"This ordinance would be highly impractical," David Mock said at the Sunnyvale City Council meeting on Jan. 7. Mock, a Sunnyvale resident for 10 years, is looking to add to his 1,400-square-foot home. The new ordinance would have severe side effects for him and a lot of his neighbors, Mock said at the meeting.

"I'm not convinced that the medicine proposed here is right for the disease we're trying to cure," he added.

City officials are trying to address excessive street-side parking and cluttered streets in Sunnyvale. Out of approximately 21,000 single-family homes in Sunnyvale, approximately 4,600 have either no covered parking or sufficient space for only one vehicle. According to research by city staff, 90 percent of the 4,600 homes have a floor area of less than 1,800 square feet. In many smaller homes, the garage is often

used as living or storage space, which results in the resident's vehicle being parked on the street.

In 1988, Sunnyvale adopted an ordinance that required all new single-family homes to provide covered parking for two vehicles. According to the ordinance, a two-car garage or carport is required to be at least 400 square feet and should meet minimum interior dimensions. While all new homes were required to provide two covered parking spaces, additions or remodels did not require additional parking. But these ordinances changed on Jan. 7.

City officials said the purpose of the new ordinance is to improve neighborhood quality and reduce curbside parking. Although the council unanimously approved the new ordinance, it could be a major impediment to renovating decades-old homes, some council members said at the meeting.

There are other triggers that could require the addition of another covered parking space, including any addition that would result in a 20 percent increase in the size of the existing home.

Mock, who has a baby, said at the meeting that he was thinking of adding another bedroom to his three-bedroom home but would have to reconsider his plan with the new ordinance in place. A fourth bedroom would automatically trigger the second covered parking space requirement, and his lot does not have the space for it, he said.

Thom Mayer, a resident of Lakewood Village, agreed with Mock, adding that many of the homes in his neighborhood are built with one-car garages that are unusually large. It would be unfair to add that garage space to their living areas while making the remodel calculations, he said.

"I'd like to see the proposed ordinance modified," Mayer said at the meeting.

In order to test the new ordinance's impact on residents, council members directed city staff to keep track of the number of residents applying for remodeling permits and those who would not be able to remodel their homes because of the new ordinance. Council members directed staff to gather statistics on the new ordinance until December 2004.