San Jose officials have amended the city’s historic preservation policy in order to advance a long-delayed project that would bring millions of dollars of new amenities, including a music pavilion, to St. James Park.
The measure — which does not specifically name the park project — sparked widespread pushback from local preservationists who warn it will undermine historic preservation protections. Nevertheless, the City Council on Tuesday approved the change in a 9-2 vote. Councilmembers Rosemary Kamei and George Casey cast the two no votes. Kamei echoed preservationists’ concerns that the amendment grants councilmembers too much latitude to circumvent San Jose’s rules limiting demolitions and major alterations for historic buildings.
The code change is a response to a 2024 ruling from the state Court of Appeals that found San Jose had stepped outside the bounds of its own historic preservation code in approving the St. James Park project. The amendment seeks to provide a technical fix by explicitly laying out the conditions under which the city may approve a construction project that harms historic resources…