SunnyvaleRTC

December 16, 2003

SUBJECT:	The San Jose Sabercats(Appellant/Applicant): Application for a 71-acre site located at 1095 Dunford Avenue in a PF (Public Facility) Zoning District (APN: 313-10-004)
Motion	2003-0634 – Appeal of a decision by the Planning Commission denying a Use Permit to allow a tent cover over the Sabercats practice field from November through July annually.

REPORT IN BRIEF

Existing Site Conditions	Open-air football practice field (astro-turf) located at Former Public Intermediate School site.
Surrounding Land Uses
North	Single Family & Multi Family Residential
South	Single Family Residential & Raynor Park
East	Single Family Residential
West	Peterson Middle School Site and Single Family Residential
Issues	Aesthetic compatibility with surrounding uses Noise Associated with Proposed Material Architecture
Environmental Status	A Class 11 Categorical Exemption relieves this project from California Environmental Quality Act provisions and City Guidelines.
Administrative Hearing Decision Planning Comm. Decision Staff Recommendation	Denied the application. Denied the application Deny the appeal and uphold the decision of the Planning Commission

PROJECT DATA TABLE

	EXISTING	PROPOSED	REQUIRED/ PERMITTED
General Plan	SCH	Same	---
Zoning District	PF	Same	---
Use	Open Air Astro-turf Football Practice Field	Enclosed Canvas Tent Covering Astro-turf Football Practice Field	By Use Permit
Entire Petersen Campus Lot Size (s.f./acres)	3,092,760 s.f./ 71 acres	Same	None
Former Patrick Henry School Site Lot Size (s.f./acres)	1,042190 s.f. 23.9 acres	Same	None
Tent Area (s.f.)	N/A	22,000 s.f.	N/A
Gross Floor Area (s.f.)	63,599 s.f.	85,599 s.f.	None
Lot Coverage (%)	6%	8%	40% max.
Floor Area Ratio (FAR)	6%	8%	N/A
No. of Buildings On-Site	8	9	N/A
No. of Stories	1	2	2 max.
Building Height	14 ft. at Patrick HenrySite 28 ft. at Pederson Site	40 ft. 6 in.	40 ft. 6 in*
Landscaping (sq. ft.)
· Total Landscaping	547,500 s.f. 52%	525,500 s.f. 50%	20% min.
· Frontage Width (ft.)	63 ft.	Same	15 ft. min.
· Landscaper Buffer (ft.)	650 ft.	Same	10 ft. min.
Parking
· Total No. of Spaces	260	293	293 min.
· No. of Standards	253	286	286 min.
· No. of Accessible	7	Same	7 min.

* One half foot shall be added to the front, side and rear yard setback for each foot that the building exceeds the max. height allowed in the most restrictive abutting district (30 feet). This project exceeds setback requirements.

ANALYSIS

Background

Previous Actions on the Site:

The following table summarizes previous planning applications related to the subject site.

File Number	Brief Description	Hearing/Decision	Date
2003-0606	Use Permit: Private Elementary/Child Care (100 children or less)	Administrative Hearing/Approved	09/12/03
2003-0248	Unenclosed Temporary Use Permit: Extension of Practice Field Tent April –July 2003	Staff/Approved	04/04/03
2003-0015	Unenclosed Temporary Use Permit: Practice Field Tent January –April 2003	Staff/Approved	01/10/03
2001-0097	Use Permit: Temporary Trailer Buildings	Administrative Hearing/ Approved	03/28/01
1992-0238	Use Permit: Trailers for Care Takers	Administrative Hearing/Approved	10/26/92

On January 10, 2003, Unenclosed Temporary Use Permit (UTU) #2003-0015 was approved by the Director of Community Development allowing the proposed practice tent to be set up on a temporary basis through the months of January to April 2003. On March 4, 2003, a second UTU Permit was approved by the Director of Community Development allowing an extension of UTU Permit #2003-0015 to allow the tent to remain up until July 2003. The tent was removed in July 2003, per the conditions of the permit. On July 8, 2003 staff sent a letter to the applicant requiring a Use Permit for future installation of the tent (See Attachment #6). The applicant is now requesting annual set up of the tent on-site.

Pre-Appeal & Administrative Hearing

On September 16, 2003 the City Council pre-appealed this application to Planning Commission. The Sunnyvale Municipal Code Section19.98.080 states that the City Council shall have the authority to specify that certain land use permits be considered on appeal by the next higher decision making authority. (See Attachment 7, City Council Hearing Minutes- September 16, 2003). The Council expressed a concern that this application had the potential for considerable neighborhood interest and should therefore also be reviewed in the larger venue of a Planning Commission Hearing.

This application was has heard at the September 24, 2003 Administrative Public Hearing. (See Attachment 8, Administrative Hearing Minutes- September 24, 2003). The Administrative Hearing Officer denied the application because the required findings were not able to be made as the project architecture is not compatible with the surroundings and did not meet the objectives of the Community Design Sub-Element and posed a potential detrimental effect to the neighborhood. Further, she directed staff to work with the Neighborhood and Community Outreach staff to set up a coordinated effort to address the multiple community concerns not related to this application.

