Planning Commission Recommends Several Items to City Council for Discussion

During the Santa Clara Planning Commission meeting on Dec. 7, Commissioners recommended several items for the City Council to discuss during its planning sessions next year.

Commissioners recommended the Council does the following:

• Initiate a comprehensive review of City infrastructure, particularly, growth estimates for utility demands, traffic and the potential impact of future higher-density projects and data centers.
• Consider whether the City wants to continue to approve data center developments and if so, how will it deal with noise pollution and the use of diesel backup generators.
• Create objective development standards.
• Provide a forum for communication between government bodies including Planning Commission.
• Method of dealing with post-entitlement requests from developers to make changes to conditions of approval (COA’s)
• Evaluate and adopt policies for an Entertainment District in Santa Clara, possibly in the area of Great America/Levi’s Stadium.
• Explore and adopt equity in City policies including housing, community, neighborhood health and safety, empowerment of youth, aging in place gentrification, environmental justice, homelessness, etc. Include a statement in City policies to demonstrate we are a diverse and inclusive community.
• Consider a vacant building ordinance.

Commissioners also requested the following informational follow up or study sessions:

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• Speakers from other cities dealing with issues similar to Santa Clara.
• Speaker on Santa Clara’s integrated waste management plan to ensure it’s focused on waste minimization, reuse, recycling, resource recovery, waste to energy conversion, landfill management and pollution prevention.
• Transportation Demand Measure (TDM) information on City’s website.
• Overview for City staff regarding department/staff size.
• A City map that includes upcoming developments marked with start dates and recent completion dates.
• A list of City-owned properties with an idea of how they can be better used to generate revenue or provide housing.

Several commissioners also wanted another follow up study session with Silicon Valley Power (SVP) to talk about recent rate increases and protecting the power grid in light of what happened in North Carolina.

Alcohol Use Permit Approved

Planning Commissioners approved a permit to allow the sale and service of beer and wine at a new full-service restaurant in the Moonlite Center at 2908 El Camino Real.

The restaurant, called B Pastry, will include 49 indoor seats and no outdoor seating. There will be no live entertainment. It will serve brunch and sell pastries from 10 a.m. to 3 p.m. daily. Its operating hours will be 7 a.m. to 9 p.m. daily.

B Pastry is a new concept by the company behind Gontran Cherrier, a well-known bakery brand in South Korea and Hong Kong.

Consent Calendar and Other Business

Planning Commission Chair Priya Cherukuru and Vice Chair Ricci Herro did not attend the meeting. They were excused.

The Commissioners unanimously approved the following consent calendar items:

• A sign ordinance variance request for three temporary vinyl signs at 3600 Juliette Lane.
• A resolution to approve the variance to a rear accessory building setback to allow for a 68 sq. ft. accessory building behind the single-family residence at 2121 Sheraton Drive.

Commissioners voted to use funds to attend the State of the Valley on Feb. 17.

The next Planning Commission meeting is Jan. 11, 2023 at 6 p.m.

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