City Hall
456 West Olive Avenue
Sunnyvale, CA 94088-3707
TDD/TYY 408-730-7501
sunnyvale.ca.gov
January 25, 2018
Re: SB 18 consultation on the El Camino Real Corridor Specific Plan Dear Honorable Valentin Lopez, Chairman of the Amah Mutsun Tribal Band, The City of Sunnyvale (City) received your email dated December 29, 2017, (resent to correct email address January 4, 2018). Thank you for your interest in the El Camino Real Corridor (ECR) Specific Plan project (Project) and your acceptance of the offer to initiate Senate Bill 18 (SB 18) consultation (invitation letter sent to the Amah Mutsun Tribal Band on December 15, 2017). On January 16, 2018, you met with Trudi Ryan, Director of the City of Sunnyvale’s Community Development Department and Nichole Jordan Davis, Senior Cultural Resources Manager of Michael Baker International at Sunnyvale City Hall to discuss the project and the Amah Mutsun concerns regarding the project. During the meeting, Ms. Ryan provided an overview of the project describing the purpose, intent and stage of the environmental review process. You shared Native American history as it relates to the context of El Camino Real (in its entirety, with a focus on the San Francisco Bay Area portion within the project) and requested an action be taken by the City.
Ms. Ryan explained that the purpose of the Project is to refine and guide the future vision of Sunnyvale’s El Camino Real as a vibrant, mixed-use corridor with improved streetscapes and safer environments for walking, bicycling and other modes of transportation. The Project will update the existing (2007) Precise Plan for El Camino Real, and will include a comprehensive strategy to address land use, economic vitality, building forms, multimodal connectivity and the streetscape (sidewalks, landscaping and public space) within the Plan Area (properties directly subject to the development standards and regulations in the 2007 Precise Plan for El Camino Real). The Plan Area comprises approximately 350 acres along the 4-mile Sunnyvale El Camino Real frontage (see attached figure). The Project will culminate into a Plan document that includes development policies, land use regulations, design guidelines, infrastructure assessment, and implementation and financing program to help guide development within the Plan Area over the next 20-30 years.
Attachment 17
You shared an overview of Native American history in the San Francisco Bay Area during the missionization period, the Mexican period, early American period and how this past continues to affect present day Native Americans. The name of the road, El Camino Real, is offensive to the Amah Mutsun Tribal Band and you have requested that the City file a resolution requesting the state of California to rename El Camino Real to, “Indigenous Trail of California”. We very much appreciate the Amah Mutsun Tribal Band’s willingness to share their history to better inform the present and the future.
We are consulting leadership within the City regarding your request and will be in touch within the next 30 days.
I will be on maternity leave starting February 9, 2018. If you have any questions or other concerns, please contact Andrew Miner, Planning Officer, in my absence. He can be reached either by email at [email protected] or by phone at 408-730-7707. Per your request, this letter is sent via email.
Sincerely,
Rosemarie Zulueta
Senior Planner
Community Development Department
City of Sunnyvale
408-730-7437
[email protected]
CC: Trudi Ryan, Director, Community Development Department, City of Sunnyvale Andrew Miner, Planning Officer, City of Sunnyvale
Nichole Davis, Senior Cultural Resources Manager, Michael Baker International Attachment 17