In San Jose, one of Northern California’s biggest cities, it’s rare that a 115-acre vacant property like the Pleasant Hills Golf Course becomes available for development. Many people who live near the site and regional advocates want housing there, but they disagree on what it should look like.
Located on the city’s east side, the golf course closed in 2004; until recently, the city government did not actively try to redevelop it. But the city has a mandate from the state to build 62,000 homes by 2031, and so in 2024 it asked people in the adjoining neighborhoods what kind of housing they’d like to see built there. Of 241 residents who responded, about 80% thought single-family homes would be fine along with park space, but only 28% were open to building apartment buildings with more than three stories.
But the latter is the type of housing San Jose should build if it’s serious about addressing its housing needs, according to Catalyze SV, a Silicon Valley-based advocacy group that is pushing new plans for the site. Developer Terrascape Ventures asked the city last year for approval for 1,716 single-family homes and townhouses, with some commercial property on one portion of the site. Catalyze advised the developer in a recent letter that building more than 6,000 homes with some commercial space would be more appropriate.
“At this moment, single-family is what seems financially feasible to the developer,” Catalyze executive director Alex Shoor said in an interview. “But we’re missing an opportunity to do something big and great.”
Shoor’s group has provided ratings for numerous proposed housing developments in the Silicon Valley area based on the number and nature of homes and other factors. But it’s unusual, he said, for the group to go a step further and sketch out an alternative scenario. In this case, the group proposed locating a park around the former golf course’s perimeter to buffer nearby single-family houses from apartment buildings closer to the center. The development would have a central plaza as a gathering spot for the new neighborhood.
Terrascape Managing Principal Mark Lazzarini did not respond to a request to comment. His company’s initial proposal to city officials would include about 18 acres of park space, including a linear park between the existing neighborhood and the three-to-four-story townhouses.
Local vs. citywide interests
City officials seem torn between a desire to respond to neighbors, who favor development similar to what their streets look like, and a need to meet the city’s housing shortfall. Domingo Candelas, who represents the area on the San Jose City Council, said in a statement that residents had made it clear that “while we must build more housing, we must do so responsibly” and that existing residents’ quality of life must be protected.
At a council meeting last October about the results of the city’s outreach to neighbors, councilor David Cohen, who represents a different part of the city, said the city shouldn’t be satisfied with an outcome that costs it financially. The more homes there are on the property, the more tax revenue the city is likely to gain.
“We should make sure it isn’t going to cost us money and that we get enough housing out of it,” he said. “We know there’s a certain density required for it to be positive for the city.”
But a few residents emphasized during the meeting that the location isn’t necessarily the best for the kind of intensive development Catalyze SV has in mind. It’s not close enough to public transit, one man said, and it’s not an area the city has historically designated for significant growth.
Plus, Terrascape is calling for more than 20 homes per acre, which is substantial, said Michael Gabler, president of the neighborhood association for the adjoining area of Norwood.
“The developer has put forward a project that’s more than three times the density of the community around there,” he told councilors.
As city officials review Terrascape’s plans, Shoor said Catalyze intends to organize a design workshop for residents to consider alternative scenarios.
But given that the vast majority of San Jose’s land is already zoned for single-family homes, he said, the city shouldn’t rely so much on nearby residents’ perspective if that means more of the same.
“Part of why the housing crisis in California has gotten so bad is because we give folks in the neighborhoods a lot of input,” he said. “We think about it from a regional perspective – how can we do the most good for people?”
