REPORT TO THE ZONING ADMINISTRATOR
SUBJECT
Title
Proposed Project: Related applications on the 26-acre site:
VARIANCE: To allow a new screened utility yard to be placed between the building and a public street (Central Expressway) on an existing industrial campus; and.
USE PERMIT: To allow mechanical equipment coverage to exceed 5%
Location: 1230 East Arques Avenue (APNs: 216-350-24, 216-35-025, 216-35-026)
File #: PLNG-2025-0636
Zoning: M-S (Industrial and Service)
Applicant / Owner: Sean Mcfeely (applicant) /Ingrasys Technology USA Inc (owner)
Environmental Review: Class 1 Categorical Exemption relieves this project from the California Environmental Quality Act (CEQA) provisions.
Project Planner: Christian Mendoza, 408-730-7429, Cmendoza@sunnyvale.ca.gov
Report
BACKGROUND
Description of Proposed Project
The applicant seeks a Variance approval for a deviation from Sunnyvale Municipal Code (SMC) Section 19.48.100 to allow two new fully screened equipment yards for a total of approximate 87,123 square feet (7%) within an existing parking lot located at the southern facing front yard along Central Expressway, where the code prohibits the location of mechanical equipment between the face of the building and the street. The project will include two screening walls of varying height with additional landscaping along Central Expressway to further obscure the proposed wall and equipment yards.
The applicant also seeks a Use Permit for ground-mounted mechanical equipment coverage to exceed the five percent of the lot area as required by SMC Section 19.88.020(a)(3). Modifications to parking, tree removals, and landscaping are also included in the project.
See Attachment 1 for a map of the vicinity and mailing area for notices and Attachment 2 for the Data Table of the project.
Previous Actions on the Site
The project site was the former Fujitsu campus that was developed in 1974 and the site has been vacant since 2021. A Preliminary Review was completed for redevelopment of the site in April, 2022 (#2022-7107). A demolition plan was approved in conjunction for the redevelopment on June, 2024 (#2022-7490). Work never commenced on these permits and the permits are now expired. The current tenant applied for a Miscellaneous Plan Permit application (#PLNG-2025-0594) for a temporary installation of ground mounted chillers and fuel cells, which was approved by staff on October 21, 2025. The subject of this permit would provide a permanent solution in response to this final permit.
ENVIRONMENTAL REVIEW
A Class 1 Categorical Exemption (15301)(e) relieves this project from the California Environmental Quality Act (CEQA) provisions. The Class 1 exemption consists of the operation, repair, maintenance, permitting, leasing, licensing, or minor alteration of existing public or private structures, facilities, mechanical equipment, or topographical features, involving negligible or no expansion of existing or former use.
DISCUSSION
Site Layout
The site is approximately 26-acres and is located on the eastern edge of the City of Sunnyvale, bounded by East Arques Avenue on the north, Central Expressway (Santa Clara County expressway) on the south, Oakmead Parkway on the east, and an existing industrial development to the west.
The project site consists of a remnant portion of the former Fujitsu campus that was developed in 1974. There are six existing buildings (totaling 313,485 gross square feet) and there are driveway accesses from all three street frontages.
The project site also contains a large number of trees that were planted within and along interior courtyards and paved walkways. The campus is surrounded by vast expanses of asphalt surface parking lots with minimal landscaping.
Currently, a previous permit was granted to Foxconn, a technology solutions company, which allowed temporary installation of ground-mounted chillers and fuel cells for one year (up to October 21, 2026), in addition to removing six protected trees. If the new proposal is granted, the temporary cells will be removed from the current location in the existing courtyard, and the proposed equipment yard will be sufficient for the development.
The first equipment yard proposed will be located to the southwest of the property, south of building M3 (see Attachment 5 for a Site Plan), and is approximately 46,363 square feet in size. Within the proposed yard will contain Bloom Fuel Cells; this would be the off-grid solution to allow the facility the needed electrical power to operate. The screening of the yard will be a concrete wall that is beige with a light exposed aggregate finish on the public facing side. The screening wall will be ten-foot in height on all sides except that the wall will vary in height from ten to twenty-feet on the southern facing wall adjacent to Central Expressway as described in the Recommended Conditions of Approval (see Attachment 4, BP-7).
The second equipment yard proposed would be located south of buildings M2 and M1 with the yard not exceeding further east than the furthest point of M1 (see attachment 5). This equipment yard will be approximately 40,760 square feet and is intended to house chillers that would supply the water to offset heat that is generated though the operations on site. The screening for this equipment yard will also have a wall made of concrete matching the finish of the adjacent equipment yard as indicated above. The wall will be ten feet in height surrounding all four sides of the yard and all equipment in this yard will be fully screened.
Both equipment yards that are being proposed would deviate from SMC Section 19.34.070 which requires the minimum front yard setback (35 feet) and would provide adequate screening to the units that are being housed. The proposal will also include landscaping and vegetation that will further obscure the proposed equipment yards (see landscaping below) along the southern boundary line of the three parcels that make up the campus.
Development Standards
SMC Section 19.48.100 limits the location of mechanical equipment to not be located between the face of building and the street and must be screened from view. It also indicates that any mechanical unit higher than eighteen inches must meet the side and rear yard setbacks of the zoning district and that the mechanical unit shall comply with the noise requirements set forth in SMC Section 19.42.030.
There are three street frontages for this property surrounding the parcel on Oakmead Parkway, Central Expressway, and East Arques Avenue. The project will maintain the existing buildings on the site which formulate a courtyard between the six structures and a rear yard area to the west, which do not possess the space required to construct an adequate mechanical equipment yard. Therefore, the project proposes to provide equipment in the southern area of the parcel between the face of the building and Central Expressway.
