Get Full Government Meeting Transcripts, Videos, & Alerts Forever!
Get email alerts on the Local Development Pipeline topic
No spam. Unsubscribe anytime.
Santa Clara outlines pipeline: 7,200 units in play, large Related Santa Clara amendment under review
Summary
City Manager Jevon Grogan told a March 11 study session that Santa Clara has thousands of housing units and millions of square feet of nonresidential space in review or construction, but several major projects are stalled pending financing and tenant commitments.
Santa Clara — City Manager Jevon Grogan provided a snapshot of the city’s development pipeline at a March 11 special study session, saying the city currently has about 7,200 housing units under review or construction and roughly 4.6 million square feet of nonresidential projects in the pipeline.
Grogan said the city has seen thousands of units recently complete and noted that 1,000 or so affordable units have opened since 2023, with additional affordable work underway. "We have 7,200 housing units under review or under construction, 4,600,000 square feet of nonresidential projects under review or under construction," Grogan told the audience.
He highlighted planned growth areas — Lawrence Station, the Patrick Henry Drive specific plan, Tasman East, Freedom Circle and the downtown Precise Plan — and said over 20,000 units are planned across several specific‑plan areas. Grogan said construction has concentrated primarily in Lawrence Station and Tasman East to date.
Notable project status - Related Santa Clara: Grogan said the Related Santa Clara master project, a roughly 9.2 million square‑foot entitlement that the city and Related entered under a lease agreement, has stalled because of funding and tenant challenges. Staff are reviewing a proposed amendment that would convert some office‑envisioned acreage to light industrial; the amendment will proceed through the appropriate review process.
- Tasman East: Grogan and a developer in the audience noted that some projects took a decade or more to reach occupancy. One developer said a Tasman East project began in 2013 and just reached temporary certificate of occupancy. Grogan said several thousand multifamily units are recently completed or soon to be completed, and about 2,800 multifamily units are under construction now.
Police and service implications Police Chief Corey Morgan used public comment time to remind council members that new developments drive service demand. He cited one local development: "In the three years prior to it being built we had eight police calls for service in the area; in the three years since it's been developed we've had 58 calls for service," Morgan said, adding the department logged thousands of hours responding to those calls. He asked council to consider service impacts when approving new projects.
Public questions and next steps During the study session attendees raised questions about the long‑vacant City Hall site (about eight acres), downtown activation, mass timber, modular construction, and parking impacts of higher‑density projects. City staff and ULI presenters discussed options including form‑based codes, public shared parking garages, and fee timing changes (such as deferring impact fee payments to certificate of occupancy) to help projects pencil.
No formal land‑use decisions or amendments were adopted at the session; the Related Santa Clara amendment remains under staff review and will return to the council or the appropriate review body when ready.
Adjournment The council adjourned the special meeting by motion at the session’s close; no policy votes were taken.
