Sunnyvale, California Since 1994
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City awards EIR for the downtown design plan Vice mayor wants to know why the big rush on project By Jana Seshadri Although some residents are still questioning the necessity of the huge downtown development project, the Sunnyvale City Council has taken the downtown design plan one step closer to the next phase. Upon staff recommendation, council members on June 18 unanimously agreed to award the environmental impact report (EIR) contract to Wagstaff and Associates of Berkeley and the 3-D model contract to ELS Architecture and Urban Design of Berkeley. Council members also approved a budget modification of $275,000—in addition to the current budget of $250,000—for the EIR and the community outreach efforts. But not before concerns were raised by Vice Mayor Julia Miller and longtime Sunnyvale resident Werner Gans. "Why the rush to spend money on this project right now?" Miller asked. According to staff estimates, the current contracts would cost the city an extra $275,000—$10,800 for 20 copies of the final design document, $120,000 for the EIR, $44,000 for the design guidelines and $100,200 for the 3-D model and community outreach efforts. The original budget of $250,000 has already been spent on the design plan, Ryan explained after the meeting. The additional $275,000 will be taken from the fiscal uncertainties fund, Ryan said. "The next phase can go forward only if the EIR is approved," said Trudi Ryan, planning officer for Sunnyvale. Without an approved EIR, the downtown project cannot proceed according to the timeline outlined by staff when council members approved the design plan on April 23, Ryan added. The EIR should be completed and approved within nine months of approving the design plan, she pointed out to the council. The Downtown Stakeholders Committee prepared the downtown design plan—with the assistance of city staff and ELS Architects of Berkeley—and it was approved by council on April 23 after a lengthy public hearing. At the time council members directed staff to look into more community outreach in order to inform residents about the downtown design plan. The $100,200 for the community outreach effort will include a 4-foot-by-6-foot model of the downtown plan, costing $79,000. The model will rotate among Sunnyvale neighborhoods during events for the public to see, Robert Paternoster, director of community development, explained to council members. The community outreach effort should include advertisements in the local newspapers, Gans said. "You should also have a public hearing or a public opinion poll about the downtown development project," Gans said. Gans asked council members why the new Target store is not attracting enough people. Before proceeding with the redevelopment project, he noted, it is important to find out how many Sunnyvale residents will really go downtown for shopping. "If they are shopping somewhere else now, why would they come here?" he asked. Council members Jack Walker and Tim Risch agreed that the EIR and the community outreach efforts would give community members and residents more information about what they want to know—the downtown design plan. "This is the next logical step," Walker said. Council member John Howe asked that staff keep council members informed about the new ownership of the Town Center Mall. |
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