REPORT TO COUNCIL
SUBJECT
Title
Appointed Members to the Sunnyvale El Camino Real Corridor Plan Advisory Committee (Information Only)
Report
BACKGROUND
In March 2015 (RTC 15-0119), the City Council determined the composition of a community advisory committee to help guide the preparation of the Sunnyvale El Camino Real Corridor Plan (ECR Plan). The ECR Plan Advisory Committee (ECRPAC) will consist of four Commission representatives, three residents and three property owners/business representatives from the study area, and one resident and one property owner/business representative from the City at large, for a total of 12 members. The ECRPAC is intended to represent a broad cross-section of the community. The ECRPAC will be responsible for reviewing information, providing feedback on topics, recommending priorities and working to represent the various perspectives of the community. A Council Ad Hoc Subcommittee (Vice Mayor Martin-Milius and Councilmembers Whittum and Hendricks) was appointed to review applications and make the final selection of members to serve on the ECRPAC.
Staff met with the Council Subcommittee in May to discuss the logistics for the ECRPAC recruitment process. The Council Subcommittee reviewed the draft application form, anticipated schedule and various strategies to notify the public of the ECRPAC recruitment. The Subcommittee selected Councilmember Hendricks to chair their meetings.
The ECRPAC recruitment process for the general public began in mid-June. Staff sent approximately 22,000 postcard notices to property owners and tenants (including residents and businesses) within the ECR Plan area and within a 2,000-foot radius of the Plan area boundary. The recruitment was advertised on the City website, in the Sunnyvale Sun, through the City’s social media outlets, KSUN and the various City bulletin boards. Email announcements were also sent to neighborhood associations, registered users of Open City Hall and the ECR Plan interested parties mailing list. Staff utilized Open City Hall to directly accept applications online, provided applications for download on the project website at PlanElCaminoReal.inSunnyvale.com, and placed hard copies of the applications at the One-Stop Permit Center, Library and Community Center lobbies.
DISCUSSION
The Council Subcommittee held a meeting on July 29, 2015 to discuss the applications and appoint members to the ECRPAC. The Council Subcommittee reviewed 63 applications. Of the 63 applications, 42 were received directly through Open City Hall, and the rest via email, postal mail or walk-in. The majority of the Open City Hall applications were from first-time users of the platform. The Council Subcommittee acknowledged that many of the applicants were “new” names, suggesting that the ECRPAC recruitment process may have been the first time these citizens have participated in a City process.
The Council Subcommittee discussed the applications at great length and strived to assemble a Committee with a diversity of perspectives, a balance between residents, property owners and businesses (many applicants were eligible for more than one category) and a good distribution of geographic representation (Attachment 1). The Subcommittee appointed the following members to the ECRPAC, which also includes the Commission representatives nominated by their respective Commissions:
In addition, the Subcommittee selected and ranked four alternates to fill a position in any of the resident or property owner/business representative categories should a member resign from the ECRPAC. The following alternates will fill a vacant position in the order they are ranked:
1. Shelby Troxell
2. John McGowan
3. Karen Galatis
4. Tracy Tripp
It is anticipated that the first ECRPAC meeting will take place in September. The Council Subcommittee members plan to attend the first meeting to thank and welcome the appointed ECRPAC members.
All applicants, both selected and not selected, will be notified this week regarding the decision of the Council Ad Hoc Subcommittee.
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 Senior Center, Community Center and Department of Public Safety; and by making the agenda and report available at the Sunnyvale Public Library, the Office of the City Clerk and on the City's website.
Staff
Prepared by: Rosemarie Zulueta, Associate Planner
Reviewed by: Trudi Ryan, Planning Officer
Reviewed by: Hanson Hom, Director, Community Development Department
Reviewed by: Jane Chambers, Interim Assistant City Manager
Approved by: Deanna J. Santana, City Manager
ATTACHMENT
1. ECRPAC Member Representation Map