Parking:
The parcel currently has 1,051 parking stalls that are placed surrounding existing buildings between the front facing façade and the public facing street. This project will propose to remove 390 of the existing non-accessible parking stalls on the southern side of the parcel to accommodate the proposed ground-mounted units. This would leave the property with 661 parking stalls of which 584 of the parking stalls are required per SMC Section 19.46.100.
Landscaping:
The campus as it currently exists has landscaping in the interior courtyard and within the surrounding parking lot and creates a buffer around the entire site, with the exception of the rear yard that the site shares an adjacent ingress/egress with the neighboring property. The exterior of the campus includes shrubs, bushes, and trees that line the public street facing areas. Within the existing parking lot includes trees and landscaping islands that provide shading to the existing parking and separation from circulation areas to the parking lot.
An arborist report was prepared by Bartlet Consulting, dated October 3, 2025 (Attachment 7). It surveyed a total of 63 on-site trees to be removed, of which 38 are considered protected under SMC Section 19.94. A protected tree is defined as having a trunk size of at least 38 inches in circumference, as measured 4.5 feet from the ground. The project proposes to plant twelve 24-inch box trees, four 36-inch box trees and seventy-six 48-inch box trees as replacement trees in conformance with the City tree replacement standards for protected trees.
The applicant will remove 20,000 square feet of impervious surface and will provide 20,000 square feet of new landscaping around the proposed yards. The additional landscaping will be provided in the landscape buffer and surrounding the chiller equipment yard except for the northern screening wall. Along the fuel cells (Bloom Boxes) landscaping will be provided on the east screening wall near the driveway entrance. The existing topography south of the new fuel cells is to remain the same. Currently, it exists with a drop in elevation from central expressway to the existing grade which is the grade of the existing parking lot.
Larger native trees and vegetation will be incorporated along the existing and newly proposed landscaping buffer between Central Expressway. The trees will be native and perineal to provide coverage to further obscure the screening walls for both equipment yards. The trees that will be provided will be replacement trees that are required in lieu of the trees being removed for this project. Overall, the Impervious surface area will be reduced by 2% from 914,292 (80%) to 894,292 (78%).
Mechanical Equipment Setback Variance:
The applicant requests a deviation to allow location of the mechanical equipment yard between the face of the building and Central Expressway. The existing setback between the building and the expressway is 187 feet from the equipment yard to the property line. The minimum setback requirement is 35 feet from the property line per SMC Section 19.43.30. With the installation of the mechanical equipment yard(s), the setback from the closest point of the utility yard would be 35 feet from the property line to the face of the mechanical chiller.
Applicant’s Variance Justifications
The applicant has provided the following justifications to support the Variance request (see Attachment 5):
• For Finding #1, the property has three front yards making the existing courtyard on the property the only rear yard that would be suitable for Sunnyvale’s ordinances. The courtyard location is not sufficient for the 2 new proposed equipment yards.
• For Finding #2, The proposal has provided reports that indicate that the sound will be within the city’s operational standards. In addition, the site will maintain natural trees and vegetation on site with the removal of non-native species and inclusion of more native trees and dampeners to be included within the equipment yard.
• For Finding #3, The applicant has provided multiple examples of other business within the approximate vicinity of the proposal that have been granted the same concession
Variance Findings:
Staff have been able to make the findings for this Variance request (see Attachment 3). There is an exceptional or extraordinary circumstance or condition applicable to the property. This condition is the location of the campus which has three front facing yards that surround the campus. The equipment yard would also not be a detriment to the public welfare as the campus is not open to public and will be adequately screened from the public view. Finally, the granting of this variance would not be granting this specific property special privilege as other properties in the vicinity have proposed and were granted a similar request. As such the granting of the Variance request follows prior precedent, and a denial would be granting special privileges to other businesses enjoyed by other surrounding properties.
Staff have encouraged the applicant to berm the lower chiller ten-foot chiller screening wall to reduce the visibility from central expressway to a four-foot wall with landscaping to cover this proposed wall. In addition to providing a twenty-foot concrete screening wall on the Fuel Cell equipment yard and additional trees and Vegetation to further reduce the visibility of the new screening wall. This would obscure the proposed deviation that goes in opposition to our development standards and would still provide the same privileges that are enjoyed by the surrounding properties. The deviation will not result in adverse impacts to the neighborhood. Negligible privacy and visual impacts are expected, because noise and sightlines have provided the mitigation techniques listed above.
PUBLIC CONTACT
35 notices were sent to surrounding property owners and residents adjacent to the subject site in addition to standard noticing practices, including advertisement in the Sunnyvale Sun Newspaper and on-site posting. No letters or calls were received from the public by staff.
ALTERNATIVES
1. Approve the Variance and Use Permit with recommended Finding in Attachment 3 and recommended Conditions of Approval in Attachment 4.
2. Approve the Variance and Use Permit with modifications.
3. Deny the Variance and Use Permit.
RECOMMENDATION
Recommendation
Alternative 1. Approve the Variance and Use Permit with the recommended Findings in Attachment 3 and recommended Conditions of Approval in Attachment 4.
Staff
Prepared by: Christian Mendoza, Permit Technician
Approved by: Momo Ishijima, Senior Planner
ATTACHMENTS
1. Vicinity and Noticing Map
2. Project Data Table
3. Recommended Findings
4. Recommended Conditions of Approval
5. Site and Architectural Plans
6. Variance Justifications by the Applicant
7. Arborist Report
8. Preliminary Stormwater Management Plan