During the regularly-scheduled City Council Meeting held on April 11, 2000, Mayor Vorreiter stated that the City Council would convene as the Redevelopment Agency in order to serve in concurrent roles for the consideration of City and Redevelopment Agency items.

Community Development Director/Secretary and Director of Redevelopment Boesch introduced the item.

Senior Planner Caruso presented the staff report and responded to Councilmember/Agency Member questions. She stated that the Planning Commission’s revisions and additions to the conditions of approval made at their meeting last night were provided to the Council on the dais. Revisions were made to conditions 12, 13, 14, and condition 29 was added. The Planning Commission also approved a revised Mitigated Negative Declaration.

Planning Officer Ryan also addressed Councilmember/Agency Member questions.

Mayor/Chair Vorreiter opened the public hearing at 8:20 p.m.

Jim Baer, Mozart Development Company, the applicant, presented the development proposal and responded to Councilmember/Agency Member questions.

Jian Azad, proprietor at 100 S. Murphy Avenue, No. 1, stated that he supported the project but was concerned with retail going into the area.

Lorraine Wolfsohn stated that she was discouraged by the process and requested that more conditions be added to the proposal.

Thomas Lasch, representing the tenant at 155 S. Tate, Mid-Peninsula Alano Club, expressed concerns with the rental rates increasing.

Joe Antuzi, Chair, Sunnyvale Downtown Association, stated that the downtown businesses were concerned with surviving during the construction period, and that the Association endorsed the proposal with the understanding that the revised conditions of approval would be carried forward.

Ray Montalvo, Board Member, Sunnyvale Chamber of Commerce, stated that the Chamber would work with the City during the construction to ensure that the plan became a reality.

Thom Mayer stated that he was in favor of the project overall, but had some concerns with pedestrian space, open space, potential impact on the Art and Wine Festival, and traffic volume.

David Donald, stated concerns regarding intended and unintended traffic consequences.

Roger Sellgren, Stoddard’s Brewhouse, stated concerns with parking at lunchtime.

Suzi Blackman, President/CEO, Sunnyvale Chamber of Commerce, stated that the Chamber is in support of the project and is encouraged by the cooperation and facilitation that took place during the discussions regarding the project.

Mayor/Chair Vorreiter closed the public hearing at 9:25 p.m. and stated that the first action would be as the City Council acting on the Special Development Permit.

Vice Mayor Walker moved to affirm the Mitigated Negative Declaration and approve the Special Development Permit as conditioned by the Planning Commission, and amend the conditions as follows: (1) add to condition 29 that the "Downtown merchants, property owners, and residents shall be provided with at least two weeks’ notice of any planned utility disruptions during construction"; (2) add condition 30, "If downtown residents are to be relocated that at least 30 days’ notice be provided and a meeting be arranged. A signed waiver or acceptance must be obtained at least two weeks before the relocation"; (3) add condition 31, "During construction, a web site is to be maintained by the developer with a link from the city’s web site, to reflect current activity schedules, to be updated regularly, to reflect accurately the overall schedule of immediate detailed tasks scheduled for the next 30 days, and any potential disruptions to utilities, traffic and parking that might be pending"; (4) add condition 32, "Require a site coordinator for noise, security, utility disruptions, parking violations and traffic problems, to be available 24 hours a day through the City’s communications center, and to allow Public Safety to be able to respond in case there is an immediate need"; (5) add condition 33, "Developer be required to hold at least two additional public meetings on this project in the downtown area before issuance of any construction permits." The motion was seconded by Councilmember Roberts.

Councilmember Miller requested a friendly amendment (condition 34) to include an electric charging station in the underground parking garage.

The friendly amendment was accepted by the maker of the motion (Vice Mayor Walker).

The motion carried unanimously.

Mayor/Chair Vorreiter stated that the next item of business would be the Redevelopment Agency acting on the Disposition and Development Agreement.

Agency Attorney Armento also responded to Agency Member questions.

Chair Vorreiter opened the public hearing at 10:02 p.m.

Lorraine Wolfsohn stated her concerns with and objections to the disposition and development agreement.

Chair Vorreiter closed the public hearing at 10:08 p.m.

Vice Chair Walker moved to approve the new DDA and authorize the Executive Director of the Agency to execute the DDA, with the following amendments: (1) Increase the damages deposit in Section 7.5 from $500,000 to $1 million; (2) Revise the basis of contribution for the parking district from .5 spaces per thousand square feet to one space per thousand square feet in Section 4.12; (3) Make corporate parking available after hours and on weekends for no more than eight City-endorsed events (including special events and peak shopping activity during the holiday seasons), with the City handling the reimbursement of the security costs for the property owners and tenants; (4) Clarify that the 10,000 square feet of retail space is in addition to the overall 450,000 square feet of office space allocated for the project; (5) Include a review of responsibilities for clean up costs for hazardous waste during construction on the site; (6) In Section 2.6, the Redevelopment Agency shall have final authority on the parking improvement plan with no appeal to a binding arbitrator; and (7) Eliminate the reference to public meeting in Section 2.3. The motion was seconded by Agency Member Roberts.

Executive Director LaSala noted that on amendment (3), stating that the City would handle the reimbursement costs was too narrow and suggested a revision to "the cost would not be borne by property owners or tenants."

Agency Member Miller offered a friendly amendment to remove the $1.5 million that is unspecified from the General Fund and allocate the monies to mitigate any parking problems and construction problems in the downtown area during the construction period for the project.

Vice Chair Walker accepted the friendly amendment with a modification to dedicate the $1.5 million to general downtown revitalization and not limit the use of the monies to the construction problems. The friendly amendment was also accepted by the seconder of the motion, Agency Member Roberts.

The motion as amended carried unanimously.

Executive Director LaSala thanked the staff members who worked on the downtown project over the past few years.

Mayor Vorreiter declared the Redevelopment Agency adjourned at 10:25 p.m.

The Redevelopment Agency meeting was reconvened upon adjournment of the regularly scheduled City Council meeting at 1:45 a.m. on April 12, 2000 in the City Council Chambers, 456 W. Olive Avenue, Sunnyvale, California, with Chair Vorreiter presiding.

Vice Chair Walker moved, and Agency Member Valerio seconded, to approve the minutes of April 4, 2000. The motion carried unanimously.

There were no citizens to be heard.

There were no Agency Member comments.

Chair Vorreiter declared the meeting adjourned at 1:46 a.m.

Respectfully submitted,

Linda Kelly
Senior Management Analyst/
Deputy Agency Clerk