Cisco's 20,000-Worker Campus Project May Not Face Voters After All

SAN JOSE, CA-A petition to put Cisco Systems’ $1.l3 billion headquarters project here up to a vote of the people has been declared invalid by San Jose city officials. The City Council recently gave unanimous approval to the 688-acre project, but opposition groups managed to come up with the necessary number of petition signatures to put it to a citywide vote.

Now, however, the city says the petition “fails to meet the legal requirements forthe proper subject matter of a referendum petition.” The petition referendum is aimed at overturning the City Council’s amendments to the 15-year-old master plan for north Coyote Valley, a semi-rural area it has been grooming for light industrial uses.

If the city’s invalidation holds up, it means the Cisco project could move forward this year, though opposition groups will likely continue their challenge through whatever means possible. If the city’s decision doesn’t hold up, and it does have to go to a vote, Cisco has promised to litigate the issue.