DSAP Community Meeting

Overview

The City hosted a virtual community meeting on neighborhood transition measures for the Diridon Station Area Plan (DSAP) on Tuesday, August 31 at 6:30pm.

The City adopted the DSAP in 2014 to guide transit-oriented development in the western portion of Downtown San Jose. The City Council approved amendments to the DSAP on May 25, 2021, following a community engagement process. This included approving increased building height limits, among other changes.

Development within the DSAP (but outside Google’s Downtown West project) must comply with the Downtown Design Guidelines and Standards. The Amended DSAP also includes design standards for providing transitions between existing low-rise residential zones and future mid- and high-rise buildings. As part of the approval, the Council directed staff to explore additional neighborhood transition measures at these interfaces.

The purpose of this community meeting was to discuss the approved neighborhood transition measures and to gather feedback from community members on potential changes or additions to these measures.

Neighborhood Transition Measures in the Amended DSAP

The areas shown on the map below are the interfaces between future mid-rise and high-rise buildings within the DSAP boundaries and properties outside the DSAP with a Neighborhood Residential General Plan land use designation. As described in detail on pages 69-72 of the Amended DSAP, the following measures apply to these interfaces:

Developers must provide perspective renderings (3D images) from the ground level to show the proposed building in relation to the adjacent properties, as part of their planning permit application.
Developers must design the building to step back from the rear shared property line within a stepback plane of 75 degrees from horizontal, starting at the intersection of the rear setback line at a height of 35 feet (see graphic below). Along Columbia Avenue, the “right of way stepback plane” would apply and would start at the front setback line.
Provide a 15 foot-wide landscaped buffer along interior lot lines affected by stepback planes.

Council Direction to staff as part of the Amended DSAP approval

“Return in the fall with neighborhood interface measures in specific areas where single-family homes abut new development over 90 feet in height, if development incorporates a single-family residential parcel along an interior lot line (this includes portions of Gifford, Rhodes Court, Park Avenue.) Such measures may include larger buffers, or design modifications.”

As part of this process, staff is seeking input on potential changes to the buffer width, stepback plane starting height and angle, and other potential measures.

Process

Staff posted the presentation for the Community Meeting, in addition to the resources below. Community members may submit questions and comments on this topic before, during, and after the Community Meeting to Lori Severino at lori.severino@sanjoseca.gov or (408) 535-3537.

Following the Community Meeting, staff will prepare a staff report with recommendations for the Planning Commission. This will include a compilation of all feedback received. Planning Commission will then make a recommendation to City Council, who will have final decision authority. The Planning Commission and City Council meetings include a public comment period.

Staff is planning for these public hearings to occur this fall. The meeting information will be posted here and on the City’s calendar.

Resources

The following flyers were prepared as resources for outreach events led by neighborhood leaders in the Diridon area, showing the new height limits and illustrative graphics for each of the four interfaces.

Lakehouse Flyer (English)

LAKEHOUSE FLYER (SPANISH)

Gifford Flyer (English)

GIFFORD FLYER (SPANISH)

Columbia flyer (English)

COLUMBIA FLYER (SPANISH)

Rhodes Court Flyer (English)

RHODES COURT FLYER (SPANISH)

The neighborhood transition standards in the Amended DSAP apply at these interfaces: