Downtown West Program Management

On May 25, 2021, the City Council approved the Downtown West project, including this Development Agreement with Google (the lead project sponsor). The Development Agreement includes Community Benefits and other terms related to the Downtown West project such as the length (30 years), vested project approvals, and timing of delivery.

The Development Agreement addresses the Council’s and community’s top priorities, as expressed in through the extensive community engagement process conducted 2018-2021. These priorities include:

affordable housing
anti-displacement
economic and educational opportunities
parks and open space

transportation
environmental sustainability

The Office of Economic Development and Cultural Affairs is responsible for implementing the community benefits and other key provisions in the Downtown West Development Agreement. The purpose of this page is to share information about the Development Agreement, including its history, progress, and any current opportunities for the community get involved.

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The City Council recently appointed the initial members of the Community Stabilization and Opportunity Pathways Fund Commission. The Fund is the largest piece of the Community Benefits established through the Downtown West Development Agreement. Please visit www.sanjoseca.gov/FundCommission for details!

Staff presented an update on the implementation of Community Benefits in the Downtown West Development Agreement to the City Council committee on Community and Economic Development (CED) on January 23, 2023. Read the memo and view the presentation here.

Community Benefits

The Community Benefits in the Development Agreement are based on extensive community engagement and are aimed at advancing equity. They include: additional affordable housing that exceeds the City’s baseline requirements and supports the 25% goal for the Diridon Station Area, a new Community Stabilization and Opportunity Pathways Fund, and early and ongoing payments to the City to support anti-displacement strategies, economic opportunities, and neighborhood programs.

The Community Stabilization and Opportunity Pathways Fund will provide grants for programs serving low-income residents to address the root causes of displacement and economic mobility and support equitable outcomes. The Development Agreement outlines an innovative model for putting decision-making about grants in the hands of local residents and leaders.

While the Development Agreement advances many shared goals and top community priorities, it is just one tool for project implementation. The other project documents, such as the Draft Environmental Impact Report and Downtown West Design Standards and Guidelines, also support the shared goals. The project will result in substantial benefits to the public through not just community benefits, but also through meeting City requirements, environmental mitigations, and discretionary project features.

Key Milestones

On April 6, 2021, the City released the staff-recommended Draft Development Agreement for the Downtown West project, along with this Info Memo that provides a summary and background information. The release of the Draft Development Agreement marked a key milestone for the project, following adoption of a Memorandum of Understanding (MOU) in 2018, application submittal in 2019, and release of the Draft Environmental Impact Report (DEIR) and Downtown West Design Standards and Guidelines (DWDSG) in 2020.
The City conducted public engagement on the Draft Development Agreement. This included a meeting of the Diridon Station Area Advisory Group (SAAG) on April 14, 2021 and a Community Meeting on April 17, 2021. The City also offered an online comment form on this website. Staff provided all comments received to the Planning Commission and City Council, for their consideration as part of the Downtown West project approval.
- April 14th SAAG Meeting Summary
- April 17th Community Meeting Summary
- Online comment forms submitted between April 6 - May 10
On May 17, 2021, staff posted this Supplemental Memo to provide additional information related to the Development Agreement and staff recommendations on the Community Benefit funds that were unallocated in the Draft Development Agreement.
On May 25, 2021, staff took the Downtown West project, along with the Amended Diridon Station Area Plan (DSAP) and Diridon Affordable Housing Implementation Plan (AHIP), to City Council for approval. It went into effect on July 9, 2021.

Since project approval in May 2021, the project sponsor (Google) has fulfilled its initial community benefit commitments in advance of the deadlines, including the first $3 million early payment and transfer of parcels to the City for affordable housing development.

See this staff memo for how the first $3 million was allocated.
On March 1, 2022, the City Council accepted staff’s recommendation on how to spend a $4.5 million community benefit payment from Google. This is part of the $200 million in community benefits outlined in the Downtown West Development Agreement. The staff memo from the March 1, 2022 City Council meeting also outlines the Fund set-up process.

The City held a virtual community meeting on May 2, 2022 to provide an update on the process for setting up the new committee and an overview of Exhibit H, followed by discussions to gather feedback and ideas. A second virtual meeting on June 27, 2022 incorporated feedback from the first. Staff considered the input as it drafted the proposed ordinance to establish the new committee.

Community Meeting #1 (May 2, 2022):
Summary
Recordings: English and Spanish
Presentation: English and Spanish

Community Meeting #2 (June 27, 2022):
Presentation: English and Spanish
Recordings: English and Spanish

Information in Spanish about the Fund process
On Tuesday, August 16, the City Council adopted the ordinance to add the “Community Stabilization and Opportunity Pathways Fund Commission” to Chapter 2.08 of the Municipal Code. See the materials for item 8.1 here.
The City began setting up the new Community Stabilization and Opportunity Pathways Fund Commission by creating a website (www.sanjoseca.gov/FundCommission) and launching the application for membership (October 1 – October 24, 2022).

Additional Resources

Final Development Agreement Ordinance (effective July 9, 2021)

Supplemental Memo (May 17, 2021) - includes additional information related to the Development Agreement and staff recommendations on the Community Benefit funds that were unallocated in the Draft Development Agreement

Staff memo on the allocation of the first $3 million community payment
Staff memo on the allocation of the second $4.5 million community benefit payment (to be considered by City Council on March 1, 2022)

Info Memo (April 6, 2021) - provides a summary of the Draft Development Agreement and background information
Responses to Frequently-Asked Questions on the Downtown West project (April 2021)
April 14th Station Area Advisory Group (SAAG) Meeting
April 17th Community Meeting
Flyer on Development Agreement outreach opportunities: English, Folleto en español, tiếng Việt

Project Websites:

City’s Downtown West Project webpage for application documents and information about the review process
Google’s Downtown West Project website – download the Social Infrastructure Plan for an overview of public benefits
City’s Diridon Station Area Plan page

Additional information on the engagement process:

Diridon Station Area Advisory Group (SAAG)

City of San José

Events

Downtown West Program Management

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