Santa Clara Zoning Decisions: April 2026

In April 2026, Santa Clara held 5 public meetings covering zoning matters. 8 zoning decisions had a recorded outcome this month: 7 approved (100% approval rate), 1 deferred. Activity was up 158% compared to March (153 activity items across 6 meetings).

Zoning Decisions This Month

Industrial Building at 3000 Bowers Ave.

Approved.

Architectural review approved for construction of approximately 145,000 square foot industrial building with surface parking lot and landscaping by Sobrato Organization. Project includes 16,000 square feet of potential office space with mezzanine. Building will be LEED Gold certified. Site previously entitled for 265,000 square foot five-story office buildings which were not constructed.

See the vote tally and conditions for this decision →

Historic Home Addition at 1184 Washington St.

Approved.

Significant property alteration architectural review approved for approximately 481 square foot 1st floor addition and 233 square foot 2nd floor addition to existing two-story single family residence on Historic Resources Inventory. Historic and Landmarks Commission recommended approval and removal of condition P2 requiring 66% 2nd floor ratio compliance. Minor modification approved for reduced 2nd story interior setback of 8 ft 7 inches versus required 10 feet.

See the vote tally and conditions for this decision →

Two-Story ADU at 1995 Stafford St.

Approved.

Architectural review approved for 1,000 square foot two-story attached accessory dwelling unit and 557 square foot 1st floor addition to existing one-story single family residence. Lot size is 9,000 square feet. Project required public hearing because attached ADU exceeds height of existing single-story building.

See the vote tally and conditions for this decision →

Residential Addition Appeal at 2892 Mesquite Drive

Approved.

Council affirmed the Planning Commission's decision to approve an architectural review permit for a 680 square foot first floor addition and 282 square foot second floor addition to an existing two-story single family residence. The project meets all R1-6L zoning development standards including setbacks, height, and lot coverage requirements.

See the vote tally and conditions for this decision →

El Camino Real Specific Plan Adoption

Approved.

Commission recommended approval of the El Camino Real Specific Plan consistent with CA Government Code section 65450-65457. The plan transforms the 3.2-mile corridor from auto-oriented strip mall to pedestrian and transit-oriented mixed-use development with 4,400 residential unit capacity.

See the vote tally and conditions for this decision →

General Plan Text Amendment for El Camino Real Land Use Designations

Approved.

Commission recommended creating five new land use designations: Regional Corridor Mixed Use (55-100 DU/acre), Corridor Mixed Use (45-65 DU/acre), Corridor Residential (26-45 DU/acre), Corridor Residential Low (12-25 DU/acre), and Ground Floor Commercial Overlay.

See the vote tally and conditions for this decision →

3rd Zoning Code Cleanup Ordinance and TN to R6 Rezoning

Deferred.

Item continued to May 20, 2026 per staff request. Involves rezoning properties currently designated TN (Transit Neighborhood) to R6 (Transit Neighborhood Residential).

See the vote tally and conditions for this decision →

El Camino Real Zoning Districts Ordinance

Approved.

Commission recommended City Council approve ordinance amending the zoning code to create the El Camino Real zoning districts implementing the specific plan.

See the vote tally and conditions for this decision →

Zoning Changes

• R4, various existing zones → Corridor Residential Low (12-25 DU/acre), 3.2 miles corridor total acres at El Camino Real corridor (approximately 60 parcels) (City of Santa Clara)
• Various → Regional Corridor Mixed Use (55-100 DU/acre) at El Camino Real Activity Centers (Lawrence Square, community centers) (City of Santa Clara)
• TN (Transit Neighborhood) → R6 (Transit Neighborhood Residential) at Properties designated TN (Transit Neighborhood) (City of Santa Clara)

Top Keywords This Month

• residential: 45 instances
• commercial: 40 instances
• zoning: 39 instances
• land use: 33 instances
• density: 33 instances

What to Watch

• Residential mentions were up 221% from March.
• Commercial came up 344% more often than March.
• Zoning saw 225% more mentions month-over-month.
• Land use increased 450% compared to March.
• Density is new this month with 33 mentions, not present in March.

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