REPORT TO PLANNING COMMISSION
SUBJECT
Title
File #: 2015-7399
Location: 777 Sunnyvale-Saratoga Road (APN: 201-36-002)
Zoning: C-2/ECR
Proposed Project: Appeal of a decision by the Zoning Administrator to conditionally allow a:
SPECIAL DEVELOPMENT PERMIT to allow an approximately 11,600 square foot new commercial building (grocery store) on an existing commercial site. The project replaces a portion (approx.7,599 s.f.) of the Orchard Supply Hardware building and storage area.
Appellant / Applicant / Owner: Michael Howland / Ware Malcomb (applicant) / Mardit Properties, LP (owner)
Environmental Review: A Categorical Exemption Class 1 (building additions less than 10,000 s.f.) relieves this project from CEQA provisions.
Project Planner: Ryan Kuchenig, (408) 730-7431, rkuchenig@sunnyvale.ca.gov
Report
REPORT IN BRIEF
General Plan: Commercial General Business
Existing Site Conditions: Commercial Retail Building - Orchard Supply Hardware
Surrounding Land Uses
North: Commercial Shopping Center & Multi Family Apartments
South: Multi-Family Apartments
East: Commercial Shopping Center
West: Old Olson Cherry Orchard
Issues: Appeal letter notes concern/s with air quality and landscaping
Staff Recommendation: Deny the Appeal and uphold the decision of the Zoning Administrator to approve the Special Development Permit subject to recommended Conditions of Approval in Attachment 2.
BACKGROUND
A Special Development Permit application was filed requesting the demolition of a portion of an existing building (occupied by Orchard Supply Hardware) and construction of a new commercial building to be occupied by a new internet based retail business.
The project was previously reviewed by the Zoning Administrator at a hearing on July 15. The project was taken under advisement for one day and ultimately approved on July 16, 2015 with modified Conditions of Approval. Minutes of the Zoning Administrator public hearing are included in Attachment 10. The project was appealed by a Sunnyvale resident on July 29 within the 15-day appeal period. The appeal notes concerns with air quality and landscaping (See “Appeal” section of this report).
Previous Actions on the Site
|
File Number |
Description |
Decision |
Date |
|
2015-7349 |
Miscellaneous Plan Permit for exterior tenant improvements (OSH) and restriping of parking lot. |
Approved |
5/4/2015 |
The above referenced Planning permit included interior and minor exterior tenant improvements to the OSH building, including changes to the parking/landscaping reconfiguration of the site. Some of the previously approved landscaping changes will be modified again with this permit. The Orchard Supply remodel project is currently under way.
Existing Deviations from Standard Zoning Requirements
The entire site (which contains Orchard Supply Hardware and the subject application) is legal non-conforming and provides 9% of landscaping where 20% is required. The overall site is also legal non-conforming for parking lot shading as it does not the meet minimum 50% shading in 15 years requirement. However, the portion of the site, specific to the new building would comply with these standards as proposed. (See “Landscaping” section of this report for more details.)
Use
The applicant describes the proposed use as a grocery retail business where customers would utilize the internet to pre-order their grocery and retail items. When placing an order, customers will have the option of scheduling a specific 15 minute to 2-hour pick-up window. Once an order is placed, customers either can drive into a designated pick-up area with nine parking stalls, where the purchased items will be delivered to their cars, or they can arrive on foot or bicycle and pick-up their items in the store. Hours of operation are proposed to be daily from 7 a.m. to 10 p.m. A total of 15 employees would work on-site at any given time. As proposed, employees on-site will direct customers into their assigned parking spaces. To avoid idling vehicles, customers that arrive outside of their assigned times will be directed to the main parking lot.
Site Layout
Orchard Supply Hardware (OSH) operates a hardware and nursery building and customer pick-up building on the site. An outdoor storage area is located adjacent to the pick-up building. The proposal is for a new building in place of the customer pick-up building and storage yard, at the northeast portion of the site. The nursery/garden center use for OSH (western portion of site) would remain (See Site and Architectural Plans in Attachment 5). The main OSH building and nursery area have been approved for interior and exterior improvements under a separate permit.
The proposed 11,600 s.f. grocery retail building would be located adjacent to the main OSH building in roughly the same location as the existing pick-up building. As a result of the demolition and new building, approximately 4,820 net new s.f. would be added to the site. In addition to the new building, a carport covering nine spaces would be located between the new building and Sunnyvale-Saratoga Road. The carport is intended as a pick-up area for customers of the new retail use. A new trash enclosure attached to the building is planned along the north side of the building, which can be accessed by a drive aisle that runs along the north perimeter of the site.
The entire property (OSH and subject application) maintains three vehicular driveways along Sunnyvale-Saratoga Road and two driveways off S. Mathilda Avenue. The parking and circulation at the eastern end of the site would be modified to accommodate the new grocery store pick-up area.
