MINUTES
SUNNYVALE CITY COUNCIL
APRIL 6, 2004

The City Council of the City of Sunnyvale adjourned from a 5:00 p.m. Closed Session regarding Personnel Matters, Interim City Manager Pursuant to Government Code 54957, a 5:30 p.m. Study Session regarding Public Safety Recruiting/Training Issues, a 7:00 p.m. Closed Session regarding Pending Litigation Wowak vs. the City of Sunnyvale, Case Number C0300394, pursuant to Government Code 54956.9(a), and met in regular session in the City Council Chambers, 456 West Olive Avenue, Sunnyvale, CA at 7:30 p.m. with Mayor Howe presiding.

Mayor Howe led the salute to the flag.

Mayor Howe proclaimed April 22 as Earth Day. He commended all of the recycling efforts within our City’s Department of Public Works, and particularly the Solid Waste Management Division and the SMaRT Station teams.

Mayor Howe presented a proclamation to Romie Georgia, Sunnyvale Manager of Volunteer Services, proclaiming April 18 thorough April 25 as National Volunteer Week. He stated that Sunnyvale will celebrate National Volunteer Week by honoring all City Volunteers at a special reception at the Senior Center on Tuesday, April 20, at 5:30 p.m. Ms. Georgia provided some background on the City’s Volunteer Program.

Vice Mayor Chu announced that the Council met in Closed Session today regarding Personnel Matters, Interim City Manager pursuant to Government Code 54957. Direction was given but no action was taken.

Vice Mayor Chu announced that the Council met in Closed Session today regarding Pending Litigation Wowak vs. the City of Sunnyvale, Case Number C0300394, pursuant to Government Code 54956.9(a). Direction was given but no action was taken.

Councilmember Lee made the following announcement on behalf of the Council:

The City of Sunnyvale is currently recruiting for members on the following Boards and Commissions:

• Arts Commission

• Bicycle and Pedestrian Advisory Committee

• Board of Building Code Appeals

• Child Care Advisory Board

• Heritage Preservation Commission

• Housing & Human Services Commission

• Board of Library Trustees

• Parks and Recreation Commission

• Personnel Board

• Planning Commission

• Advisory Council to the Council on Aging (must be at least 60 years old)

Councilmember Hamilton announced that she and Councilmember Swegles represented the City of Sunnyvale at the Tartan Day Celebration at the County Office Building.

Councilmember Hamilton announced there is a Downtown outreach meeting on Wednesday, April 7, at 7:30 p.m. at the Senior Center at the Orchard Pavilion.

Councilmember Miller thanked the Public Works Department for placing the fee parking signs at the multi-modal station center.

Leslie Lawton, representing the Sunnyvale Historical Society, announced a Walk-a-Thon fund raiser on April 17 at 9:30 a.m. at the Community Center.

Arley Marley, Chair of the Sunnyvale Chamber of Commerce, announced the Sunnyvale Chamber of Commerce Art and Wine Festival on June 5 and 6 in downtown Sunnyvale.

Councilmember Miller requested Item 1.D. be pulled from the Consent Calendar and considered separately. Vice Chair Chu moved, and Councilmember Swegles seconded approval of the Consent Calendar with the exception of Item 1.D. The motion carried unanimously.

Councilmember Miller thanked staff for their successful efforts on this project. Jack Witthaus, Transportation and Traffic Manager, provided comments regarding the grant funds and noted that Councilmember Miller was instrumental in getting these grants in her capacity as a Board Member of the Bay Area Air Quality District.

Mayor Howe opened the Public Hearing at 7:54 p.m. and, there being no public comments, closed the Public Hearing.

Councilmember Miller moved, and Councilmember Lee seconded, to approve staff’s recommendation to approve Budget Modification No. 33 to accept grant funding and appropriate required matching funds for the FY 2003/2004 Transportation Fund for Clean Air (TFCA) projects. The motion carried unanimously.

Werner Gans, a member of the public, directed comments to the Council regarding prickly balls on Inverness and surrounding streets. He stated the Liquid Amber trees in the City are a problem and asked for a study on how to handle the problem.

Arley Marley stated he is the Chair for the Sunnyvale Chamber of Commerce, and he is a resident and business owner in Sunnyvale as well as a member of several organizations. He stated he has open door policy and described his working style.

Arthur Schwartz, a member of the public, stated that the Liquid Amber trees are a safety issue for Sunnyvale and asked as part of a study that if an earlier tree trimming would reduce the amount of seeds that drop.

Thom Mayer, a member of the public, thanked the Council and staff on the prioritization of resources.

Diana O’Dell, Senior Planner, assisted by Trudi Ryan, Planning Officer, presented the staff report.

Staff responded to questions posed by the Council regarding bus service, parking requirements, gateway to the park, unit sizes, location of carports, and useable open space.

Mayor Howe opened the Public Hearing at 8:20 p.m.

Jeff Oberdorfor, applicant and Executive Director of First Community Housing, submitted a model of the project for review. He provided background and description of the project and noted that he intends to follow "Green Building" practices subject to a grant approval.

