Planners reject South Main condominium proposal
Commissioners say it lacks retail space for city’s plans
The Milpitas Planning Commission has rejected a proposed South Main Street mixeduse condominium and commercial development, saying it didn’t offer enough retail space for the city’s future downtown.
The commission voted 3-1 on Nov. 8, with Zeya Mohsin dissenting, to recommend the City Council nix the development of 27 resi- dential condos in four three-story buildings and about 18,000 square feet of commercial space proposed for 808 S. Main St.
The commission postponed voting on the proposal at its Oct. 11 meeting because some members said they felt it needed more commercial space. At that meeting, developer Barry Swenson Builder was asked to revisit the project design for the 1.09-acre site on South Main Street near East Curtis Avenue, in the Midtown area. Barry Swenson works for site owner Mary Ly, of 88 Homes.
The project would combine two sites and encompass the former Summer & Sons Electric business that moved to San Jose in 2016, leaving the Milpitas building vacant.
But on Nov. 8, Sarah Fleming, the city’s senior planner, told commissioners Barry Swenson had stuck to the original plan for the site.
“The applicant has not changed anything that you saw on Oct. 11,” Fleming said.
She said city staff still found the project was consistent with design standards and complied with the Milpitas Midtown Specific Plan area, which envisions new housing, retail and commercial development on a 589-acre area near South Main and South Abel streets close to the Great Mall and the pending Milpitas Bay Area Rapid Transit Station.
Fleming stressed that the Midtown plan — especially for this part of South Main Street — did not require large amounts of commercial space.
“So while commercial space is encouraged in the (mixed zoning) district, there’s no requirement currently in the plan, as written,” Fleming said.
However, she alluded to an area north of the project site along Main Street — closer to Carlo Street and Serra Way — where more retail for a future downtown was envisioned.
After learning the area did not require more retail, Mohsin apologized to city staffers and the developer for the delay.
“I just feel bad, if we’d known all of this we would not have put them through that,” Mohsin said. “…Since it’s exempt from that area and there is no specific requirement for commercial spaces it just makes us look at the whole planning process now.”
Later, Fleming and Milpitas Planning Director Bradley Misner both said city staff would try to explain such information more clearly to the commission in the future.
“It is the responsibility for us to make sure you understand the legal zoning standards for each project, so we’ll do a better job on that,” Misner said.
Regardless, Commissioner Ray Maglalang said the project lacked retail on the ground floor and he wanted to see some of the guest parking moved to behind the project, closer to the Union Pacific Railroad line near Hammond Way.
Mohsin objected, saying it would deviate from the project’s plan too greatly.
“I would rather stick to what we have right now,” she said.
But Commissioner Gurdev Sandhu said the intent was “to have more commercial space” and ground-floor retail along Main Street in general.
After Maglalang suggested more changes to the project, Deputy City Attorney Katy Wisniski cautioned commissioners that those changes would “approve a substantially different project that hasn’t been subject to internal staff, legal and engineering review.”
“It’s substantially reworking the project,” Wisniski added.
For his part, Sandhu moved to deny the project because it failed to offer more groundfloor retail; the planning commission voted accordingly.
Commissioners Sudhir Mandal, Rajeev Madnawat, Larry Ciardella and Demetress Morris were absent from the Nov. 8 meeting.