EAST SAN JOSE\u2019S LONGTIME Duino family is ready to let go of its 115-acre former golf course. But they\u2019re caught between clashing visions over the future of the property. City leaders want more density than developers and some neighbors had in mind.<\/p>\n
A\u00a0letter obtained by San Jos\u00e9 Spotlight<\/a>\u00a0shows city planners earlier this year told real estate developers Mark Lazzarini and Tony Arreola \u2014 whose development firm Lakeside Community is poised to buy the land from the Duinos \u2014 their proposal for 1,700 homes on the former\u00a0Pleasant Hills Golf Course<\/a>\u00a0is too small. The city\u2019s July 3 letter said their initial proposal did not provide high enough density and came up short on affordable housing. The city plans to annex the site, which is unincorporated county land.<\/p>\n \u201cThe housing units associated with the proposed development present a (state housing needs) shortfall that the County must account for to meet state law requirements,\u201d the city\u2019s letter to Lazzarini and Arreola reads. \u201cThe proposed project would result in a shortfall of 1,129 residential units, including 68 lower-income units.\u201d<\/p>\n The tug of war comes as neighbors in the surrounding community of single-family homes have voiced concern about the potential impacts of high-rises.\u00a0Results from a series of community workshops last year<\/a>\u00a0show most public participants favor single-family homes and oppose buildings with more than three stories. Housing advocates, meanwhile, lambasted the city from the opposite end \u2014 arguing for a more scaled up development than the proposal laid out by Lazzarini and Arreola. But the property sale can\u2019t close until the developers get through the project permitting process.<\/p>\n \u201cThe family is at the mercy of both the community and the city and arriving at some sort of happy medium,\u201d Stan Perry, a broker and confidante representing Francis Duino, the eldest son of golf course designer Henry Duino, told San Jos\u00e9 Spotlight.<\/p>\n Henry Duino shaped Pleasant Hills into a public golf course that closed in 2004 due to rising costs and shifting interests. The land has sat idle for two decades. But it could carve major inroads in a regional housing crisis \u2014 closing one chapter of San Jose\u2019s golf history while turning a page in the Duino family\u2019s civic footprint.<\/p>\n \u201cWe have studied it to death, and like so many potential housing sites in San Jose it sat fenced off for decades while housing costs spiraled out of control,\u201d Francis Duino told San Jos\u00e9 Spotlight. \u201cIf the city wants to get serious about building more housing, they need to work with, not against, property owners and developers.\u201d<\/p>\n Clashing visions<\/p>\n Perry said Mayor Matt Mahan\u2019s office has been trying to push the development proposal to go higher in scale. Representatives for Mahan did not respond to requests for comment.<\/p>\n \u201cThe original proposal was 1,700 units and the mayor is trying to push it higher, but the community is only going to go so far. It\u2019s kind of a back and forth right now,\u201d Perry said. \u201cThere are some market forces driving this in the sense that if it becomes too dense, it\u2019s not financeable to construct. If the requirements at the city get so onerous \u2014 it will not be developed.\u201d<\/p>\n In a joint statement, Lazzarini and Arreola said their proposal is designed to stay realistic in a tough construction market while abiding by the wishes of immediate neighbors and surrounding residents.<\/p>\n \u201cWe\u2019re placing higher-density and affordable housing where it fits best and keeping lower-scale homes near existing neighborhoods,\u201d they told San Jos\u00e9 Spotlight. \u201cThat balance is a big reason we\u2019ve seen strong support from residents who\u2019ve participated in the process. Our goal is a project that can actually get built and that the community feels good about.\u201d<\/p>\n The developers said they\u2019re working through the remaining entitlements and expect a full package to be ready for consideration by the San Jose City Council in the second half of 2026.<\/p>\n Alex Shoor is the executive director of Catalyze SV, a pro-housing and sustainable development advocacy group. He said he\u2019s never seen such a comprehensive critique on a project from the city. His organization agrees with the city, calling the proposal insufficient in scale considering the massive area of the site.<\/p>\n \u201cWe need to see the developer go back to the drawing board,\u201d Shoor told San Jos\u00e9 Spotlight. \u201cThis proposal is rooted in the 1950s of San Jose, which is great for a lot of people but not for the people trying to live there right now.\u201d<\/p>\n Perry said his client has grown weary of the prolonged process.<\/p>\n \u201cThe family members have pretty much spent a good portion of their lives trying to get the property sold,\u201d he said. \u201cThey\u2019re landlocked, if you will.\u201d<\/p>\n