The salute to the flag was led by Mayor Walker.

Joe Rivera, Sunnyvale Rotary Club, announced the Second Annual Sunnyvale Family Health and Safety Fair on Saturday, April 28, from 11:00 a.m. to 3:00 p.m., at the Columbia Neighborhood Center. Events include a bike rodeo, child fingerprinting, and health and bone marrow screening. For more information, call the Columbia Neighborhood Center at (408) 523-8150.

Councilmember Risch made announcements on behalf of the Council. He announced temporary road closures at the railroad crossings on Mary Avenue and Sunnyvale Avenue from April 6 – 13. For more information, call the Sunnyvale Public Works Deptartment at 730-7415.

Councilmember Risch further announced that, for the 12^th year in a row, the City has been named a Tree City USA by the National Association of State Foresters and the USDA Forest Service. He congratulated staff for receiving this award.

Vice Mayor Fowler moved, and Councilmember Miller seconded, approval of the consent calendar. The motion carried unanimously.

Ray Williamson, retired City of Sunnyvale Traffic Engineer, presented the staff report and responded to Council questions. Director Rose was also available to answer questions.

Williamson submitted a revised Wolfe Road Tree Survey impact table to Council for the record.

Mayor Walker asked the City Manager if the $1.8 million allocated by the Congestion Management Agency for the project could be reprogrammed within the county.

City Manager LaSala stated that Mike Evanhoe, Valley Transportation Authority, indicated that based on conversations with the Metropolitan Transportation Commission, he believed they would consider reprogramming the funds somewhere within the VTA service area.

Public Works Director Rose stated that a letter from lawyers representing the Wild Palms Hotel had been submitted to Council.

Mayor Walker opened the public hearing at 8:30 p.m.

Marsha Epstein, resident and President of the Board of the Fairway Crest Association, thanked the Mayor and Council for speaking to her. She stated the Association is against the project, does not want more traffic into the neighborhood, is concerned with safety and traffic noise, and also stated information on the road expansion project was not given to the residents. If they have no other alternative, she would choose Alternative B. She further asked staff why they would proceed with Alternative C phase two of the study if in five years all streets will be at the same level of service.

Kevin Jackson commented on the CMA law, he felt that road widening is not the best approach, and that no input from motorists and employers was taken for alternatives. He stated it is premature to commit to road widening, that the report mentions that VTA is studying modification to the service level definitions to be more in line with smart growth strategies, and recommended mitigating bike hazards with signage. He distributed correspondence to Council on VTA bicycle technical guidelines for signs.

Simon Gow, Fairway Crest, stated he does not support Alternative C, that the proposed new merge lane would not be long enough, traffic is brought by drivers from other cities and that Council should consider what will benefit Sunnyvale residents as their first priority.

Thomas Granvold stated he has been a resident since since 1974 and is also a bicyclist. He stated that there should be consistency of all lanes all the way through the project and that bicyclists want a direct route of travel.

Michelle Yee, Sunrose Terrace, stated she lives in a ground floor unit on Wolfe Road and was not informed of the possible Wolfe Road expansion when she purchased the unit. She further stated that the expansion would not meet safety codes and her home would be seriously impacted.

Kristin Kerrigan, Sunrose Terrace, is against road widening, supports Alternative B, but would like other alternatives explored, and is in favor of mass transit and incentives.

Jane Schneemann, Sunrose Terrace, asked if consideration had been taken to changing traffic signal timing, and changing lane assignments. She believes the intersection at Wolfe Road could qualify for a future Level of Service (LOS) waiver, is concerned with setback from residences to street with road expansion, that a new merge lane will further interfere with residents entering and exiting the condominium complex which is already a difficulty, and urged Council to vote no on the project.

Barbara Marshall, Fairway Crest, stated she enjoys living in Sunnyvale and is concerned with safety issues.

Fred Wiesinger, Chair of the Sunnyvale Bicycle and Pedestrian Advisory Commission, presented Council with a slide presentation expressing the concerns of the BPAC which included: bicycle accommodation in merging lanes, difficulty making left turns because of the added lanes, inconsistent bike space width, pedestrian safety issues, and unacceptable sidewalk width. He recommended Alternative "X" which included traffic light modification along Wolfe Road. He further stated that the BPAC does not support any of the report alternatives.

Gerald Gras stated that Wolfe Road is not the most dangerous road for cyclists, that the majority of cyclists are not aware of alternative routes, and prefer consistency; supports Alternative "X" and has concerns with signage, dangerous merging lanes and alternate width lanes.

Werner Gans expressed concerns with merging lanes, increase in accidents, taking of private property, elimination of shopping center parking, loss of trees, possible increase in cost estimates for the project and the effect to businesses in the area. He urged the Council not to accept any of the staff recommended alternatives and recommended further study.

Margaret Okuzumi stated that detour routes off Wolfe Road take you out of the way, cyclist and pedestrians should not be eliminated from this location and that public transit at this location is not fully utilized. She feels the project worsens the quality of life for Sunnyvale residents, she stated VTA was appalled by the project, and urged Council not to proceed with the project.

Dave Simons expressed concerns with less options in the future for cyclists and pedestrians as lanes are increased. Also concerned with the speed of traffic, diversion of traffic from regional routes, and that the project would degrade the north/south route. Suggested transferring of funds to another VTA project and urged Council not to approve Alternatives A through C.

Veronica Saba, General Manager Wild Palms Hotel, stated she is opposed to the road widening at Wolfe Road, they have invested money in renovating the hotel, and feels widening would bring property value down. She stated she was not informed of the road widening project before the property was purchased and is concerned about the loss of landscaping and the noise effect on the hotel. After clarification from staff, Ms. Saba stated her position is not to support Alternatives A or C.

