2018: Updating the vision for the Diridon Station Area and early input on the Google project

This page summarizes the City’s planning efforts and community engagement process conducted in 2018 to update the vision for the Diridon Station Area and gather early input on a Google development project. This process resulted in the Diridon Station Area Civic Engagement Report (2018), which describes the process in detail and provided a foundation for subsequent work.

Click a topic below to expand and read more.

+ What is the Diridon Station Area Plan?

The City of San José adopted the Diridon Station Area Plan (DSAP) in 2014 after five years of engagement involving the Diridon Good Neighbor Committee. The DSAP is intended to guide development in support of the major transportation improvements planned for Diridon Station, including electrification of Caltrain service and the extension of BART and high-speed rail service. The DSAP envisions a high-density, mixed-use, vibrant, transit-supportive neighborhood that expands Downtown.

+ What happened with Google?

Since the adoption of the DSAP, Google expressed an interest in building a master-planned, mixed-use development in the Diridon Station Area. In June of 2017, the City and Google entered into an Exclusive Negotiation Agreement for the sale of about 20 acres of City-owned lands to Google, including about six acres formerly owned by the Successor Agency to the Redevelopment Agency (SARA), the four-acre Fire Training site, and 10-acre “ABC” parking lot next to the SAP Center. In December 2018, City Council approved the sale of the SARA and Fire Training sites, as well as an option/Negotiating Rights Agreement for Google to buy the ABC lot, conditioned on an acceptable parking arrangement with the Sharks. In addition to the Purchase and Sale Agreements, City Council approved a Memorandum of Understanding (MOU) with Google. The MOU sets forth the guiding principles to collaborate on a future master-planned, mixed-use development in the Diridon Station Area and to negotiate a Development Agreement, which will include a Community Benefits Plan.

+ What civic engagement activities happened in 2018?

The civic engagement process leading up to the City Council’s decision included a variety of methods to share information and gather input on the community’s hopes, issues, and ideas. At the core of the process was the Station Area Advisory Group (SAAG), which includes 38 community members appointed by the City Council. In addition to SAAG meetings, the City also hosted Community Forums, walking tours, pop-ups at neighborhood events, presentations to stakeholder groups, and an Online Feedback Form. This report summarizes this process: Diridon Station Area Civic Engagement Report (2018).

+ How will community input be used?

The community dialogue that occurred in 2018 helped inform the City’s negotiations with Google, refine the vision for the station area, and shape Google’s initial design thinking. The input will continue to inform a variety of decisions related to the Diridon Station Area, including but not limited to any future agreements with Google, future updates to the Diridon Station Area Plan, the Diridon Integrated Station Concept Plan, and even citywide efforts related to affordable housing, anti-displacement, sustainability, and other topics.

+ How can I learn more?

The Diridon Station Area Civic Engagement Report (2018) documents and summarizes the input gathered through the engagement process. Below is detailed information about each of the events and applicable documents. Click here to learn about the next steps related to the Diridon Station Area Plan and Google development, and here to contact us with any questions or sign up for email udpates.

Past Engagement Activities

Documents

+ Why did some City staff and elected officials sign Non-Disclosure Agreements in Spring of 2017? Are they still operative? Has the City met Public Records Act requirements?

A Non-Disclosure Agreement (NDA) is a contract that creates a confidential relationship between a person or entity that holds confidential information or a “trade secret,” and a person to whom the information will be disclosed. It is common for purchasers of multiple real estate sites to seek NDAs with the land owner in the very early exploratory stage of real estate projects while both parties are assessing a potential deal, in order to prevent land speculation by other developers. To the extent that such speculation makes a larger land assemblage financially untenable, it does so to the detriment of both the buyer and the seller. For that reason, the City has occasionally entered NDAs in other instances in which large employers have sought to assemble multiple parcels.

Google requested that key City employees and officials sign NDAs in the February-May 2017 time-period when a potential Exclusive Negotiations Agreement was being considered and a draft recommendation was being developed for City Council consideration.

On June 9, 2017, the Administration publicly released its Council memo recommending the Exclusive Negotiations Agreement, which included the recommended Agreement as an attachment. City Council considered and adopted this recommendation at its June 20, 2017 meeting.

As soon as the City publicly announced its intent to negotiate on June 9, 2017, the transaction no longer remained confidential. Accordingly, since that date, no City official has been bound to confidentiality by any NDA, according to City Attorney Rick Doyle. All negotiations have proceeded without any NDA-imposed requirement of confidentially, and City-created documents remain subject to public disclosure under existing local, state, and federal law.

Government entities and government employees who enter into NDAs remain subject to the Public Records Act requirements for disclosures. For example, in February 2018, the City received a Public Records Request for the executed NDAs related to the Google-Diridon Station land sale and potential development. The City fulfilled that and provided the documents to the public.

On August 16, 2019, the Superior Court found that the City complied with the law in fulfilling the Public Records Act request by the First Amendment Coalition/Working Partnerships. For additional information, see the court-decision and this summary statement from the City Attorney.

In addition, the City has followed—and will continue to follow—all sunshine requirements related to this project, including the requirement that proposed agreements be publicly posted 10 days before coming to Council for approval.