REPORT TO PLANNING COMMISSION
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. Focus Areas identify where the General Plan supports 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. Near-term development may proceed in the near-term Focus Areas without preparation of a Specific Plan. 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.
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. As such, the station area will transform into an important transit hub for the Bay Area...
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