City Council, August 18, 2026
Approved: Conforming rezoning of former IBM Almaden Research Center, 650 Harry Road, 9-2
What happened
On August 18, 2026, San Jose approved Conforming rezoning of former IBM Almaden Research Center, 650 Harry Road (9-2).
San Jose City Council approved the conforming rezoning of the former IBM Almaden Research Center at 650 Harry Road, placing about 565 acres in OS open space and 35 acres in IP industrial park, on a 9-2 vote with Kamei and Campos voting no.
- Jurisdiction
- San Jose, CA
- Governing body
- Final authority
- Date
- August 18, 2026
- Decisions
- 5 zoning decisions
- Outcome
- Approved, 9-2
Free sample: decision 1 of 5
Conforming rezoning of former IBM Almaden Research Center, 650 Harry Road
The conforming rezoning moves the site from an older narrow PD to OS for about 565 acres of open space and IP for about 35 acres of industrial park, to align zoning with the General Plan under state law. Owner IBM is disposing of the site and Eric Shainow represented the application. Under IP, a data center would require a special use permit with full CEQA review. Open-space advocates and the Sierra Club asked for a deferral, citing the lack of a conservation easement and the SB 131 CEQA exemption for advanced manufacturing. Staff will inform the next owner that the community wants a conservation easement. The motion by Casey, seconded by Cohen, passed 9-2 with Kamei and Campos voting no.
The other decisions are listed below. Available full write-ups and conditions are included with Pro.
San Jose access in Pro, $39/month.
Key Decisions (5)
Conforming rezoning of former IBM Almaden Research Center, 650 Harry Road
Appeal denied; 12-townhome project at 1295 Curtner Avenue upheld
General Plan four-year review policy framework
Housing Department affordable loan portfolio audit accepted
Response to Civil Grand Jury report on Animal Care Center
Full write-ups and conditions for all 5 decisions in Pro.
Development Activity (3)
Former IBM Almaden Research Center redevelopment
Other
1295 Curtner Avenue townhomes
Residential
826 North Winchester Boulevard
Residential
Market Signals (3)
Infrastructure
San Jose is drafting citywide data center standards, and multiple…
Housing Demand
San Jose is on track for only about one-third of…
Sentiment
Strong homeowner opposition to missing-middle upzoning contrasts with YIMBY, realtor…
Who spoke
32 distinct speakers; 13 identified names.
All speaker roles: 1 Mayor, 11 Councilmember, 6 Staff, 10 Public, 1 Applicant Rep, 2 Unknown, 1 Clerk.
Identified name roles: 1 Mayor, 6 Councilmember, 4 Staff, 1 Applicant Rep, 1 Clerk.
Speaker sample: Munira Sandhir, Staff.
12 more identified names in Pro: 1 Mayor, 6 Councilmember, 3 Staff, 1 Applicant Rep, 1 Clerk.
Full speaker roster in Pro
Meeting audio
Listen to the recording and select a timestamp with Pro.
Audio in Pro
Zoning terms (21)
507 recorded timestamps
- land use (28 timestamps)
- rezoning (54 timestamps)
- zoning (70 timestamps)
- industrial (26 timestamps)
- special use permit (4 timestamps)
- rezone (7 timestamps)
Decision moments (5)
Ask this meeting anything
The transcript is ready. Ask questions with answers cited to this meeting in Pro.
Meeting Q&A in Pro
Questions you can ask
- What conditions were attached to the decisions?
- What were the recorded votes?
- Who spoke, and what did they discuss?
Go deeper on this meeting
5 recorded decisions, 9 conditions across 2 decisions. Available full write-ups are included with Pro for San Jose.
Full write-up and conditions in Pro
Follow San Jose
Get the agenda when a meeting is posted, plus decision and analysis alerts.
We'll email you a 6-digit code, no password.