Future scheduled public discussions will be noted here.
Please note that the Tuesday City Council meetings are open to the public, televised live at 7 p.m. on Cable Channel 15, and rebroadcast the following Wednesday at 7 p.m. and Thursday at 1 p.m. DVDs of the meetings are also available at the Library for check out.
See links below for all previous materials on this topic that have been considered at City Council Meetings.
Council selects June 8, 2010 for a vote on the stadium project
On December 8, 2009, Council certified the Environmental Impact Report for the stadium project, which is required under the California Environmental Quality Act (CEQA). The purpose of CEQA is to review the potential environmental impacts of projects. An EIR is an informational document that informs public agency decision makers and the public of the significant environmental effects of a project, identifies possible ways to minimize the significant effects of the project, and describes reasonable alternatives to the project. The successful completion of this process was necessary in order to place a binding measure on the ballot for Santa Clara voters in 2010.
Also at the December 8 Council meeting, Council selected June 8, 2010 as the date to place a binding measure on the ballot, and requested the City Manager bring forward ballot language for Council consideration at the December 15, 2009 meeting. To that end, staff and 49ers worked together to develop mutually agreed upon ballot language that captured the key elements of the Term Sheet in a way that was clear and understandable to the public.
On December 11, 2009, a citizens group, Santa Clarans for Economic Progress, filed a Notice of Intent to Circulate an Initiative Petition titled “The Santa Clara Stadium Taxpayer Protection and Economic Progress Act.” The ordinance portion of the initiative, which is the portion that would be inserted into the City Code if enacted by the voters, conforms to the language used in the City ballot measure, although there are differences in the introductory descriptive language.
At the December 15, 2009 Council meeting, Council approved continuing discussion of a City ballot measure to February 2010, in order to allow the citizen-based initiative to continue to move forward, and to avoid the confusion of having two measures on this topic on the ballot. If the citizen petition fails to qualify for the ballot or if Council decides for some other reason to place their own measure on the ballot, the deadline to do so is the March 9, 2010 Council meeting.
At the December 15, 2009 Council meeting, Council approved continuing discussion of a City ballot measure to February 2010, in order to allow the citizen-based initiative to continue to move forward, and to avoid the confusion of having two measures on this topic on the ballot. If the citizen petition fails to qualify for the ballot or if Council decides for some other reason to place their own measure on the ballot, the deadline to do so is the March 9, 2010 Council meeting.
Significant prior dates:
- November 2006, 49ers announced their interest in building a football stadium in the City of Santa Clara, to be located on part of the parking lot of Great America Theme Park, 5000 Great America Parkway, just south of Tasman Blvd., on land which is owned by the City and leased to Great America for parking.
- January 15, 2008, after a year of extensive research, discussions, public comment, and an eight-month feasibility study, the City Council determined that the 49ers proposed stadium presents a potential entertainment/economic opportunity for the City’s North Bayshore Area. Council directs the City Manager to enter into negotiations with the 49ers. The preliminary negotiations are non-binding – they do not commit the City to the stadium project – and are to create a Term Sheet agreement, to further examine issues and clarify and document understandings and guarantees of all parties involved in the proposed project.
- January 22, 2008, Council discussed the type and timing of a ballot measure for the proposed stadium, with the goal that eventual Term Sheet elements could be reflected in potential ballot language.
- June 2, 2009, Council approved the Term Sheet for the potential stadium, which clarifies and documents the understandings and commitments of the involved parties.
- July 14, 2009, Council and the public received a presentation by the 49ers on the proposed stadium design.
- July 30, 2009, Draft Environmental Impact Report for the stadium project is completed and released for public review and comment.
- August – September 2009, a Charter Review Committee met to review and make an advisory recommendation to the City Council about whether or not to consider a second ballot measure in 2010 to amend the City Charter language regarding competitive bidding for the stadium project. The Committee also reviewed and considered proposed Senate Bill 43 (Alquist), a bill that would allow the City to use a design-build process for the stadium project without needing to modify the City Charter.
- October 27, 2009, Council approved the Charter Review Committee’s recommendation to use the authority granted under SB 43 (Alquist) to allow for a limited design-build process for the stadium project.
- December 8, 2009, Council certified the Environmental Impact Report for the stadium project and selected June 8, 2009 as the date to place project on the ballot.
- December 11, 2009, a citizens group submitted to the City Clerk a Notice of Intent to Circulate an Initiative Petition titled “The Santa Clara Stadium Taxpayer Protection and Economic Progress Act.”
- December 15, 2009, Council approved continuing discussion of a City ballot measure to February 2010, in order to allow the citizen-based initiative to continue to move forward. If the citizen petition fails to qualify for the ballot or if Council decides for some other reason to place their own measure on the ballot, the deadline to do so is the March 9, 2010 Council meeting.
Links to Past Reports and Background Material
All reports considered by the City Council regarding the proposal of the 49ers to build a stadium in Santa Clara can be accessed online. Please note that the PDF files are very large and may take several minutes to load if you are on a dial-up connection.
Key Reports
Past Agenda Reports in Chronological Order