Director Rose clarified that in the letter from attorneys representing the Wild Palms Hotel it appears there may be a misunderstanding. The letter states they support Alternative C, but both Alternatives A and C have the same impact on the property.

Deanna Gomby, Fairway Crest, stated she is against widening, that the level of service between Alternatives B and C is equivalent, and recommended a lane for residents to exit.

Audrey Butcher stated she lives at Wolfe and El Camino at Butchers corner, and felt it is extremely important to have the Wolfe Road entrance open. She indicated there are ongoing problems with homeless encampments on her property, that the widening onto her property adversely effects the entrance and trees, and recommended relocating trees. She commented on the historic perspective of her family, commended Public Safety staff and requested that soil not be removed from the property.

Wendy Li, Fairway Crest resident, commented on the escalating cost of construction and asked Council to put a priority on residents’ quality of life and not yield to traffic demands.

Robert Skleezo, stressed that Council support the people who live here, limit growth, and voiced concerns about the dangers to handicap access at the intersection and urged Council to deny project.

Robert Cox, Fairway Crest, stated that adding a lane would be dangerous to residents driving out of the complex.

Mayor Walker closed the public hearing at 10:27 p.m.

Councilmember Vorreiter moved and Vice Mayor Fowler seconded, adoption of the resolution certifying the EIR.

Resolution No. 127-01: A RESOLUTION OF THE CITY COUNCIL OF THE CITY OF SUNNYVALE CERTIFYING THE ENVIRONMENTAL IMPACT REPORT FOR THE WOLFE ROAD WIDENING PROJECT

The motion carried unanimously.

Councilmember Vorreiter moved and Vice Mayor Fowler seconded, to approve staff recommendation Alternative C, modified to a staged effect constructing the south bound lane expansion first and the north bound at the time of LOS service F being reached.

Councilmember Risch offered a friendly amendment to approve Alternative B.

Councilmember Vorreiter did not accept the friendly amendment.

Councilmember Risch moved a substitute motion and Councilmember Roberts seconded, to approve Alternative B. The substitute motion failed by the following roll call vote:

The main motion failed by the following roll call vote:

Councilmember Valerio moved and Councilmember Roberts seconded, to approve Alternative 8, not to proceed with the Wolfe Road widening and forego the available grant funding and direct staff to prepare a Deficiency Plan in order to conform to the County CMP.

Councilmember Risch offered a friendly amendment to clarify that as part of the deficiency plan staff look at a range of opportunities including intersection improvements at other locations and signal timing changes along Wolfe Road.

Councilmember Valerio stated that he believes staff will already be looking at all alternatives and not limited to road widening.

The motion carried by the following roll call vote:

Human Resources Supervisor Parkhurst presented the staff report.

Mayor Walker opened and closed the public hearing at 10:51p.m.

Vice Mayor Fowler moved and Councilmember Miller seconded, adoption of the resolution and introduction and first reading of the ordinance and to amend the contract with PERS to eliminate the cost sharing of the single highest year option for miscellaneous members, reducing the Employee Contribution Rate from eight percent (8.0%) to seven percent (7.0%).

Resolution No. 128-01: A RESOLUTION OF THE CITY COUNCIL OF THE CITY OF SUNNYVALE GIVING NOTICE OF INTENTION TO APPROVE AN AMENDMENT TO THE CONTRACT WITH THE BOARD OF ADMINISTRATION OF THE CALIFORNIA PUBLIC EMPLOYEES’ RETIREMENT SYSTEM TO ELIMINATE THE COST SHARING OF THE SINGLE HIGHEST YEAR BENEFIT OPTION FOR MISCELLANEOUS EMPLOYEES

AN ORDINANCE OF THE CITY COUNCIL OF THE CITY OF SUNNYVALE AUTHORIZING AN AMENDMENT TO THE CONTRACT BETWEEN THE BOARD OF ADMINISTRATION OF THE PUBLIC EMPLOYEES RETIREMENT SYSTEM AND THE CITY COUNCIL OF THE CITY OF SUNNYVALE

The motion carried unanimously.

AN ORDINANCE OF THE CITY COUNCIL OF THE CITY OF SUNNYVALE AMENDING THE PRECISE ZONING PLAN, ZONING DISTRICTS MAP, TO REZONE CERTAIN PROPERTY LOCATED AT 347 BEEMER AVENUE FROM R-2 (LOW-MEDIUM DENSITY RESIDENTIAL) DISTRICT TO R-2/PD (LOW-MEDIUM DENSITY/PLANNED DEVELOPMENT) DISTRICT

The motion carried by the following roll call vote:

No action taken.

There were no Council comments.

STAFF

City Manager LaSala stated that on February 7, bids to construct the multimodal transit station parking facility at the Sunnyvale Cal Train station were received and were substantially above the budgeted amount for this project, the lowest bid being $11.3 million. Funds have been made available through the City, VTA and the Joint Powers Board (JPB) however there is not enough money to undertake the project given the current bidding climate. He will be pursuing discussions with the VTA and the JPB to determine if there are other sources of funding in order for this project to move forward and staff will be coming back to Council with a recommendation to help move this project forward in a couple of weeks.

Councilmember Miller suggested the BAAQMD as a possible alternative funding source.

Mayor Walker declared the meeting adjourned at 10:55 p.m.

Respectfully submitted,

Rosemary V. Staal
Sr. Office Assistant/
City Clerk’s Office