with the following General Plan Policies:
General Land Use Policies
• 5.3.1-P2: Encourage advance notification and neighborhood meetings to provide an opportunity for early community review of new development proposals.
• 5.3.1-P26: Support a community-initiated planning process so that existing neighborhoods can participate in developing more detailed plans for street, landscape and pedestrian facility improvements.
The applicant conducted a community meeting to involve neighboring property owners in the design of the project. Notices were mailed to property owners within 1,000 feet of the project boundaries and interested parties.
• 5.3.1‐P4 Encourage new development that meets the minimum intensities and densities specified in the land use classifications or as defined through applicable Focus Area, Neighborhood Compatibility or Historic Preservation policies of the General Plan.
The total project site would be developed within the allowable density range at 37.2 dwelling units per acre.
The subject property is located within the Santa Clara Station Focus Area. A Specific Plan is currently in the planning stage, but has not been adopted. The proposed project is reviewed under the current Zoning Code and General Plan and the Specific Plan cannot be retroactively applied. Nonetheless, Staff finds that the project is consistent with existing policies listed in the General Plan for the focus area:
Santa Clara Station Focus Area Policies
• 5.4.3‐P2 Maximize residential development within walking distance of the Station, particularly on the northeast side of the Caltrain corridor.
• 5.4.3‐P9 Encourage streetscape design with street trees, wider sidewalks, pedestrian‐oriented lighting, curb bulb‐outs and special paving and/or striping within the Focus Area to emphasize accessibility.
• 5.4.3‐P20 Highly encourage the development of affordable housing and senior housing that is well designed and compatible with adjacent uses in the Santa Clara Station Focus Area.
Zoning Conformance
In accordance with Assembly Bill 3194’s amendments to the Housing Accountability Act, the 10.02-acre parcel would not require rezoning from the current Planned Development zoning district. The City would use the MU-RC zone in a manner that facilitates and accommodates the density allowed on the site by the General Plan. The MU-RC zone is intended to facilitate development near high-traffic corridors with a mix of land uses. The project was designed based on the objective development standards for the Mixed-Use Regional Commercial Zoning (MU-RC) zoning district. To maintain consistency for the entire project site, the 0.94-acre San José parcel would be pre-zoned to the MU-RC zoning district.
The future project will be required to adhere to site-specific development standards set forth in the proposed MU-RC zoning district.
Subdivision
In accordance with Chapter 17.05 of the City Code, the project requires a tentative subdivision map. The application proposes a Vesting Tentative Subdivision Map (Attachment 11) to combine two parcels into one and create 27 lots for the 111 townhouses and one apartment building with associated access and common areas.
The subdivision includes on-site and off-site improvements. Primary access to the project site is from three 26-foot wide, two-way directional driveways located on El Camino Real, Franklin Street and Campbell Avenue. The project would construct a 10-foot-wide detached sidewalk with a five-foot landscape strip along the El Camino Real frontage.
Subdivision Map applications are reviewed for General Plan and Zoning Code consistency, and conformance with the Subdivision Map Act. With approval of the General Plan pre-designation and prezoning, the proposed subdivision will not result in any inconsistencies with the General Plan or zoning designation for the property. The project was deemed cleared by the City’s Project Clearance Committee on August 11, 2026, and the Subdivision Committee on July 29, 2025. Conditions of Approval for the Vesting Tentative Subdivision Map is included as Attachment 10.
ENVIRONMENTAL REVIEW
An Environmental Impact Report (EIR) was prepared for the project by the environmental consultant firm David J. Powers & Associates, Inc., in accordance with the California Environmental Quality Act (CEQA). The Draft EIR (Attachment 1) for the University Station Residential project and the Notice of Availability were circulated to affected public agencies and interested parties for a 45-day review period from April 10, 2026, through May 25, 2026. During the review period, the Community Development Department received agency comments on the Draft EIR from Valley Water, Santa Clara Valley Transportation Authority, and the Department of Transportation.
The Draft EIR analyzed the project with the proposed annexation and identified potential environmental impacts associated with project development and identified biological, cultural resources, geology and soils, and hazardous materials impacts that with incorporation of mitigation measures into the project would reduce all potential impacts to less than significant. A detailed discussion of the potential impacts and mitigation measures to be applied to the project are specified in the Draft EIR and would be implemented through project conditions of approval and the Mitigation Monitoring and Reporting Program (MMRP) as included in Attachment 3.
In accordance with CEQA Guidelines 15124(b), the City of Santa Clara and Developer have identified the following project objectives for evaluation of the proposed project and the development of a range of alternatives in the Draft EIR for consideration in the findings (Attachment 2).
Project Objectives
• Support the State’s housing goals during a time of housing crisis by providing much needed housing, including affordable housing.
