All eyes are on Diridon Station in San Jose right now.
The region is watching closely to see how the City handles growth and development at this significant public transportation hub, just across the street from SAP Center and immediately west of the heart of downtown.
For several years now, Greenbelt Alliance has been working with our allies to ensure the plan for the area around Diridon Station creates a dynamic cluster of neighborhoods that people love to visit, work in, and call home. We envision an area with safe and accessible streets for people, urban open spaces, and homes affordable at a range of income levels.
The key will be to make sure this vision manifests into reality as bike lanes, restored creeks and new parks, and housing that people can afford whether they are a teacher or a programmer.
Recently, residents and stakeholders were given the opportunity to review and submit comments on the draft environmental impact report (DEIR)—which details environmental impacts such as traffic and air quality—for the proposed community at Diridon Station. Since hundreds of pages of planning documents can be quite daunting for even the most technically knowledgeable, Greenbelt Alliance did what we do best: we reviewed the report cover to cover and brought residents and stakeholders together providing them with the resources they need to engage in the process and comment on the DEIR.
Our partners—the Silicon Valley Bicycle Coalition, Working Partnerships USA, SPUR, TransForm, Friends of Caltrain, the Sierra Club, and the Silicon Valley Leadership Group—lent their expertise in the fields of transportation, equity, and creek corridors to our January 30 workshop. Greenbelt Alliance also brought in Public Advocates to write an effectual letter on the need for stronger equity language in the plan, language that demonstrates the City will build homes affordable for a range of incomes near Diridon Station.
Read highlights from Greenbelt Alliance’s and our allies’ comments to the City of San Jose.
Next stop: the San Jose Planning Commission and City Council will hear the final plan. Stay tuned for updates.
For more information, please contact Michele at mbeasley@greenbelt.org.
