The proposed updates to City of San José Municipal Code Title 20 (Zoning Code) are necessitated by recent State law mandates including Assembly Bill 1061 (AB 1061) for development of historic properties under SB9, Assembly Bill 1154 (AB 1154) for new JADU provisions, and Assembly Bill 752 (AB 752) for daycare facilities within multi-family developments. 

* The dates for the Planning Commission and City Council hearings on this ordinance item are tentatively set for May 2026 and June 2026.  Additional updates to follow!

WHICH STATE LAWS are being implemented? 

Several State law mandates were approved last year, and three of those will be implemented as part of this Zoning Code update.

AB 1061 This bill clarifies that urban lot splits and housing developments must be approved ministerially unless they involve demolishing or altering designated historic properties, reducing local discretion in blocking eligible development. The bill addresses exemption for historic resources under SB 9 (Atkins, 2021). As originally adopted, historic districts were exempted from SB 9’s provision, meaning that parcels within those districts could not be split and redeveloped into two homes. AB 1061 changes that to exempt only historic resources and landmarks, not entire historic districts.

AB 752 This bill requires that a daycare center, as defined, when co-located with multifamily housing, be considered a residential use of property and a use by right. The bill also prohibits a local jurisdiction from imposing a charge, tax, or fee for a business license, equivalent instrument, or permit for the privilege of operating a daycare center that is co-located with multifamily housing. Additionally, the bill states that cities cannot require the child daycare facility to conform to development standards which are different from the multifamily development.

AB 1154 Previous state law required owner-occupancy of a single-family residence to create a junior accessory dwelling unit (JADU). Under this bill, the owner-occupancy requirement only applies if the JADU has shared sanitation facilities with the existing single-family structure. This bill also requires that rental of a JADU be for a term longer than 30 days.

In addition to addressing recent state law changes, planning staff are proposing minor amendments to clarify/clean-up existing code sections.

 Staff will request input on the proposed Zoning Code Update as it moves forward in the review process. Additional updates will be published on this page including a brief presentation on the proposed changes with subtitles.

LANGUAGE TRANSLATION & ADA Accommodations 

For this webpage, alternate languages may be selected through the Google Translate option located at the top of the page. For language and ADA assistance, see below:

• Reasonable accommodations under the Americans with Disabilities Act, call(408) 535-8430 or 7-1-1 (TYY)

• Para información en español, llame al (408) 793-4100.

• Để nhận được thông tin bằng Tiếng Việt, vui lòng gọi số (408) 793-4174.

Brent Carvalho, Planning Division, Planner/Project Manager
Brent.Carvalho@sanjoseca.gov

Aparna Ankola, Planning Division, Supervising Planner
Aparna.Ankola@sanjoseca.gov