Department Overview
Long Range Planning
The Planning Division is responsible for planning and guiding the City's long range future through the preparation of community based plans and policies, as well as through the review of development proposals. These efforts are all intended to contribute to making San Jose a great place to live, work, and play (see Smart Growth link to the left).
Specific long range planning activities include:
- maintaining the existing San Jose 2020 General Plan
- conducting the Envision 2040 General Plan Update
- preparing the South Campus District Plan
- collaborating on the Santa Clara BART Station Area Plan
- completing the North San Jose Vision Implementation Strategy
- monitoring development activity, and
- completing several other efforts.
These policies and programs determine where and how the City will grow in future years and how that growth will be balanced with the availability of infrastructure and services and with the needs and interests of the existing city.
The plans, policies and ordinances developed by Planning staff and adopted by the City Council provide the policy framework for the other work of the Planning Division and the Department's Building and Code Divisions. Planning staff reviews and acts on specific proposals for development to ensure consistency with the City's General Plan policy plans, and land use regulations (particularly Zoning Ordinance). These plans and regulations also provide the overall direction for the final stages of the City's land use and development review activities -- the permitting and the enforcement activities of the Building and Code Enforcement Divisions.
The San Jose 2020 General Plan is the City's comprehensive policy document which defines the type, amount and location of future growth and development within San Jose and forms the basis for the City's planning activities. The Plan also lays out seven major strategies for the future of the City: Economic Development, Growth Management, Downtown Revitalization, Urban Conservation/Preservation, The Greenline, Housing and the Sustainable City (see General Plan link to the left).
The Annual Review of the General Plan provides an opportunity for the City Council, community groups, developers, property owners and city staff to propose changes to the planned land uses set forth in the Plan. These proposed amendments are reviewed at community meetings and are the subject of public hearings before the Planning Commission and the City Council. Periodically, a major revision or update of the General Plan is undertaken to confirm the direction of the development of the City and incorporate policies that respond to emerging issues. The San Jose 2020 General Plan update was completed in 1994. The City is currently underway with a comprehensive General Plan Update (see Envision San Jose 2040 General Plan Update link to the left).
While the General Plan sets forth the overall land use policy direction for San Jose, particular sub-areas of the City benefit from Area Plans. Area Plans provide more detailed direction for land use, development, urban design, neighborhood revitalization, or other topics. There are several types of Area Plans:
- Specific Plans and Master Plans -
These are the most comprehensive forms of Area Plans and apply to larger areas with multiple properties and multiple ownership. They address allowable land uses; development intensities; community character; urban design; transportation improvements; library, recreation, park and open space needs; urban design; transportation improvements; and implementation. Specific Plans typically address infrastructure needs in greater depth and also explore financing options. Specific Plans have been completed for strategic areas near Downtown San Jose (Midtown Specific Plan); for transit station areas (e.g. Tamien Station Area Specific Plan); and for large areas of vacant land (Evergreen Specific Plan and Communications Hill Specific Plan) (see Specific Plan link to the left).
Master Plans are prepared for areas facing somewhat less complex issues, including neighborhoods with unique environmental constraints (Alviso Master Plan) and for areas transitioning from outdated industrial uses to a compact mix of residential, retail, office, and industrial activities (e.g. Jackson-Taylor Residential Strategy) (see the Specific Plan link to the left).
- Neighborhood Revitalization Plans and Strong Neighborhoods Initiative (SNI) -
These plans focus on improving neighborhoods troubled with substandard housing, crime, blight, and other deteriorated conditions. Revitalization Plans and SNI Neighborhood Improvement Plans contain practical recommendations for physical changes which can improve security and enhance the overall livability of the neighborhood as well as upgrade individual housing units. Examples of these plans include the Poco Way Neighborhood Revitalization Strategy and West Evergreen Neighborhood Improvement Plan. These Plans are implemented as City and private funding, and staff resources become available. Neighborhood revitalization represents a major area of focus for the Department. The activity entails cultivation of relationships with various community groups within the City, as well as extensive coordination of government services, both internal and external to the Department. (see Strong Neighborhoods Initiative link to the left).
Other types of Area Plans include Vision North San Jose (see link to the left), South Campus District Plan (see link to the left), and San Jose Medical Center (see link to the left). Each of these is a focused effort to capture specific opportunities in these locations.
Policy Studies focus on a particular policy question and involve the community in identifying specific recommendations to answer the policy question. Once adopted by the City Council, a policy study is then used in the evaluation of development proposals to ensure that the proposal is implementing the policy recommendations.
For example, the Riparian Corridor Policy Study supplements the riparian (rivers, streams, creeks, etc.) policies of the General Plan. The Study identifies all the significant riparian corridors in the City and describes how development adjacent to these corridors should be limited or controlled to avoid environmental damage and to begin to compensate for past damage (see Policies link to the left).
Planning staff is currently working on an update to the Evergreen Development Policy which would determine the criteria for limited new housing, mixed use, and retail/office development in the area south of Story Road and east of Highway 101 (see Evergreen-East Hills Development Policy Update link on the left)
The Data Management/GIS Team is responsible for coordinating the provision of planning-related data to City staff, other agencies, and the general public. These data include a variety of land use, demographic, construction and economic information that facilitate informed decision-making and quality customer service. Examples of annual work products include the "Development Activity Highlights and Five-Year Forecast" and the "Vacant Land Inventory." (see Maps/Data link to the left)
The Data Management/GIS Team oversees an extensive library of geographic data that is stored in a computerized Geographic Information System (GIS). This GIS library includes the City's official Zoning and General Plan maps, along with dozens of other data "layers" that are critical to the long-range planning, development review, and permitting functions within the Department.
The Data Management/GIS Team is currently involved in activities surrounding the 2010 U.S. Census. Once the 2010 Census data are available, staff will support the City Council redistricting process. For information on the last redistricting effort, see Maps/Data link to the left).
The Zoning Ordinance (Title 20 of the San Jose Municipal Code) comprises the land use regulations for all property within the City of San Jose. The Zoning Code contains provisions applicable to all zoning districts, specific district regulations, use and development standards, procedural requirements for administrative and legislative review, and the definitions and terms used in the Zoning Ordinance. The Zoning Ordinance is continuously reviewed and updated to ensure compliance with new legislation, to provide more effective and efficient review of development proposals, and to reflect the attitudes of the community towards land use (see Zoning and Sign Ordinance link to the left).
The function of the Zoning Code revision team is to amend Title 20 of the Municipal Code, to provide training to staff on the use of the Code, and to clarify the Code to both staff and the community. As part of amendments to the Zoning Code, the team also provides outreach to community stakeholders.
