2019-21: Diridon Station Area Plan (DSAP) Amendment and Google’s Downtown West Project 

This page summarizes the City’s planning efforts and community engagement process conducted in 2019-21 to amend the DSAP and review Google’s proposed development project (Downtown West). This process resulted in unanimous City Council approval of Downtown West, the Amended DSAP, and the Diridon Affordable Housing Implementation Plan. Visit the DSAP Implementation page for the latest information.

Click a topic below to expand and read more.

+ What happened in 2019-21?

In 2019-21, the City reviewed Google’s proposed development project (Downtown West), initiated amendments to the Diridon Station Area Plan (DSAP), and prepared a Diridon Affordable Housing Implementation Plan. Staff conducted a comprehensive engagement process to inform these projects, which City Council unanimously approved on May 25, 2021. Visit the DSAP Implementation page for the latest information.

+ Why did the City amend the DSAP?

Since adoption of the original DSAP in 2014, several key planning assumptions changed, such as:

  1. Plans for the ballpark fell through, requiring new land use designation for that area.
  2. Google began work on a mixed-use master planned development in the Diridon area.
  3. The City began working with transit agency partners on a new plan for redesigning and expanding the station (Diridon Integrated Station Concept Plan), as well as a Downtown Transportation Plan.
  4. The City had recently adopted Downtown Design Guidelines and a policy that would enable taller building height limits in the Diridon area, compared to the original limits under the DSAP and zoning code.
  5. There is a new focus on environmental sustainability through Climate Smart San José.
  6. Council directed staff to prepare an affordable housing implementation plan for the Diridon area.

The City initiated the amendment process intended to: adapt the plan to the new circumstances; align the DSAP with other adopted and ongoing plans; and support DSAP implementation (through private development and public investments).

+ How was the public involved in the process?

Community input was integral to the process.

In 2018, the City conducted an extensive community engagement process to get input on the future of the Diridon Station Area, given the changing conditions described above. A focus was on getting early input on a Google development project. This process centered around the Station Area Advisory Group (SAAG), but also included public workshops, pop-up workshops and online engagement. The input gathered during this timeframe formed the foundation for subsequent work. Please visit the Archive and the Diridon Station Area Civic Engagement Report (2018) for additional information.

The City prepared this Draft Community Engagement Strategy and Community Engagement Process Handout to guide public outreach for the 2019-21 timeframe. This involved both meetings with the SAAG and other methods to engage the general public. Due to the COVID-19 pandemic, staff had to shift outreach and engagement to online methods in spring 2020.

To expand outreach capacity, the City partnered with seven community-based organizations: African American Community Service Agency, Catalyze SV, Friends of Caltrain, Business Circle LatinX powered by Prosperity Lab, San Jose Jazz, SOMOS Mayfair, and Trinity Episcopal Cathedral. See this archived application page for background information on the grant program.

In 2019-21, the City ultimately completed four rounds of public outreach and community engagement - corresponding to key milestones in the comprehensive planning process for the Google Project and DSAP. Each of the four rounds offered multiple opportunities for community members to learn about the milestones and provide feedback. The following sections summarize the main topics and methods used during each of these rounds.

Note that the focus of 2019 was the [Diridon Integrated Station Concept Plan][13], which had its own events in addition to those listed here.

Also note that the Google team conducted their own outreach and engagement process during the 2018-21 timeframe. This included site walks and discussions with residents and other stakeholders, community events, and design workshops (pre-COVID), as well as virtual engagements and informational videos (post-COVID. Please visit [Google’s project wegpage][14] for more information.

+ Round 1: 2019

In 2019, staff completed additional public outreach and community engagement before and after Google submitted its development application. The main objectives of this outreach were to increase understanding of the planning and development review processes and secure feedback on initial and draft concepts under consideration. Also in 2019, Google expanded its outreach and engagement efforts to understand community priorities and concerns, ultimately holding over 100 meetings and having conversations with thousands of local residents. This input informed the design and programmatic aspects of their application.

