SunnyvaleRTC

January 25, 2005

SUBJECT:	2004-0766 – The French American School [Applicant] Cupertino Union School District [Owner]: Application for a 9.4-acre site. The property is located at 1522 Lewiston Drive in a PF (Public Facility) Zoning District. (APN: 323-26-001) (Negative Declaration):
Motion	Use Permit to allow the installation of modular buildings totaling 3,360 square feet;

REPORT IN BRIEF

Existing Site Conditions	Former public school site leased to three school/day care providers and a dance school.
Surrounding Land Uses
North	Low Density Residential
South	Low Density Residential
East	City Park
West	Low Density Residential
Issues	Architecture, Neighborhood Compatibility
Environmental Status	A Negative Declaration has been prepared in compliance with California Environmental Quality Act provisions and City Guidelines.
Planning Commission Recommendation Staff Recommendation	Approve with Conditions Uphold decision of Planning Commission and Approve with Conditions

Project Site Map, click here (.jpg)

PROJECT DATA TABLE

	EXISTING	PROPOSED	REQUIRED/ PERMITTED
General Plan	School	School	School
Zoning District	Public Facility	Public Facility	Public Facility
Lot Size (s.f.)	435,600	Same	No min.
Gross Floor Area (s.f.)	34,628	37,988	No max.
Lot Coverage (%)	8%	8%	45% max.
Floor Area Ratio (FAR)	8%	8%	45% max.
No. of Buildings On-Site	5	7	By Use Permit
Building Height (ft.)	16 max.	12 for modulars	30 max.
No. of Stories	1	1	2 max.
Setbacks (facing prop.)
· Front	60	Same	20 min.
· Left Side	390	Same	4 min.
· Right Side	23	Same	4 min.
· Rear	213	Same	20 min.
Landscaping (sq. ft.)
· Total Landscaping	263,600	Same	87, 120 min.
Parking
· Total No. of Spaces	48	Same	85 min.
· No. of Standards	46	Same	N/A
· No. of Accessible	2	Same	2 min.

ANALYSIS

Description of Proposed Project

The applicant proposes an expansion of the French American School of Silicon Valley by adding a three-room modular classroom building and an adjacent restroom building. The proposed facilities would provide needed space for a multimedia library, a technology lab, some administrative office area and a small conference area. There would be no increase in enrollment as a result of this expansion.

Background

A Planning Commission hearing was held for this project on November 8, 2004. Public testimony was taken. Neighbors spoke regarding the difficult parking and circulation issues related to the combined use of the Serra School site. Minutes from the Planning Commission hearing of November 8, 2004, are located in Attachment G.

The Planning Commission approved the Use Permit to allow additional buildings at the French American School of Silicon Valley subject to the conditions of approval proposed by staff. The action included condition number 7 to provide a Master Parking and Circulation Management Plan for the combined use of the site. The Commission added that Condition of Approval #7 shall include the neighbors and tenants in the preparation of the Master Parking and Circulation Management Plan. The project was approved 6-0.

The applicant has appealed the decision of the Planning Commission and has asked that the requirement to conduct a Master Parking and Circulation Management Plan for the combined use of the site be deleted from the Conditions of Approval. The applicant considers the requirement to be unattainable due to the French American School’s lack of authority to require compliance by other users. An appeal letter is located in Attachment H. Emails and letters in support of the project and the appeal are located in Attachment I.

Previous Actions on the Site: The following table summarizes other previous planning applications related to the subject site.

File Number	Brief Description	Hearing/Decision	Date
1984-0090	Daycare	Planning Commission/Approved	9/10/84

Environmental Review

A Negative Declaration has been prepared in compliance with the California Environmental Quality Act provisions and City Guidelines. An initial study has determined that the proposed project would not create any significant environmental impacts (see Attachment C, Initial Study).

