REPORT TO THE ZONING ADMINISTRATOR
SUBJECT
Title
Proposed Project:
USE PERMIT to allow a 600 square foot addition to an existing preschool building and associated site improvements.
Location: 1025 The Dalles (APN: 320-11-010)
File #: 2022-7380
Zoning: P-F (Public Facilities)
Applicant / Owner: Artik Art & Architecture / St. Luke Lutheran Church of Sunnyvale
Environmental Review: Class 1 Categorical Exemption relieves this project from the California Environmental Quality Act (CEQA) provisions.
Project Planner: Cindy Hom, 408-730-7411, Chom@sunnyvale.ca.gov
Report
BACKGROUND
This item was continued from the May 10, 2023 Zoning Administrator public hearing to allow staff to finalize the report and attachments. The subject site is an existing 4.04-acre church located at the northwest corner of the intersection at Wright Avenue and The Dalles. The site is currently developed with multiple buildings, 136 surface parking spaces, and landscaped open spaces. The Sunnyvale General Plan designates this site as Public Facilities and is zoned as Public Facilities (P-F). The project site is surrounded by single-family residential uses on all sides.
The subject site is currently occupied by St. Luke Lutheran Church which includes a 6,624 square foot sanctuary building, a 2,496 fellowship administration hall, and a 357 square foot youth outpost (youth meeting room). The site also includes a 5,206 square foot preschool building that was previously operated by Amazing Creations Preschool which provided care for 64 students. The preschool vacated in 2020 due to the Covid pandemic, however, preschool administration continued to operate in a small director’s office in one of the classrooms within the preschool building. There is also a 1,920 square foot afterschool care facility that is currently operated by Sunny Chinese Learning Center (SCLC).
Description of Proposed Project
The applicant proposes a 600 square foot addition to the preschool building, renovation of existing classrooms consisting of modifications to interior and exterior walls, replacement of existing doors and windows, installation of a new sliding-folding glass wall, installation of skylights, and a partial reroof of the preschool building.
The project also includes associated site improvements, which include reconfiguration of the south parking lot, parking lot restriping, removal of two Juniper trees, and upgrades for accessible parking and walkways.
Child care centers with occupancy of 31 or more children require a use permit that is reviewed and approved by the Zoning Administrator pursuant to SMC 19.24.030.
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
• 2016-7157 - Use Permit to allow a youth meeting room and associated decking around a Blue Oak tree on 6/15/16.
• 2012-7479 - Use Permit to allow for a 1,920 square afterschool learning center on 8/21/12.
• 1986-0219 - Use Permit to allow for expansion of the preschool and office space on 3/19/86.
• 1983-0249 - Use Permit to allow for a private school and daycare use for a capacity of 120 kids on 8/9/83.
• 1862 - Original Site and Architectural approval for a church building granted on 9/28/59.
Subsequent approvals include multiple Miscellaneous Plan Permits for tree removals, signage and minor site improvements.
ENVIRONMENTAL REVIEW
A Class 1 Categorical Exemption 15301 relieves this project from the California Environmental Quality Act (CEQA) provisions. The project proposes a 600 square foot addition to an existing preschool building and the installation of minor site modifications.
DISCUSSION
Proposed Use
The project proposes a building addition that will allow two preschool operators to utilize the existing preschool building and outdoor play yards. One of the operators is Cupertino Coop Nursery School (CCNS) which operates Monday through Friday between the hours of 8:30 AM to 3:30 PM with a capacity of 24 students that range from two to six years in age. There will be one to two teachers and six to 12 volunteers. (See Attachment 6)
The second operator has not been identified but the space would allow for a maximum capacity of 78 children between the ages of two and six years old and approximately 12 staff members. The second future preschool would operate Monday through Friday between the hours of 7:00 AM to 6:00 PM.
The anticipated capacity for the proposed preschools is 102 students, which is less than the 120 students that were allowed with the original use permit.
The Sunny Chinese Learning Center is not part of this application and is a separate operator on the church campus. Their use permit currently allows 84 children ranging from Kindergarten to 8th grade. The use is an afterschool care facility that provides homework assistance, Chinese and English language, arts and crafts, music, dance, Chinese calligraphy, chess, math, and kung fu classes. The center operates from 3:30 p.m. to 6:30 p.m. Monday through Friday.
The church sanctuary, fellowship hall, and youth outpost operate on the weekends and evenings, which do not conflict with the weekday, daytime operations of the preschool and afterschool care facilities.
