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Rezoning & General Plan Alignment Project

Per state law, we are undertaking an extensive rezoning of properties in San José to align zoning districts with the land use designations of the Envision San José 2040 General Plan. This does not affect your current use of your property.

San José is a charter city that — until now — had land use designations in the City's General Plan that were separate from zoning districts as identified in the Zoning Ordinance. Wherever the two policies have been inconsistent, the General Plan designation has superseded.  

In 2018 with the passage of Senate Bill 1333, charter cities must align and match zoning districts and General Plan land use designations.

For example, if a property's land use designation is PQP (Public Quasi Public) and its zoning is LI (Light Industrial), then the City will rezone the property to PQP to align with the land use designation. 

Aligning zoning districts and land use designations reduces confusion. Property owners have a clearer understanding of how their property can be used for future projects, and this will save time and costs for owners who are interested in developing their property.

Land Use Designations & Zoning Districts

For every property in San José, there is a:

  • Land use designation: See the General Plan Land Use Map. Additionally, the General Plan includes a Planned Growth Area Map which shows where growth may occur within the city.  

  • Zoning district: See the Zoning map. The Zoning Ordinance, know as Title 20 of the Municipal Code, implements the General Plan by setting the specific standards for development within zoning districts. Zoning districts provide controls on the form and placement of buildings on individual parcels, such as height, setbacks, and parking requirements.  

City staff are mapping the progress of this major rezoning effort, and you can view the rezoned parcels on this interactive map.

SB 940 DASHBOARD

In accordance with SB 940, the Planning Division is making an SB 940 Dashboard publicly available. The goal of SB 940 is to recognize the housing crisis and ensure that there is no net loss of residential units. This dashboard discloses any "upzoning" or "downzoning" of residential units.

alignment project FAQs

  1. What is the difference between a zoning district and land use designation?
    A zoning district sets out rules for what can and can’t be developed on a property along with minimum lot sizes, setbacks, height requirements, parking requirements, etc. These rules are applied within key types of land uses: residential, commercial, industrial, agricultural and other uses of land in the City. See San José's Zoning Districts.

    Land use designations are part of a city's General Plan, which is basically a blueprint for how a city grows. These designations apply to large areas rather than individual properties. They aim to define the type, location, and density of growth. In San José, land use designations support our General Plan's goals to drive employment growth in certain areas; prevent further urban sprawl; and shape the desired form and character of residential and mixed-use areas. See Chapter 5 of the Envision 2040 General Plan. See also the General Plan 2040 Land Use Map.

    If the zoning district and land use designation differ, the land use designation trumps the zoning district.  

  2. Is the rezoning of my property happening because there's a new development proposal? No, there is nothing in this rezoning process that includes or is driven by any new development proposal. 

  3. Why is the City rezoning my property and how do I benefit?

    Senate Bill 1333, passed in 2018, requires all charter cities, including San José, to align zoning districts with their respective land use designation. There are several benefits of the City rezoning your property:

    a) It helps to clarify what you can do with your property.
    b) If your zoning and General Plan designation are not aligned, and you wished to develop your property, you would need to rezone your property. Since a rezoning application costs approximately $12,000 and takes approximately six months to complete, having the City rezone your property to the General Plan land use designation saves you that money and time.
    c) If you have a legal-nonconforming use on your property, rezoning could bring that legal-nonconforming use into compliance with the new zoning district.

  4. What uses are allowed once my property is rezoned?

    See the Table of Zoning Districts on this page, below, and also see the Zoning Ordinance to see the allowed uses in the various zoning districts.

  5. What is a legal non-conforming use?

    Any lawful use of land or structure, which ceases to conform to the provisions of this title upon a rezoning or annexation, or because of changes in the regulation under the zoning ordinance shall be deemed legal nonconforming use. For example, let's say you have a single-family house on a property that is zoned R-1-8 Single-Family and the land use designation is Light Industrial. Under the alignment process, this property would be rezoned to Light Industrial and the house would be deemed a legal nonconforming use — because a single-family house is technically not a permitted use within the Light Industrial Zoning District but would remain legal in this case. Conversely, the alignment process may bring some legal non-conforming uses into compliance with their new zoning district. 

  6. If the rezoning of my property creates a legal non-conforming use on my property, how will this impact me?
    A legal nonconforming use may continue indefinitely. However, if such use is discontinued or abandoned for six months or more, it must conform to the provisions of the zoning district unless the legal nonconforming use is reinstated with issuance of a Special Use Permit.

