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Downtown Community Task Force (DCTF)
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. Details of each meeting, including meeting materials and meeting summaries can be found under the Task Force page.
Community Engagement Reports
Phase I Community Engagement
Phase I of a two phase community engagement process has been completed. These engagement efforts informed the development of three land use concepts. A summary of all of the engagement efforts that occurred between October 2019 and January 2020 can be found at the link below.
Phase II Community Engagement
Phase II of the community engagement process has been completed. During this second phase, the planning team asked for the community's feedback about three potential land use frameworks that were developed from the feedback received in Phase I. A summary of these outreach efforts that occurred between January 2020 and June 2020 can be found at the link below.
Phase III Community Engagement
Phase III of the community engagement process has been completed. During this third phase, the planning team confirmed direction on a preferred plan for streets and public spaces, essential ground-floor activation, and building height and massing. We also explored placemaking character, looking at future streetscape, parks and plazas; building design; programming and activation; and art and interpretation. A summary of the outreach efforts that occurred between November 2020 and October 2021 can be found at the link below.
Community Outreach
Retail 101 Community Workshop (January 16, 2020)
The first community meeting as a part of the Downtown Precise Plan planning process occurred on January 16, 2020 at the Senior Center. The community workshop focused on the retail in our downtown area. At this workshop we discussed how retailers determine if a new store is warranted, how data is collected and analyzed, how real estate is evaluated, and how internal decision processes work. Participant takeaways included an understanding of retailer processes and how to communicate a property’s compelling attributes to a potential retail tenant.
Placemaking Community Workshop (October 12, 2021)
On Tuesday, October 12, 2021 a virtual workshop lead by the City’s consultant, WRT, was held to get the community's input on streets, public spaces, buildings, programming, art and culture: all these things and more that will make Downtown a great place. The following are the materials from the meeting:
Community Open House (November 19, 2022)
Through a community lead process that kicked off in October 2019, the City of Santa Clara has been planning for the revitalization of our Downtown by developing a Precise Plan and Form Based Zoning Code 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, standards, and illustrations that implement the community vision and objectives for a vibrant, pedestrian-oriented destination Downtown. On Saturday, November 19, 2022 from 10:00 a.m. to Noon at the Mission Branch Library (1098 Lexington Street) a Community Open House was held to review and provide feedback on the Precise Plan and Form Based Zoning Code final draft documents. The information presented can be found below:
Online Surveys
Survey #1 - Land Use Concepts (May 2020)
The City of Santa Clara, a Task Force of citizens, and a team of planners, designers, economists, and others, informed by the community, completed “Phase 1” of the Downtown Precise Plan planning effort. To get feedback from the community, three land use concepts that test the placement of public space, land uses, and the height of buildings for the future of Downtown Santa Clara were presented in an online survey.
The survey provided Background Information and asked participants about what they liked and didn’t like about the concepts. The survey was open for a month and closed on Friday, May 29, 2020. The feedback received informed the land use framework for the Precise Plan. We received over 480 survey responses and over 1000 written comments, cumulatively. The document below provides a quick summary, distills key topics and preferences, and the graph provide a good indication of community response towards the various topics of the survey.
Downtown Precise Plan Online Engagement - Summary
Survey #2 - Placemaking (October 2021)
Over the course of the last year, the City and the Downtown Community Task Force have solicited community input and crafted and refined a “framework plan” for achieving the community vision for a vibrant, pedestrian-oriented Downtown. With this second survey, we looked to the community to understand how well we captured their ideas, and to receive feedback on placemaking elements for the Plan, e.g. the types of streets, public spaces, and activities that they would like to see in Downtown Santa Clara.
The survey was open for a month and closed on Sunday, October 31, 2021. The feedback received will inform the placemaking elements of the Precise Plan. We received 204 survey responses.
Meeting-in-a-Box
Meeting-in-a-Box #1
As a part our public outreach strategy, the Downtown Precise Plan consultant has designed what they call a Meeting in a Box. This is a package of engagement tools for individual community members or groups to use to conduct outreach and engagement meetings on their own. Meeting in a Box #1 will ask the following of will participants: What’s there today that can be an asset for the future? Where do you see opportunities for change? Below is the instruction and more information, including two versions of the 10-block map of the Downtown area. This activity ended on January 16, and a summary was shared at the DCTF meeting on February 3, 2020.
- Meeting in a Box #1 materials
Meeting-in-a-Box #2
Meeting-in-a-Box #2 was conducted during June 2020 and was designed as small group discussions to garner more in-depth input on the three land use concepts that test the placement of public space, land uses, and the height of buildings for the future of Downtown Santa Clara. At the link below you will find Background Information and Meeting-in-a-Box materials that were used in the discussions. The feedback from this activity will inform the land use framework for the Precise Plan.
Downtown Precise Plan Online Engagement
Winter Break To-Do List
The consultant put together a To-Do List of movies to watch, books to read and places to explore. Chose one or multiple and provide your feedback. The information is in a google form at the following link: Winter Break To-Do List.
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