Sunnyvale, California Since 1994
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By Jana Seshadri After a lengthy public hearing, the Sunnyvale City Council unanimously approved the new set of design guidelines for single family homes which stipulates new policies for neighborhood compatibility. "These new guidelines are more grounded in what the community needs," said Trudi Ryan, planning officer for Sunnyvale. Residents and council members voiced many concerns at the July 23 meeting, with enforceability of privacy issues as the main topic of discussion. Unlike the old guidelines that were adopted two years ago, the new set of policies is expected to provide clear expectations about compatible development, emphasize important issues such as privacy and respect for neighbors and provide photos and illustrations of policies for clarity, said Diana O'Dell, associate planner. After receiving input from an architectural consultant, two sparsely-attended public meetings and three Sunnyvale Planning Committee study sessions, city planners came up with six guiding principles for house design, Ryan explained. In order to be compatible with the neighborhood, applicants who wish to add on to their single family homes or build new ones should respect the scale, bulk and character of neighboring homes, respect their immediate neighbors and minimize the visual impacts of parking. Part of the citywide broad design guidelines, the new policy stipulates more numeric and aesthetic standards like entry height, garage size and doors and second story size. "The new guidelines are enforceable in that when an application comes in for the city's review, we can either approve it or deny it based on these guidelines," Ryan said. City staff will work with the applicant up to a certain point and notify adjacent neighbors of the plan, she added. There will be a 14-day period when the public can review the plan, she added. The planning commission's input included more clarity on language and content and the inclusion of the citywide guidelines wherever appropriate. "Residents need to know what's appropriate for the scale of the second floor," said David Simons, planning commission chairman. The addition of a second story was a matter of some debate among council members. If the neighborhood in question has many large second floor homes, then the new plan may match those conditions. However, the new guidelines stipulate the applicant should adhere to and not exceed the common standard of the neighborhood or restrict the square-footage on the second floor to approximately 35 percent of the first floor area (including the garage area), whichever is larger. Councilman Tim Risch questioned the marketability of some of the numeric values stipulated in the guidelines. They may not be appropriate in the current market or housing trend, he added. Risch made a failed motion to remove the 35 percent requirement for the second story. "We should have some firm guidelines—let's leave in the 35 percent," Councilman Jack Walker said. The second story home on Wright Avenue—a huge structure in the midst of Eichler homes—was referred to several times when the privacy issue was discussed. A second story addition, in any neighborhood, will mean windows looking into a neighbor's house or yard. Residents and council members explored ways to maintain privacy in neighborhoods like frosted glass in upper story windows or placing roofs at certain angles. However, they agreed that these methods should be compatible with other structures in the neighborhood. "I've lived in my Eichler home for 37 years," said Arthur Schwartz, a Sunnyvale resident. "The new guidelines should not destroy the cohesiveness of the neighborhoods." Lou Wirtz, another Sunnyvale resident, added council members look into softening the language in the guidelines and making the requirements more clear. "The word 'compatible' should replace the word 'similar' in the guidelines," Councilwoman Pat Vorreiter agreed. "We need to have some flexibility." Council members amended the new guidelines with a few modifications like changing the language and adding more privacy stipulations and directed staff to return to council with a final format for adoption. "The public needs to review the final format before we adopt it," Vice Mayor Julia Miller said. |
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