Two for-sale townhome developments could add to the city’s housing stock, chipping away at state housing mandates.
At its latest meeting, Aug. 13, the planning commission voted unanimously to recommend that the Santa Clara City Council approve both projects.
The bigger of the two projects, located at 1400 Coleman Ave., kitty-corner from the Costco, would add 142 for-sale townhomes to the city’s housing stock. The 3.8-acre site is in the city’s transit station focus area, roughly a quarter mile from the Caltrain, ACE train and Valley Transportation Authority (VTA) bus routes.
Nimisha Agrawal, senior planner, told the planning commission that the developer, City Ventures, designed the project with pedestrian connectivity and the city’s vision for the area in mind.
The four-story townhomes are studio, one-bedroom, two-bedroom and three-bedroom, with 29 being below-market-rate. Of the below-market-rate townhomes, 10% of them are “very-low” income households, which is 50% area median income (AMI).
In 2023, the average Santa Clara household size was 2.57, according to Census data. A three-person household with a “very low” AMI earns $80,300.
Although state law prevents the city from mandating parking for transit hub developments, the development contains 235 parking spots — 194 garage and 40 surface parking spots. The project also includes bike parking and removes 59 trees to plant 64 trees. It has a maximum height of 50 ft.
City Ventures is seeking two state density bonus waivers: one that exempts it from the required setbacks and another that lifts a mandate for private space square footage.
Commissioner Mario Bouza took issue with the environmental report’s failure to mention a variety of potential issues in the neighborhood.
Among those, he said, are the noise from nearby businesses, including the Lexus dealership, metalworking shop and body shop. Additionally, fumes from those businesses as well as from jet fuel — the site is near the San Jose airport — were also not mentioned, he added.
“That is really toxic. You don’t want to be standing that close to it,” he said.
However, Tyler Rogers, with David J. Powers & Associates, the city’s environmental consultant, said while the issues Bouza cited may be a “nuisance,” they do not rise to the level of a hazard.
Bouza countered Rogers’ comment with, “That is your opinion.”
Bouza also criticized the development’s design, saying the buildings’ renderings were “really ugly.”
Pamela Salas Nieting, vice president of City Ventures, said with the city’s Brokaw Road overcrossing and planned Caltrain station in the area, “unlocks the exact type of urban development that is needed here.”
City Ventures designed the project to be “really comfortable for pedestrians,” emphasizing an “intentionality” with features such as a dog run, community garden, paseos with string lights, an open lawn, shade trees and an overhead trellis with lounge seating.
The homes are “affordable by design,” she added.
“The goal was to create a sense of place, a sense of homecoming and a sense of warmth, so that when you return from a long day at work, it feels good to be in your home,” Salas Nieting said.
The Association of Bay Area Governments (ABAG) mandates that Santa Clara build 11,632 housing units in the current Regional Housing Needs Allocation (RHNA) cycle.
Commissioner Priya Cherukuru urged City Ventures to include bedrooms on the first floor.
“We would like to be a community that ages in place, and is not just a transitional housing market,” she said. “If your housing is just for a young family, you know, [who] can run up and down the stairs, then you’re not really enabling the full community’s needs.”
The other development, located at 1530 and 1540 Pomeroy Ave., contains 11 three-story townhomes. It would require a rezoning to accommodate an increased density on the .48-acre site.
The project was originally entitled for eight townhomes back in 2021. However, the entitlements expired, and, in 2024, the city rezoned the area.
Omid Shakeri, the applicant, told the planning commission that he would have “been happy to come back with the same project,” but that project no longer met the minimum density requirements.
Commissioner Yashraj Bhatnagar was absent.
Tune into planning commission meetings via Zoom (https://santaclaraca.zoom.us/j/91729202898 – webinar ID: 917 2920 2898) or by calling (669) 900-6833. Submit a written public comment before a meeting by emailing planningpubliccomment@santaclaraca.gov by noon the day of the meeting.
The planning commission meets again Sept. 10.
Contact David Alexander at d.todd.alexander@gmail.com
Previous Planning Commission Meetings:
City Management Comes Under Fire at Planning Commission Meeting
Former Convent to be Converted to Dorm Housing
Approval of General Plan Zoning Changes Hit a Snag
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