Planning Commission

City of Sunnyvale Meeting Minutes - Final Planning Commission Monday, January 13, 2014 6:30 PM Council Chambers and West Conference Room, City Hall, 456 W. Olive Ave., Sunnyvale, CA 94086 SPECIAL START TIME 6:30 P.M. PLANNING COMMISSION - STUDY SESSION - WEST CONFERENCE ROOM 1 14-0075 File #: 2012-8014 Location: 645 Almanor Ave. (APN: 165-44-004, -005, -008, -009, -010, -011) Zoning: M-S (Industrial and Service) Zoning District Proposed Project: DESIGN REVIEW to allow construction of a 6-story, 172,675 square foot office R&D building at 100% Floor Area Ratio (FAR) and serviced by a new 5-level parking structure REZONE from M-S (Industrial and Service) to M-S-100% (Industrial and Service 100% FAR) Applicant / Owner: Arctec Inc. / St. Jude Medical Environmental Review: Mitigated Negative Declaration Staff Contact: Shetal Divatia, (408) 730-7637, sdivatia@sunnyvale.ca.gov (25 minutes) 2 14-0107 File #: 2013-7860 Location: 479 N. Pastoria Avenue (APN: 165-30-002) Zoning: M-S (Industrial and Service) Zoning District Proposed Project: Discussion and Possible Action on an application for a 2.17-acre site: USE PERMIT to allow a new 50,250 square foot, 4-story office/R&D building (with surface and underground parking) resulting in approximately 53% Floor Area Ratio Applicant/Owner: ArchiRender Architects / Peery-Arrillaga Environmental Review: Mitigated Negative Declaration Staff Contact: Noren Caliva-Lepe, (408) 730-7659, ncaliva-lepe@sunnyvale.ca.gov (25 minutes) City of Sunnyvale Page 1 Planning Commission Meeting Minutes - Final January 13, 2014 3 14-0084 File #: 2013-7143 Location: City-wide Proposed Project: R-3 Height Requirements (Non-townhouses) [Study Issue] Staff Contact: Amber El-Hajj, (408) 730-2723, ael-hajj@sunnyvale.ca.gov (25minutes) 4 Public Comment on Study Session Agenda Items 5 Comments from the Chair 6 Adjourn Study Session 8:00 P.M. PLANNING COMMISSION - PUBLIC HEARING - COUNCIL CHAMBERS CALL TO ORDER Vice Chair Melton called the meeting to order at 8:00 p.m. SALUTE TO THE FLAG ROLL CALL Vice Chair Melton noted that the presence of only three Planning Commissioners is due to former Planning Commissioners Gustav Larsson and Glenn Hendricks being elected to City Council, former Chair Maria Dohadwala's resignation and the passing of Commissioner Bo Chang, about whom Vice Chair Melton would speak at the end of the meeting. Present: 3 - Commissioner Ralph Durham Vice Chair Russell Melton Commissioner Ken Olevson SCHEDULED PRESENTATIONS None. PUBLIC ANNOUNCEMENTS/PUBLIC COMMENTS None. CONSENT CALENDAR City of Sunnyvale Page 2 Planning Commission Meeting Minutes - Final January 13, 2014 1.A 14-0065 Approved Minutes of the Planning Commission Meeting of November 25, 2013 1.B 14-0066 File #: 2013-7882 Location: 168 S. Murphy Ave. (APN: 209-06-031) Zoning: Downtown Specific Plan Block 2 (DSP-2) Proposed Project: Appeal by a neighbor of a decision of the Director of Community Development approving a: MISCELLANEOUS PLAN PERMIT: for outdoor dining. Applicant/Owner: Roberto Cervantes (applicant) / Jayan Elle LLC (owner) Environmental Review: A Class 1 Categorical Exemption relieves this project from California Environmental Quality Act provisions and City Guidelines. Project Planner: Elise Lieberman, (408) 730-7443, elieberman@sunnyvale.ca.gov This action serves as the legal notification of this project's continuance to the February 24, 2014 meeting. 1.C 14-0108 File #: 2013-7697 Location: 1432 Kingfisher Way Zoning: Low Density Residential R-0 Zoning District Proposed Project: Appeal of a decision by the Zoning Administrator to conditionally allow a: USE PERMIT for an approximately 8 foot tall fence in the front yard of an existing single-family home Applicant / Owner: Shi-Jie Wen, Li-Li Cui Environmental Review: A Categorical Exemption Class 3 (accessory structures) relieves this project from CEQA provisions Staff Contact: Timothy Maier, (408) 730-7257, tmaier@sunnyvale.ca.gov This action serves as the legal notification of this project's continuance to the February 24, 2014 meeting. MOTION: Comm. Olevson moved to approve the items on the Consent Calendar. Comm. Durham seconded. Motion carried by the following vote: Yes: 3 - Commissioner Durham Vice Chair Melton Commissioner Olevson No: 0 PUBLIC HEARINGS/GENERAL BUSINESS City of Sunnyvale