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 is the Diridon Station Area Plan?

The City of San José adopted the Diridon Station Area Plan (DSAP) in 2014 in anticipation for major transportation investments and a major league ballpark. The DSAP sets forth a blueprint for the development of the Diridon Station Area, a 250-acre district surrounding San Jose Diridon Station on the western edge of downtown. The DSAP envisions the transformation of the station area—an area which is currently dominated by parking lots and old industrial buildings—into a dynamic mixed-use urban neighborhood anchored by a world-class transportation hub and the SAP Center.

+ What is happening with the Diridon Station Area?

Since adoption of the DSAP, several key planning assumptions have changed, including the following:

  1. Plans for the ballpark fell through, requiring a new land use designation for the area near the station.
  2. The Diridon Integrated Station Concept Plan process is underway.
  3. Google is pursuing a mixed-use master planned development in the Diridon area (see the Archive for additional information).
  4. The City recently adopted a policy that will enable taller building height limits in the Diridon area, compared to the current limits under the DSAP and zoning code.
  5. There is a new focus on environmental sustainability through Climate Smart San José.
  6. The City adopted Downtown Design Guidelines and initiated a Downtown Transportation Plan.

The City has initiated an amendment process intended to: adapt the plan to current circumstances; align the DSAP with other adopted and ongoing plans, including the Diridon Integrated Station Concept Plan; and support DSAP implementation (private development and public investments).

The City is not expecting to make major changes to the primary objectives of the DSAP. Anticipated changes include adding development capacity and updating the sections on land use, design, transportation, and public spaces. The City is studying parking and infrastructure at an areawide scale, and is preparing an areawide Affordable Housing Implementation Plan to complement the DSAP. The City-initiated amendment process will require completion of an environmental analysis as required by the California Environmental Quality Act (CEQA).

The City released the Draft Amended DSAP and Draft Diridon AHIP in Fall 2020. Visit this page for more info: https://www.diridonsj.org/fall2020. The target for City Council consideration of the Amended DSAP and Diridon AHIP is Spring 2021.

+ What is happening with the Google project?

In 2017, Google expressed interest in being the master developer to implement key aspects of the Diridon Station Area Plan. On December 4, 2018, the City Council adopted a Memorandum of Understanding (MOU) with Google, based on community input gathered in 2018. The MOU sets forth the guiding principles for collaboration between the City and Google and shared goals for future mixed-use, transit-oriented development, consistent with the DSAP vision. The MOU provides a framework for work moving forward on the Google project (see the Archive for additional information).

Prior to constructing any buildings, Google will need to secure “planning entitlements” (or land use approvals) from the City. Google submitted an application for the “Downtown West Mixed-use Plan” to the City's Planning, Building, and Code Enforcement Department on October 10, 2019. This started the City's formal review process, which involves three main pathways: development review (land use and design), environmental review, and negotiation of a Development Agreement, including Community Benefits.

On December 30, 2019, Governor Newsom certified the Downtown West Mixed-Use Plan (Google Project) as an Environmental Leadership Development Project under the State’s AB 900 program. For more information about this program, please refer to the Info Memo and the State’s AB 900 page.

On October 7, 2020, the City released the Draft Environmental Impact Report (EIR) and Draft Design Standards and Guidelines for the Downtown West project, among other application documents.

On April 6, 2021, the City released the staff-recommended Draft Development Agreement, for public review. Visit www.diridonsj.org/downtownwestda for more information.

The target for City Council consideration of the project is Spring 2021. The project has gone to the City’s Planning Commission, Historic Landmarks Commission, and Parks and Recreation Commission, as well as the County’s Airport Land Use Commission for recommendations.

The application itself and additional information on the City's review process is available at: www.sanjoseca.gov/GoogleProject. Google's project website, g.co/sanjose, also has information on their project in multiple languages.

+ What is the planning process and timeline to amend the DSAP and review the proposed Google Project?

The DSAP amendment process considers and incorporates Google's proposal. The City Council will consider approval of the City-initiated DSAP amendments, Google planning entitlements, and all associated environmental documents and legislative changes as part of a comprehensive planning process. The City aims to complete this process by mid-2021.

+ What is the plan to involve the public?

