REPORT TO COUNCIL
SUBJECT
Title
6:00 P.M. Study Session: Precise Plan for the Downtown (only four non-conflicted Council Members to participate)
Report
BACKGROUND
The City of Santa Clara's 2010-2035 General Plan identifies Focus Areas throughout the City of Santa Clara, including the Downtown Area, to promote the City's diverse economic base and to meet the demand for housing that addresses job growth in the City and region. As updated in 2010, the General Plan envisions the Downtown Focus Area being revitalized and supports the potential development of up to 129,300 square feet of new commercial uses and 396 new residential units along with public gathering places and civic venues. The General Plan also calls for a transit loop connection to the Santa Clara Transit Station in order to promote increased multi-modal connectivity, as well as reconnecting streets to increase access to transit and to attract residents and visitors.
A Downtown Plan for a portion of the area was endorsed by the City Council in 2007 to serve as a catalyst for revitalization. In 2010, a Downtown Revitalization Plan Committee was established to review the Downtown revitalization plan and to evaluate whether to re-confirm the existing conceptual plan or to re-visit the plan to explore alternative approaches. In August 2015, the Council adopted a Strategic Objective to evaluate a Santa Clara Downtown/Super Block project. The City then hired an urban design consultant, Urban Field Studio, who assisted the City in holding a series of workshops and meetings extending from October 2015 through November 2017 which were used to gather community input on a vision for the Downtown's future development. Through this process, the community identified several objectives for the redevelopment of the Downtown as a vibrant, pedestrian-oriented destination. The restoration of Franklin Street as a public right-of-way open to vehicular traffic was identified as a primary objective. Concurrent with ...
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