March 4, 2026
Dear City Clerk and Honorable Mayor and City Councilmembers, Pursuant to Sunnyvale Municipal Code (SMC) § 19.98, this letter constitutes a formal Notice of Appeal of the Planning Commission’s February 23, 2026 decision approving Project PLNG-2025-0230 (File # 26-0311) at 510 and 920 De Guigne Drive.
We are residents living in the immediate vicinity of the project site and are directly affected by this approval. We respectfully request a de novo hearing before the City Council so that the project may be fully reconsidered on the merits, including all evidence, testimony, and concerns regarding traffic, safety, density, parking, ADU conversion impacts, and CEQA compliance.
Grounds for Appeal
1) Density Bonus Waivers: inadequate demonstration of physical preclusion The project was approved with one State Density Bonus Law concession and seventeen (17) waivers of development standards. Many waivers appear supported by generalized statements (e.g., “maximize units, ” “typical, ” “space required”) rather than clear evidence of physical preclusion tied to the site.
These waivers include core neighborhood standards such as building height, setbacks, minimum lot size, lot width, and multiple Open Space and Objective Design Standards. The cumulative effect significantly departs from adopted standards, while the findings conclude—without sufficient substantiation —that impacts are “primarily internal” and “would not result in negative impacts. ”
We request a transparent, evidence-based record showing:
• Which standards would truly prevent construction if applied; and • Why the proposed design represents the least-deviating approach consistent with State Density Bonus Law.
2) Traffic and safety concerns on De Guigne Drive
The staff report relies on VMT/CEQA metrics but does not fully address real-world safety concerns, including:
• Concentrated driveway movements from 329 new units (370 including ADUs); • Existing neighborhood speeding and limited traffic-calming measures; • Deferred intersection control and traffic-calming measures until after occupancy; • Vehicle trip estimates that fail to reflect real-world conditions: nearby office lots across the street have not been fully occupied since The Vale was built, and some Attachment 19
staff continue to work from home, making reported “current trip volumes” an inaccurate baseline.
We request pre-occupancy mitigation, including enforceable traffic-calming triggers, intersection evaluation, and safety signage/striping.
3) CEQA reliance on Guidelines § 15183
Given the project size, ADU potential, extensive waivers, and neighborhood traffic issues, careful scrutiny is warranted to ensure the environmental checklist addresses site-specific impacts and feasible mitigation measures—not solely prior program -level assumptions. 4) Parking and neighborhood impacts
Parking availability in the neighborhood is already constrained: when residents of The Vale return home late, they often cannot find legal spaces and are forced to park in fire lanes, requiring HOA towing. With ADUs allowed both as part of the project and potentially through garage conversions in new homes, parking demand will further increase, exacerbating traffic, safety, and fire/emergency access concerns.
We request the City Council consider enforceable, pre-occupancy parking mitigation, including:
• Addressing the current shortage of legal parking in the neighborhood; • Anticipating additional demand from all new units, including ADUs and garage conversions;
• Allowing street parking in safe locations; and
• Ensuring fire lanes remain clear at all times to protect emergency access.
Requested Relief
We respectfully request that the City Council:
1. Grant this appeal and conduct a de novo hearing on PLNG-2025-0230.
2. Require evidence-based justification for all 17 Density Bonus waivers and the concession.
3. Implement pre-occupancy traffic and safety measures on De Guigne Drive.
4. Reevaluate project-level CEQA analysis to address changed conditions or site- specific impacts.
5. Consider neighborhood-wide parking impacts and implement enforceable mitigation, including street parking and fire lane protections.
We have attached a petition signed by community members supporting this appeal.
Please confirm in writing that this appeal has been received and deemed complete.
Sincerely,
Mia Griffie & May Xu
Sincerely,
Mia Griffie
Attachment 19