Page 3 Planning Commission Meeting Minutes - Final January 13, 2014 2 14-0041 2013-7142 Discussion and Possible Action to Adopt Thresholds for Environmental Review and Design Guidelines for Bird-safe Buildings (Study Issue) This recommendation will be forwarded to City Council for consideration at the January 28, 2014 meeting. Andrew Miner, Principal Planner, presented the staff report. Comm. Olevson said the report lacked data to quantify the problem and said that firm science should be the foundation for any guidelines because they will inevitably have costs for businesses and residents. Comm. Olevson confirmed with Mr. Miner that there is no additional science to add beyond the written report. Comm. Durham commented on the research appearing sketchy, and discussed with Mr. Miner the issues and costs of fritted glass and potential additional guidelines such as turning off lights in the buildings at night. Comm. Durham asked if there would be follow through in two to five years to monitor what guidelines are most effective. Mr. Miner said it is an option that can be included. Vice Chair Melton said he is struggling with the of paucity of data and confirmed with Mr. Miner that this item would go to City Council on January 28. Vice Chair Melton asked Mr. Miner what the most bird-unsafe building is in Sunnyvale, to which Mr. Miner replied that the concern centers around areas near bodies of water and open space areas where there may be a lot of bird activity. Vice Chair Melton mentioned two studies conducted in New York City and Chicago during which numerical data was collected and said he presumed no such study has been conducted in Sunnyvale. He asked if Council determined staff should provide more data, could staff collect data at a particular building in Sunnyvale. Mr. Miner said he is not aware of studies conducted in Sunnyvale. Trudi Ryan, Planning Officer, added that the City does not have in-house expertise to conduct a study. Vice Chair Melton confirmed with Mr. Miner that adoption of Alternative 1 would establish threshold levels and add them to the California Environmental Quality Act (CEQA) checklist. Vice Chair Melton discussed with Ms. Ryan Alternative 2 which would establish guidelines for bird-safe buildings and that those guidelines are a form of policy but not strict law. Vice Chair Melton opened the public hearing. Jan Hintermeister, an employee working in Sunnyvale, said 1150 Kifer should City of Sunnyvale Page 4 Planning Commission Meeting Minutes - Final January 13, 2014 be recognized as the most bird-unsafe building in Sunnyvale, and said he supports the adoption of thresholds and design guidelines for bird-safe buildings. Eleanor Hansen, a Sunnyvale resident, said that in addition to the suggested guidelines, the City should ensure that there are no bushes yielding pyracantha berries as cedar waxwing birds eat them, become drunk and then get hit by cars. She said birds need protection. Vice Chair Melton closed the public hearing. Comm. Olevson said everything heard thus far is anecdotal, that it is too early to do anything and that he urges the Commission to recommend not proceeding until there is actionable data. Comm. Durham said there seem to be cases with actual data that have created impact, and that the potential guidelines reflect the thinking thus far as to what may help. He said he may be inclined to go with guidelines that appear to work in other cities. Vice Chair Melton reiterated that he is struggling with the paucity of data and that the potential exists for good public policy once we understand better the situation in Sunnyvale. He said he might be of the mind to make a motion to recommend Alternative 7 to take no action, adding that he would like to implore the Audubon Society of Santa Clara Valley to work with city staff to conduct a study and come up with quantifiable data to define the problem. Comm. Olevson moved to recommend Alternative 7 to City Council to take no action. Comm. Durham seconded the motion and offered a friendly amendment to implement a study by ornithological experts to provide better data for the Sunnyvale area. Comm. Olevson accepted the friendly amendment. Comm. Olevson said this is an area of great concern to many people, and that the Commission has heard information about how it is affecting at