Patrick Henry Specific Plan Final Steps

The Council heard details about bringing 12,000 apartments to the Patrick Henry Specific Plan. During a study session Tuesday, the Council made recommendations to City employees regarding the plan.

The area — 74 acres of industrial use — houses a few data centers, but the plan aims to convert it to high-density, mixed-use with a combination of residential and retail. The land-use plan and designations have already been adopted and the City is putting the final touches on the environmental impact report.

The specific plan’s building heights will range from 5 to 25 stories with 4 land-use designations: very high-density (51-99 dwelling-units-per-acre), urban village (100-149 dwelling-units-per-acre), urban center (120-250 dwelling-units-per-acre) and high-density flex (office retail)/village residential (60-149 dwelling-units-per-acre).

The area will tout 22 percent open space, with half of that being devoted to public parks. Other amenities include a community room dedicated to arts and an accompanying garden. A library and community center had the plug pulled because the developer, Z&L, is no longer requesting a density bonus. If the City decides to proceed with the library, it will cost $34 million, and the community center will cost $61 million.

Andrew Crabtree, Director of Community Development, said developer fees could pay for the community center, but the City would still be on the line for the library if the Council decides to construct it. Several councilmembers discussed the possibility of partnering with nearby Mission College to provide public access to its library.

Several councilmembers also expressed interest in having a grocery store located somewhere within the plan, an option Crabtree said the plan allows for. The plan will return to the Council in March next year.

Public Petitions See Approval

The Council considered three petitions to place items on a future agenda.

The first was to have the City take responsibility for a decaying sound wall in the Laurel Park east neighborhood. The Council voted unanimously to place that item on a future agenda.

The second dealt with censuring Councilmember Anthony Becker. Becker agreed to meet with his accuser to hopefully allay the concerns for his “retaliation” against a member of the public.

Finally, a petition by Councilmember Suds Jain to establish a stadium neighborhood relations committee saw approval from the Council despite a lack of support from Mayor Lisa Gillmor and Councilmember Kathy Watanabe.

Watanabe said the proper thing to do would have been to establish such a committee prior to extending the curfew at the last meeting.

“Nothing is happening. You think the 49ers are going to come along now and clean everything up when frankly this should have been done a long time ago. A long time ago,” she said. “You really want to fix things. Go fix things up in your own neighborhoods … go take care of things in your own districts. Don’t be coming into mine to muck things up with the 49ers.”

Gillmor called the motion “too little too late,” “really insulting,” “a false sense that we really care about you” and a “disingenuous request.”

The motion to place the item on the agenda for the priority setting session in February passed 5-2.

State Law Forces City to Tax Garbage Haulers

The Council also unanimously approved a 2 percent fee on garbage haulers to help offset the cost a new Senate bill imposes on cities. The $308,000 the fee collects annually will go into the City’s solid waste fund, which will fund roughly half of the cost imposed by the Senate bill.

Consent Calendar Spending

• A one-year, $316,606 contract with Guerra Construction Group provide as-needed asphalt and concrete repair and replacement services;
• A one-year, $57,302 contract with SpenCon Construction provide as-needed asphalt and concrete repair and replacement services;
• A $393,300 ratification to an agreement with SAK Construction, with a 15 percent contingency in the amount of $59,000 for a total not-to-exceed amount of $452,300, for Sanitary Sewer Repair Project at UPRR and Lafayette Street North of Calle Del Mundo deemed “urgent;”
• A $217,700 contract with the Lew Edwards Group to provide voter research, strategic consulting, and community outreach services;
• A $139,503 contract with ADT Commercial, LLC to upgrade the fire system inclusive of all labor, hardware and components;
• An amendment to an agreement with Land Management Software to increase the maximum compensation by $1.42 million for a total maximum contract compensation of $2.69 million;
• A $20,000 increase to a contract with Cascadia Consulting Group, Inc., to assist the City in updating the Climate Action Plan and preparation of the related environment documents. Total contract amount $231,684;
• A $10,238 retroactive purchase order for ECS Imaging, Inc. for Laserfiche integration and support services for Docusign at Levi’s Stadium;
• $7,635 for office supplies and equipment at Levi’s Stadium.

The next regularly scheduled meeting is Tuesday, Dec. 14 in the Council Chambers at City Hall, 1500 Warburton Ave. in Santa Clara.

Members of the public can participate in the City Council meetings on Zoom at https://santaclaraca.zoom.us/j/99706759306; Meeting ID: 997-0675-9306 or call (669) 900-6833, via the City’s eComment (available during the meeting) or by email to PublicComment@santaclaraca.gov.