Last Thursday, the San Jose General Plan Task Force voted overwhelmingly to change the land use in North Coyote Valley from industrial development to open space and agriculture. Although this action must also be approved by the Planning Commission and City Council, this is an amazing outcome that could only have been dreamed of just a few years ago, and it brings us much closer to protecting all of Coyote Valley!

A New Vision For Coyote Valley

One year ago, the City of San Jose, together with the Santa Clara Valley Open Space Authority (OSA) and Peninsula Open Space Trust (POST), acquired 937 acres of open space in North Coyote Valley for permanent conservation. This historic transaction not only permanently protected a large part of North Coyote Valley, it opened the door for the next step: amending the San Jose General Plan so that the remaining land in Coyote Valley will no longer be targeted for development of any kind.    

When the General Plan Task Force was ready to consider the future of Coyote Valley, the San Jose Planning staff recommended to change the land use designation for North Coyote Valley from industrial development to open space for the publicly-owned land and agriculture for the privately-owned land, and to remove the “Urban Reserve” designation that labels Mid Coyote Valley as a place for future annexation and residential development. On October 29, the Task Force voted overwhelmingly to recommend to the Planning Commission and City Council that the staff proposal be approved. 

If approved, this action will create a new vision for Coyote Valley. For decades, San Jose has viewed Coyote Valley as an opportunity for future development. That attitude has been changing in recent years with the passage of Measure T and the conservation of part of North Coyote Valley. But changing the General Plan to remove all future development potential will finally make it clear that the City of San Jose views Coyote Valley as a unique open space that should be preserved for wildlife, farmland and climate resilience.
 

What You Can Do

Watch for future opportunities to email decisionmakers asking them to take this critical step to protect all of Coyote Valley!