• Redevelop the property consistent with the land use policies and strategies provided in Plan Bay Area 2050 such as integrating affordable housing into all major housing projects and transforming aging office buildings into vibrant neighborhoods.
• Redevelop the project site consistent with the vision of the Santa Clara General Plan for higher-density residential development (37 to 50 dwelling units per acre) along major transportation corridors.
• Provide a mix of for-sale and rental housing at a range of income levels and unit sizes, to assist the City in meeting its Regional Housing Needs Allocation obligations in accordance with its Housing Element.
• Annex the San José portion of the project site into Santa Clara to provide for efficient delivery of services and utilities.
• Replace underutilized office buildings and surface parking lots with modern, high-quality residential units and associated landscaping and amenities.
• Enhance the architectural and visual character of the neighborhood by improving the site with high-quality architecture and landscaping.
• Deliver an economically feasible development balancing market conditions and City objectives.
The Draft EIR examined three project alternatives and provides a comparison of impacts of each alternative to the proposed project:
1) No Project/No Development and No Redevelopment Alternatives;
2) Redistributed Housing Units Alternatives; and
3) No Annexation, Redevelopment Alternative.
As discussed in Section IV and Section V of the CEQA Findings attachment, changes or alterations have been incorporated into the project which will reduce the severity of all significant impacts identified for the project. Therefore, findings can be made consistent with CEQA Guidelines Section 15091(a)(1), that changes or alterations have been required in, or incorporated into, the project which avoid or substantially lessen the significant environmental effect as identified in the Final EIR, and implementation of an alternative to the project to avoid or lessen significant impacts is not required.
A Final EIR included in Attachment 3 was subsequently prepared that included responses to all comments received on the Draft EIR, and was distributed on August 7, 2026 in accordance with CEQA. Following the close of the FEIR period, the City received two comment letters and prepared written responses that do not change the conclusions of the FEIR nor require recirculation of the EIR, and are provided as Attachment 5.
FISCAL IMPACT
There is no fiscal impact to the City for processing the requested application other than administrative time and expense typically covered by processing fees paid by the applicant.
COORDINATION
This report has been coordinated with the City Attorney’s Office and the Department and Public Works Department.
PUBLIC CONTACT
Public contact was made by posting the Planning Commission 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 August 5, 2025, a hearing notice was published in the Santa Clara Weekly and on August 5, 2025, a notice of public hearing for this item was mailed to 524 property owners and tenants within 1,000 feet of the project site boundaries and emailed to interested parties. This provides more than the minimum 20-day notice required by State law (AB2904) for rezoning. The notice was for the Planning Commission meeting on August 26, 2026. At the August 26 meeting, the Planning Commission opened the public hearing, received public testimony, and then voted to continue the hearing to September 2, 2026. At the time of writing this report, Staff has not received public comments on the project.
Community Meetings
On May 29, 2025, an online and in-person community meeting was held at City Hall Cafeteria. A notice of the meeting was mailed to 524 property owners and tenants within 1,000 feet of the project site. Thirteen people attended in-person and 12 people attended online. Community feedback focused on density, commercial, architecture, pedestrian safety and intersection improvement. There were no comments given regarding annexation.
RECOMMENDATION
Recommendation
1. Adopt a resolution recommending the City Council certify the Environmental Impact Report and adopt the CEQA Findings and the Mitigation Monitoring or Reporting Program (MMRP);
2. Adopt a resolution recommending the City Council approve the General Plan pre-designation of the 0.94-acre parcel in the City of San José as Regional Mixed-Use;
3. Adopt a resolution recommending the City Council approve a pre-zone of the 0.94-acre parcel in the City of San José as Mixed-Use Regional Commercial (MU-RC); and
4. Adopt a resolution recommending City Council approve a Vesting Tentative Subdivision Map for condominium purposes, subject to conditions of approval.
Staff
Prepared by: Steve Le, Senior Planner
Reviewed by: Alexander Abbe, Assistant City Attorney
Approved by: Lesley Xavier, Planning Manager
ATTACHMENTS
1. Vicinity Map
2. Project Data and Compliance
3. Web Link to the Project Page and Draft and Final Environmental Impact Report and Mitigation Monitoring or Reporting Program
4. CEQA Findings
5. Responses to FEIR Comments
6. Resolution Recommending Council Certification of the Environmental Impact Report and Adoption of the Mitigation Monitoring or Reporting Program
7. Resolution Recommending Council Approve the Pre-designation of a General Plan Land Use
8. Resolution Recommending Council Approve the Prezone
9. Resolution Recommending Council Approve the Vesting Tentative Subdivision Map
10. Conditions of Tentative Subdivision Map Approval
11. Vesting Tentative Subdivision Map