REPORT TO PARKS AND RECREATION COMMISSION
SUBJECT
Title
Recommend that City Council Approve the Proposed Sunnyvale Middle School Master Plan to Accommodate New Facilities, Authorize the City Manager to execute the First Amendment to the Agreement between the City and the Sunnyvale School District Regarding the Master Plan and Find the Action is Exempt from the California Environmental Quality Act (“CEQA”) pursuant to CEQA Guidelines Sections 15302 and 15061
Report
BACKGROUND
On June 25, 1991, the City of Sunnyvale entered into an Open Space Agreement with the Sunnyvale School District (SSD) pertaining to the use and maintenance for public recreational purposes of several school properties including the Sunnyvale Middle School sports fields (Attachment 2). The Agreement was extended by Council for 25 years on May 3, 2016 (RTC No. 16-0428) (Attachment 3). These open space and recreational areas, which include sports fields, have been designated on the Master Plans attached to the Agreement. On April 24, 2023, SSD notified the City of the desire to replace 20 deteriorating portable classrooms with a permanent two-story building at Sunnyvale Middle School. The work is scheduled to begin in Spring 2024 and to be completed by July 2025. The project would reduce the amount of open space by approximately 13,000 square feet. Please see Attachment 4 (Proposed Master Plan for Sunnyvale Middle School Site); Attachment 5 (Current Master Plan for Sunnyvale Middle School Site); and Attachment 6 (Notification Letter from Sunnyvale School District).
The revised Master Plan for Sunnyvale Middle School must be approved by both governing bodies, the Sunnyvale City Council and Sunnyvale School District Board of Education.
The City Council is scheduled to consider this item on July 11, 2023.
EXISTING POLICY
General Plan, Chapter 3, Land Use and Transportation-Open Space, Goal LT-8
Adequate and Balanced Open Space - Provide and maintain adequate and balanced open space and recreation facilities for the benefit of maintaining a healthy community based on community needs and the ability of the City to finance, construct, maintain and operate these facilities now and in the future.
General Plan, Chapter 3, Land Use and Transportation-Open Space, Goal LT-9
Regional Approach to Open Space - A regional approach to providing and preserving open space and providing open space and recreational services, facilities and amenities for the broader community.
ENVIRONMENTAL REVIEW
The Sunnyvale School District is the lead agency for environmental review under the California Environmental Quality Act (“CEQA”) for the replacement of the existing 20 deteriorating portable classrooms with a new 35,000 square foot, two-story building. The Sunnyvale School District is seeking the City Council’s approval as the construction of the new building will result in the removal of approximately 13,000 square feet of existing open space. It is believed that the School District’s action is exempt under CEQA Guidelines section 15302 (Class 2 exemption) which applies to the replacement or reconstruction of existing structures and facilities where the new structure will be located on the same site as the structure replaced and will have substantially the same purpose and capacity as the structure replaced and the removal of the open space is exempt pursuant to CEQA Guidelines section CEQA Guidelines section 15061 as it can be seen with a certainty that the removal of such a small square footage of open space will not have a significant impact on the environment and therefore not subject to CEQA.
DISCUSSION
In April of 2021, the SSD Board of Education (Board) adopted a comprehensive Facility Master Plan (FMP) for the district. This FMP outlines projects, scopes of work, priorities, and facility evaluations, amongst other critical components relating to facilities. Using the FMP as a guide, the Board went through an exercise in which specific projects were prioritized. Of which, the replacement of the temporary housing (portables) onsite at Sunnyvale Middle School (SMS) was rated as the highest priority for major projects by the Board. The reason behind this is the identified portables are well past their useful-life and no longer meet the standards for the learning spaces set forth in the FMP.
The goal of this project will be to replace the 20 portables with a new 2-story classroom building. The building will consist of 22 classrooms, student collaboration spaces, teacher collaboration spaces, and an art classroom/workshop. In addition to the physical building itself SSD will be constructing an outdoor academic quad/collaboration space.
The proposed school improvements would decrease the total turf area available for activities, but the decrease will not affect the current user groups. The SMS softball field is used from March through October on an annual basis. The primary users of the field include Sunnyvale Girls Softball League, Sunnyvale Alliance Soccer League, Sunnyvale Little League and Bay Area Christian Church (for the adaptive programs). As long as there is a minimum of 210 feet of athletic field there will be enough to accommodate the current user groups. There is a small portable backstop that will be moved slightly to the west to accommodate construction. The only impact to these groups would be if the construction impedes a portion of the athletic field during a group’s permitted season. The City’s Library and Recreation Services Department believes the impacts if any, would be minimal.