Table of Zoning Districts

Find out about your new zoning district and the allowed uses in the table below: 

os

Open Space District

The Open Space Zoning District aims to provide for the public peace, health, safety, and welfare by conserving open space to ensure the continued availability of land for the preservation of natural resources, for the managed production of resources, for outdoor recreation, and for the enjoyment of scenic resources, and by protecting the people and property in the city of San José against physical environmental hazards. View uses allowed in the OS Open Space district here.
a Agricultural District The Agricultural District provide for areas where agricultural uses are desirable. Regulations for this district are intended to provide for a wide range of agricultural uses and to implement the goals and policies of the General Plan. View uses allowed in the Agriculture District here.
R-1 Single-Family Residence District The Single-Family Residence District reserves land for the construction, use and occupancy of single-family subdivisions. The allowable density range for an R-1 district is one to eight dwelling units per acre. View uses allowed in the R-1 Zoning District here.
R-2 Two-Family Residence District The Two-Family Residence District reserves land for the construction, use and occupancy of single-family and two-family (duplex) subdivisions. The allowable density range for the R-2 district is eight to 16 dwelling units per acre. View uses allowed in the R-2 Zoning District here.
R-M Multiple Residence District The Multiple Residence District reserves land for the construction, use and occupancy of higher density residential development and higher density residential-commercial mixed use development. View uses allowed in the R-M Zoning District here.
co Commercial Office District The CO Commercial Office District is a district in or near residential areas or between residential and commercial areas. This district is intended to be a low-intensity office zone that allows for a scale of offices in or adjacent to residential neighborhoods. You can view the uses allowed in the CO Zoning District here.
cn Commercial Neighborhood District The CN Commercial Neighborhood District is a district intended to provide for neighborhood serving commercial uses without an emphasis on pedestrian orientation except within the context of a single development. This district also differs from the CP Commercial Pedestrian District in that there is no limit on the size of the stores. You can view the uses allowed in the CN Zoning District here.
cp Commercial Pedestrian District The Commercial Pedestrian District is intended to support pedestrian-oriented retail activity at a scale compatible with surrounding residential neighborhoods. You can view the uses allowed in the CP Zoning District here
cg Commercial General District The CG Commercial General District is a district intended to serve the needs of the general population. This district allows for a full range of retail and commercial uses with a local or regional market. You can view the uses allowed in the CG Zoning District here.
PQP  Public/Quasi-Public District The Public/Quasi Public District is intended to provide for publicly serving uses on lots that are designated Public/Quasi-Public on the General Plan Land Use/Transportation Diagram. You can view the uses allowed in the PQP Zoning District here
cic Combined Industrial/Commercial The CIC Combined Industrial/Commercial zoning designation is intended for commercial or industrial uses, or a compatible mixture of these uses, that support the goals of the combined industrial/commercial general plan designation. You can view the uses allowed in the CIC Zoning District here.
tec Transit Employment Center The TEC Transit Employment Center zoning designation is intended for intensive industrial park and supportive commercial uses with development generally at least four stories in height, consistent with General Plan height policies, and in proximity to existing or planned transit in employment districts designated as growth areas in the General Plan. You can view the uses allowed in the TEC Zoning District here.
ip Industrial Park The IP Industrial Park zoning designation is an exclusive designation intended for a wide variety of industrial users such as research and development, manufacturing, assembly, testing, and offices. Industrial uses are consistent with this designation insofar as any functional or operational characteristics of a hazardous or nuisance nature can be mitigated through design controls. You can view the uses allowed in the IP Zoning District here.
li Light Industrial The LI Light Industrial zoning district is intended for a wide variety of industrial uses and excludes uses with unmitigated hazardous or nuisance effects. The design controls are less stringent than those for the industrial park zoning district. Examples of typical uses are warehousing, wholesaling, and light manufacturing. You can view the uses allowed in the LI Zoning District here.
hi Heavy Industrial The HI Heavy Industrial zoning designation is intended for industrial uses with nuisance or hazardous characteristics which for reasons of health, safety, environmental effects, or general welfare are best segregated from other uses. Extractive and primary processing industries are typical of this district. You can view the uses allowed in the HI Zoning District here.
dc Downtown Core The DC Zoning district is intended to implement the Downtown Core General Plan land use designation. You can view the uses allowed in the DC Zoning District here.
uvc Urban Village Commercial The UVC Urban Village Commercial district is intended to implement the Urban Village Commercial general plan designation. Residential uses are not permitted in the UVC district. You can view the uses allowed in the UVC Zoning District here.
uv Urban Village District The UV Urban Village district is intended to implement the Urban Village general plan land use designation. You can view uses allowed in the UV Zoning District here.
muc Mixed Use Commercial District The MUC Mixed Use Commercial district is intended to implement the Mixed Use Commercial general plan land use designation. You can view uses allowed in the MUC Zoning District here.
mun Mixed Use Neighborhood District The MUN Mixed Use Neighborhood district is intended to implement the Mixed Use Neighborhood general plan land use designation. You can view the uses allowed in the MUN Zoning District here.
ur Urban Residential District
 The UR Urban Residential district is intended to implement the Urban Residential general plan land use designation. You can view the uses allowed in the UR Zoning District here.
tr Transit Residential District  The TR Transit Residential district is intended to implement the Transit Residential general plan land use designation. You can view the uses allowed in the TR Zoning District here.

CONTACT

For questions or comments, please contact the project manager: 
Justin Daniels at Justin.Daniels@sanjoseca.gov

LANGUAGE TRANSLATION

Alternate languages may be selected through the Google Translate option at the top of this webpage. If you need assistance from a translator, please contact the appropriate translator and mention the project number: 

Para obtener información en Español, llame al (408) 793-4100 e índique el número de proyecto: PP20-013

Vui lòng gọi cho Như Nguyễn theo số 408-793-4305 và đề cập: PP20-013