Zoning Administrator Hearing

City of Sunnyvale Meeting Minutes Zoning Administrator Hearing Wednesday, January 25, 2017 3:00 PM West Conference Room, City Hall, 456 W. Olive Ave., Sunnyvale, CA 94086 CALL TO ORDER Gerri Caruso, Principal Planner, called the meeting to order at 3:03 p.m. PUBLIC HEARINGS File #: 2016-8056 Location: 985 Almanor Avenue (APNs: 165-40-004) Applicant / Owner: Barron Builders (applicant) / Irvine Company (owner) Proposed Project: PEERY PARK CONDITIONAL USE PERMIT to allow the total site exterior equipment to exceed five percent of the net lot area in conjunction with a new 15-foot tall clean dry air (CDA) equipment enclosure, a 26-foot tall liquid nitrogen tank, and two 10-foot tall vaporizers at the rear of the building. A waiver of screening is requested for the liquid nitrogen tank and vaporizers. Reason for Permit: A Use Permit is required for exterior storage in excess of five percent of the net lot area. Project Planner: George Schroeder, (408) 730-7443, gschroeder@sunnyvale.ca.gov Issues: Exterior storage screening and coverage Recommendation: Approve with conditions George Schroeder, project planner, stated the applicant proposed to add a compressed dry air enclosure to the rear of an industrial complex. A 26-foot tall liquid nitrogen tank will also installed within an existing fenced off service yard area along with two 10-foot high vaporizers within the area, however will not be screened due to the height. After visting the area, staff has found it to be well screened from the street and from neighboring properties. Staff recommends approval of the project, as the addition is not expected to impact neighboring properties visually. The area of the project is contained within an existing service yard area that is completely behind the building and not visible from the street. The applicant has asked for a modification to one of the conditions of approval. Ms. Caruso requested to look at the elevation of the tanks from the street. City of Sunnyvale Page 1 Zoning Administrator Hearing Meeting Minutes January 25, 2017 Mr. Schroeder stated the project would take up one dock space. Ms. Caruso opened the hearing to the applicant. Gary Aquilina, architect, stated the dock doors are not in use at the time. Walls have been installed behind the doors and can easily be converted into a usable dock should a new owner find a use for it. Ms. Caruso inquired what modifications the applicant would like to request. Mr. Aquilina requested condition PS-1 Exterior Materials Review to paint the tank and vaporizers a flat grey color be eliminated. The challenge with the tank painted grey would cause for it to absorb more heat and see a loss in liquid nitrogen, adding more cost to the tenant. The vaporizers would already be a grey color due to the aluminum material. Liquid nitrogen tanks usually come in a white color for insulation purposes, and the applicant is expecting a letter from the manufacturer stating the purpose of the white color. Ms. Caruso asked Mr. Schroeder if there were any impacts of keeping the tank white. Mr. Schroeder stated there should not be any substantial visual impact given the existing screening. Staff initially thought the additional measure would help the tank blend more with the sky however keeping the white color should not severely impact the visual standards. Ms. Caruso closed the public hearing. ACTION: Ms. Caruso approved the project subject to the findings and conditions of approval located the in the staff report, changing condition of approval PS-1 to eliminate the requirement of the tank and vaporizers to be painted flat grey, thus leaving the tank to remain white and vaporizers their natural aluminum color. ADJOURNMENT Ms. Caruso adjourned the meeting at 3:11 p.m. City of Sunnyvale Page 2