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

Great Exchange Covenant Church has been in operation in Sunnyvale since 2001. The church previously has been meeting in several temporary locations in Sunnyvale and Santa Clara, including the Sunnyvale Community Center and the Santa Clara Marriott Hotel. The church now desires to have a more permanent facility in Sunnyvale and is proposing to lease a space in an existing building at 895 Kifer Road. The church operations will include regular Sunday church services and Sunday school for children during these services. Periodically, there will be special events during the weeknights that may involve the gathering of several hundred persons, including children. These events will occur primarily on Friday and Saturday nights. The church offices will be open during normal business hours (8:00am – 6:00pm) Monday through Friday and there will be 3-4 employees during these hours. All church related functions are proposed during off-peak, midweek hours and on weekends. The proposed use will occupy a 21,400 square foot tenant space at the front of the existing building, which totals 164,095 square feet.

A Negative Declaration was 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 3, Initial Study).

Use: The proposed Great Exchange Church would have Sunday church services and church office uses during the midweek. There will be no other related church uses proposed, such as a weekday private school, weekday childcare or other types of classes during the week. All congregation related activities will occur within off-peak hours during the week and on weekends. The proposed hours of operation are: Sunday 9:00am to 1:00pm, Tuesday through Friday (church office only) 9:00am to 6:00pm, and Friday and Saturday 7:30pm to 11:00pm.

The church will have a maximum attendance of 500 parishioners at one time during its Sunday service. If the maximum attendance begins to exceed 500, then the church will move to a multiple service format. Currently, there are approximately 260 members attending the church. Approximately 3-4 employees will occupy the space during the midweek hours of operation.

Site Layout: Great Exchange Church is proposed in an existing building, which is 164,095 square feet on a lot that is 441,263 square feet. The building is comprised of four tenant spaces with two tenants currently occupying the building. The church tenant space fronts directly along Kifer Road and shares a common lobby area with an adjoining tenant. This adjoining tenant is now occupied by C-Plane, a software company. The interior of the church space is comprised mainly of offices and open floor area. The enclosed office areas will be used for the general church operations, meeting rooms, storage areas, and classrooms for Sunday school. There are two large open floor areas. An area to the rear of the tenant space will be used as the church’s sanctuary. This are has 5,320 square feet of usable floor space. There will be a maximum of 500 seats in this area, along with a musical stage and multimedia area. The second open area, to the front of the space, will be use primarily for a general gathering place and foyer between the main entrance and sanctuary area. There are no regularly scheduled uses or seating planned for this area however, it will be used during the special event times. The sanctuary area will be permanently configured for Sunday services (seats and musical stage), so any special events will occur in the front open space area. Please refer to the site plans for details in Attachment 5.

Two companies, C-Plane and Reliance Technical Services (RTS), currently occupy the adjacent tenant spaces in the building. C-Plane is a software development company, whose use is almost exclusively office and has no manufacturing or hazardous uses associated with it. RTS has occupied the site since 1995 and is a contract manufacturing/assembly company with office uses also on site. Prior to RTS, the tenant space was occupied by Barnes Himes, a saline solution company, until 1990. Between 1990 to 1995 the space was vacant.

Use Compatibility: The existing building at 895 Kifer is in an industrial and service zoning district (MS). Traditionally churches have been allowed into most zones throughout the City, the greatest majority of which are in the residential zones. Church uses are allowed in the MS Zone, but only on a site-specific, case by case basis. Sunnyvale Municipal Code Chapter 19.22, Uses Permitted in the Industrial Zone Table 19.22.030(6)(E), shows that educational uses are allowed with a Use Permit in the MS zone. Staff reviews each application to determine the compatibility of the proposed use with the existing and potential surrounding uses. In the past, the City has allowed other churches into the MS Zone, but only after an extensive review to determine compatibility.

