Pleasant Hills Vision & Public Meetings

Visioning the future of the Pleasant Hills Golf Course

Before considering a development proposal, the City of San José wants to hear from residents, business owners, and community members about their ideas for the site. In February 2024, the City began a community engagement and visioning process that will continue through August 2024 — see the meeting information below. For more background to the project and the development process, also view the FAQs and the Resources section near the bottom of this page.

The Planning Division would like to present the Guiding Principles. These guiding principles are a result of the comments and concerns heard from participants in this community engagement process. Please read Pleasant Hills Guiding Principles Letter from Planning with additional information on how the guiding principles will be used and the next steps in this process.

Based on the feedback provided in the third workshops, we have refined the Guiding Principles - Planning Commission Review Draft document. The redlined version shows the changes made to the principles.

Guiding Principle English, Spanish, Vietnamese
Appendixes:

Appendix A: Existing Conditions
Appendix B: Workshop Summaries English, Spanish, Vietnamese
Appendix C: Online Survey Summary

Earlier this summer, the City has prepared an initial version of the Guiding Principles developed from the input received from participants in the workshops and surveys. These guiding principles will form the basis of a final draft version of guiding principles document. The final Guiding Principles document will address:

Development pattern and uses
Community amenities
Circulation improvements (pedestrian, bike, personal vehicle, bus, rail, etc.)
Placemaking and urban design concepts
Affordable housing
Job creation

Download Draft Guiding Principles

Project Team. The team that is preparing the PHGC Guiding Principles document and leading the visioning and community engagement process is comprised of:

City of San José Planning Division, Public Works Department, and Parks, Recreation, and Neighborhood Services Department
PlaceWorks (lead consultant)
Fehr & Peers (transportation consultant)
Latina Coalition of Silicon Valley (community-based organization)
Vietnamese American Roundtable (community-based organization)

Engagement activities are conducted in English, Spanish, and Vietnamese. Two online surveys over 30-day periods have been conducted; the first ended in February 2024 and the second ended in early May 2024.

You can continue to share input by attending the third community workshop and by contacting Michelle Flores at Michelle.Flores@sanjoseca.gov.

UPCOMING WORKSHOPS

TBD

PAST WORKSHOPS

COMMUNITY WORKSHOP #3

Virtual Meeting on Zoom - Monday, August 12, 2024 - 6:00-8:30 p.m.
In-person Meeting - Thursday, August 8, 2024 - 6:00-8:30 p.m.
Location: East Valley Family YMCA
Workshop Presentation: Presentation Slides
Workshop Summary: English

Focus: Community members were asked for feedback on the draft guiding principles and provided feedback in an open house format. The presentation (see above link) summarized the outreach process and summarized the guiding principles.

COMMUNITY WORKSHOP #2
Virtual Meeting on Zoom - Monday, April 29, 2024 - 6:00-8:30 p.m.
In-person Meeting - Thursday, April 25, 2024 - 6:00-8:30 p.m.
Location: East Valley Family YMCA
Workshop Presentation: Presentation Slides
Workshop Summary: English

Focus: Community members were asked to identify the specific features, programs, and amenities they feel should be prioritized, included, or excluded from potential future development at PHGC. The presentation (see above link) described the process; results of the existing conditions analysis; and the major takeaways from the first workshop and public survey.

COMMUNITY WORKSHOP #1
Virtual Meeting on Zoom - Wednesday, February 21, 2024 - 6:00- 8:00 p.m.
In-person Meeting - Thursday, February 15, 2024 - 6:00-8:00 p.m.
Location: August Boeger Middle School
Workshop Presentation: Presentation Slides
Workshop Summary: English, Spanish, Vietnamese

Focus: This first round of engagement provided a welcoming space for community members to express their vision, ideas, and concerns about potential development of Pleasant Hills.

Resources

FAQs

1. What’s been going on since the golf course closed in 2004?

2. How does the City's traffi c policies aff ect the PHGC site?

PHGC is located within an area previously covered by the Evergreen-East Hills Development Policy. Because the area has historically experienced traffic issues, the Policy limited additional residential growth so that the area’s traffic circulation system remained at an acceptable level of service.