Below is a summary of the groups and their reservation periods:
• Sunnyvale Girls Softball League’s usage is from March 1 to October 31 annually
• Sunnyvale Alliance Soccer’s usage is from August 1 to October 31
• Sunnyvale Little League’s usage is from October 1 to 31 due to the baseball field’s October 1 annual field closures (LRS staff is recommending that all baseball field closure dates be extended to November 1, as staff has to relocate all Sunnyvale Little League reservations to softball fields)
• Bay Area Christian Church youth soccer adaptive program sessions are held on Saturdays when agreement groups/Sunnyvale non-profit organizations do not use the field.
Impact to Overall Open Space Inventory
The impact of the proposed project on the open space maintained by the City is as follows:
The current Master Plan calls for the City to maintain 15.1 acres of open space at Sunnyvale Middle School. The proposed Master Plan results in a reduction of approximately 0.33 acres with a new maintenance of 14.77 acres of open space. The proposed Master Plan has no reduction in the total number of reservable/permitted ball fields. Sunnyvale’s total open space acreage of 775.81 will be reduced to 775.48 if this Master Plan revision is approved.
FISCAL IMPACT
There is minimal or no fiscal impact to the City’s Capital or Operations Budget whether Council approves or does not approve the revised Master Plan for Sunnyvale Middle School. Since staff uses a sixteen-foot wide mower, the reduction of turf would decrease mowing time slightly, while other costs (e.g., general grounds, pathway care, debris removal, tree care, irrigation repair, etc.) would remain as they are at present. The minimal reduction of turf would have little reduction in water costs. No reduction to operating costs is anticipated with the reduction in turf if the proposed Master Plan is approved.
PUBLIC CONTACT
Public contact was made by posting the Council agenda on the City's official-notice bulletin board outside City Hall, at the Sunnyvale Public Library, Senior Center, Community Center and in the Department of Public Safety Lobby. In addition, the agenda and report are available at the Office of the City Clerk and on the City's website.
ALTERNATIVES
1. Recommend that City Council Approve the Proposed Master Plan for Sunnyvale Middle School open space to include the new permanent classrooms (Attachment 4 to the report) and to authorize the City Manager to execute the First Amendment to the Agreement between the City and the Sunnyvale School District Pertaining to the Use, Maintenance and Improvement for Public Recreational Purposes of Various Buildings and Open Space at School Sites owned by the Sunnyvale School District (Attachment 3 to the Report) and Find the Action is Exempt From the California Environmental Quality Act (“CEQA”) pursuant to CEQA Guidelines section 15302.
2. Recommend that the City Council not approve the Proposed Master Plan for Sunnyvale Middle School open space to include the new permanent classrooms and not authorize the City Manager to execute the First Amendment to the Agreement between the City and Sunnyvale School District and provide other direction.
RECOMMENDATION
Recommendation
1. Recommend that City Council Approve the Proposed Master Plan for Sunnyvale Middle School open space to include the new permanent classrooms (Attachment 4 to the report) and to authorize the City Manager to execute the First Amendment to the Agreement between the City and the Sunnyvale School District Pertaining to the Use, Maintenance and Improvement for Public Recreational Purposes of Various Buildings and Open Space at School Sites owned by the Sunnyvale School District (Attachment 3 to the Report) and Find the Action is Exempt From the California Environmental Quality Act (“CEQA”) pursuant to CEQA Guidelines sections 15302 and 15061.
JUSTIFICATION FOR RECOMMENDATION
Staff recommends Alternative No. 1 as the proposed project will have minimal impact to the public recreational use of the sports field and, according to the Superintendent of the Sunnyvale School District, the current portable temporary facilities are in need of major repair. New classrooms, support facilities and meeting areas will go far toward meeting the needs of school children in Sunnyvale for many years to come.
Staff
Prepared by: Jim Stark, Superintendent of Parks
Reviewed by: Chip Taylor, Director, Public Works
Reviewed by: Teri Silva, Assistant City Manager
Approved by: Kent Steffens, City Manager
ATTACHMENTS
1. Reserved for Report to Council
2. Agreement between City of Sunnyvale and Sunnyvale School District
3. Amendment to Sunnyvale Middle School Master Plan
4. Proposed Site Master Plan for Sunnyvale Middle School
5. Current Site Master Plan for Sunnyvale Middle School
6. Letter from Sunnyvale School District for Sunnyvale Middle School
7. Sunnyvale Middle School Proposed Rendering #1
8. Sunnyvale Middle School Proposed Rendering #2