After nearly a year of neighborhood meetings, public hearings and city discussion, the Campbell Village neighborhood has its blueprint for the future.

At an Aug. 7 meeting the city council unanimously approved a neighborhood plan that sets standards for maintaining the area’s rural characteristics and guides future development there.

The neighborhood, formerly known as Cambrian 36, consists of 485 parcels covering 135 acres bordered by Union, Bascom and Camden avenues and McGlincy Drive. Much of the neighborhood is zoned for residential, but a handful of commercial properties abut homes.

Campbell incorporated the area after it struck a deal with San Jose in 2013. The neighborhood had previously been absorbed into San Jose from Santa Clara County.

Since last fall the city had worked with residents to concoct the neighborhood plan. There was great debate among neighbors about what the plan should include.

“I do believe that the process is at a point where we need to make some decisions. We need to move forward,” Mayor Liz Gibbons said during last week’s council meeting. “I’m not sure we have everything resolved. I also think that it’s very clear we’re not going to make everyone happy. As the phrase goes, the buck stops here.”

Included in the plan is an increase in lot coverage, which will match floor-area ratio for residential properties. This encourages construction of one-story homes in the neighborhood by increasing the buildable area on the property, according to the staff report.

“This change was requested by the community to make it easier to maximize the allowable building area without having to build a two-story home,” city associate planner Stephen Rose told the council.

Rear setback rules, a contentious item that split the neighborhood, were revised to the lesser distance of 20 feet, or 15 percent of the lot depth, but not less than 5 feet for residential zoned properties.

Neighbors were split on their preferred setbacks. Those in favor of 20-foot setbacks indicated this would allow for privacy, while proponents of 5-foot setbacks said the distance would allow people to build their homes as they choose without having to build a towering two-story home.

“Our neighborhood has been splintered over this process, and that’s why people don’t come (to public meetings) anymore,” Carrie Whitaker, Campbell Village Neighborhood Association president, told the council.

Whitaker said she was not in support of a 5-foot rear setback.

“I’m 5 feet tall,” she said. “This is how far your house would be from your fence. It’s not a big distance. To say that it doesn’t decrease your privacy or it doesn’t really matter is naive.”

Included in the plan is a process granting the community development director discretion to approve or deny applications and to waive certain fees.

To view the plan and other documents visit bit.ly/2uDHSV1.