Land Use Planning

LAND USE PLANNING

February 2010

Adoption of new operating methods and technologies will define the Plant’s future operational footprint. What this future footprint may look like is beginning to solidify, enabling project staff to move forward with the shaping of the land use alternatives.

Land Use Analysis

The project team is developing preliminary land use alternatives for discussion using input from City of San José and tributary agency staff at the first land use workshop (January 2009), the values expressed in the values survey data, and information gathered from partner and regulatory agencies. Economic analysis, including job generation and regional revenue, is a major component of the potential alternatives along with environmental and social sustainability. The second land use workshop (December 2009) enabled City of San José and tributary representatives to again consider and comment on the direction of land use alternatives in light of a stronger sense of the Plant’s technological direction and considering the community values feedback. With this input, the project team is now proceeding with development of the land use alternatives for public presentation at the spring 2010 community workshops.

Sea-Level Rise Analysis

The project team analyzed the likely impact of sea-level rise on the Plant site. Nearly all of the Plant land, including the operational area and biosolids treatment area, would be flooded by bay waters under all sea-level rise projections. Protecting the Plant’s ability to continue treating the region’s wastewater in the event of sea-level rise is a central component of the master plan.

Regulatory Agency Input

The Plant’s site at the Bay shoreline and between two waterways --- the Guadalupe River and Coyote Creek -- means the site includes habitat for several species and plants and is subject to the jurisdiction of several regulatory agencies. During 2009, project staff provided updates and discussed the project with the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service, U.S. Army Corps of Engineers, California Coastal Conservancy, California Department of Fish and Game, Bay Conservation and Development Commission, Regional Water Quality Control Board, and Santa Clara Valley Water District. Discussions included Pond A18 – the 850-acre former salt production at the site’s northern end – and input was collected about the appropriate future uses for the pond.

QUESTIONS? Contact Project Manager Kirsten Struve at kirsten.struve@sanjoseca.gov or 408-945-5180.  

www.sanjoseca.gov/esd/plantmasterplan

PLANT MASTER PLAN GOALS

• Operational – result in a reliable, flexible Plant that can respond to changing conditions
• Environmental – improve habitat and minimize impacts to the local and global environment
• Economical – maximize economic benefits for customers through cost-effective options
• Social – maximize community benefits through improved aesthetics and recreational uses