DRAFT 4/23/2026 ______
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Council Agenda: 5/5/2026
Item No.:
ORDINANCE NO. _______
A N O R D I N A N C E O F T H E C I T Y C O U N C I L O F T H E C I T Y O F SUNNYVALE AMENDING CHAPTER 19.96 (HERITAGE
PRESERVATION) OF TITLE 19 (ZONING) OF THE SUNNYVALE
MUNICIPAL CODE TEMPORARILY EXCLUDING THE MURPHY
STATION HERITAGE LANDMARK DISTRICT LOCATED AT THE 100
BLOCK OF SOUTH MURPHY AVENUE AND SURROUNDING
PARCELS THAT MAKE UP THE HERITAGE LANDMARK DISTRICT, A
HISTORIC RESOURCE ON THE LOCAL HISTORIC REGISTER, FROM
APPLICABILITY OF SB 79 PROVISIONS, AND AMENDING THE
ZONING MAP TO ADD A NOTE INDICATING THIS EXCLUSION
WHEREAS, Senate Bill 79 (“SB 79”), signed into law on October 10, 2025 and codified in Government Code Sections 65912.155 to 65912.162, will make a qualified transit-oriented housing development project, as defined, an allowed use on any site zoned for residential, mixed, or commercial development that is located within a specified distance of a transit oriented development stop, as defined, in urban transit counties with more than 15 passenger rail stations, which includes Santa Clara County, if the development complies with applicable requirements, as specified in the statute; and
WHEREAS, SB 79 is anticipated to affect development near 13 transit-oriented development stops within or adjacent to Sunnyvale; and
WHEREAS, SB 79 will apply effective July 1, 2026, unless a local agency adopts an ordinance or local transit-oriented development alternative plan deemed compliant by the California Department of Housing and Community Development (“HCD”); and WHEREAS, SB 79 authorizes a local agency to defer the application of SB 79 for sites with a historic resource designated as of January 1, 2025 on a local register, until one year after adoption of the next housing element, by adopting an ordinance to exclude such sites; and WHEREAS, the Murphy Station Heritage Landmark District, consisting of the 100 block of South Murphy Avenue and adjacent properties along Evelyn Avenue and Washington Avenue (as shown in Exhibit A attached hereto and incorporated herein) is a designated heritage landmark district and historic resource on the City of Sunnyvale (“City”) Heritage Resources Inventory; and
WHEREAS, prior to January 1, 2025, the City Council designated the Murphy Station Heritage Landmark District as a local heritage landmark district (Resolution No. 222-81 adopted May 19, 1981) following preparation of the first Murphy Avenue Design Guidelines for the 100 block of South Murphy Avenue and adjacent properties. The District area is the location of the original downtown commercial district that developed after “Murphy Station” was established Attachment 5
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Item No.: 2
as a stop along the San Francisco and San Jose Railroad in the mid- to late-1800s. The District contains one- to two-story commercial buildings, with the earliest constructed around 1897, and most architectural styles represented dating from the 1920s and 1930s; and WHEREAS, at the time of its designation in 1981, the Murphy Station Heritage Landmark District was described as the two-block area bounded by Washington Avenue, Frances Street, Evelyn Avenue and Sunnyvale Avenue, with South Murphy Avenue running through the middle of those blocks (collectively referred to as the “100 block of South Murphy Avenue”) and included those parcels shown in the adopted Design Guidelines and the newly created Commercial Historic zoning district; and
WHEREAS, the City’s Downtown Specific Plan identifies those sites within the Murphy Station Heritage Landmark District as zoned Downtown Specific Plan-2 with a Landmark District overlay (DSP-2/LD), as depicted in Exhibit A hereto; and WHEREAS, the District is identified in the General Plan, Chapter 4 (Community Character) as the City’s only heritage commercial streetscape; and WHEREAS, on April 13, 2026, the Planning Commission of the City of Sunnyvale conducted a public hearing and recommended that the City Council adopt this ordinance; and WHEREAS, on ___________, the City submitted the proposed ordinance to HCD for review in accordance with the process set forth in SB 79; and
NOW, THEREFORE, THE CITY COUNCIL OF THE CITY OF SUNNYVALE DOES ORDAIN AS FOLLOWS:
S E C T I O N 1 . F I N D I N G S A N D D E T E R M I N A T I O N S . T h e C i t y C o u n c i l h e r e b y f i n d s a n d declares that the above recitals are true and correct and are incorporated herein as findings. The City Council determines that the Murphy Station Heritage Landmark District, consisting of the properties shown on Exhibit A hereto, is a historic resource designated as of January 1, 2025 on the local register of historic resources of the City of Sunnyvale, and therefore qualifies for exclusion from SB 79 applicability pursuant to Government Code Section 65912.161(b)(1)(F).
