19780 Almaden Road and 6591 Woodcliff Court, San Jose, CA 95120 (unincorporated Santa Clara County)
Developer Mike LaBarbera proposed two builder's remedy subdivisions in unincorporated areas near South San Jose: 49 single-family homes, 10 of them deed-restricted for low-income households, on an 18.95-acre parcel at 19780 Almaden Road, and 16 homes plus four affordable accessory dwelling units on a 97.5-acre parcel at 6591 Woodcliff Court (Circle Hill Estates). He filed SB 330 preliminary applications for both sites on October 13, 2023, and a second one for Almaden Road on February 8, 2024, while the county lacked a compliant housing element, followed by formal applications on April 5, 2024. The county found the applications incomplete; its May 3, 2024 letter on Almaden Road listed items from its planning office, engineering, environmental health, the fire marshal, the county geologist, roads and CAL FIRE. HCD certified the county's housing element on February 5, 2025. LaBarbera resubmitted several times until county officials told him he had missed a 90-day deadline on the most recent round of submissions; under the county's rule, the preliminary application then expires and the project loses its builder's remedy protection. On September 25, 2025 the Planning Commission voted 5-2 to deny his appeals on both projects. County planners said the projects could still go forward if they meet local density and zoning rules. The county's SB 330 project list, as posted in October 2026, shows the Almaden Road application deemed complete on May 13, 2026 and under CEQA review, and the Woodcliff Court application found incomplete on July 10, 2026; it marks the October 2023 Almaden Road preliminary application as expired and does not say whether either project is still treated as a builder's remedy project. The Woodcliff Court figures follow the plans reported in April 2024 and San Jose Spotlight's count; the county's list still describes 13 homes and four ADUs there. Tenure is not stated, so the project type is left blank.
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LaBarbera files SB 330 preliminary applications for 6591 Woodcliff Court and 19780 Almaden Road.
County of Santa ClaraA second preliminary application for Almaden Road covers 49 homes, 10 of them affordable to low-income households.
County of Santa ClaraLaBarbera files formal SB 330 applications PLN24-062 (Woodcliff Court) and PLN24-063 (Almaden Road).
County of Santa ClaraThe letter lists items from county offices including the fire marshal, environmental health and the county geologist.
County of Santa ClaraHCD certifies the county's housing element, and the county stops accepting new builder's remedy preliminary applications.
County of Santa ClaraCommissioners uphold the county's position that LaBarbera missed a 90-day deadline, which the county says ends the projects' builder's remedy protection.
San Jose SpotlightThe county lists the application as complete and under CEQA review.
County of Santa ClaraThe county's project list shows a new incompleteness determination for Circle Hill Estates.
County of Santa ClaraArgued through his attorney and architect at the Sept. 25, 2025 hearing that he complied with each resubmission request and that the formal applications did not need to be deemed complete within 90 days to keep the preliminary applications' protection.
"But I'm not confident in the 90-day rule that we're enforcing." He agreed the applications were incomplete. (Sept. 25, 2025)
With the project architect, argued that some of the county's information requests were irrelevant or unreasonable.
Its SB 330 guidance: "If the applicant fails to complete their application within 90 days of the County's incompleteness determination, the preliminary application expires and the project is no longer vested."
"How many times does the county staff need to ask for the information over and over and not get it?" She argued the projects would endanger the Alamitos Creek wildlife corridor and destroy oak woodland. (Sept. 25, 2025)
Of the builder's remedy: "we are now stuck with something that is one of the poorest planning things and it creates headaches for the county and headaches for the neighbors." Also: "I'm deeply committed to process and we need to follow that." (Sept. 25, 2025)
Voted 5-2 to deny the appeals. Marc Rauser, Aimee Escobar, Robert Levy, Jennifer Chang Hetterly and Jean Cohen voted to deny; Margaret Belska and Sean O'Donoghue voted for the appeals.
County officials found that LaBarbera missed the 90-day deadline on his latest resubmittals, which under county policy ends the preliminary applications' vesting and the builder's remedy protection. The Planning Commission upheld that position 5-2 on Sept. 25, 2025. The county's current project list does not say whether either project is still vested.
Repeated incompleteness findings after the April 2024 formal applications, starting with a May 3, 2024 letter listing items from the fire marshal, environmental health, the county geologist, roads and other offices. Almaden Road was deemed complete on May 13, 2026; Woodcliff Court was found incomplete again on July 10, 2026.
Each row is a dated action by a deciding body, taken from the minutes, agenda packet, video, or ruling linked in the source column.
| Date | Body | Action | Vote | Staff recommendation | Source |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| May 3, 2024 | Staff | deemed application incomplete Almaden Road application PLN24-063-SB330. | — | Unknown | County of Santa Clara |
| September 25, 2025 | Planning Commission | appeal rejected Denied the appeals on both projects. For denial: Rauser, Escobar, Levy, Chang Hetterly, Cohen. Against: Belska, O'Donoghue. | 5–2 | Unknown | San Jose Spotlight |
| July 10, 2026 | Staff | deemed application incomplete Woodcliff Court application PLN24-062-SB330, per the county's SB 330 project list. | — | Unknown | County of Santa Clara |