Proposed Milpitas site under consideration was not approved; City cited need for community engagement and an open and public process
Milpitas, Calif. – At its Board meeting on Tuesday, February 26, 2019, the Santa Clara County Board of Supervisors took action to delegate authority to the County Office of Supportive Housing to work with the Valley Water District and the City of San Jose to re-locate Hope Village, a temporary housing program, to a site at LeLong and Willow streets in San Jose. The action included allocating $3 million for the project. The proposed site considered by the Board of Supervisors within the City of Milpitas was not approved at this time.
When the agenda packet was published by the County of Santa Clara, Milpitas leadership was first made aware that there was a site under consideration by the Board of Supervisors within the City of Milpitas. The proposed Commercial Parcel #4 site identified as a potential location by the County of Santa Clara was located on Thompson Court, which is within the Milpitas Midtown Specific Plan area. The Midtown Specific Plan, adopted in 2002 and updated in 2010, provides a General Commercial land use designation for the proposed site and encourages larger-scale retail commercial or office development due to its high visibility from the adjacent I-880 Freeway. Two adjacent parcels to the south have similar General Commercial designations and support successful automobile dealerships (Piercey Honda and Piercey Toyota). An update to the Midtown Specific Plan is currently underway, and preliminary analysis identifies the proposed Commercial Parcel #4 site as a key economic development site.
Citing the lack of public engagement and adequate due process, an official letter was submitted into the record and City staff attended the Board meeting urging the Board to refrain from taking any action on the proposed Milpitas site, as doing so would be premature without first conducting robust community outreach and coordinating with City Council and City Administration. The Board agreed and took action to proceed with an alternative site in San Jose.
As noted in a press release issued by the County of Santa Clara, part of the Board action included continuing discussions on using other sites in Supervisor Cortese’s District 3, including within Milpitas. The City of Milpitas will continue to work with the County on the shared vision of creating opportunities for permanent affordable housing solutions and services for other projects underway, including multiple affordable housing policies and projects, such as MonteVista Apartments (50 new affordable units and rehabilitation of 163 affordable units) and 355 Sango Court (101 affordable units).
As this proposed site was directly identified by the Board of Supervisors, not the City of Milpitas, concerns may be voiced directly to the Board by contacting Supervisor Cortese at 408-299-5030 or via email at dave.cortese@bos.sccgov.org. Staff will continue to monitor any future considerations on land within the City of Milpitas and intend to work in partnership with the County in proper noticing, engagement with the community and through adequate due process.
