REPORT TO PLANNING COMMISSION
SUBJECT
Title
File #: 2016-7706
Location: 217 Moffett Park Dr. (APN: 110-34-006)
Zoning: MP-I
Proposed Project: Architectural review of a 5,000 square foot office building (previously approved) as part of a larger redevelopment project at 215 Moffett Park Drive.
Applicant / Owner: ArcTec, Inc. / Moffett Park Drive Owner LLC
Project Planner: Sh?tal Divatia, (408) 7637, sdivatia@sunnyvale.ca.gov
Report
REPORT IN BRIEF
General Plan: Industrial
Existing Site Conditions: Proposed building location is vacant; two office buildings and a parking structure are under construction on the remaining portion of the site
Surrounding Land Uses
North: Industrial
South: Across Moffett Park Drive - SR-237, south of SR 237-mobile home park and multifamily residential
East: Industrial
West: Across Borregas Ave - Office/R&D (Moffett Place)
Environmental Review: Project included in the Mitigated Negative Declaration adopted for 215 Moffett Park Drive (File No. 2014-7584)
Issues: Aesthetics, architecture
Staff Recommendation: Approve the Major Moffett Park Design Review Permit subject to recommended conditions of approval in Attachment 4.
BACKGROUND
A Major Moffett Park Design Review Permit for two office buildings, a 5,000 square foot freestanding restaurant building and a new parking structure was approved by the Planning Commission at this site (215 Moffett Park Drive) in April of 2015. The approved FAR for the site is 59.9%. The two office buildings and the parking structure are currently under construction. Elevations and detailed plans for the restaurant building were not included in the original project proposal, and Condition of Approval (No. GC-8) was included to require the restaurant building architecture and a detailed site plan be approved subsequently by the Planning Commission.
The applicant now proposes to build a freestanding office building and not a restaurant building (Attachment 5 - Letter from Applicant). The 5,000 square feet of floor area of the proposed building was counted towards the approved FAR as the envisioned restaurant would have been open to the public and not considered as an on-site amenity to be exempt from FAR calculation.
Description of Proposed Project
The project site is 9.5 acres in size and is currently being developed with two office buildings (with a total of 243,460 square feet floor area) and a 3-level parking garage. The proposed 5,000 square foot office building would be located at the corner of the Borregas Avenue and Moffett Park Drive intersection.
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
Major Moffett Park Design Review Permit: A Major Moffett Park Design Review Permit for two office buildings, a 5,000 square foot restaurant building, and a new 3-level parking structure resulting in a 59.9% FAR was approved by the Planning Commission at this site (215 Moffett Park Drive) on April 27, 2015.
Planning Commission Study Session: The Planning Commission reviewed and commented on the proposed freestanding office building architecture at its Study Session on September 12, 2016. Comments noted are as follows:
* Concern about plain building elevations facing public streets;
* Concerned about windows on the side and rear that may be screened/blocked;
* Concern about the loss of restaurant use as originally proposed;
* Ensure parking is adequate for future restaurant use;
* Use of recycled wood is desirable.
Since the Study Session, the applicant has added a second color of tile (tan- grey) and increased the use of a metal panel material on the building's rear elevation that faces Moffett Park Drive.
EXISTING POLICY
General Plan Goals and Policies: The following are key goals and policies from the Land Use and Transportation Chapter of the General Plan which pertain to the proposed project:
Policy LT-4.8a - Cluster high intensity industrial uses in areas with easy access to transportation corridors.
Moffett Park Specific Plan Guiding Principles: The following Guiding Principles for Moffett Park Specific Plan provide the foundation of the Development Plan and framework for the Plan.
Guiding Principle 1.0 - Positively influence the Sunnyvale business climate and enhance economic vitality by providing comprehensive land use policies and permitting processes that encourages development of additional needed Class A office space to diversity the industrial base of Sunnyvale
Guiding Principle 2.0 - Encourage and support emerging industries
Guiding Principle 10.0 - Incorporate sustainable design and green building concepts into private and public projects.
The project site is located within the Moffett Park Specific Plan (MPSP) area and is zoned Moffett Park Industrial (MP-I). The MP-I zone allows development intensity up to 35% FAR. The proposed project with 59.9%FAR requires a Major Moffett Park Design Review Permit (MP-DR).