least one building. He said he had a similar experience at a facility in San Carlos where birds would see their reflection and hit windows, but he does not see that as enough information to raise it to public policy. He said he fully supports requesting the city develop information, and if it supports what concerned citizens are suggesting should be done, he will support it. City of Sunnyvale Page 5 Planning Commission Meeting Minutes - Final January 13, 2014 Comm. Durham said he was also concerned with the lack of physical data, and that he has had similar situations with buildings with glass under shaded areas where birds peck at their reflections thinking it is a predator, friend or potential mate. He said what they have there is fitting under the guidelines but that it does not seem to work for certain kinds of birds, and that it is disturbing to see birds colliding into windows through no fault of their own. He said he is also concerned with other types of predation such as feral cats eating birds and reducing their populations, but he is not sure if we can do much in terms of guidelines to remedy that. He said although he thinks it is something that needs to be looked at, he does not think we are at the point at which we can establish guidelines. Vice Chair Melton said he will be supporting motion, and he thinks the potential for public policy exists and that people understand this as an issue, but the lack of data means we are not ready for prime time on this potential public policy issue. He said he is close in his mind to adopt the guidelines, but cannot get over the hurdle of the lack of data. He said he thinks it is an even higher bar to hurdle over to add something to CEQA checklist. MOTION: Comm. Olevson moved to recommend Alternative 7 to City Council to take no action. Comm. Durham seconded the motion and offered a friendly amendment to implement a study by ornithological experts to provide better data for the Sunnyvale area. Comm. Olevson accepted the friendly amendment. The motion carried by the following vote: Yes: 3 - Commissioner Durham Vice Chair Melton Commissioner Olevson No: 0 City of Sunnyvale Page 6 Planning Commission Meeting Minutes - Final January 13, 2014 3 14-0112 Discussion of Potential Joint Study Session with the City Council Regarding the General Plan and the Balanced Growth Profile Trudi Ryan, Planning Officer, described the process of requesting a joint Study Session with Council and said staff is available to answer questions about the Balanced Growth Profile (BGP). Vice Chair melton presented his request for a joint Study Session, and said he is only asking Council to meet with the Planning Commission to discuss the General Plan and BGP. He said he has no preconceived notions as to whether Council will agree to meet, nor as to what may transpire during the meeting should they agree. He said he agrees with former Councilmember Chris Moylan who said the Planning Commission should be defenders of the General Plan and zoning code, and in defense of the General Plan, he is recommending the Commission vote to formally request a joint Study Session with City Council. Comm. Durham said he would not object to meeting with Council to understand their view of the issue. He asked Vice Chair Melton if he would prefer to wait until having a full number of commissioners before meeting. Vice Chair Melton said he does not think a full number is needed to make the request, but that it would be wiser to have a full commission to meet with Council. Comm. Olevson commented on the BGP almost always being out of balance which indicates that it needs revision, hence he clearly supports moving ahead with Council to discuss ideas about how to modify, reaffirm or discard the BGP. He said he supports the request. Vice Chair Melton opened the public hearing. Barbara Fukumoto, a Sunnyvale resident, suggested that the best forums for a discussion about the advantages and disadvantages of growth would be first within the context of the updated Land Use and Transportation Element (LUTE), and second through the formal Study Issues process. Holly Lofgren, a Sunnyvale resident, asked the commission to support the request to have a joint Study Session. Andy Frazer, a Sunnyvale resident, said he hopes that the commission will enthusiastically support the request