Planning commissioners uphold incompleteness finding for Almaden Road 49‑unit project

Santa Clara County planners on Thursday upheld a Department of Planning and Development finding that the formal application for the Almaden Road Housing Development Project was incomplete, denying the applicant’s appeal in a 5‑2 vote. The project seeks approval of a major subdivision and grading for 49 housing units and related amenities on an existing roughly 19‑acre parcel at 19780 Almaden Road, San Jose.

The incompleteness determination matters because it affects whether the applicant’s filing retains protections under the state Housing Crisis Act (SB 330) and related vesting rules. Senior planner Charu Alwalia told the commission the county issued five rounds of incomplete letters and that the fifth incomplete letter, dated Aug. 7, 2025, identified six outstanding items staff still needed to deem the formal application complete.

Staff said the six outstanding items were: an energy conservation plan; land cover mapping prepared by a qualified biologist; base flood elevations and finished floor elevations for structures proposed in the floodplain; a revised San Francisco Bay watershed questionnaire (impervious area/ stormwater info); fire hydrant flow data; and a geotechnical evaluation of liquefaction potential…