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Council adopts neighborhood business‑district overlay to allow mixed‑use housing in three corridors
Summary
The City Council adopted a zoning overlay Dec. 17 that allows residential uses with specific development standards in three neighborhood business districts — Willow Glen, North Thirteenth Street and part of Japantown’s Taylor Street — implementing a prior general‑plan text amendment and design requirements.
San Jose City Council on Dec. 17 approved a municipal code change to establish a neighborhood business‑district overlay that permits residential development with specified standards in three neighborhood business districts: portions of Willow Glen, North Thirteenth Street and the Taylor Street portion of Japantown.
Staff said the ordinance is a follow‑up to a general plan text amendment the council adopted in 2021; the zoning changes implement that General Plan amendment and were the remaining step from the city’s four‑year review. Justin Daniels, supervising planner, told council staff had held community outreach in 2021 and again in October 2024 to inform neighbors and refine proposed densities and heights.
What the ordinance does The ordinance adds Part 5 to chapter 20.65 of Title 20 (Overlay Districts) and amends commercial and mixed‑use zoning tables so that mixed‑use residential‑commercial projects are permitted by right in specified CP, CN, CG, MUC and MUN districts within the overlay, subject to development standards. Key standards include:
• Ground‑floor commercial: proposals must replace existing commercial/industrial square footage at a 1:1 ratio where commercial existed; where properties abut an existing commercial frontage on Lincoln Avenue, Taylor Street or North Thirteenth Street, at least 60% of the primary street frontage must be commercial space.
• Density and height caps: North Thirteenth Street sites — maximum 50 dwelling units per acre and 50 feet height; Japantown Taylor Street — north side max 50 du/acre and 50 feet, south side max 65 du/acre and 65 feet; Willow Glen — sites under 1.5 acres max 50 du/acre and 50 feet, sites 1.5 acres or larger max 55 du/acre and 65 feet.
• Historic and design protections: developments must follow city design guidelines and adaptively reuse historic structures where applicable.
Public input and staff analysis Staff summarized results of community polling and meetings. North Thirteenth stakeholders generally supported higher density (35–50 du/acre) and favored 35–50 foot heights; Japantown respondents favored 50 du/acre and a 50‑foot cap on the northern side of Taylor Street while some supported up to 65 feet on the south side; Willow Glen respondents were split on 35 versus 50‑foot maximum height.
Council action and rationale Councilmembers emphasized that the overlay is intended to implement prior planning work and to encourage walkable, mixed‑use corridors without changing the plan‑level community outreach that shaped the general plan amendment. Council adopted the ordinance and the required general‑plan addendum for CEQA consistency, recording the final vote as "Motion passes unanimously."