A one way drive-aisle loop would be created for customers planning to park in the designated pick-up areas under a carport. A 10’6” clearance bar would be installed between the building and carport that prevents large trucks from entering this area. This loop drive aisle is not required for fire access.
In the applicant’s plan, the cross-vehicular access to the drive aisle that extends along the north edge of the site (runs east /west between Mathilda Avenue and Sunnyvale Avenue) is maintained as part of the proposal, the existing north/south access would be cut off from the site to the north.
The Precise Plan for El Camino Real includes a design guideline for site layout that encourages shared access driveways with adjacent uses. Staff has included Condition of Approval PS-3 to include a cross-access point for vehicular traffic that allows access to the parking areas on the adjacent site to the north. This modification may require some reconfiguration of the looped drive-aisle to enable a connection to the adjacent lot to the north. The Zoning Administrator approved the project with a Condition of Approval that required only one-way shared access. Staff considers two-way access between lots to be an important site function and has included a revised Condition of Approval requiring the applicant to continue to explore a two-way (north and south) cross access plan. Condition of Approval PS-3 shows the condition as approved by the Zoning Administrator (Alternative A) and the new condition recommended by staff (Alternative B).
Parking
Parking for the site would be reconfigured over current conditions. The current site is legal non-conforming and over parked per Municipal Code requirements where a maximum of 267 spaces are allowed. The project reduces overall parking by approximately 37 spaces but still meets parking requirements with 252 spaces provided, where a minimum of 234 and a maximum of 292 are allowed for the combined OSH and new retail building. The proposal would upgrade bicycle parking to meet the required number of Class I and Class II spaces. A total of 15 bicycle spaces are required for the combined retail uses on site (75% of such spaces shall be secured Class I), as noted in the Conditions of Approval. The applicant has indicated that secured spaces will be provided inside the buildings and that three spaces will be in front of the new building.
Landscaping
The OSH site currently does not meet the 20% requirement for total landscaping or the 50% parking lot shading requirement. The proposal would primarily increase landscaping in front of the new building; however, three new landscape islands are also proposed within the parking area in front of the existing OSH building. Overall, landscaping for the site is increased from approximately 20,463 s.f. to 26,983 s.f., which is an increase from 9% to 12% of the entire site. Tree shading of the parking lot is increased from approximately 10% to 22%. In the area of the new building landscaping is increased to 17% and shading to 50%. No tree removals are proposed with this project.
A pedestrian walkway (combination sidewalk and striped paving) that lies in front of the buildings on the site and the main corner entrance of the building connects to the public sidewalk along Sunnyvale-Saratoga Road. The landscape buffer adjacent to Sunnyvale-Saratoga Road would be widened as it extends southward.
Architecture
The proposed commercial building utilizes modern architectural design with a combination of projecting walls composed of wood siding and recessed façades of grey plaster finish. A random pattern of bright green panels are interspersed within the siding to break up the façade. Green canvas awnings over the corner entrance are also provided. Storefront windows are located at the corner of the building and at a portion of the east elevation. Some minor improvements have been added to the façade since earlier designs, including a location for a future display window along the south elevation and possible additional window locations. Staff is recommending Condition of Approval PS-1a to either include additional windows along the recessed portions of the south and east elevations or incorporate alternative design elements through a combination of material variation or color. Proposed landscaping in front of the building along the south side also helps soften the view of the building.
Staff has worked with the applicant to provide more detail to the carport structure, due to its prominent location in front of the building facing the street. The carport which shelters the pick-up/loading spaces for patrons is designed with a steel “butterfly roof” structure that angles upward from the middle. The structure incorporates a combination of translucent yellow and green panels that are visible underneath the canopy. A roofed pedestrian walkway runs across the drive aisle from the carport to the new building. Coupled with increased landscaping along the street frontage, staff finds that this unique carport design adds unique and interesting visual features from the street.
Green Building
Green building standards require non-residential construction that exceeds 5,000 s.f. to attain LEED Silver level design intent. The proposal indicates compliance by indicating that 50 LEED points will be achieved where a minimum of 50 are required. Conditions of Approval require the final building permit plans to demonstrate compliance.
Stormwater Management
The Municipal Regional Permit for stormwater discharge requires all treatment be achieved through Low Impact Development (LID) measures such as infiltration, harvesting/use, and bio-filtration and limits the use of mechanical treatment. A preliminary Stormwater Management Plan (SWMP) has been provided, which demonstrates compliance through site design, source controls and bio-retention. A third-party certification of a final SWMP is required prior to issuance of building permits.
