A slew of state laws are hamstringing Sunnyvale’s ability to ensure that retail businesses remain in the city’s village centers.
At its most recent meeting on July 1, the Sunnyvale City Council adopted an urgency ordinance that set guidelines — known as the Village Center Master Plan — for development in these areas.
The city outlined the village centers as areas for potential housing in its housing element — a document submitted to the state to meet each city’s share of housing in the region. Also, in 2017, the city adopted its Land Use and Transportation Element (LUTE), establishing the seven village centers.
Because of this, state laws limit how much control cities have to say they want certain areas to be retail only, Jeffery Cucinotta, senior planner, said.
“These housing laws streamline the development process. They prohibit local agencies from denying or imposing conditions on a housing project that is consistent with adopted objective standards, and, in some cases, it has allowed developers to propose an entirely residential project on a shopping center site as a commercial zoning designation,” he said. “So, it isn’t necessarily as easy as the city denying a residential-only project on a commercial zoned site just because the LUTE allows residential use there.”
The LUTE designates that the village centers need to have between 900 and 1,200 housing units across the seven sites by 2035. Those sites are earmarked for mixed-use — which allows commercial alongside housing and public uses. Commercial use is allowed on all three zonings and none of them allow for residential only.
If the city fails to follow the rules, it could have its housing element de-certified, said City Attorney Rebecca Moon. State laws, such as the builder’s remedy, could then allow a developer to propose a project at whatever density they like, wherever they like.
While the master plan is a “no net-loss,” Cucinotta said, it essentially shifts the location of things. Allowing for four- or five-story buildings, the plan establishes new zoning designations and updates definitions. However, it is not just about the total number of housing units, he added, but about ensuring they are “in the right buckets.”
Residents in certain village center neighborhoods, most notably in north Sunnyvale, worried that the limitations would create a food desert.
“We were devastated to learn about the proposal that will replace the thriving shopping center with housing. Our neighborhood relies heavily on the businesses in the shopping center,” said Brittany Baer, a San Miguel neighborhood resident. “If these small businesses are sacrificed for the proposed changes, our neighborhood risks becoming a food desert, and we would lose the irreplaceable third spaces that foster community connection and belonging.”
She said residents are “deeply concerned and confused” that so many retail stores, such as the Taj Mahal grocery store, could be displaced, especially when there is so much vacant office space that could be converted to housing.
Council Member Eileen Le had to recuse herself from the vote but was able to participate as part of the audience. She spoke during public comments, saying she is “sympathetic” to those who are concerned about food deserts.
“These are things that affect everyone in Sunnyvale, and having that walkable, livable community is part of our goal as a city and just something that we as humans should have access to,” she said.
Efforts to gentrify certain neighborhoods have left many viewing cultural mainstays such as Speedy’s Tacos and Tijuana’s as a “blight,” she added.
Jonathan Blum said the proposed one bike parking space per unit in the plan was “stingy,” going against some of the goals of the village centers.
“One of the goals of the village center program is to create housing options in which residents can be less dependent on cars,” he said. “One of the ingredients in that is to make cycling convenient.”
While many opposed the changes, some found things about them that they liked.
Gail Rubino called the use of mixed-use to increase housing “very clever.”
City employees recognized that the city was in a tough position.
Trudi Ryan, community development director, said navigating the state laws has been a challenge, even if the spirit of them is well-meaning.
“I understand why they did it. I might not personally agree with how they did it, but I do understand the why,” she said. “This is where I start crying internally, because it is very difficult for us to plan for the needs of the community when the state law says the developer can say ‘Ah, I don’t want to do that.’”
Mayor Larry Klein said state law is “an ever-moving target.”
Council Member Alysa Cisneros characterized the plan as a “delicate threading of the needle.”
Council Member Richard Mehlinger moved to approve the urgency ordinance, saying the proposal is “not perfect” but that it will “ensure future developments will be better.”
“This is the most emotionally painful council meeting I have been through in my time on the dais, and what makes it so painful is what little power it feels that we have under state law to prevent these objectively destructive changes,” he said. “That said, the plan before us tonight is harm reduction. This plan puts in place the zoning that, frankly, the village center master plan needed when it was first established. We didn’t know it needed it then, but it did.”
Because Le recused herself, the urgency ordinance needed to pass unanimously. The changes go into effect immediately.
Sunnyvale City Council Consent Calendar Spending
The council approved the following spending in one motion via the consent calendar:
- A $1.83 million contract with Interstate Grading & Paving Inc. for pavement rehabilitation.
- A one-year $133,000 extension to a purchase agreement with Mountain View Community Television. Total contract is now $306,033.
The council meets again at 7 p.m. Tuesday, July 29 in the Council Chambers at City Hall, 456 W. Olive Ave. in Sunnyvale.
To submit public comments ahead of the meeting, visit http://Sunnyvale.ca.gov/PublicComments; Meeting online link: https://sunnyvale-ca-gov.zoom.us/j/96111580540; meeting call-in telephone number: 833-548-0276, meeting ID: 961 1158 0540.
Contact David Alexander at d.todd.alexander@gmail.com
Previous Sunnyvale City Council Meetings:
Sunnyvale Hikes Utility Rates
Sunnyvale Protects HUD Programs Amid Potential Federal Cuts
Sunnyvale Drills Down Into Work Load For The Next Two Years
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