The required findings for this permit are: A) The project attains the objectives and purposes of the MPSP; and B) Substantially conforms with the Moffett Park Design Guidelines set forth in Chapter Six of the MPSP. The Findings are addressed in Attachment 3.
Moffett Park Specific Plan Design Guidelines: The Moffett Park Specific Plan Design Guidelines address site planning, architecture, landscaping and site amenities, sustainable design and green building techniques, and artwork in private development. The proposed project meets the guidelines and a detailed discussion is contained in the Findings section located in Attachment 3.
Approved Major Moffett Park Design Review Permit for 215 Moffett Park Drive (File No. 2014-7584): The site was approved with 59.9% FAR (above the 35% FAR baseline and included a 10% FAR bonus for LEED Gold certification) with the proposed building envisioned and noted as a restaurant. This restaurant use was considered a desirable use that would provide services to the employee population in this neighborhood. The proposed office use for this building does not include any benefits or amenities for the general Moffett Park area.
Green Building Program: The previously approved project utilized the City of Sunnyvale's Green Building Program for all buildings, which allows an additional 10% FAR for LEED Gold with USGBC certification. The proposed building will meet the LEED Gold with USGBC certification.
ENVIRONMENTAL REVIEW
A Mitigated Negative Declaration was prepared in compliance with California Environmental Quality Act (CEQA) provisions and City guidelines that was included as part of the larger project approved for this site - 215 Moffett Park Drive (File: 2014-7584) on April 27, 2015. The project was approved with Conditions of Approval that included Mitigation Measures. For additional information refer to the approved Mitigated Declaration for 215 Moffett Park Drive.
Pursuant to CEQA Guideline 15162, if changes to a project or its circumstances occur after adoption of a negative declaration, the agency must determine whether the changes require a subsequent EIR, subsequent mitigated negative declaration, an addendum, or no further documentation. In this case, the proposed office R&D use is a less intense use that does not create new significant environmental effects, increase the severity of any previously identified significant effects, or requires new or different mitigation measures. The Traffic Impact Study prepared for 215 Moffett Park Drive considered the subject building as a restaurant which has a higher daily trip generation rate (127.2 trips/ksf) than the office R&D use (8.63 trips/ksf). Therefore, the proposed change does not require amending the original TIA or the Mitigated Negative Declaration.
DISCUSSION
Present Site Conditions
This specific corner portion of the site is currently vacant. The location at the corner of Borregas Avenue and Moffett Park Drive is close to the pedestrian bridge above SR-237. Other onsite buildings are under construction.
Development Standards
The larger overall project approved in April 2015 site met all required development standards except for:
* Exceeded the maximum 45% lot coverage with 47.5%;
* Provided an 8-foot landscape area along Borregas Drive instead of the minimum required 15-foot frontage landscaping width.
The proposed freestanding building's frontage on Borregas Avenue meets the 15-foot landscaping frontage standard and does not meet the standards on Moffett Park Drive with a 10-foot frontage width as the street was widened to accommodate a bicycle lane.
Floor Area Ratio: The proposed corner building with 5,000 square feet accounts for 2% of the 59.9% FAR that was approved for the site. The proposed building does not alter the approved 59.9% FAR for the overall site.
Use: The proposed office R&D use replaces the previously approved restaurant use envisioned for this building. The restaurant use was considered desirable as it would provide needed service to the employee population in this neighborhood. The applicant notes that they have not been successful in finding a restaurant tenant for this building Attachment 5 - Letter from Applicant). The proposed office R&D use is also an encouraged and allowed use in this zoning district.
Architecture and Site Layout:
The building meets minimum setback requirement for this zone. The proposed building is setback 20 feet and 18 feet from Moffett Park Drive and Borregas Avenue where a minimum of 15 foot setback is required. The building is located outside of the 40 foot street corner vision triangle. The corner building is about 86 feet away from the two-story office building under construction on its north on the same site. An access driveway from Borregas Avenue provides access to the site with a second driveway access to this portion of the site from Moffett Park Drive. Based on the corner location of the site, the building's three facades (east, west and south elevations) are highly visible from the streets; while the north fa?ade which is the front entrance of the building is less visible from the street.
