WRT and Arup outline draft development standards, street types and green infrastructure for Santa Clara station area

WRT and engineering consultant Arup presented draft development standards and a green‑infrastructure menu for the Santa Clara station area at the Aug. 21 Station Area Task Force meeting, and task force members provided detailed feedback on street cross sections, building heights and stormwater strategies.

WRT principal Jim Stickley said the standards exercise will define the street hierarchy, mobility elements, sidewalk design, building heights and green infrastructure that will guide the specific plan. “These are some of the key elements that are really gonna shape the district,” Stickley said, and he walked the task force through typical cross sections for regional thoroughfares (El Camino Real/Coleman), community connectors (Benton/Franklin), major internal streets and pedestrian paseos.

WRT’s drawings show a Brokaw corridor with “flex zones” — 8.5‑foot curbside spaces that can be used for short‑term parking, bike‑share, deliveries or pickup/drop‑off — plus protected bike lanes and wide sidewalks where retail is expected. In bus‑stop areas, the flex zone would instead be a transit island with an enlarged shelter. The diagrams are conceptual; Stickley said circulation analysis will be required to confirm bus and vehicle operations when configurations change, for example if a Benton‑Brokaw undercrossing is built.

On heights, WRT proposed a mid‑rise character for much of the station area with selective locations where towers could be allowed. The consultants asked whether the plan should allow full airport‑zone height elsewhere while imposing a limit on the number of tower buildings so the district does not become a continuous “wall” of high‑rise structures. Several task force members supported the idea of allowing towers but capping their quantity and requiring stepbacks to preserve pedestrian scale along retail streets.

Arup’s Eunice (green infrastructure lead) summarized stormwater guidance oriented to the Santa Clara Valley Urban Runoff Pollution Prevention Program (SCVURPPP). Arup presented a menu of measures — bioretention, tree wells, flow‑through planters, permeable pavement and rainwater harvesting — and recommended locating larger detention or bioretention measures where historic drainage maps show pooling risk (Parcels 1, 3 and 11 in the consultant figures). Eunice said green roofs and rainwater harvesting can both be valuable but noted a trade‑off: roof area used for rainwater storage generally cannot also be green roof area.

Task force members made technical suggestions. One member asked to restore Alameda to the street hierarchy map (it had been omitted in the slide set). Members asked WRT to more clearly show buses in transit‑oriented cross sections and to explore how a BRT or enhanced bus treatment might fit on the Brokaw extension. Members also urged a clearer approach to tower placement, minimum separation and stepbacks so tall buildings do not overwhelm human‑scale streets.

City staff said WRT will take the task force comments and continue drafting standards; the consultants will return with more detailed sections and the draft specific plan. The task force scheduled its next meeting for Sept. 18, and city staff said WRT will use October to draft the plan.

Ending: Consultants will revise cross sections, clarify bus/BRT options, and refine height rules and green infrastructure placement based on task force direction. The draft specific plan will be prepared for review with an anticipated check‑in at the September meeting.