Pick-up and Drop-off Operations
The pick-up and drop-off times are staggered and located in different areas of the site. CCNS requires a total of six parking spaces and their designated pick-up/drop-off parking spaces are located in the north parking lot. The second preschool operator requires a total of 20 parking spaces and the pick-up/drop-off spaces are located in the south parking lot. SCLC requires a total of eight parking spaces and utilizes parking spaces in the north parking lot. The project site provides a total of 129 parking spaces and adequate access via driveways on The Dalles and Wright Avenue. Staff does not anticipate conflicts with pick-up and drop-off operations considering there is adequate parking.
Preschool students will be dropped off and picked up by parents and walked to and from the building by parents during the designated time shown below in Table 1. Students attending SCLC are picked-up from various schools in a school van and dropped off and checked in by a school administrator.
Table 1: Pick-up and Drop-off Times
|
|
# of Students |
Drop-off Times |
Pick-up Times |
|
CCNS |
24 |
8:30 AM to 9:00 AM |
3:00 PM to 3:30 PM |
|
Future 2nd Preschool |
78 |
7:00 AM to 7:30 AM |
5:30 PM to 6:00 PM |
|
SCLC |
84 |
2:30 PM to 3:00 PM |
6:00 PM to 6:30 PM |
Outdoor Playtimes
The project proposes to maintain the existing outdoor play areas that include play equipment, open lawn areas, and shade structures. The proposed preschool’s designated yard is located on the south side of the preschool building. The outdoor play area is enclosed by an existing wooden fence that is six feet tall. Typically, the outdoor play times are staggered in 30-minute increments for each classroom. The general times when the yards would be utilized are summarized below in Table 2.
Table 2: Outdoor Playtimes
|
|
Play Hours |
|
CCNS |
8:45 AM to 11:30 AM and 12:00 PM to 3:30 PM |
|
Future 2nd Preschool |
9:30 AM to 11:30 AM and 3:00 PM to 5:00 PM |
|
SCLC |
3:00 PM to 6:00 PM |
Noise
A Noise Study was prepared by MIG dated December 2022 to analyze potential noise impacts generated from the operations of the proposed preschool, nursery school, and afterschool. (See Attachment 7) Based on the predicted noise levels at adjacent properties, the project will not exceed the City’s noise standards and the General Plan’s thresholds for acceptable noise levels. The analysis concluded the following:
• The project would produce a noise level less than 58 dBA Leq at the adjacent property lines and is estimated to result in less than 1 dBA change in the daily noise exposure levels at the adjoining property lines.
• The 24-hour DNL levels at the project site are calculated at 59.6 DNL under current conditions and 60.0 DNL with the proposed project. These noise levels fall within the City’s normally acceptable noise exposure limits for all land use types including residential and public facilities.
• The project will not result in more than 3 dBA increase in noise levels at the property line and therefore doesn’t result in an environmental impact or exceed the City’s normally acceptable noise limit of 60 DNL for adjacent residential land uses.
Noise from project traffic on the local road network is expected to be negligible due to the small size of the project and low expected traffic volumes, project traffic is expected not to add to the existing noise exposures.
The project is anticipated to generate temporary noise during construction. However, with the implementation of best management practices and the City’s standard requirements for construction, the construction noise would be reduced to a level of less than significant.
Site Layout and Access
The project maintains the existing layout, access, and site circulation. Vehicle access to the site is provided by three driveways located along The Dalles street frontage and one driveway located on Wright Avenue. There are existing public sidewalks along the south and east property lines as well as private sidewalks that connect the parking areas to the various buildings.
The church building, fellowship administration hall, and youth outpost are located in the central and eastern portions of the site. The SCLC building is on the north side of the existing preschool. The project proposes no changes to the buildings.
The existing preschool building is approximately 5,206 square feet and is currently located in the northwest portion of the site. The applicant proposes to remove two shed structures and construct a 600 square foot addition to the west side of the building. The proposed addition is setback 45 feet 3 ½ inches from the rear (west) property line, 139 feet 3 inches from the side (north) property line and 192 feet 4 ¼ inches from the front (south) property line. The proposed floor plan for the building addition includes areas for a kitchen, workroom, classroom space, restroom facilities, and storage. (See Attachment 5)
Parking
The project site currently provides 136 parking spaces. A total of 7 parking spaces will need to be removed to provide the required accessible parking and accessible pathways. The project would result in a total of 129 parking spaces that are provided in two parking lot areas.
The applicant is proposing to reconfigure and re-stripe the south parking lot which currently consists of 31 angled parking stalls. The applicant is reconfiguring the interior parking bays to be 90-degree parking spaces to accommodate a required accessible parking stall and to provide the required drive aisle width and turning radius for emergency vehicle access. The outer parking bay will be restriped to provide a one-way drive aisle with angled parking stalls.
