Cisco Systems 688-acre Campus Up for Planning Commission Approval Tonight

SAN JOSE, CA-Cisco Systems’ controversial North Coyote Valley campus proposal should gain the blessing of the planning commission here tonight, sending the would-be 20,000-worker campus to the City Council for final approval.

Cisco wants to develop 688-acres within San Jose’s North Coyote Valley Campus Industrial Area, located 11 miles south of Downtown in the northern most portion of Coyote Valley. Environmentalists and neighbors say the development will increase traffic, raise rents, and worsen the environment. Cisco says that its workers will have a reverse commute, will not worsen traffic, and will not all elect to live in the Coyote Valley area, thereby not raising rents.

If the $1-billion project is approved, it goes before the City Council on Oct. 24. City officials, including Mayor Ron Gonzales, have been highly in favor of the project, and it’s no wonder. Cisco is San Jose’s largest employer.

The North Coyote Valley Campus Industrial Area includes approximately 1,400 acres specifically designated for large, high-prestige corporate campuses more than 15 years ago in San Jose’s General Plan. In 1994, the city adopted General Plan 2020, reaffirming campus industrial uses in North Coyote Valley.