"Developers are attempting to use a legal escape hatch to push new housing into South County open space. But county leaders have found a loophole of their own. The Santa Clara County Planning Commission on Thursday voted 5-2 against appeals for two different projects under the same developer. To push the projects through, the developer has tried to invoke a state law known as builder's remedy - which allows developments to ignore restrictions on building height and density when local governments lack state approval for their housing plans. The county missed its original deadline two years ago, which opened the door, until receiving state approval in January. But county planners have rejected the plans based on technicalities of missed application deadlines and incomplete information."
""While I do think there is a need for housing and everything - and at first I was very much for (builder's remedy) as a concept - we are now stuck with something that is one of the poorest planning things and it creates headaches for the county and headaches for the neighbors," Rauser said at the meeting. "I'm deeply committed to process and we need to follow that.""
"In April 2024, developer Mike LaBarbera submitted applications for two projects in unincorporated areas near South San Jose. One proposal is for developing 49 single-family homes on 19 acres at 19780 Almaden Road. The second is for 20 single-family homes, four being backyard homes, at 6591 Woodcliff Court on approximately 97 acres. County officials told LaBarbera both applications lacked crucial information required by the fire marshal, environmental health, the county geologist and other offices."
The Santa Clara County Planning Commission voted 5-2 to deny appeals for two proposed housing projects after county planners found application deficiencies and missed deadlines. The developer invoked the state's builder's remedy to bypass local height and density restrictions because the county had missed an earlier state deadline, but the county later received state approval. County staff repeatedly told the developer that submissions lacked information required by the fire marshal, environmental health, the county geologist and other offices. Commissioners cited procedural and technical issues as grounds for denial despite acknowledged housing needs.
Read at San Jose Spotlight
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