510 and 920 De Guigne Drive
PLNG-2025-0230
Trudi Ryan, Director of Community Development
City Council, March 24, 2026
2City of Sunnyvale 510 and 920 DeGugine Drive – March 2026 Existing Site and Neighborhood Context
Caltrain Station
Sonora Ct
N
• Site Area: 20.55 acres
• Site History: 381,000 sq. ft. total
Built 1990 and 1998
• General Plan: Medium Density Residential
East Sunnyvale Sense of Place Plan
• Zoning: M-S (Industrial and Service)
• Density: 24 du/ac (proposes 18 du/ac)
3City of Sunnyvale 510 and 920 DeGugine Drive – March 2026 • Use Permit (UP) – demolish six industrial office buildings and construct 370 units (including ADUs)
151 detached single-family homes
41 accessory dwelling units
178 three story townhomes
• Vesting Tentative Map (TM) – create
151 single-family lots
23 lots with 178 condominium units
30 common parcels
Overview of Application
4City of Sunnyvale 510 and 920 DeGugine Drive – March 2026 Site Plan
N
LEGEND
Single Family detached
Single Family detached
Townhomes
Townhomes
ADUs
Clubhouse
5City of Sunnyvale 510 and 920 DeGugine Drive – March 2026 Streetscape Elevations
Townhomes – facing De Guigne Drive and Stewart Drive
Single-family homes – facing De Guigne Drive
6City of Sunnyvale 510 and 920 DeGugine Drive – March 2026 • Planning Commission
February 23, 2026
6-0 Vote to Approve (1 Commissioner absent)
• Appeal by neighbors
February 24, 2026
• City Council call for review
March 2, 2026
Permit History
7City of Sunnyvale 510 and 920 DeGugine Drive – March 2026 Neighbor appeal of Planning Commission decision with following reasons:
Density Bonus Waivers: inadequate demonstration of physical preclusion Traffic and safety concerns on De Guigne Drive
CEQA Reliance on Guidelines Section 15183
Parking and neighborhood impacts
Two members of City Council requested a Call for Review of Planning Commission decision
Zoning code states: No reason shall be stated
Appeal and City Council Call for Review
8City of Sunnyvale 510 and 920 DeGugine Drive – March 2026 City’s Inclusionary BMR Ownership Housing Program (15% of units) (SMC Chapter 19.67)
49 moderate income units
+ 0.35 fractional in lieu fee
Per SDBL – Applicant entitled to:
one Concession/Incentive, and
any number of Waivers or reductions of developments standards that would physically prevent the project from being built at the permitted density
1 Concession and 17 Waivers requested
State Density Bonus Law (SDBL)
9City of Sunnyvale 510 and 920 DeGugine Drive – March 2026 Requested Concession (1) and Waivers (17)
• Concession – Window Recess (ODS)
Waiver: Sunnyvale Municipal Code
• Max. Building Height
• Mechanical Equipment Setbacks
• Min. Front Yard Setback
• Min. Avg. Front Yard Setback
• Min. Side Yard Setback
• Min. Total Side Yard Setback
• Min. Rear Yard Setback
• Min. Lot Size
• Min. Lot Width
Waiver: Objective Design Standards
• Open Space Amenities
• Min. Ground Floor Plate Height
• Trees in Common Open Space
• Building Frontage at Front Setback
• Max. Building Setback from Min. Front Yard
Setback
• Vehicle Access to Garage
• Loading Space
• Common Open Space External Accessibility
Red text: associated with single-family detached homes only 10City of Sunnyvale 510 and 920 DeGugine Drive – March 2026 Density Bonus Waivers: inadequate demonstration of physical preclusion SDBL limits City from applying development standard that would physically preclude construction of development that qualifies for a density bonus Courts interpret “physically precluding” broadly
SDBL requires granting of concessions and waivers with limited and narrow exceptions, based on specific factual findings in the record Only lawful reasons to deny a waiver are if it would:
i. Have a specific, adverse impact on public health or safety and there is no feasible way to mitigate or avoid the specific, adverse impact; or, ii. Have an adverse impact on any real property listed in the California Register of Historical Resources; or
iii. Be contrary to state or federal law.