For this application, Staff was particularly concerned with the other industrial activities occurring in the same building and on adjacent parcels. An environmental review was conducted and it was determined that there was only one use of potential concern in the immediate vicinity. This is Reliance Technical Services (RTS), which is located in the same building as the proposed church. RTS is a contract company that assembles printed circuit boards. The process involves the use of several hazardous materials, including molten tin/lead solder. Vapors from the "wave solder" process can result in lead contamination of the workspace. RTS reported to the City that their manufacturing process heats the lead solder to a maximum temperature of 420 deg F. According to manufacturing specifications of the lead solder paste, lead or antimony may be detected in vapors from the lead paste only when the paste is heated above 1000 deg F. According to RTS, this is well beyond the temperature they use for their processes, therefore no vaporization is occurring during assembly. Currently there are exhaust systems and air conditioning systems in place that would filter out of the air any of these contaminants before it would be exhausted to the outside.

As a result of the environmental review, Staff found that the proposed church use would not be impacted by the operations at RTS. Staff found that the following physical and administrative controls significantly reduce any potentially negative impact RTS might have on the proposed church use:

1. The existing air filtration system is adequate mitigation to treat any air born contaminants resulting from the potentially hazardous processes in the adjacent tenant suite.
2. All waste solder paste containers used by RTS are disposed of properly. Currently RTS contracts with ECS Refining Company for disposal.
3. The proposed church use is physically separated from the manufacturing activities of RTS by solid concrete walls. This physical separation is sufficient to stop any lead vapors from entering the church tenant space area from within the building. External, or air borne vapors, are the only possible entryway after vapors are exhausted from RTS.
4. All tenant spaces in the building are on separate HVAC systems and there is no shared ventilation between them.
5. RTS and the proposed church will be in operation during different hours. RTS’s manufacturing process occurs Monday thru Friday from 8:00am until 5:00pm. RTS office activities may occur at more extended hours and days. The church use is proposed to be in operation on Tuesday thru Friday 9:00am to 6:00pm with office activities only. The office activity will involve approximately 3 to 4 full time employees and no children. On Sundays there will be church services and Sunday school for children from 9:00am to 1:00pm. Other special events will occur intermittently at the church on Friday and Saturday nights after 7:00pm.
6. Any modifications to the church’s hours of operation in the future will require a modification of the approved Use Permit.
7. According to information received from RTS, the conveyor oven for heating the circuit boards has a maximum temperature of 420 deg F. Since vaporization of the lead paste begins at 1000 deg F, there is no vaporization occurring during the assembly process.

Other surrounding uses in the area on adjacent parcels are generally consistent with the Industrial and Service Zone. The uses include general office activities on all sides of the property. There are no other known hazardous materials processes occurring at this time. There is a Pepsi bottling company down Kifer to the East and a Moose Lodge immediately to the east of the subject site.

Since the zoning designation is Industrial and Service, there is the possibility that future uses in the area could pose a more significant environmental hazard than do the currently existing uses. Future uses could include a variety of manufacturing and industrial type businesses. Staff expects these types of uses to become less prevalent as office/R&D uses continue to occupy more space in the MS Zone. The City does have existing controls to mitigate potential environmental issues typically associated with uses in the MS Zone, but the possibility remains that one use could have negative effects on another.

Architecture: There are no proposed changes to the exterior architecture of the building.

Landscaping: Current landscaping on site consists of multiple lawn areas throughout the site, several substantial trees (Palm Monterrey Pines, etc), and two reflection ponds at the front elevation of the building. The 95,924 square feet of landscaping equals 21% of the total site, where 20% is required by City code.

Parking/Circulation: There are currently 356 parking spaces on site, of which 9 are accessible spaces and none are compact. The applicant is proposing an alternating parking agreement for shared parking use at the site. During normal weekday business hours, only RTS and C-Plane will be in operation. The church will have only 4 employees during this time. The church will operate during off peak and weekend times when the other businesses are not in operation. Staff supports the proposed alternating parking agreement. The below table reflects total required parking for the weekday uses and the weekend uses:

The applicant has provided an alternating parking agreement between the existing businesses at the site and the property owner. It states that the businesses will have alternating use of the available parking on site. Any future uses that move into the building will be subject to this shared parking agreement as long as Great Exchange is occupying the building. A Condition of Approval has been added that requires this parking agreement to be filed as a deed restriction on the property. Please refer to Attachment 2 for details.