Use: The private school use is existing; it occupies the former Serra School public school site. The application is for expansion of the school facilities. The French American School of Silicon Valley offers classes from preschool through fifth grade. A letter from the applicant with a detailed project description is attached (see Attachment D). The applicant plans to add lab and conference space as well as additional restrooms. No increase in enrollment is proposed with this facility expansion. SMC 19.24.030 requires that all non-public schools in the Public Facility (PF) Zoning District be subject to Use Permit approval.

Site Layout: The existing school campus is oriented towards Lewiston Drive. The proposed single-story modular buildings would be located on the south end of the campus, behind the permanent buildings on site (See site plan, Attachment D).

The following Guidelines were considered in analysis of the project site design.

Citywide Design Guidelines

(Site Layout)

Comments

New development shall adhere to the character of the existing neighborhood and be integrated into surrounding development. New development shall not dominate or interfere with the established character of its neighborhood. Site design of projects shall be cohesive both functionally and visually.

The proposed buildings are integrated into the existing campus site plan. The buildings will not be visible from the adjoining public street.

Architecture: The architectural style of the proposed single-story classrooms and restroom structures is representative of typical modular school buildings. They are simple flat-roofed structures with plywood siding with vertical grooves. The siding would be painted light beige, and the trim and doors would be a medium bright blue. Staff finds that the buildings are appropriate for the site and does not recommend any architectural changes for this project.

The following Guidelines were considered in the analysis of the project architecture.

Citywide Design Guidelines (Architecture)	Comments
Buildings shall enhance the neighborhood and be harmonious in character, style, scale, color and materials with existing buildings in the neighborhood.	The buildings would be simple in form and compatible with the other school buildings. The buildings would be single-story and would harmonize with the style and scale of the neighborhood.

Landscaping: There is no additional landscaping proposed with this project. The PF Zoning District requires 20% of the lot to be landscaped. As a result of the large playing field area on the site the total landscaping area for this project is 60%. Staff recommends that some additional landscaping be installed as part of this project in order to soften the plain architecture of the modular buildings.

Parking/Circulation: The parking and circulation area for this project are existing. There is no additional parking proposed for the project, because the applicant is not requesting additional classroom area for increased enrollment. There are 48 spaces provided on-site. The code requires 3 spaces per classroom for grades K through 8. There are currently 8 classrooms associated with this use that would require 24 parking spaces for this use. The following table indicates a maximum peak parking use for the site for all three uses. Day care facilities require 1 space per employee on the maximum shift and 1 space per 14 children/students. No additional parking has been calculated for the dance school since it mainly draws students from the schools on site. The dance school has 1 adult staff member.

School	Adult Staff	Students	Classrooms	Required Parking
Delor Montessori	12	75 (infant to K)	N/A	17
Early Horizons Day Care	36	107 (maximum under license infant -10 years	N/A	44
French American School	18	130	7 (K-5)	21
			TOTAL REQUIRED	82

With 82 spaces required and only 48 spaces available, it is apparent that there is currently a parking issue on site. As stated under the project description there will be no increase in enrollment as a result of this proposal, so the parking situation would not be exacerbated by this project. However, as a recommended Condition of Approval, staff would require that the applicant conduct a parking and circulation management study and develop a plan for better traffic control for the combined use of the site. To do so will require that the owner of the property, Cupertino School District, be involved to resolve issues that are currently causing issues in the neighborhood. The Condition requires approval of the scope of the study/plan by the Sunnyvale Traffic Division. Approval of the improved measures would be subject to review by the Director of Community Development prior to issuance of permits for this project. Approved measures would require implementation prior to occupancy. Staff is recommending review and adjustment of the program after a three month trial period.

Stormwater Management: Stormwater requirements are not applicable to this project.

The proposed school buildings are located a minimum of 80 feet from any property line adjacent to a residential use. The Sunnyvale Municipal Code requires that a use in a PF Zoning District adhere to the zoning standards of the most restrictive adjacent zoning district. The proposed use meets all setbacks and height limits of the adjacent R-1 Zoning District.

In staff’s opinion, the proposed architecture is consistent with the school site. Also, there is no increase in enrollment due to this project. There will likely be no additional impact to the surrounding area as a result of this project.