On October 27, 2003, the Planning Commission considered the appeal and……

Description of Proposed Project

This is an application to allow the installation of a 22,000 square foot canvas tent to cover an existing football practice field located at the former Patrick Henry School site. The existing practice field is Astroturf and is used by a private indoor arena football organization. The proposed tent would be set-up annually during the months of November to July to facilitate indoor practice during the rainy season and replicate indoor arena football game conditions.

The former public school site is owned and managed by the Santa Clara Unified School District. The Patrick Henry Junior High School was a public school that was closed in the 1979. Since the closure of the public school a portion of the site has been used by the Santa Clara Unified School District for academic and office purposes. The majority of the site has been leased to different users including private schools, office uses and field uses by various athletic organizations. The alteration of the on-site use requires a Use Permit.

Environmental Review

A Class 11 Categorical Exemption relieves this project from California Environmental Quality Act provisions and City Guidelines. Class 11 Categorical Exemptions includes the addition of accessory structures.

Use Permit

Use: A 22,000 square foot, 40 foot 6-inch tall canvas tent is proposed to be setup over an existing arena football practice field during the months of November to July on an annual basis. The purpose of the tent is to facilitate indoor arena football practice during the rainy season, keeping the practice area and players dry. Additionally the tent simulates the indoor arena football conditions which players experience during official games at an off-site facility. This application is not considered a temporary use, as the tent would be set up 9 months out of each calendar year. At the Administrative Hearing the applicant indicated they would consider using the tent only 6 months a year from Thanksgiving to June 1^st. The Hearing Officer indicated that even 6 months annually was not considered temporary.

There are a maximum of 50 employees/players on the site at one time. A majority of the players and staff utilize the practice field during the hours of 7:00 a.m. to 2:00 p.m. seven days a week. Approximately 10 employees/players would be on-site as early as 6:00 a.m. and stay until 9:00 p.m. This Use Permit does not change the total number of users and does not modify existing hours of operation. Special events on-site such as the “Sabercats Season Ticket Holder Event” would require a separate Unenclosed Temporary Use Permit, which can be obtained through the Planning Division.

Patrick Henry School Site: The former public school site’s owner, Santa Clara Unified School District, leases the site to a number of different users including private schools, office uses and field uses by various athletic organizations. The following table reflects the current weekday users on site and includes total number of users on the site:

Table 1 Patrick Henry School Site Current Uses
Type of Use/Building	Square footage	Number of Users On-Site
School District Office Bldg. A	3,705 s.f.	12 employees
Appleseed Pre-School Bldg. B	16,794 s.f.	35 employees/ 250 students
Silicon Valley Muslim School Pre-8^th Bldg. C	12,080 s.f.	Pre-K: 10 students/2 employees + K-8: 55 students/12 employees
Adult Education Bldg E	12,672 s.f.	120 adult students + 9 employees
Continuation School (8-10^th grade) Bldg D	12,156 s.f.	6 employees /60 students
Private School Pre-6^th Bldg H	9,922 s.f.	10 employees + 100 students max.
Applicant: Sabercats Bldg “F” & “G” & Practice Football Field Tent	5,598 s.f. + 22,000 sf. tent	50 players/staff
Total Maximum Peak Use	88,599 s.f.	731 Users (employees, players, students)

Patrick Henry School Site Weekend Uses:

During the weekends adult soccer leagues utilize the athletic fields on site for game use. Generally there are three games going on during one time with three different sessions throughout the day. Approximately 100 people participate in each session.

Peterson Middle School Uses:

Peterson Middle School located to the north and west of the former Patrick Henry site operates as a public Middle School during the week with associated weekday and weekend school athletic events. Currently two private athletic organizations use the Peterson football field during the weekend. A Cricket League uses it one day a week with approximately 30 players and a Police Activity League uses it every other week.

Off Site Surrounding Uses:

The site is surrounded by predominately single family residential uses with multifamily residential uses to the north. Laurelwood Public School, Raynor Park and Raynor Park Multi-Purpose Center are located to the south. A church use is located to the southwest of the site.

Canopy Noise: Staff received several noise complaints during the previous temporary installation of the tent earlier this year. The tent canopy created flapping noises when the weather was windy. Staff contacted the applicant regarding the complaints. The applicant adjusted and cinched down the tent canopy in order to eliminate the noise. Staff has included Condition of Approval #9, to secure tent canvas at all times to prevent noise and requires that the applicant monitor the tent canopy during windy weather.

Site Layout: The former Patrick Henry School Site is made up of eight different buildings, athletic fields and parking lots.

The subject 22,000 square foot tent would be located over the existing Astroturf football practice field which is located northeast of the former Patrick Henry School Site buildings and east of the Peterson Middle School running track. The practice field is centrally located on the school site. The arena football offices are located to the south with a designated pervious gravel parking lot to the west (See Attachment 3, Site and Architectural Plans). The tent is a minimum of 315 feet from surrounding residential uses.

Architecture: The proposed practice tent is made of a white canvas material stretched over a metal frame. The tent stands 40 feet 6 inches tall and is 22,000 square feet in area. The dimensions of the practice tent are 100 feet in width and 220 feet in length. An existing 10-foot tall wood wall surrounds the practice field. The proposed tent canopy would fit within the fenced area. (See Attachment 3, Site and Architectural Plans)

Architectural Design

The rectangular practice tent does not posses any architectural features or design considerations. The design is simple and functional, providing a weather proof interior environment. (See Attachment 4, Photos of Tent Setup on Site-January 2003) The practice t