  • City staff attended several community events during summer 2019 to share information and answer questions about the process to amend the DSAP and review Google's application for a mixed-use development project. This included "pop-ups" at the District 2 Village Fest (September 7, 3:30-6:30pm, at the Village Oaks Shopping Center) and Viva Calle (September 22, 10:00am-3:00pm, near Diridon Station).
  • Google also conducted outreach throughout the summer to gather feedback on their conceptual mixed-use framework. This included a community open house event on Saturday, August 24, at Arena Green West. The feedback helped inform their application for development review, which they submitted to the City on October 10, 2019. Google is continuing to meet with community groups and conduct public outreach, including design workshops. Visit the Google project website to learn more and sign up for email updates.

The City hosted several engagement activities in Fall 2019 to talk about all of the major projects affecting the Diridon Station Area – including the Google project, the City-initiated amendment process to amend the Diridon Station Area Plan (2014), the Diridon Integrated Station Concept Plan, and other related projects planning efforts. The City held the following Community Meetings:

  1. Monday, November 18, 6:00 pm - 8:00 pm, Leininger Community Center
  2. Saturday, Dec. 7, 2019, 10:00 am - 12:00 pm, Gardner Community Center

These meetings had light refreshments, activities for children, and live interpretation in Spanish and Vietnamese. Each Community Meeting offered an opportunity to talk with the project team, ask questions, and share your input. The meetings began with a short presentation, followed by a break-out session covering the following topics at different stations around the room:

  1. Google Downtown West Mixed-Use Plan
  2. Diridon Station Area Plan
  3. Diridon Integrated Station Concept
  4. Transportation and Parking
  5. Parks, Trails, and Open Space
  6. Housing and Displacement Prevention

The boards and handouts for the Community Meeting are available at the top of the http://www.diridonsj.org/Resources page. Event flyers were available in English, Spanish, and Vietnamese. To learn more, read a summary of the community meetings. In addition, the City hosted the following three Small Group Discussions with the Station Area Advisory Group (SAAG):

  1. Tuesday, November 19, 11:30AM-1:30 PM, City Hall, Room 1734
  2. Thursday, November 21, 6:00-8:00PM, City Hall, Room 1734
  3. Monday, December 2, 6:00-8:00PM, Bascom Community Center The purpose of the small group discussions was to hear about the SAAG's questions, concerns, and aspirations, and to support dialogue between organizations. The meetings were open to the public, and provided an opportunity for public comment at the end of each meeting. To learn more, read a summary of the small group meetings.

There were two meetings focused on the Downtown West project as part of this round. On November 7, 2019, the City hosted the Downtown West scoping meeting for the Environmental Impact Report (see the Meeting Recording and Meeting Notice and Comments received during scoping period). On December 5, 2019, the City hosted a Community Meeting on the Downtown West Application at the MLK Library (see the City presentation and Google team presentation).

+ Round 2: Spring/Summer 2020

The purpose of this round was to get feedback on draft concepts for the DSAP Amendment and trade-offs related to Community Benefits. Staff also offered topic-based office hours.

  • In place of a March 2020 SAAG meeting, City staff hosted a series of on-demand videos accompanying a survey that closed on July 31, 2020. For more information on this effort, please visit the Spring 2020 Outreach page (Más información sobre [el alcance de primavera 2020][27]).
  • On July 29, 2020, SPUR hosted an online event discussing "urban design lessons that San José can learn from Canada’s largest metropolis." For more information, visit SPUR's Learning from the Best event page (obtenga más información sobre el evento SPUR).
  • Throughout July and August, City staff hosted a series of listening sessions, referred to as Virtual Office Hours, for the public to share thoughts on specific topics: Equity, Getting Around Downtown, Housing, Building Heights, and Parks and Public Space (obtenga más información sobre las horas de oficina virtual).

+ Round 3: Fall 2020

This round was focused on collecting feedback on the draft plans made available in October 2020, including the Draft Downtown West Design Standards and Guidelines and updated application documents. See the Fall 2020 page for an overview and this summary of the feedback received.

+ Round 4: Spring 2021

In early 2021, the City continued with focused outreach and engagement to prepare for the public hearing process.

+ Additional materials

See the Resources page for FAQS, Info Memos, and handouts associated with the engagement process. The Resources page also includes adopted plans related to the Diridon Station Area.