Staff Comments on Appeal (page 1 of 5)
11City of Sunnyvale 510 and 920 DeGugine Drive – March 2026 Density Bonus Waivers: inadequate demonstration of physical preclusion (continued)
Case law & guidance from the California Department of Housing and Community Development (HCD)
• SDBL does not require designs to minimize the need for waivers 17 Waivers Requested
Objective Design Standards (ODS)
• SB330 residential development projects have requested waivers from ODS • Prior to June 2024 waivers from ODS not needed
Staff and Planning Commission Found:
• None of the lawful reasons to deny waivers exist
Staff Comments on Appeal (page 2 of 5)
12City of Sunnyvale 510 and 920 DeGugine Drive – March 2026 Traffic and safety concerns on De Guigne Drive
Trip Generation per ITE Trip Generation Manual
Speed Management Tools (Condition EP-40)
• Clarify features to slow traffic
Stop Sign warrant study will be completed after occupancy Staff Comments on Appeal (page 3 of 5)
Land Use Amount AM Peak
Hour Trips
PM Peak
Hour Trips
Industrial/Office 381,000 s.f. 511 490
Residential
192 Single-Family/ADUs
+
178 Multi-Family
213 281
13City of Sunnyvale 510 and 920 DeGugine Drive – March 2026 CEQA Reliance on Guidelines Section 15183
Public Resources Code State CEQA Guidelines Section 15183:
• Limits additional environmental review where an EIR was certified • Exception if need to examine significant effects that are peculiar to the project or its site • Rationale is to streamline review and reduce need to prepare repetitive environmental studies The environmental checklist provides substantial evidence that there are:
1) no peculiar impacts
2) no impacts not analyzed in the LUTE EIR
3) no significant off-site impacts and cumulative impacts not discussed in the LUTE Update EIR 4) there is no substantial new information indicating that an impact would be more severe than discussed in the LUTE EIR.
The findings of certified LUTE EIR remain valid: no further analysis is required The proposed units are consistent with the residential density studied in the LUTE EIR. A Site Management Plan was approved by the San Francisco Bay Regional Water Quality Control Board
Staff Comments on Appeal (page 4 of 5)
14City of Sunnyvale 510 and 920 DeGugine Drive – March 2026 Parking and neighborhood impacts
SDBL parking standard:
The State Density Bonus Law’s reduced parking standards must be automatically granted
Staff Comments on Appeal (page 5 of 5)
2 & 3 BR 4 & 5 BR ADUs Unassigned TOTAL
SDBL 1.5 2.5 0 0 652
Project 2 BR: 1
3 BR: 2
4 BR: 2
5 BR: 3
0 116 767
15City of Sunnyvale 510 and 920 DeGugine Drive – March 2026 Monthly Penalties
Minimum fines of $10,000 to $50,000 per month
Per-Unit Fines:
$10,000 per housing unit
Multiplied Fines for Bad Faith
Attorney's Fees
Referral to Attorney General
Mandatory Project Approval
Housing Element Decertification
Penalties for Violation the HAA
16City of Sunnyvale 510 and 920 DeGugine Drive – March 2026 Staff Recommendation
CEQA: Pursuant to Section 15183 of the CEQA Guidelines project is consistent with the General Plan.
Alternative 1: Deny the appeal and make the required findings to approve the CEQA determination that the project is consistent with the LUTE EIR and no additional environmental review is required pursuant to CEQA Guidelines Section 15183, and approve the Use Permit and Vesting Tentative Map based on the recommended findings in Attachment 3 and subject to the conditions of approval in Attachment 4 to the report.
Questions?