to have a joint Study Session. City of Sunnyvale Page 7 Planning Commission Meeting Minutes - Final January 13, 2014 John Cordes, a Sunnyvale resident, said he thinks a Study Issue would be the right way to go and that a joint Study Session is a good way start. Vice Chair Melton closed the public hearing. Vice Chair Melton said this is nothing more than a request to engage in dialogue with the City Council who he respects as the ultimate decision makers and arbiters of policy in Sunnyvale. He said he would agree with Commissioner Fukumoto from the Sustainability Commission, Mr. Cordes and other members of public that there may be other forums in the future to discuss this, but that the policy question is too great to wait for those other forums, so his solution to kick-off the dialogue is to request the Study Session. Comm. Durham said there are a couple reasons he would like to have the joint Study Session, including the recent turn over in the Council with the election of new members, new Planning Commissioners, and he said he hopes something could be added to the letter about waiting until there are at least five commissioners to have the meeting to acquaint any new members. He said he supports the motion. Vice Chair Melton moved to request of staff the preparation of a letter from the Chair to formally request a joint Study Session with the City Council regarding the General Plan and Balanced Growth Profile. Comm. Durham seconded. The motion carried by the following vote: Yes: 3 - Commissioner Durham Vice Chair Melton Commissioner Olevson No: 0 City of Sunnyvale Page 8 Planning Commission Meeting Minutes - Final January 13, 2014 4 14-0111 Ranking 2014 Study Issue ESD 12-03 Impact of Sea Level Rise on Land Use Trudi Ryan, Planning Officer, said only Community Development Study Issue items were brought before the Planning Commission in November, and that Study Issue ESD 12-03 should have been on that list for ranking. Ms. Ryan reviewed the ranking process. Vice Chair Melton opened the public hearing, and upon seeing no speakers on this item, closed the public hearing. Ms. Ryan asked if the Commission would like to rank ESD 12-03. Vote was unanimous to not rank the Study Issue. Ms. Ryan asked if the Commission would like to defer the Study Issue. Vote was unanimous to defer ESD 12-03. 5 Selection of Chair and Vice Chair for Remainder of 2013-2014 Trudi Ryan, Planning Officer, said City Council is accepting applications for Planning Commission seats through January 17, and Council selection of new commissioners will be in February. She explained the process of nominations for Chair and Vice Chair and voting on each candidate. Comm. Olevson nominated Vice Chair Melton to be the Chair. Comm. Durham said he would also like to nominate Vice Chair Melton. Vice Chair Melton accepted the nomination. Vote: 3-0. Vice Chair Melton nominated Comm. Olevson to be Vice Chair. Comm. Olevson accepted. Vote: 3-0. NON-AGENDA ITEMS AND COMMENTS COMMISSIONER ORAL COMMENTS City of Sunnyvale Page 9 Planning Commission Meeting Minutes - Final January 13, 2014 STAFF ORAL COMMENTS Kathy Berry, Senior Assistant City Attorney, discussed several law suits that have been brought against the City. In response to Vice Chair Melton's inquiry, Trudi Ryan, Planning Officer, informed the commission of the ongoing recruitment for new Planning Commissioners and the City's policy on having a quorum. She said staff has advised current applicants of their choice to continue their items to a future meeting when more commissioners may be present. Ms. Ryan said the Lawrence Station Area Plan citizens advisory group includes members of multiple City commissions who would meet in a joint Study Session before environmental documents on Lawrence Station are released. Comm. Durham confirmed with Ms. Ryan that if a commissioner is not appointed for the term ending in June this year, there would be continued recruitment through out the year. INFORMATION ONLY ITEMS Vice Chair Melton said the meeting would be adjourned in honor of late Planning Commissioner Bo Chang, and spoke about his time and experience on the Planning Commission with Mr. Chang. A moment of silence was held in Bo Chang's honor. ADJOURNMENT With no further business, the Planning Commission meeting adjourned at 9:26 p.m. City of Sunnyvale Page 10