Downtown Community Task Force Meetings

Since the adoption of the Downtown Precise Plan in 2023, the DCTF was reconvened in October 2025 to provide input on a Community Benefits program for Downtown. Information presented thus far to the DCTF on the Community Benefits Program can be found below. The next Downtown Community Task Force (DCTF) meeting is yet to be determined.

Future meeting dates are yet to be determined and will be posted on this page once scheduled.

Sign up for Downtown Community Task Force email updates to receive meeting notifications and agendas.

Community Benefits Program

On December 5, 2023, the City Council adopted the Downtown Precise Plan and as a part of the motion, by consensus, the Council directed staff to look into doing a Community Benefits Program with a fee-based bonus structure. On May 27, 2025, the City Council took action to allocate funds for the work. Through a Request for Proposals (RFP) process, RSG, Inc. (“RSG”) was selected as the City’s consultant to develop the program.

Local Community Benefits policies or requirements are increasingly common practices designed to capture a portion of the value created by increased project entitlements. The City intends to integrate a Community Benefits Program into the Implementation Chapter of the adopted Downtown Precise Plan. The program will be calibrated to align the level and type of community benefits with the allowance for increased building height and Floor Area Ratio (FAR).

The Scope of Work and Tentative Schedule for the development of the Community Benefits Program is as follows: 

Adopted Documents

The Downtown Precise Plan and Form Based Zoning Code were presented to the Planning Commission at a public hearing on October 25, 2023, for a recommendation to the City Council. The Planning Commission adopted resolutions to unanimously recommend to the City Council approval of the project.

On December 5, 2023, the City of Santa Clara City Council a Adopted the Downtown Precise Plan and Form Based Zoning Code to implement the community’s vision and objectives for a vibrant, pedestrian-oriented destination Downtown with a mix of residential, office, and civic uses. The Form Based Code will provide objective design standards to regulate new development within the historic 25-acre downtown area. The project includes a related General Plan Amendment for the modification of the Downtown Core land use designation, creation of the Downtown Form Based Zoning District, and an Environmental Impact Report and Mitigation Monitoring Program.

• Downtown Precise Plan (rev. December 2023)
• Form Based Code (rev. November 28, 2023)

Environmental Clearance

The City prepared an Environmental Impact Report (EIR) for the Downtown Precise Plan that was prepared and processed in accordance with the California Environmental Quality Act (CEQA) of 1970, as amended. 

To obtain the EIR and related documents please contact the Community Development/Planning Division via email at planning@santaclaraca.gov or via phone at 408-615-2450

City Hall Relocation Study

The City's consultant, WRT, was engaged to study how a relocated City Hall and associated office space could fit downtown, and how it could be financed. The below document is the final report for this study.

• Santa Clara Civic Center Relocation Study
• Appendix (Santa Clara Civic Center Relocation Study)

Background

The City of Santa Clara is planning for the revitalization of our Downtown by developing a Precise Plan that will provide guidance for new development within a portion of the Downtown Precise Plan Focus Area (as identified in the General Plan) through policies, guidelines, and illustrations that implement the community vision and objectives for a vibrant, pedestrian-oriented destination Downtown.

The Precise Plan process occurred in close collaboration with Reclaiming Our Downtown (ROD), the Old Quad Residents Association (OQRA), Santa Clara University (SCU) and all interested community members. The foundation for the Downtown Precise Plan was laid through the completion of a series of community planning workshops between October 2015 and November 2017, where community input on a vision for the Downtown’s future was gathered.

The Downtown will serve as an important gathering place within the local community as well as a symbolic center for all of Santa Clara, continuing the City’s focus on “Placemaking” as a key strategy to support quality of life for all Santa Clarans. 

Planning Process

A consultant team headed by WRT was engaged to support the City in the preparation of the Downtown Precise Plan. The planning process started with an existing conditions analysis, followed by various forms of community outreach, including workshops, to receive community input on visioning, land use, circulation, and design standards. Layered within this process was review and input from the Downtown Community Task Force (DCTF), as well as the greater community.

The Downtown Community Task Force (DCTF) was approved by the City Council at their meeting on December 4, 2018. The members of the DCTF include representation from a diverse range of backgrounds and perspectives including the Old Quad Residents Association, Reclaiming Our Downtown, Santa Clara University, and the Historical and Cultural Commissions. The DCTF is advisory, non-voting and will meet over the course of the Downtown Precise Plan planning process to provide input on the vision, land use, circulation, and urban design aspects of the Plan, as well as key policy issues. 

Downtown Precise Plan Area Boundary

The Downtown Precise Plan planning area encompasses approximately 25-acres of land bounded by Benton Street, Lafayette Street, Homestead Road, and Madison Street, as shown below. 

Contact Information

To be added to the Downtown Precise Plan e-mail notification list, please subscribe to eNotifications for Downtown Precise Plan on the City’s website.  By signing up for eNotifications you will be notified of upcoming meetings and planning process updates for the Downtown Precise Plan – signing up is easy and efficient and should take less than 1-minute to do so.  You will also have the option to subscribe to other notification lists that interest you.

Please submit any questions or comments about the Downtown Precise Plan or the Community Benefits Program Process to Lesley Xavier at lxavier@santaclaraca.gov.