Neighborhood Impacts / Compatibility
The project is expected to have minimal negative impact on the neighborhood. Short-term impacts related to noise are expected during demolition and construction. Based on a net increase of approximately 4,820 s.f. of retail space, additional vehicular traffic to the site is expected to be minimal. An existing outdoor storage building used for customers of OSH for pick-up of large material is being demolished. The proposed building would replace this use with a more aesthetically desirable and likely a less operationally disruptive use in terms of noise. The proposed customer pick-up area of the new business is located at the northeastern portion site, and situated away from the closest residential uses. The project also improves the visual aesthetics through increased landscaping and improved architectural design for the site.
Appeal
On July 29, a Sunnyvale resident filed an appeal (See Appeal Letter included in Attachment 7). The appellant states that the proposed use would have environmental impacts related to air quality and that landscaping and tree coverage are significantly deficient. The appellant also disagrees with the findings made. Staff determined that the proposed 4,820 s.f. addition qualifies for a Class 1 Categorical Exemption under of the California Environmental Quality Act (CEQA), which includes building additions less than 10,000 s.f. Furthermore, the proposed use is not considered a typical drive-thru use with idling vehicles remaining on-site, as described by the appellant. Customers would be required to reserve a pick-up time slot and arrive in a designated parking area. These time slots would be regulated such that no queuing would occur. If customers arrive outside their designated pick-up time, they will be directed to park in the general parking lot and walk up to the building to collect their items. Since the appeal has been filed, the applicant has voluntarily provided parking and air quality studies for the proposed use (see Attachments 8 & 9). The parking study analyzes the operational characteristics of the use and planned short term parking.
Staff acknowledges that landscaping deficiencies remain for the overall site, but finds that the planned improvements that increase total landscaping in the area of the project are commensurate with the proposed development. As stated in the “landscaping” section of the report, parking lot shading is significantly increased within the eastern portion of the site where the new building is positioned. Additional landscaping is also added to locations closer to the existing development on the site. Although the appellant disagrees with the finding that the project would encourage pedestrian activity; the proposed improvements include an enhanced pedestrian connection to the public sidewalk and increased landscaping that enhance the overall walkability of the site. As described earlier in the report, a condition of approval requires that cross parcel access with the site to the north be retained.
Public Contact: For the Zoning Administrator hearing, a total of 655 notices were sent to surrounding property owners and residents within 300 feet of the subject site in addition to standard noticing practices, including advertisement in the Sunnyvale Sun Newspaper and on-site posting. For the appeal to the Planning Commission, 655 notices were mailed to surrounding property owners and residents. Staff has received inquiries regarding the planned construction duration. Prior to the appeal, the applicant has indicated that construction would start in mid-August and take approximately four months to complete. Sunnyvale Municipal Code limits construction hours to Monday through Friday between 7 a.m. and 6 p.m., and Saturdays from 8 a.m. to 5 p.m. No construction activity can occur on Sunday or federal holidays when city offices are closed. No letters were received by staff regarding the project. The applicant has indicated that the updated construction timeline for completion is approximately six months from approval.
Environmental Determination: A Categorical Exemption Class 1 (building additions less than 10,000 s.f.) relieves this project from CEQA provisions. After demolition of a portion of the existing development, the project adds an additional 4,820 s.f. floor area to the site.
FINDINGS
In order to approve the Special Development Permit the findings must be made regarding consistency with the General Plan and impacts to surrounding uses. Staff was able to make the findings as the proposed use is compatible with the existing zoning and surrounding uses, and will enhance the overall condition of the site. Recommended Findings are located in Attachment 3.
ALTERNATIVES
1. Deny the Appeal and uphold the decision of the Zoning Administrator to approve the Special Development Permit with recommended Conditions in Attachment 4 (including Alternative A in C.O.A. PS-3).
2. Deny the Appeal and uphold the decision of the Zoning Administrator to approve the Special Development Permit with recommended Conditions in Attachment 4 (including Alternative B in C.O.A. PS-3).
3. Deny the Appeal and uphold the decision of the Zoning Administrator to approve the Special Development Permit with modified Conditions.
4. Grant the appeal and direct staff to conduct additional Environmental Review through an Initial Study prior to consideration at a public hearing.
RECOMMENDATION
Recommendation
Alternative 2. Deny the Appeal and uphold the decision of the Zoning Administrator to approve the Special Development Permit with recommended Conditions in Attachment 4 (including Alternative B in C.O.A.PS-3).
Staff
Prepared by: Ryan Kuchenig, Senior Planner
Reviewed by: Gerri Caruso, Principal Planner
Approved by: Trudi Ryan, Planning Officer
ATTACHMENTS
1. Vicinity and Public Noticing Map
2. Project Data Table
3. Recommended Findings
4. Recommended Conditions of Approval
5. Site and Architectural Plans
6. Project Rendering
7. Appeal Letter
8. Air Quality Study Provided by the Applicant
9. Parking Operation Study Provided by the Applicant
10. Zoning Administrator Hearing Minutes July 15, 2015