The project requires a total of 141 parking spaces for all the uses of the project site, which is summarized in Table 3 below.
Table 3: Parking Summary
|
Uses |
Sq. Ft/ # of kids |
Parking Ratio |
Required Parking |
|
Preschool |
102 |
1 space per .25 kids |
26 |
|
After-school care (recreation and enrichment) |
1,920 s.f. |
4 spaces per 1000 |
8 |
|
Sanctuary Building Admin Area |
3,477 s.f. 3,037 s.f. |
25 spaces per 1000 3.3. spaces per 1000 |
87 10 |
|
Fellowship Administration Hall |
2,496 s.f. |
3.3 spaces per 1000 |
8 |
|
Youth Outpost |
357 s.f. |
4 spaces per 1000 |
2 |
|
Total Required |
141 |
The Sunnyvale Municipal Code allows for parking adjustment from the minimum parking requirements when uses on the site have complementary peak hours. Based on the uses, the peak parking demand for weekdays and weekends can be satisfied with the 129 on-site parking. The parking demand is summarized in Table 4 below:
Table 4: Peak Parking Demand
|
Uses |
Monday - Friday |
Saturday |
Sunday |
|
Preschool |
26 |
|
|
|
After-school care |
8 |
|
|
|
Church Use |
|
|
|
|
Sanctuary |
|
|
97 |
|
Fellowship Administration |
|
|
8 |
|
Youth Outpost |
|
2 |
2 |
|
Total Required |
34 |
2 |
107 |
The applicant has provided a parking management plan to ensure parking will be properly managed by preschool operators and enforced at all times as a condition of approval.
Tree Removal
The applicant is proposing to remove two Hollywood juniper trees that are located in the northwest corner of the south parking lot. These trees are in fair condition and are not considered protected. The removal is required to meet accessibility. Staff recommends Condition PS-2 which would require two 24” box replacement trees to be installed on the left side of the south parking lot exit driveway. (See Attachment 4)
Architecture
The existing preschool building consists of mid-century ranch architectural elements that include low pitch, open gable roof, deep roof eaves, sheltered entryways, and stucco walls. The proposed building addition is designed to be in keeping with the existing architecture in terms of materials, styles, and colors. The applicant proposes modifications to the south elevation that include new doors and windows, a glass sliding folding door, and new metal awnings over the main entry doors to each of the preschools.
Currently, the roof consists of two different roof materials and solar panels. To provide architectural uniformity and design consistency, the applicant is proposing to re-roof the north portion of the gable roof to match the existing asphalt composition shingles that are installed on the south portion.
Development Standards
The proposed project complies with the applicable development standards for the Public Facilities Zone as set forth in the Sunnyvale Municipal Code (SMC). The development standards are based on the most restrictive adjacent zoning standards which are the R-1 zoning standards. As proposed, the project complies with the standards for lot coverage, floor area, height, and setbacks. See Attachment 2 for the project data table.
NEIGHBORHOOD IMPACTS/COMPATIBILITY:
In terms of land use compatibility, the proposed project would be neighborhood-serving with the surrounding land uses consisting of residential homes and would be a complementary use with the St. Luke Lutheran Church and SCLC. The project will not require additional parking or intensity considering the anticipated 102 students will be less than 120 students allowed with the original use permit. The weekday operations of the preschool will not conflict with church services that typically occur during the evening and weekends.
PUBLIC CONTACT
103 notices were sent to surrounding property owners and residents adjacent to the subject site. Staff has received one comment on the item. In addition, the notice of the Public Hearing was published in the Sun newspaper.
ALTERNATIVES
1. Approve the Use Permit with recommended Conditions in Attachment 4.
2. Approve the Use Permit with modifications.
3. Deny the Use Permit.
RECOMMENDATION
Recommendation
Alternative 1. Approve the Use Permit with recommended Conditions in Attachment 4. Staff is supportive of the use permit because the addition is modest in size and will be designed to match the existing architecture of the preschool building. The proposed addition will not intensify the site in terms of parking and traffic because the proposed use permit will anticipate 102 children which is less than the 120 children that are currently allowed with the existing use permit. The preschool use is an existing use at the site and will not conflict with the church operations. With the implementation of the conditions of approval, the preschool use will be generally compatible with surrounding uses and will not result in negative impacts or be injurious to property, improvements, public safety and general welfare.
Staff
Prepared by: Cindy Hom, Associate Planner
Approved by: Momo Ishijima, Senior Planner
ATTACHMENTS
1. Vicinity and Noticing Maps
2. Project Data Table
3. Recommended Findings
4. Recommended Conditions of Approval
5. Site and Architectural Plans
6. Project Description Letter
7. Noise Study
8. Comment Letters