Eighty homes—16 of them deed-restricted affordable—could replace the long-vacant site of a shuttered South San José elementary school, if the city’s Planning Commission approves a project that has already drawn sharp pushback from neighbors over trees, traffic, and open space.
The Final Environmental Impact Report for the Glider Residential Project, issued in August, clears the last major environmental hurdle before a Planning Commission public hearing on the proposal. The project would redevelop the former Glider Elementary School site, which is currently fenced and vacant.
The developer, The True Life Companies, would build 80 single-family homes on the site. The project also includes roughly 0.68 acres of open space and new public streets.
What neighbors pushed back on
The public comment period on the Draft EIR drew a wide range of objections, touching on property values, neighborhood safety, privacy, and quality of life.
The environmental review classified those concerns as outside the scope of state environmental law, which limits analysis to physical impacts on the environment—not economic or social effects. Those comments are still included in the administrative record and will be presented to decision-makers at the public hearing.
The concerns that did fall within the EIR’s scope centered on trees, open space, and utilities.
Tree removal and the new open-space tradeoff
Of the 87 trees evaluated on and adjacent to the site, 54 are proposed for removal and 33 for preservation.
Commenters asked for fewer removals and additional analysis of canopy impacts. The city’s environmental review determined the removal is less than significant under state law, provided the developer replaces trees at required ratios—either 152 trees at 15-gallon size or 76 trees at 24-inch box size planted throughout the development.
On open space, several neighbors pointed out that the old school grounds have informally served as recreational space. The environmental review noted that the site is currently fenced and does not provide public access, and is not designated as city parkland—so its redevelopment does not legally constitute a loss of public recreational space.
The 0.68-acre open space included in the project would be privately owned but publicly accessible—what the city calls a POPOS, or privately-owned, publicly accessible open space. It counts toward the city’s parkland dedication requirements, with the developer paying an in-lieu fee to cover the remainder of the obligation.
The city is currently below its own goal of 3.5 acres of neighborhood and community parkland per 1,000 residents, sitting at approximately 3.2 acres per 1,000 as of 2024. The project is estimated to bring up to 231 new residents to the area.
Utilities and capacity concerns
Multiple commenters questioned whether water, wastewater, stormwater, and electrical infrastructure could handle the added load. Great Oaks Water Company is identified as the project’s water provider, and the environmental review found that utility impacts would not be significant.
The Final EIR and related project documents are available through the City of San José’s published records for the Glider Residential Project.
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