Mr. Oberdorfor responded to Council questions regarding affordability, demographics of people who live in the units, the 20% to 40% AMI, the parking situation in the adjoining unit, and the location of the tot lot.

Nancy Smith, representing the Housing and Human Services Commission, stated that their Commission supports the project due to affordability for the three bedroom units.

Janet Farabaugh, a member of the Saint Ciprians Peace and Social Justice Committee, stated this project should be approved as proposed to meet the needs of families with low incomes.

Mark Arnzan, a member of the Saint Ciprians Peace and Social Justice Committee, advocated for the Council to support the full completion of the project.

Janet Stone, representing the Greenbelt Alliance, offered their enthusiastic endorsement for the project and stated the larger units will be a significant contribution to Sunnyvale’s low income housing needs.

Tracey Chew, the Vice Chair for the Santa Clara County Collaborative for Affordable Housing and Homeless Issues, submitted a letter to the Council, advocating to approve the project as proposed due to affordability for low income residents.

Vimal Kumar, owner of the Sunnyvale Inn, advocated that the hotel is not the best use of the property and encouraged the Council to approve the proposed project.

Shiloh Ballard, representing the Housing Action Coalition, stated the Coalition supports the project. She stated the tradeoff for 3 bedroom units to open space is well worth it because of the critical need.

Ryan Minniear, representing the Tri-County Apartment Association and the Housing Action Coalition, stated they support the project as proposed and encouraged the Council to approve it.

Thom Mayer, a member of the public, stated he strongly supports affordable housing but that the project has some issues. He suggested requiring an undefined easement across the property that would connect to the City’s park. He also expressed concerns that Weddell Street is not wide enough for bicyclists and pedestrians.

Father (name illegible), pastor of Saint Ciprians, advocated for approval of the project.

Jeff Oberdorfor, applicant and Executive Director of First Community Housing, stated there is direct park access and would be happy to put in an easement.

Mr. Oberdorfor responded to questions from the Council regarding carport lockable storage, Green Building and LEED Certification, and the parking easement with Hetch Hetchy.

Mayor Howe closed the Public Hearing at 9:12 p.m.

Councilmember Swegles moved, and Councilmember Fowler seconded, to approve Alternative 2, to adopt the Mitigated Negative Declaration, approve the Resolution to amend the General Plan from Commercial General Business to High Density Residential, Introduce an Ordinance to Rezone 940 W. Weddell from C-2/PD to R-4/PD and approve the Special Development Permit as proposed by the applicant excluding condition of approval #11 which states "The project shall be redesigned to eliminate the proposed addition, providing approximately 1,500 sq. ft. more useable open space. The subject elevation shall be modified to reflect enhanced architectural features and is subject to review and approval by the Director of Community Development. Reconfiguration of the floor plan within the existing building, resulting in up to 42 units, may be permitted."

Councilmember Hamilton offered a friendly amendment to encourage the applicant pursue an agreement with the Hetch Hetchy to acquire the land and convert part of the land into green space and put storage compartments in the carports. The amendment was accepted.

Councilmember Lee offered a friendly amendment to put in the condition of approval to state that if the Global Green Grant is granted, that this project will participate in the pilot program. The amendment was accepted.

At the request of the Mayor, the City Clerk read the ordinance:

ORDINANCE NO. 2748-04 AN ORDINANCE OF THE CITY COUNCIL OF THE CITY OF SUNNYVALE AMENDING THE PRECISE ZONING PLAN, ZONING DISTRICTS MAP, TO REZONE 1.59 ACRE SITE LOCATED AT 940 W. WEDDELL DRIVE FROM C-2/PD (HIGHWAY BUSINESS/PLANNED DEVELOPMENT) TO R-4/PD (HIGH DENSITY RESIDENTIAL/PLANNED DEVELOPMENT) ZONING DISTRICT

The motion carried unanimously.

RESOLUTION NO. 110-04 A RESOLUTION OF THE CITY COUNCIL OF THE CITY OF SUNNYVALE ADOPTING AN AMENDMENT TO THE 1972 GENERAL PLAN OF THE CITY OF SUNNYVALE TO CHANGE FROM "COMMERCIAL GENERAL BUSINESS" TO "HIGH DENSITY RESIDENTIAL" DESIGNATION FOR PROPERTY LOCATED AT 940 WEST WEDDELL DRIVE

Trudi Ryan, Planning Officer, presented the staff report. . She noted that two additional documents were on the dais that the applicant provided. She stated that staff recommends denying the appeal and supporting the Planning Commission decision.

Staff responded to questions from the Council regarding fireplace height and braces, square footage to be added, floor area ratio, Planning Commission recommendations, number of variances and how many are approved and the costs for a variance.

Mayor Howe opened the Public Hearing at 9:37 p.m.

George Sarkissian, applicant, provided background and a description of the project. He distributed documents to the Council. He stated the neighbors have not expressed opposition to his project.

