General Plan Annual Review and Amendments

On an annual basis — typically in the fall — the City holds a public hearing first with the Planning Commission and then with the City Council to consider all privately-initiated amendments to the Envision San José 2040 General Plan (as required by Policy IP-3.1 of the General Plan). This consolidated hearing process enables decision-makers to consider the collective impacts of the proposed amendments on the environment, transportation, job growth, housing supply, the City’s fiscal health, and more. The proposed amendments are reviewed concurrently with the corresponding Development/Use Permit Application (these are included in the hearing package).

A separate similar hearing process specifically for affordable housing projects is also offered annually; see details below.

The timeline to process a proposed General Plan Amendment (GPA) depends on the type of review process that is required; see table below.

Type of review process		Timeline
For GPA that requires an Environmental Impact Report:		20 months
For GPA that requires an Initial Study/Negative Declaration:		16 months
For GPA that includes an Early Consideration Hearing (see "Early Consideration Process" section below).		4 to 5 additional months

Preliminary Review Request Is Encouraged. So that you fully understand the policy issues and applicable processing timeline, we strongly encourage you to submit a Preliminary Review Request, including initial environmental scoping, prior to submitting a General Plan Amendment application.

eARLY cONSIDERATION pROCESS

Applicants, at their discretion, may request an Early Consideration Hearing by the City Council, pursuant to General Plan Policy IP-3.11. City staff may also recommend this process for proposed projects that are inconsistent with the General Plan, such as a proposal that would convert employment lands to non-employment uses. This gives an applicant a more immediate understanding of the feasibility of their proposal.

As noted in the above table, an Early Consideration process takes additional time and fees; the exact timeline is determined on a case-by-case basis. At this stage, a Development/Use Permit Application is not required with the General Plan Amendment Application, but staff strongly encourage you to submit a development proposal and start the environmental review scoping process.

At the Early Consideration Hearing, the City Council may deny the proposal or direct staff to continue processing the application. If the latter, to keep your proposal moving forward, you next must submit a Development/Use Permit Application, Zoning Application, and the appropriate environmental review documentation. Staff will review this documentation and then schedule your proposal to be heard at the next General Plan Annual hearing.

Upcoming Annual HearingS

The filing deadlines and submittal documents for the Fall 2025 hearing cycle is provided below:

Type	Application Submittal Due Date	Documents to be submitted with GPA Application	Next Steps	Target Hearing Date
Projects that do not require an EIR	Monday June 3, 2024 () If requesting Early consideration process, please submit the GPA application by May 1, 2024. If Council allows continued processing of the GPA, then the draft Initial Study, rezoning and development permit application must be submitted by September 6, 2024.*	Complete GPA application with supporting documents. Submitting the rezoning and development permit application together with the GPA is strongly encouraged.	CEQA scope of work must be submitted by June 3, 2024. () Draft Initial Study, rezoning and development permit application must be submitted by July 31, 2024.* IS/MND must complete public circulation by August 31, 2025 to be heard in the 2025 GPA annual cycle.	Target hearing date for GPA is during the Annual hearing cycle 2025. If analysis finds a significant and unavoidable impact requiring an EIR, then the GPA and project will have to be heard at the following year’s GPA cycle.
Projects that require an EIR	Wednesday May 8, 2024	Complete GPA application with supporting documents and CEQA scoping-related documents.	CEQA scope of work by May 8, 2024. NOP must be circulated by August 15, 2024. Draft rezoning and development permit application must be submitted by *May 31, 2024. ()** Draft EIR must complete public circulation by July 31, 2025.	Target hearing date for GPA is during the Annual hearing cycle 2025.

Type

Application Submittal Due Date

Documents to be submitted with GPA Application

Next Steps

Target Hearing Date

Projects that do not require an EIR

Monday June 3, 2024 (*)

If requesting Early consideration process, please submit the GPA application by May 1, 2024. If Council allows continued processing of the GPA, then the draft Initial Study, rezoning and development permit application must be submitted by September 6, 2024.

Complete GPA application with supporting documents. Submitting the rezoning and development permit application together with the GPA is strongly encouraged.

CEQA scope of work must be submitted by June 3, 2024. (*)

Draft Initial Study, rezoning and development permit application must be submitted by July 31, 2024.

IS/MND must complete public circulation by August 31, 2025 to be heard in the 2025 GPA annual cycle.

Target hearing date for GPA is during the Annual hearing cycle 2025.

If analysis finds a significant and unavoidable impact requiring an EIR, then the GPA and project will have to be heard at the following year’s GPA cycle.

Projects that require an EIR

Wednesday May 8, 2024

Complete GPA application with supporting documents and CEQA scoping-related documents.

CEQA scope of work by May 8, 2024. NOP must be circulated by August 15, 2024. Draft rezoning and development permit application must be submitted by May 31, 2024. (*)

Draft EIR must complete public circulation by July 31, 2025.

Target hearing date for GPA is during the Annual hearing cycle 2025.

(*) Applicant must retain an environmental consultant from the City List of Approved Environmental Consultants (link). The retained environmental will prepare and submit the CEQA scope of work per the timelines above. Environmental Scope Review fees will apply based on Planning’s current hourly rate in the Planning Application Filing Fee Schedule. The CEQA consultant must prepare documents in a timely manner and respond to all City comments, and comments submitted during public circulation to not require significant additional analysis or recirculation.

Download applications and find information on fees and appointments at our Planning Applications & Appointments page.
Proposal, you will need to work with a City-approved consultant on the environmental review process. Learn more at our Environmental Review page.
If electing the Early Consideration process, please note there will be additional fees and a longer processing time.

GENERAL PLAN AMENDMENT AFFORDABLE HOUSING CYCLE

The City conducts a separate hearing cycle for privately-initiated General Plan amendments that involve 100% deed-restricted affordable housing projects, as defined by General Plan Policy IP-5.12. Applicants with affordable housing projects may participate in either the regular GPA hearing cycle or in the hearing cycle offered only to affordable housing projects.

Affordable Priority Planning Area (APPA) Overlay. For projects that opt for the Affordable Housing General Plan hearing cycle, the Affordable Priority Planning Area (APPA) Overlay will be placed on the proposed project site. The APPA Overlay is intended to ensure the long-term affordability of future residential development and does not change the uses or densities otherwise allowed within the base General Plan land use designation.

Can mixed-used projects participate? Housing projects that include some commercial uses may participate in this additional hearing cycle but only if all residential units are to be 100% deed-restricted.

Processing timeline. The processing timeline for projects using the Affordable Housing General Plan hearing cycle is shown in the table above.

resources

General Plan Text Amendment GPT22-004 meeting recording | Oct, 27, 2022

CONTACT for questions

For questions, please email: GeneralPlanStaff@sanjoseca.gov

General Plan Annual Performance Review Report

The Annual Performance Review Report shows the City's progress in achieving Major Strategies identified in the General Plan. The latest report will post below during the fall annual review cycle.

Past Annual Performance Review Reports