SAN JOSE — A housing development proposed for south San Jose has slimmed down and is now pivoting to townhomes ahead of a public review of its potential environmental impacts.
If built, the project at 5670 Camden Ave. would produce 108 townhouse units about a block from Blossom Hill Road, city planning files show. When the project first came to light in 2023, the developer had initially proposed 136 residences and a self-storage center.
The self-storage unit is no longer mentioned in current plans.
The townhomes would be spread over 32 buildings on the site. The proposal states that 20 would contain three units and 12 would accommodate four units.
The 2023 proposal had sketched out plans for more than 100 affordable units. Now, the majority will be market-rate options.
“A total of eight units would be maintained as extremely-low-income dwelling units,” a report prepared in April for the city Planning Department report states. “These units would be interspersed with the market‐rate units and would be located in multiple buildings throughout the project site.”
The project would also remove multiple sports fields, as well as one or more buildings associated with their operation.
Project developer Mana Investments has initiated a builder’s remedy plan to streamline the review process for the proposal, city officials state in public documents. The project was proposed before state government officials gave final approval in January 2024 to San Jose’s citywide housing blueprint.
Under a builder’s remedy approach, cities that do not have a state-approved housing element cannot deny approval of qualifying projects even if the proposals are inconsistent with a general plan or zoning laws.
The project is currently beginning a public review process for the proposal’s draft environmental impact report.