Joseph LaPointe, who lives on Sesame Court near the company's property, said, "All they said was that they wanted to put in a little gravel and a few supplies for emergency use. He said that's all they wanted to do."

But the emergency supplies turned out to be a bobcat and a vacuum truck, both large and loud vehicles.

This city-approved emergency yard for the water company has raised questions about whether the city's planning process can be improved to be more inclusive of Sunnyvale residents' concerns.

In August the planning commission approved the project to allow the water company to construct the emergency yard at 623 W. Fremont Ave. where currently a tank/well site exists.

Statistics show the water company would use the emergency yard to service other water sites in Sunnyvale and Cupertino

approximately 25 to 50 times per year. The yard would not be used for any other purpose but to aid in water emergencies.

But residents in the area are concerned about the noise and the proposed installation of large lighting fixtures.

Jonathan Hayes, another property owner who lives adjacent to the water site, said these issues and the storage of the large vehicles will make the site look like a construction yard.

Hayes said he hopes the use permit can be revoked because of a potential violation of the municipal code, which states that commercial vehicles cannot be stored in a residential zone.

But the city's interpretation of the code is different. "To use a property exclusively for commercial use is not permitted," said Ryan. But since the water company is providing a public service and already has a use permit issued by the city, Ryan said the vehicles could be stored on the property.

Another concern is the noise issue. The approved project does not require noise constraints, so the water company can use the site for emergencies at any hour of the night.

Planning commissioners Charles Hungerford and Chris Moylan did not vote to approve the project because of noise concerns.

LaPointe said the possibility of waking up in the middle of the night is not appealing. "If I had known about this ahead of time I would have tried to get the city to prohibit the yard's use at unreasonable hours," said LaPointe.

LaPointe said the planning process should be changed so that the city could verify if residents are aware of potential developments in their neighborhoods.

According to Planning Officer Trudi Ryan, a water rep told her that the company had conducted an outreach meeting with nearby property owners.

"If you can call a chat by my front door an outreach meeting, I guess they're right. But the water company misled the city and the planning commission approved the project, thinking all the neighbors were gung ho about this," said LaPointe.

Hayes said he didn't learn the extent of the uses of the yard until a month after the project was approved. The project could have been appealed 15 days after it was approved.

Usually when a developer submits an application to the city about a property, the property owners in the surrounding area are notified about the potential development. The city is also required to post a notice in the Sunnyvale Sun.

Hayes and LaPointe have both said none of the neighbors they talked to recall receiving a notice from the city prior to the planning commission meeting.

Ryan said lack of notification is not a legal reason to postpone the project. "This situation is very frustrating for everybody. Because we did receive phone calls about the letters, we know there were notices sent out. But even if we failed to do that, as long as the notice is in the newspaper, there's a legal right to proceed."

LaPointe said he hopes the project can be scaled back. "Philosophically I have no problem with these emergency repair services being available. But the process in place needs to be changed to get the planning commission the correct data they need to make their decisions," said LaPointe.