On Wednesday, May 10th, the City’s Planning
Commission recommended that City Council approve two Urban Village Plans: the Valley Fair/Santana Row
Urban Village and the Winchester
Boulevard Urban Village. These Urban Villages are located on the west side
of San José and include developments such as the Westfield Valley Fair mall,
Santana Row, and properties along Winchester Boulevard.
The purpose of Urban Village Plans is to guide new job
and housing growth within Urban Village areas and to guide the preservation of
existing neighborhoods. San José is projected to grow by over 400,000 people by
the year 2040; in order to accommodate for this massive growth in population,
the City created the Urban Village concept as part of the Envision San José 2040 General Plan update in 2011. In addition to
facilitating this growth, Urban Village Plans will guide the characteristics of
future development including buildings, parks, plazas, public art, streetscape
and circulation. The Winchester Urban Village Plan sets a capacity for 2,000
jobs and 2,200 housing units, and the Santana Row/Valley Fair Urban Village Plan
sets a capacity for 8,500 jobs and 2,635 housing units to the year 2040.
These Urban Village Plans are the fruition of over two
years of community engagement, of which included online surveys, community
workshops, and discussions between City staff, developers and community
stakeholders.
City Council will vote on June 27th to approve
or deny these Urban Village Plans. If adopted, residential, commercial, office,
and mixed-use development will be able to move forward within the boundaries of
the Urban Villages. This area of the city is VERY HOT right now for both office
and residential development, so we can expect many development proposals within
these areas if the Plans are approved.
Other Urban Village Plans currently under development by
the City include the West San Carlos Street Urban Village, the Stevens Creek
Boulevard Urban Village, the East Santa Clara Street Urban Village, and the
South Bascom Urban Village.
Winchester
Boulevard Urban Village Land Use Map
Valley Fair/Santana Row Urban Village Land Use Map