VTA and community groups urge San José to study Santa Teresa, Winchester and Alameda sites for mixed‑use housing

Representatives from the Valley Transportation Authority and local nonprofit housing advocates urged the working group to evaluate specific publicly owned and underused parcels as candidates for mixed‑use housing near transit.

Brant Van Brocklin of VTA said the agency has asked city staff to study VTA‑owned parcels around Santa Teresa and Sironi — more than 60 acres of developable land — so that any rezoning retains employment capacity while allowing housing near high‑capacity transit. "Hemos solicitado una reunión con el personal municipal para determinar las designaciones de uso mixto apropiadas," Van Brocklin said, urging a joint city‑VTA zoning concept and asking staff to present options on June 3.

Local housing advocates from Silicon Valley at Home and neighborhood organizations recommended that the review include adaptive reuse of religious and school sites to support affordable and mixed‑income housing while preserving community services. Allison Cingolani (Silicon Valley at Home) emphasized that many school and religious parcels lie outside the current growth areas and should be considered in site‑by‑site analyses.

Neighborhood speakers who live near candidate corridors said they generally support development but demanded projects that respect local scale and traffic conditions. Greg Carlson, speaking on behalf of concerned neighbors, said Winchester needs context‑sensitive designs and raised worries about traffic impacts if very tall buildings are allowed without mitigation.

The working group directed staff to engage with VTA, continue the outreach schedule and include corridor site analyses in the staff package for the June 3 working‑group meeting. No zoning changes were adopted at the meeting; staff will return with proposed site selections and zoning concepts.