The San Jose City Council is set to review Google’s Downtown West proposal today, and will vote on what could be the biggest development the city has ever seen.
The planned transit village for the 80 acres around San Jose’s Diridon Station was approved by the city’s planning commission on April 29.
While the project has already overcome several obstacles in the approval process and has gained a large share of community support, some local entities including the San Jose Sharks/SAP Center and the Santa Clara County Airport Land Use Commission have expressed opposition to the development.
The Sharks sent a letter to its Friends of SAP Center last month, declaring its opposition to the project ‘as currently designed,’ over concerns around future parking and access to SAP Center. The Airport commission unanimously rejected the project in December, citing inconsistencies with the airport’s land use policies around building heights, safety and noise.
In order to override the airport commission’s rejection, the City Council needs a two-thirds majority vote in favor of the plan, according to a memo prepared for the December meeting by the county’s planning and development department, reports said.
If the City Council approves Google’s plan, it will give them the green light to draft design plans for each building they are proposing for the development.
The meeting will be streamed on YouTube tonight at 6.p.m.