A regular meeting of the Sunnyvale Planning Commission was held on August 12, 2002, at 8:00 p.m. in the Council Chambers, City Hall, 456 West Olive Avenue, Sunnyvale, with Chair Simons presiding.

Gerri Caruso, Principal Planner, reported that on July 23, 2002, City Council considered the Single Family Home Design Techniques adopting the Planning Commission’s recommendation with modifications. Council directed staff to return with recommendations related to privacy and grade differences between residential properties and requested that the final Single Family Design Guidelines be posted to the City’s website.

Gerri Caruso, Principal Planner, reported on August 8, 2002, an environmental impact review scoping meeting was conducted which was attended by approximately 30 members of the public and three Planning Commissioners. The meeting was to gather public input on the scope of the EIR and that short minutes are being compiled and distributed to those who are interested.

She reminded the Commission about a joint study session with the City Council the next evening, August 13 at 6:00 p.m. regarding Transportation Strategic Plan.

Further, she reminded them of another joint study session with City Council on Tuesday, August 20, 2002 at 5:30 p.m. on Redevelopment Policies and Procedures.

Chair Simons asked Ms. Caruso if the scoping meeting minutes could be a made available to the public. Ms. Caruso responded yes.

Comm. Swegles requested a copy of the scoping minutes to Commissioners who were not in attendance.

Melinda Hamilton, resident and President of the Friends of Sunnyvale, requested that the Commission take an active role in determining the public forums format on the downtown EIR; to have the public forums be televised and to conduct the forums in the community instead of having them at the Council Chamber. She also requested that the EIR include an alternative plan that the Friends of Sunnyvale prepared to be a part of the EIR. She wanted to present the plan to the Commission and have it be a part of a public record. She expressed her concerns about the timeliness of the public forums and the opportunity to incorporate, submit and be considered the alternate plans prepared by the citizens with the EIR.

There were extensive discussions as to the appropriateness of the presentation to be included in the scope of the EIR and the opportunity to make comments and clarify issues between the public and the Commission. Senior Assistant City Attorney Borger advised the Commission that the alternate plan would be a public record since the meeting is televised; however, the Commission could not engage in a dialogue and cannot take any actions regarding the EIR. The public could speak and write letters stating their comments and input to staff to be incorporated in the EIR and that there would be opportunity to comment and speak on it during its scheduled public hearing.

Comm. Swegles asked whether it would be possible to have the item agendized so there would be dialogue with the public.

Chair Simons asked Ms. Hamilton for her preference whether to present the alternate plans or to defer the presentation until the item is agendized. Ms. Hamilton prefers either way but would like to still have an opportunity to present their plans even without a dialogue with the Commission. She expressed her concerns about the timeliness of the information to be incorporated to the EIR. Senior Assistant City Attorney Borger recommended speaking with the Planning Officer for the agenda request.

Chair Simons clarified with staff whether it is appropriate for the public to speak on Agenda Item #2. Senior Assistant City Attorney Borger responded yes.

Tom Carrig, resident and co-president of the Friends of Sunnyvale, commented that an EIR is not necessary since an EIR was already completed for the Downtown Specific Plan. He further commented that the outreach method of mailing the meeting notices to 1600 residents was not effective and that it was a waste of money and the additional study accomplishes nothing.

Vice Chair Babcock suggested to allow the public make the presentation of the alternative plan provided that the Commission not take any action nor engage in a dialogue. Senior Assistant City Attorney Borger responded that it is appropriate and it is at the discretion of the Chair as long as no action is taken.

Paul Reed, resident and a member of the Friends of Sunnyvale, reiterated that an alternate plans/design was looked at during the scoping meeting. He added that considering the process for completing the EIR plan, their plans would not be included if not presented or heard by the Commission. He stated that the urban design has serious problems - 1) the mall is still blocked, 2) the plans do not have enough open space; 3) the Plaza is severely deficient - not centered, difficult to find and not large enough to be usable for a large gathering place. He wished for a lot more community involvement to prevent any more mistakes and stated that there appears to be misdirection regarding the proposed plaza location. The parking garage that was recently built is a mistake with an old design different from what was originally presented. He hoped that the public has the capabilities to give input and to have outside consultants to assist staff. He recommended the following: 1) lower building heights; 2) more open space with mixed use on the sides and Macys, JC Penney and Target stay; 3) a modified mall plan with a pedestrian passage way to link to Murphy Avenue. He concluded that the proposal is closer to what the citizens want and that the urban design plan is not a traditional design.

Andy Maloney, resident and a member of the Friends of Sunnyvale, stated that this is the opportunity to do something extra ordinary. He addressed the mall on how to make it a traditional downtown and suggested opening up McKinley to be a large or open mall, to get rid of JC Penney and to have more public outreach. He noted this is only a few of the options or ideas that should be considered. He felt that the plan was developer driven. He added that the proposed plaza should be right in the middle/center of downtown. He suggested that there should more studies conducted. He urged the Commission to be actively involved in the design and study of the downtown.

1. 2002-0074 - City of Sunnyvale Study Issue - Codifying and Indexing the Housing Mitigation Policy (Staff recommends continuance to September 9, 2002) GC

Comm. Swegles reminded the Commission to attend the San Jose Giants ballgame hosted by the Sunnyvale Chamber of Commerce on Friday, August 16, at the San Jose Municipal Stadium.

Chair Simons announced that the City of Vallejo would be dedicating a large solar electric panel project designed to reduce long term electric charges and to recoup expenses.

None

With no further business, the Commission meeting adjourned at 9:18 p.m.

Submitted by:

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Gerri Caruso
Principal Planner

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