As BART makes its way to the South Bay, it is critical that high-density housing is prioritized at every station area. The need for housing at these areas is heightened by the job expansion underway in Downtown San Jose. Employees filling the many new office buildings that are now in the planning and construction process will need homes. Locating these new homes near transit ensures increased ridership for our public transportation system, lower impact on our already overcrowded freeways, and convenience for the new workers.
At the 270-acre Berryessa BART Urban Village, San Jose is creating a plan that will transform the area into a regional destination complete with new housing, jobs, and public open space. Development of the Berryessa BART extension was recently completed, and the station is set to open in late 2019.
SV@Home has several principles for the Berryessa BART Urban Village:
The overall housing capacity in the Urban Village should be raised to at least 5,100 units. This will require the capacity of the area to be increased during the General Plan Four Year Review – The site currently has a planned housing capacity that is too low to accommodate current planning. As part of the Urban Village planning process, city staff has proposed to increase the capacity to up to 5,100 homes for the plan area, of which 1,275 will be affordable. This significant addition of new homes will take full advantage of the transit-oriented Plan and help create a vibrant new neighborhood.
Plan-wide goal should ensure that 25% of the homes are affordable – While San Jose’s General Plan established this goal for all Urban Villages, the City must be mindful of the goal when approving new development. The goal can be accomplished through a combination of San Jose’s inclusionary zoning requirements and standalone, 100% affordable developments. However, if market rate development is exempted from the requirement or developers choose to pay fees instead of building on site units, then the City will fall short.
The plan should prioritize the development of affordable housing on VTA-owned land in the station area – There are multiple VTA-owned parcels in the Plan area, which carry their own affordable housing goals. The VTA Joint Development Policy established a 20% affordable housing target for every residential development on VTA-owned property and an overall target of 35% affordability across the entire portfolio of VTA properties in the County. VTA’s commitment to using publicly-owned land to produce affordable housing will assist the City in meeting its housing goals for the Urban Village.
The area should accommodate at least one Measure A Permanent Supportive Housing development—Siting housing is challenging, siting affordable housing is more challenging, and siting permanent supportive housing is the most challenging. The City should be proactive in requiring that at least one of the developments be approved to provide housing the most vulnerable members of our community who are experiencing homelessness. The City’s goal that at least 45% of their affordable housing funds go toward building Extremely Low-Income (ELI) housing units will facilitate this opportunity.