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Natural and Working Lands

48473304487_2262382274_cCoyote Valley Landscape: Photo courtesy of Santa Clara Valley Open Space Authority 

Natural and Working Lands (NWL) Element 

San José’s climate action plan, Climate Smart San José (Climate Smart), published in 2018, identified NWL as a topic for future consideration. It suggested that the City partner with academia and other stakeholders to quantify greenhouse gas (GHG) impacts and benefits from NWL, including both carbon sequestration and avoided GHG emissions.  

The City partnered with the Santa Clara Valley Open Space Authority to carry out this analysis and develop an NWL Element to be added into Climate Smart. We conducted an initial round of input from technical experts and community-based organizations on an early draft of the Element in January 2022. We conducted a second round of stakeholder and public input meetings March 28 to April 1, 2022.

The NWL Element draft  was accepted by City Council on May 2, 2023. It will be incorporated into the Climate Smart plan when the plan is updated (est. 2025). 

What are NWL? 

San José’s City-Designated NWL encompass lands with the following land use designations, as defined in the Envision San José 2040 General Plan:

  • Open space, Parklands, and Habitat 

  • Agriculture 

  • Open Hillside 

Despite being home to more than one million inhabitants, over 65% of the City of San José’s sphere of influence is comprised of NWL. 

How do NWL contribute to Climate Smart goals? 

Both the preservation and restoration of NWL can reduce GHG emissions by helping to reduce transportation-related GHG emissions associated with urban sprawl and by directly removing carbon dioxide from the atmosphere (known as carbon sequestration). The preservation and restoration of NWL can also provide many co-benefits, such as flood control, improved recreational opportunities, and support for local agricultural businesses. However, as most NWL in San José are not owned or controlled by the City, realizing the potential benefits of NWL for climate action in San José requires the involvement and support of many stakeholders, including landowners, other local agencies, and community-based organizations. 

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What is the San José NWL Element? 

The NWL Element includes goals, strategies, milestones, and supportive City actions for preserving and managing NWL to increase carbon sequestration on these lands, without restricting the infill development required by the General Plan to provide sufficient housing and jobs in San José and without, therefore, changing the foundational components of Climate Smart.

The four key strategies of the NWL Element are:

  • Preserve existing NWL and designate some lands not suitable for development as new NWL

  • Expand the use of regenerative agriculture techniques on agricultural lands

  • Restore and enhance oak woodlands, riparian corridors, and other native ecosystems in NWL

  • Increase access to urban green space and trees

In alignment with the Climate Smart plan, the NWL Element is designed to complement and build upon already-existing City plans: the Envision San José 2040 General Plan, the Community Forest Management Plan, the Green Stormwater Infrastructure Plan, and the ActivateSJ Strategic Plan. Together, these plans present a path towards a thriving future San José with walkable and transit-rich climate-smart communities providing residents with comfortable homes, local jobs, access to nature, and protection from environmental hazards such as flooding and heat.

The NWL Element is the first NWL GHG reduction plan in California adopted at the local level.

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