The City’s Traffic Department determined that a traffic study was not necessary since there will be no increase in traffic volumes during AM or PM peak traffic hours.

The proposed project complies with current development standards with the exception of required parking, as discussed. No further improvements are required at this time.

Staff does not anticipate impacts to the adjoining tenants in the existing building or to the surrounding area. The adjoining tenant uses are both R&D/Manufacturing uses that operate during the normal Monday to Friday business hours. The surrounding uses on adjacent parcels are generally consistent with the Industrial and Service Zone. The uses include general office activities on all sides of the property.

In order to approve a Use Permit, either of the following findings must be made:

• Staff was able to make the required Findings, as located in Attachment 1.

No fiscal impacts other than normal fees and taxes are expected.

1. Approve the Use Permit with attached conditions.
2. Approve the Use Permit with modified conditions.
3. Deny the Use Permit.

Alternative 1.

1. The proposed use attains the objectives and purposes of the General Plan of the City of Sunnyvale as the project combines a variety of uses with different hours of operation on one site. The use will provide needed office space for the church in a way that is complementary to existing structures and uses.

Land Use and Transportation Element

Policy N1.14 Support the provision of a full spectrum of public and quasi-public services (e.g., parks, day care, group living, recreation centers, religious institutions) that are appropriately located in residential, commercial, and industrial neighborhoods and ensure that they have beneficial effects on the surrounding area.

Great Exchange Church is proposed to be located in a zone where there may be issues of compatibility. Staff finds that proposed Use Permit is compatible with the existing businesses in the area, but also finds that there may be compatibility issues with the future uses in the area. Although there are existing controls sufficient to address most compatibility issues, there are some allowed uses in this zone that may create a conflict in compatibility.

Policy N1.2 Require new development to be compatible with the neighborhood, adjacent land uses, and the transportation system.

The project is compatible with the existing uses in the same building. The project is also compatible with the existing uses in the surrounding area. The project will not negatively impact adjacent properties or significantly increase noise and traffic in the neighborhood. Residential uses are not located in close proximity to the proposed use.

2. The proposed use is desirable, and will not be materially detrimental to the public welfare or injurious to the property, improvements or uses within the immediate vicinity and within the Zoning District because the business will operate during peak an off peak hours in an existing industrial and service building. The parking impacts will be minimal due to the amount of available parking on site and due to the differing hours of peak parking demand on site.

In addition to complying with all applicable City, County, State and Federal Statues, Codes, Ordinances, Resolutions, the Permittee expressly accepts and agrees to comply with the following Conditions of Approval for this Permit.

1. Obtain Building Permits prior to construction for any tenant improvements at the site.
2. The Conditions of Approval shall be reproduced on a page of the plans submitted for a Building permit for this project.
3. The Use Permit for the use shall expire if the use is discontinued for a period of one year or more.
4. Hours of operation shall be limited to the following hours:
   Monday - Friday: Office activities may occur at any time,

Special Events: 7:00pm to 12:00pm

Saturday: Special Events only 9:00am to 12:00pm

Sunday: Services: 9:00am to 1:00pm

5. The maximum number of parishioners using the religious institution at any given time will not exceed 500.
6. Minor changes to the Use Permit can be approved by the Director of Community Development. Major changes to the Use Permit required the approval of the Planning Commission.
7. There are a total of 365 spaces available at the site. A deed restriction shall be filed which limits the use of the parking spaces to the hours and days described in the above report.
8. Obtain a business license from the City of Sunnyvale Revenue Division prior to commencement of use.
9. An additional fee of $50 is required for posting of the Notice of Determination with Santa Clara County. This is a new fee from the County that began on July 1, 2003.