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Property owners and residents raise hazardous-materials and downtown-coordination concerns at Santa Clara EIR scoping meeting
Summary
At the EIR scoping meeting, property owners asked whether hazardous materials used by existing tenants near Martin Street will be evaluated and whether the station-area plan is being coordinated with the adjacent downtown plan; staff said hazardous-materials analysis and land-use compatibility will be addressed during the EIR and plan process.
During the Santa Clara Station Area Specific Plan scoping meeting, property owners and residents pressed staff on two recurring concerns: the potential interaction of existing hazardous-materials uses with proposed nearby housing, and how the station-area plan will align with the adjacent downtown master plan.
Erie Stewart of JP Denali Companies said buildings on Martin Street currently house tenants that use hazardous materials and asked whether those existing uses “are gonna be impacted” by proposed residential development nearby. Fiona Fung, project manager with David J. Powers, said the scoping process will include hazardous-materials analysis and that the team will perform a Phase I–style evaluation to identify contamination and related impacts. Rebecca Bustos, the city’s principal planner, clarified that CEQA focuses on a project’s impacts on the environment; she added that CEQA does not require analysis of how existing uses would constrain future development.
Wanda Buck and other residents asked whether the station-area plan and its environmental review are being coordinated with the downtown master plan because the areas are adjacent. Bustos responded that the plan boundaries do not overlap, that the downtown plan completed its own environmental analysis, and that staff will consider compatibility of land uses between the two plans as the station-area plan is refined.
Other public comments asked about developer interest, availability of the meeting slide deck and whether individual properties are at risk of eminent domain; Bustos said multiple projects are in the pipeline, that materials will be posted on the city website or sent by email on request, and that the specific plan provides long-range guidance rather than initiating property acquisition.
What was said about comment deadlines: Fung told the meeting the Notice of Preparation began circulation on June 12 and that written comments would be accepted through July 13. Separately, the meeting host later misstated the deadline as June 13; attendees should consult the city’s posted NOP for the official deadline.
Next steps: Staff will include verbal and written scoping comments in the administrative record and incorporate feedback while preparing the draft EIR, which the consultant said is anticipated to circulate in winter 2027.