In 2013, the State legislature approved SB 743 to shift the way cities measure traffic impacts when considering future development. SB 743 requires the use of “Vehicle Miles Traveled” (VMT) as the metric to assess transportation impacts in environmental analyses. The City of San José has been a statewide leader in implementing SB 743 and using VMT as the measure for traffic impacts in planning new development.

In 2018, the City Council adopted a VMT Policy (City Council Policy 5-1) and repealed the Evergreen-East Hills Development Policy, which had restricted development at Pleasant Hills Golf Course because the potential new housing would generate too much VMT that could not be mitigated.

In December 2022, the City Council made changes to the VMT Policy, allowing development projects to be considered in areas zoned as Private Recreation and Open Space, even if the VMT impacts can't be reduced. This modification opens up the possibility of development at PHGC.

3. Why is this planning process happening now?

Since the City changed amended the VMT Policy (as described above), a development team has announced that it seeks to redevelop the site with a mix of residential and job-generating uses.

To ensure that future potential development of the PHGC site includes community input, the City Council directed staff to conduct a city-led community outreach and engagement process to develop a set of community-centered guiding principles.

4. Who is the developer team for the site and what have they submitted?

A local developer team is interested in developing the PHGC site with a mixed-use project that would include housing, commercial space, and community amenities. The team is led by Mark Lazzarini and Tony Arreola of Terrascape Ventures.

The team has submitted an application to amend the General Plan to change the PHGC land use designation from Private and Open Space to Mixed-Use Neighborhood and Mixed-Use Commercial. No development proposal has yet been submitted to the City.

5. Who is leading this planning process?

The following Project Team is responsible for leading the planning process, conducting community engagement, creating design concepts, and preparing the PHGC Guiding Principles document:

City of San José (Department of Planning, Building, and Code Enforcement; Department ofParks, Recreation, and Neighborhood Services; and Department of Public Works)
PlaceWorks (lead consultant)
Fehr & Peers (transportation consultant)
Latina Coalition of Silicon Valley (community-based organization)
Vietnamese American Roundtable (community-based organization)

6. How is the City ensuring that all voices are heard?

Two community-based organizations (CBOs), Latina Coalition of Silicon Valley and Vietnamese American Roundtable, are part of the Project Team and are assisting with outreach and engagement with the communities around PHGC. These CBOs have significant experience working in San José. They are committed to generating widespread participation in the Guiding Principles process and ensuring that engagement is accessible. The outreach strategy is multifaceted and will include printed flyers, social media, and other outreach techniques recommended by experts at these CBOs. All outreach and engagement materials, activities, and meetings will be provided in English, Spanish, and Vietnamese.

7. What is a Guiding Principles Document?

The guiding principles document will direct what future development should achieve according to the community insights heard during the outreach process. It will outline the types of development that might occur on site and the amenities that will benefit both current and future residents; make recommendations for improvements to transportation options (pedestrian, bike, personal vehicle, bus, rail, etc.); suggest measures to preserve the character of the surrounding neighborhood; and set expectations for the inclusion of affordable housing.

The guiding principles document will not control the exact way that future development happens. It will not decide the specific location of elements like housing, parks, commercial space, and it will not determine commercial or residential tenants.

8. What happens after the Guiding Principles are established?

The establishment of the PHGC Guiding Principles will be the beginning of a much longer planning process. While the developer has submitted a General Plan amendment on the golf course property, no proposed development project has been submitted to the City or approved. It is anticipated that a development proposal will be considered by the Planning Commission and the City Council after the Guiding Principles are complete. These Principles will be used by staff to evaluate the proposed project and to make its recommendation to the Commission and the Council. The project review process will include detailed studies on topics such as transportation and on site resources, and will also include preparation of a full Environmental Impact Report. Multiple public hearings and notices will be required throughout the process.

9. Can the PHGC site remain an undeveloped open space?

10. How much will community input actually impact the developmentdecisions at PHGC?

11. What is the plan for maintenance of the PHGC site before a projectproposal is approved and development begins?

City of San José

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