REPORT TO HERITAGE PRESERVATION COMMISSION
SUBJECT
Title
Receive and Provide Input on the Draft of the Update to the Historical Context Statement to Include Historical Contributions Made by Asian Americans and Other Minority Groups (Council Priority Project CO-1)
File #: PLNG-2024-0485
Environmental Review: The action is categorically exempt from the California Environmental Quality Act (CEQA) pursuant to CEQA Guidelines Section 15306.
Project Planner: Bonnie Filipovic, (408) 730-7462, bfilipovic@sunnyvale.ca.gov
Report
BACKGROUND
The City Council adopted the existing Historical Context Statement (Statement) in 2012, which provides a framework for setting goals, policies, and actions that guide the City’s heritage preservation program. The Statement documents key aspects of Sunnyvale’s historical development including land use patterns, major events, architecture, and notable impacts from prominent figures and groups such as Native Americans, Spanish-Mexican settlers, European farmers, and Chinese and Japanese laborers and farmworkers. A link to the adopted Statement is provided in Attachment 1.
In 2018 the Heritage Preservation Commission (HPC) sponsored Study Issue CDD 19-04 (now Council Priority Project CO-1) which seeks a significant update to the existing Statement to include more in-depth information on the historical influence of Asian Americans and other minority groups in Sunnyvale. The study issue paper is included in Attachment 3. At the 2023 Study Issues and Budget Proposals Workshop the City Council approved a $50,000 budget supplement to fund a consultant for this study. Through an Informal Request for Proposals solicitation process, staff selected Architectural Resources Group (ARG) to conduct the study.
On November 5, 2025, the HPC provided preliminary direction on the study’s focus before ARG began researching and drafting the update to the Statement. Staff and ARG also held a community outreach meeting on December 11, 2025, to gather additi...
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