Downtown West updates application with design standards and guidelines

We’re excited to take another step forward with the Downtown West mixed-use plan. As part of the development process, we've updated our development application which now includes the Downtown West Design Standards and Guidelines. The City also released the project’s Draft Environmental Impact Report. 

Here is a quick summary of the new documents that have been released for public review:

Updated Downtown West Mixed-use Plan Development Application

The application now includes significantly more design detail, reflecting the interest and feedback we received from the community and city over the past year-and-a-half. Our resubmitted application incorporates feedback from over 3,000 touchpoints with the community. Our updated application is focused on making our project part of San José and we’re proud that we’ll be supporting the City in reaching their goal of 25 percent affordable homes in the Diridon Station Area Plan. This exceeds the City’s minimum requirements, and is 6.5 times the DSAP’s existing plans for housing. Out of our 80 acres of land, about 55 acres is developable and 30 acres will be allocated for residential and public use. With our project, we aim to create and support healthier, more resilient, and more equitable communities.

Draft Downtown West Design Standards & Guidelines (DWDSG)

The City has released the Google-led Downtown West Design Standards and Guidelines (DWDSG) which regulates development across a variety of topics, including land use, open space, buildings, mobility, lighting and signage, and sustainability. This document is based heavily on our engagement with the City and community and sets detailed rules that create both sensitivity to the project’s surroundings, as well as variety in design across the plan. The design standards and guidelines will regulate over 30 buildings, three miles of street improvements, and 10 different parks—over 10+ years of construction.

Downtown West Draft Environmental Impact Report (DEIR)

The City’s Draft Environmental Impact Report identifies the project’s physical environmental effects. The City has done extensive study of the environmental effects of increased growth in downtown, as part of its General Plan policies, and the Downtown West EIR is a fresh look at how our project fits into those analyses. The project is generally consistent with the findings of those other recent EIRs, and in many areas the project is setting a much higher bar in responding to environmental issues, such as expanding riparian areas, committing to no net new emissions, incorporating energy-efficient shared district utilities, generating energy on-site with solar photovoltaics, and relying on a significant proportion of electric construction equipment. 

If you would like to view and submit a formal comment on these documents, you can go to the City of San José’s Planning Division website. 

We thank you for your time, your thoughts, and your interest in the Downtown West project. If you haven’t already, please take a few minutes to share your thoughts on three illustrations of places in the Downtown West plan. Your voice will help make the plan and design standards and guidelines a stronger document.