The architecture for the two-story building attempts to relate to the larger office buildings on site. The larger two-story office buildings on the site are 54' feet tall where the proposed building is a maximum of 26 feet tall. The proposed building has two parts - the taller 26 foot high portion which includes glazing and an overhang element (with wood paneling on the inside) that forms the building's entrance feature, and a 20 foot tall portion on the east side of the building that includes some glass windows and will be clad with two shades of grey tile and metal panels. The taller portion of the building includes projection that serves to hide the rooftop equipment and also serves as the entry architectural element. A ground-mounted transformer and solid waste enclosure on the east side connects with the building with a roof overhang and will have the same exterior tile as that of the building. The north (front) and west (side) elevations also include the use of metal screen (similar to those on the office buildings on the site).
Although this is a relatively small building, its location makes it highly visible and should be well-designed and compatible with other buildings found in the surrounding area. A Condition of Approval is added to require the architecture of the street elevations be further enhanced. Some options include the addition of metal screen, enlarged/vertical glass windows, decreasing the solid wall surface, or the addition of color, other building materials or other design modifications.
Parking
The proposed office use of the building requires a minimum of 17 parking spaces (3.3 spaces per 1,000 square feet of gross floor area) where 55 are provided (as required for a restaurant use). This change of use reduced the required parking by 38 spaces. One option would be to lose these parking spaces and add them towards landscaping. Staff concurs with Planning Commission's suggestion made at the Study Session to have the additional parking spaces continue to serve the site to allow future flexibility of use for this building including a potential restaurant use
Landscaping and Tree Preservation
A landscaping and irrigation plan has been developed for the entire site including the area around this building (Attachment6 - Sheet L3.01). No trees will be removed for construction of the building, and XX trees will be planted as part of the building construction.
Green Building Requirements
Since the approved FAR utilized the Green Building Incentive bonus of 10% FAR, the proposed building is required to be LEED Gold with USGBC (US Green Building Council) Certification as noted in Conditions of Approval (Attachment 4).
Easements and Utilities
No additional easements are required for this project as all site development requirements including easements and bicycle lane have been required for the original larger site approval.
Solid Waste and Recycling
The proposal includes a solid waste enclosure that meets the requirement for an office use. The enclosure will appear as part of the building and the bins will be rolled out to the paved area for pick-up. A concrete pad for the truck has been included in the proposed site improvements. As this enclosure is designed to be integrated into the building architecture and exterior finishes, it will not appear as a typical solid waste enclosure that needs to be screened from public view.
FISCAL IMPACT
No fiscal impacts other than normal fees and taxes are expected. Traffic Impact and Housing Impact fees shall be paid for this project.
PUBLIC CONTACT
Public Contact: Staff has not received any correspondence or phone calls from neighbors at the time of writing of this report.
Notice of Public Hearing
? Published in the Sun newspaper
? Posted on the site
? 259 notices mailed to property owners and residents within 300 feet of the project site
Staff Report
? Posted on the City's website
? Provided at the Reference Section of the City's Public Library
Agenda
? Posted on the City's official notice bulletin board
? Posted on the City's website
ALTERNATIVES
1. Make the Findings in Attachment 3, Approve the Major Moffett Park Design Review Permit subject to recommended conditions of approval in Attachment 4.
2. Make the Findings in Attachment 3, Approve the Major Moffett Park Design Review Permit subject to modified conditions of approval.
3. Deny the Major Moffett Park Design Review Permit and provide direction to staff and applicant on where changes should be made.
STAFF RECOMMENDATION
Recommendation
Alternative1: Make the Findings in Attachment 3, Approve the Major Moffett Park Design Review Permit subject to recommended conditions of approval in Attachment 4.
Staff
Prepared by: Sh?tal Divatia, Senior Planner
Reviewed by: Gerri Caruso, Principal Planner
Approved by: Andrew Miner, Planning Officer
ATTACHMENTS
1. Site, Vicinity and Public Notice Mailing Map
2. Project Data Table
3. Recommended Findings
4. Recommended Conditions of Approval
5. Letter from Applicant
6. Proposed Site and Architectural Plans