SECTION 2. Section 19.96.170 ADDED. Chapter 19.96 (Heritage Preservation) of Title 19 (Zoning) of the Sunnyvale Municipal Code is hereby amended to add a new Section 19.96.170 to read as follows:
19.96.170. Murphy Station Heritage Landmark District, SB 79 Temporary Exclusion
In accordance with Government Code Section 65912.161(b)(1), the Murphy Station Heritage Landmark District, as a historic resource designated on the local register of the City of Sunnyvale prior to January 1, 2025, and all sites within the Attachment 5
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Item No.: 3
District’s boundaries, shall be excluded from applicability of Government Code Section 65912.157, until one year following the adoption of the seventh revision of the housing element.
SECTION 3. ZONING MAP TEXT AMENDMENT. To implement the exclusions in Section 2, the City Council hereby authorizes a text amendment to the Zoning Map for the properties identified in Exhibit A as within the Murphy Station Heritage Landmark District the following note:
“Properties within the Murphy Station Heritage Landmark District are not covered by Government Code Section 65912.157 (SB 79).”
SECTION 4. CEQA - EXEMPTION. The City Council finds, pursuant to Title 14 of the California Code of Regulations, Section 15061(b)(3), that this ordinance is exempt from the requirements of the California Environmental Quality Act (CEQA) in that it is not a project under CEQA and does not have the potential for causing a significant effect on the environment.
S E C T I O N 5 . S U B M I T T A L T O H C D . T h e D i r e c t o r o f C o m m u n i t y D e v e l o p m e n t i s authorized and directed to submit a copy of the final ordinance to HCD within 60 days of adoption of the ordinance.
SECTION 6. CONSTITUTIONALITY; SEVERABILITY. If any section, subsection, sentence, clause or phrase of this ordinance is for any reason held to be invalid, such decision or decisions shall not affect the validity of the remaining portions of this ordinance. The City Council hereby declares that it would have passed this ordinance, and each section, subsection, sentence, clause and phrase thereof irrespective of the fact that any one or more sections, subsections, sentences, clauses or phrases be declared invalid.
Attachment 5
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Item No.: 4
SECTION 7. EFFECTIVE DATE. This ordinance shall be in full force and effect thirty (30) days from and after the date of its adoption.
SECTION 8. POSTING AND PUBLICATION. The City Clerk is directed to cause copies of this ordinance to be posted in three (3) prominent places in the City of Sunnyvale and to cause publication once in The Sun, the official publication of legal notices of the City of Sunnyvale, of a notice setting forth the date of adoption, the title of this ordinance, and a list of places where copies of this ordinance are posted, within fifteen (15) days after adoption of this ordinance.
Introduced at a regular meeting of the City Council held on May 5, 2026, and adopted as a n o r d i n a n c e o f t h e C i t y o f S u n n y v a l e a t a r e g u l a r m e e t i n g o f t h e C i t y C o u n c i l h e l d o n ____________, by the following vote:
AYES:
NOES:
ABSTAIN:
ABSENT:
RECUSAL:
ATTEST: APPROVED:
DAVID CARNAHAN
City Clerk
Date of Attestation: _______________________
LARRY KLEIN
Mayor
(SEAL)
APPROVED AS TO FORM:
________________________________________
REBECCA L. MOON
City Attorney
Attachment 5
EXHIBIT A
Attachment 5
Murphy Station Heritage Landmark District
DSP-2/LD (Downtown SpeciƱc Plan – Block 2/Landmark District) Address APN
100 S Murphy Avenue 20906075
20906076
101 S Murphy Avenue 20906022
111 S Murphy Avenue 20906077
118 S Murphy Avenue 20906070
121 S Murphy Avenue 20906003
124 S Murphy Avenue 20906038
130 S Murphy Avenue 20906037
133 S Murphy Avenue 20906004
135 S Murphy Avenue 20906005
139 S Murphy Avenue 20906006
140 S Murphy Avenue 20906081
141 S Murphy Avenue 20906007
146 S Murphy Avenue 20906034
151 S Murphy Avenue 20906008
152 S Murphy Avenue 20906079
155 S Murphy Avenue 20906009
159 S Murphy Avenue 20906010
160 S Murphy Avenue 20906059
165 S Murphy Avenue 20906011
168 S Murphy Avenue 20906031
171 S Murphy Avenue 20906012
172 S Murphy Avenue 20906030
175 S Murphy Avenue 20906013
176 S Murphy Avenue 20906029
181 S Murphy Avenue 20906014
182 S Murphy Avenue 20906028
187 S Murphy Avenue 20906080
188 S Murphy Avenue 20906027
192 S Murphy Avenue 20906026
195 S Murphy Avenue 20906016
199 S Murphy Avenue 20906017
141 E Washington Avenue 20906025
151 E Washington Avenue 20906072
Attachment 5