Mayor Howe closed the Public Hearing at 9:51 p.m.

Councilmember Miller moved, and Councilmember Swegles seconded, to approve staff’s recommendation to deny the appeal of the Design Review and Variance and uphold the decision of the Planning Commission with the attached conditions. The motion carried with Mayor Howe dissenting.

Jack Witthaus, Transportation and Planning Manager, presented the staff report.

Staff responded to questions from Vice Mayor Chu regarding Measure A Transit Program and noted that Sunnyvale and Cupertino is missing in the draft. He further noted that 1990 Agreement was updated in 1993

Mayor Howe opened the Public Hearing at 10:00 p.m.

Thom Mayer, a member of the public, advocated for approval of this item.

Mayor Howe closed the Public Hearing at 10:01 p.m.

Councilmember Fowler moved, and Vice Mayor Chu seconded, to approve staff’s recommendation for Alternative 1, to direct staff to prepare correspondence to the VTA Board of Directors for the Mayor’s signature regarding program and project priorities for VTP 2030, specifically:

• Request that Sunnyvale’s local funding efforts be recognized in the VTP 2030 by programming all projects as currently budgeted or programmed by the City as constrained projects as shown in Table 1 of this Report to Council, and that the City’s unfunded Local Streets priorities be moved to the constrained list.

• Request that City Transportation Strategic Program funds in the amount of $ 35 million be recognized in VTP 2030 as local matching funds for Lawrence Expressway grade separation improvements in Sunnyvale.

• Bring the 1990 Cooperative Agreement between the City of Sunnyvale and the Santa Clara County Transit District to the attention of the Board and VTA staff, and stipulate that investment in future light rail corridors be made according to the priorities established by this agreement.

• Support the Freeway Program priorities as proposed by staff at the VTA Board Workshop of March 19, 2004.

The motion carried unanimously.

Susan Ramos, City Clerk, presented the staff report.

Mayor Howe noted that last year in the budget this was one of the cost savings that was outlined by City management.

Staff responded to questions regarding the percentages on page 3, the costs for running for election, splitting costs with other elections in even number years, how much could be saved or additional costs for moving the election to even numbered years, shared ballot costs, and loss of visibility in even numbered years.

Vice Mayor Chu suggested the fourth paragraph on page 4 be stricken and considered separately, "Council Members have the option to serve one-four year term or a maximum of two consecutive four-year terms. If a Council Member chooses to serve only one four-year term, he or she can come back at a future election and chose to serve one four-year term or two consecutive four-year terms. The City Charter does not have a lifetime maximum, just a two consecutive term maximum."

Mayor Howe opened the Public Hearing at 10:36 p.m.

Ken Jorgensen, a member of the public, questioned why seats one and two would not be eligible to run again. Mayor Howe clarified it related to the person currently in the seat. He stated he would like to see an analysis of best and worse case scenarios and suggested this item would require more review.

Harriet Rowe, stated that there might be more of a turnout in even number years, but it would be a less educated turnout.

Thom Mayer, a member of the public, advocated to table this item and to have the election in odd numbered years.

Brandon Sulser, a member of the public, advocated to move the elections to even numbered years.

Dave Simons, a member of the public, advocated to leave the elections in odd numbered years.

Mayor Howe closed the Public Hearing at 10:46 p.m.

Vice Mayor Chu moved, and Councilmember Swegles seconded, to continue the City’s current election schedule with no changes and direct the City Attorney to come back with an accurate interpretation of the Charter regarding term limits, specifically the maximum number of terms within a 12 year period.

Mayor Howe offered a friendly amendment to bring back a legal opinion of the provision in the Charter regarding Council term limits. The amendment was accepted.

Councilmember Miller suggested it would be helpful in a future survey, if this matter comes back in the future to include a survey on whether other election participants are contemplating regarding changing their election dates.

The motion carried unanimously.

NON-AGENDA ITEMS & COMMENTS

COUNCIL

Councilmember Fowler commented about his business trip to China. He appealed to the local business people that if they go to China to explore business opportunities, to contact him so he can organize another delegation.

Councilmember Miller asked about the Community Development Administrative Hearing list under Information Items. Robert Paternoster, Director of Community Development responded that since there they no longer have the pre-appeal process which required a majority of Council members to vote on it, any Councilmember can appeal any item directly.

Vice Mayor Chu invited the public to attend two special meetings this Saturday and next Saturday April 10 and 17. The Council will be looking at the first steps of a preliminary budget and a 20 year plan. The meetings start at 8:30 a.m.

Mayor Howe directed that staff provide Council with a memo regarding the status of contacting the top 25 sales tax revenue producing businesses in Sunnyvale as part of the Economic Development Program.

Councilmember Miller asked when staff will be returning to the Council on the consultant agreements report. City Manager Chan replied it is scheduled to return to Council in April.

There were no comments.

Mayor Howe declared the meeting adjourned at 11:18 p.m.

Respectfully submitted,

Susan Ramos, City Clerk