REPORT TO COUNCIL
SUBJECT
Title
Proposed Project: General Plan Amendment Initiation: to consider a 100% Floor Area Ratio (FAR) combining district on 10 parcels in the M-S zoning district totaling 63 acres.
Location: 974 East Arques Avenue (APNs: 205-36-006, 205-36-007, 205-36-008), 190 Commercial Street (APN: 205-35-001), 198 Commercial Street (APN: 205-35-002), 930 East California Street (APN: 205-35-003), 1050/1090 East Arques Avenue (APN: 205-37-009), 928/930 East Arques Avenue (APN: 205-35-017), and 955/965 East Arques Avenue (APNs: 205-25-018 and 205-25-019)
File #: 2021-7282
Zoning: M-S - Industrial and Service
General Plan: Industrial
Applicant / Owner: RMW Architecture & Interiors (applicant) / Applied Materials, Inc. (owner)
Environmental Review: The project is exempt from the California Environmental Quality Act (CEQA) pursuant to CEQA Guidelines Section 15378(a).
Project Planner: Momoko Ishijima, (408) 730-7532, mishijima@sunnyvale.ca.gov
Report
SUMMARY OF COMMISSION ACTION
The Planning Commission considered this item on September 13, 2021. Other than the applicant representatives, no members of the public spoke on the item.
The Planning Commission voted 6-0 to approve recommending approval of Alternative 2 to initiate a General Plan Amendment study of a larger study area as an industrial intensification site in the General Plan to allow 100 percent FAR with the preparation of a Specific, Area, or Precise Plan, with corrections to the staff report regarding the project boundary referenced in Attachment 9.
The Planning Commission discussed the following issues regarding the request (see meeting minutes in Attachment 10) - staff comments follow each item:
§ Would the additional parcels in the study area get added to the existing Arques Campus Specific Plan?
o Staff comment - If the GPI were approved, a new Specific, Precise or Area Plan would be prepared including all parcels in the requested study area.
§ Would the Citywide Development Pool be exhausted? Would this proposal take away (square footage) from other approved or pending projects in the City?
o Staff comment - The existing Development Pool is 1.2 million square feet and the applicant’s conceptual development proposal is 1.63 million square feet of net increase above the allowed FAR. If the GPI were approved, the study would determine if additional square footage can be added to the Citywide Development Pool or added in the concentrated area as part of a new Specific, Precise or Area Plan.
§ In 1999, there were a number of businesses along Central Expressway that had scanning electron microscopes and the overhead utilities were required to be undergrounded. Did that come up in this project?
o Staff comment - Undergrounding of utilities can be reviewed during the next steps of the project.
§ Will all the studies be paid by the applicant if we expanded the study area?
o Staff comment - Yes.
§ Do we have enough staff resources to handle this project?
o Staff comment - Staff constraints exists; however, staff recognizes the significance and contribution of the applicant’s business, not only to Sunnyvale but to the world, and the project has been selected as one to promote.
§ Was there any consideration to include or not include the Fry’s property to make a logical boundary?
o Staff comment - There is no obvious boundary; however, we included the properties that the applicant owned and the surrounding properties to the west and north to make it a cohesive and logical boundary. The Fry’s property was not included in the recommended expanded study area.
There were no public comments received after the publication of the Planning Commission staff report and attachments, up to the hearing on September 13, 2021.
Public Contact
Public contact was made by posting the Council agenda on the City's official-notice bulletin board outside City Hall, Sunnyvale Public Library, and the Department of Public Safety. In addition, the agenda and report are available at the Office of the City Clerk and on the City's website.
ALTERNATIVES
1. Initiate a General Plan Amendment study to consider identifying the 10 parcels within the GPI request area as an industrial intensification site in the General Plan to allow 100% FAR.
2. Initiate a General Plan Amendment study of a larger study area as an industrial intensification site in the General Plan to allow 100% FAR with the preparation of a Specific, Area, or Precise Plan (as shown in Attachment 7 to the report).
3. Do not initiate a General Plan Amendment study and leave the current zoning designation as M-S. An applicant could apply for a Use Permit for the City to consider a FAR greater than 35% for a specific development project.
STAFF RECOMMENDATION
Recommendation
Alternative 2: Initiate a General Plan Amendment study of a larger study area as an industrial intensification site in the General Plan to allow 100% FAR with the preparation of a Specific, Area, or Precise Plan (as shown in Attachment 7 to the report).
The area is already planned for higher intensity development through the Arques Campus Specific Plan. Expanding the boundaries and considering higher intensity development could assist a successful company expanding their presence in Sunnyvale. Staff finds that a larger GPI study area is a more thorough approach to planning for this area. A Specific Plan could provide a thorough study of the types of uses and intensities, a holistic view of traffic impacts and area improvements and sense of place additions. It is possible the area will experience more redevelopment interest in the future and doing a study of a slightly larger area would provide a broader approach rather than taking projects on a piecemeal basis. All studies required for a General Plan Amendment or preparation of a specialized plan would be paid by the applicant.
Staff
Prepared by: Momoko Ishijima, Senior Planner
Reviewed by: Noren Caliva-Lepe, Principal Planner
Reviewed by: Andrew Miner, Assistant Director of Community Development
Reviewed by: Jaqui Guzmán, Deputy City Manager
Approved by: Kent Steffens, City Manager
ATTACHMENTS
1. Report to Planning Commission [21-0820, September 13, 2021] (without attachments)
2. Applicant’s GPI Request Letter
3. Applicant’s Conceptual Development Plan
4. Vicinity and Noticing Maps
5. General Plan Land Use Map of Vicinity
6. LUTE Changing Conditions Map
7. Expanded Study Area
8. Link to Arques Campus Specific Plan (1999)
9. Corrections to Planning Commission Staff Report
Additional Attachments for Report to Council
10. Excerpt of Draft Minutes of the Planning Commission Meeting of September 13, 2021