City of Sunnyvale
Excerpt Meeting Minutes - Draft
Planning Commission
7:00 PM Online and Bay Conference Room
(Room 145), City Hall,
456 W. Olive Ave.,
Sunnyvale, CA 94086
Monday, June 12, 2023
Special Meeting: Study Session - Canceled | Public Hearing - 7:00 PM 7 P.M. PLANNING COMMISSION MEETING
CALL TO ORDER
Chair Pyne called the meeting to order at 7:10 PM.
ROLL CALL
Chair Martin Pyne
Commissioner John Howe
Commissioner Michael Serrone
Commissioner Neela Shukla
Present: 4 -
Vice Chair Nathan Iglesias
Commissioner Daniel Howard
Commissioner Carol Weiss
Absent: 3 -
The absences of Vice Chair Iglesias, Commissioner Weiss, and Commissioner Howard are excused.
PUBLIC HEARINGS/GENERAL BUSINESS
2. 23-0520 CONTINUED FROM MAY 22, 2023
Forward a Recommendation to the City Council to take the following Actions:
a. Adopt a Resolution to establish Citywide Objective Design Standards for Multi-Family Residential and Mixed-Use
Developments;
b. Repeal the Mixed-Use Development Tool Kit and the High Density Residential Design Guidelines;
c. Rename the Citywide Design Guidelines to Non-Residential Design Guidelines;
d. Direct the Director of Community Development to
Attachment 8
June 12, 2023Planning Commission Meeting Minutes - Draft administratively update other adopted design guidelines to be aligned with the new Objective Design Standards;
e. Introduce an Ordinance to Amend Sunnyvale Municipal Code Section 19.37.020; and,
f. Find that the Action is Exempt from CEQA Pursuant to CEQA Guidelines Section 15061(b)(3).
Associate Planner Kelly Cha and Bruce Brubaker (Principal at PlaceWorks) presented the staff report with a slide presentation.
Commissioner Serrone spoke in support of the flexibility that the points system will allow. He added that, at the same time, the standards will meet state requirements and will allow for the discretion of the Planning Commission and City Council. He confirmed with Principal Planner Michelle King that the objective standards will provide a clear expectation for projects and that developers may employ waivers and exceptions through state law.
Commissioner Shukla received clarification on the points system from Associate Planner Cha, Mr. Brubaker, and Greg Goodfellow (Senior Associate II at PlaceWorks). They explained to Commissioner Shukla that while the points system exists, many of the standards do not include points systems. Associate Planner Cha added that after adoption, the objective design standards will be applied to multiple projects and likely undergo revisions for improvement.
Chair Pyne confirmed with Associate Planner Cha that, following the adoption of the objective standards, staff reports for proposed projects reviewed by the Planning Commission will include an Objective Design Standards Checklist as an attachment.
Chair Pyne opened the Public Hearing.
Dash Leeds, Conservation Organizer for the Sierra Club’s Loma Prieta Chapter, noted that it would have been ideal for the upper limit of the correlated color temperature of outdoor light sources to be 2,700 Kelvin instead of 3,000 Kelvin. He also stated that an upper limit of 2,400 Kelvin should be enforced for areas near sensitive habitats and that he looks forward to providing additional input for the City’s Dark Sky Ordinance.
Chair Pyne closed the Public Hearing.
MOTION: Commissioner Howe moved and Commissioner Shukla seconded the motion to approve Alternative 1 – Recommend that City Council take the following
Attachment 8
June 12, 2023Planning Commission Meeting Minutes - Draft actions:
a.) Adopt a Resolution to establish Citywide Objective Design Standards for Multi-Family Residential and Mixed-Use Developments;
b.) Repeal the Mixed-Use Development Tool Kit and the High Density Residential Design Guidelines;
c.) Rename the Citywide Design Guidelines to Non-Residential Design Guidelines; d.) Direct the Director of Community Development to administratively update other adopted design guidelines to be aligned with the new Object Design Standards; e.) Introduce an Ordinance to Amend Sunnyvale Municipal Code Section 19.37.020; and,
f.) Find that the Action is Exempt from CEQA Pursuant to CEQA Guidelines Section 15061(b)(3).
Commissioner Howe shared that he is pleased to see some flexibility in the standards, commended staff on a job well-done, and urged the other Planning Commissioners to support the motion.
Commissioner Shukla spoke in appreciation of staff’s hard work on the Objective Design Standards Checklist and the points system. It is for these reasons that she was in support of the motion.
Chair Pyne revealed his support of the motion and echoed comments made by Commissioner Howe and Commissioner Shukla. He added that the standards provide a greater degree of certainty for developers and simultaneously provides flexibility.
The motion carried by the following vote:
Yes: Chair Pyne
Commissioner Howe
Commissioner Serrone
Commissioner Shukla
4 -
No: 0
Absent: Vice Chair Iglesias
Commissioner Howard
Commissioner Weiss
3 -
Attachment 8
June 12, 2023Planning Commission Meeting Minutes - Draft This recommendation will be forwarded to the City Council for consideration at the June 27, 2023 meeting.
Attachment 8