Community input has been 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. This input forms a foundation for the comprehensive planning process. 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 in 2019 and beyond. This involves both meetings with the Station Area Advisory Group (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.

+ Upcoming Events and Current Engagement Opportunities

On April 28th, the Planning Commission, unanimously approved staff’s recommendations that the City Council approve the Downtown West project and Amended Diridon Station Area Plan (DSAP). Next, staff will take these items, along with the Diridon Affordable Housing Implementation Plan (AHIP), to City Council for consideration on Tuesday, May 25th.

The public may submit comments on any of the three projects to city.clerk@sanjoseca.gov prior to the City Council hearing.

Stay tuned for more information about these events, and visit the event calendar!

+ Previous Engagement Activities

The City conducted an extensive community engagement process in 2018 as described on the Archive page. Since then, the City has 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 round 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 - beginning with the most recent. Note that the focus of 2019 was the Diridon Integrated Station Concept Plan, which had its own events in addition to those listed here.

Community Engagement completed in Spring 2021

Public Engagement completed in Fall 2020

The purpose of the Fall 2020 round was to share information and gather feedback on the Google's Downtown West project (updated submittal and Draft Environmental Impact Report), the Draft Amended DSAP, and the Draft Diridon Affordable Housing Implementation Plan. As described in detail on the Fall 2020 page, these events included:

Public Engagement completed in Spring/Summer 2020

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).

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).

Public Engagement completed in Fall 2019

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 the each meeting. To learn more, read a summary of the small gorup meetings.

Public Engagement completed in Summer 2019

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.

Station Area Advisory Group (SAAG) Meetings

The last three SAAG meetings were held using Zoom webinar. Visit the SAAG page to see the agendas, presentations, video recordings, and materials provided to the SAAG for these meetings. Each SAAG meeting includes updates on Google's Downtown West project and the City's Amendments to the DSAP, as well as the community engagement process. Here is a summary of the main meeting topics since early 2019:

  1. At the March 11, 2019 SAAG meeting, the City provided a summary of what happened in 2018 with the Google project and what to expect in 2019.
  2. At the May 22, 2019 SAAG meeting, the City provided an overview of anticipated process to amend the DSAP and review Google's development proposal. Google representatives also highlighted their approach to developing a mixed-use development proposal, including community engagement and timeline.
  3. At the August 22 SAAG meeting, City staff provided an update on the Citywide Anti-Displacement Strategy, and Google representatives presented their conceptual mixed-use framework.
  4. At the January 16, 2020 SAAG meeting, City staff report back on outreach completed in fall 2019 and provided an update on the Development Agreement and building design review processes for the proposed Google project.
  5. At the June 17, 2020 SAAG meeting, City staff provided an update on Diridon Station Area Plan Update process and the Google Mixed-Use Plan and related Development Agreement, including revised timelines. They also discussed the Spring 2020 Outreach. (The March 18, 2020 SAAG meeting was cancelled due to COVID-19).
  6. At the September 16, 2020 meeting, City staff and consultants presented project updates, including current timeline and plan for outreach and engagement this fall; information on potential building height limits under consideration for the DSAP; and preliminary findings related to the Diridon Station Area Affordable Housing Implementation Plan (draft to be released this fall).
  7. At the November 9, 2020 meeting, City staff and consultants presented project updates, with a focus on the proposed Draft Diridon Station Area Plan Amendments and draft Affordable Housing Implementation Plan.

+ How can I learn more?

Responses to Frequently-Asked Questions on the Downtown West project (April 2021)

Info Memo on AB900 (Sept 2020)

Info Memo to City Council (December 2019)

FAQs About Google and the Diridon Station Area (updated April 2020)

Current Planning Efforts Handout

Diridon Station Area Projects + Downtown Context Board

Community Engagement Process Handout

Building Upon Previous Community Engagement Input Handout

Downtown Station Area Plan (DSAP) - Fact Sheet

Google Project Handout

Planning Division's website for the Google Project

The Resource page includes links to additional project information, adopted plans related to the Diridon Station Area, and other resources - including all of the boards and handouts from the Fall 2019 public engagement events.

The Archive page includes additional information on the potential Google development and the civic engagement process held in 2018.

+ How can I receive project updates or ask questions?

Click here to sign up for email updates or contact us.