The Sunnyvale Sun
Cover Story
The Year in Review
For 2007, change was the norm in Sunnyvale
At the beginning of 2007, Sunnyvale officials made several resolutions for the New Year. Prominent among those were getting the building of a new downtown off the ground and strengthening the city's policies on environmental sustainability.
Well, the downtown is rockin' and rollin' and expected to be completed by early 2009. And the council recently approved a plan to offer incentives for the installation of solar panels, signed on to the U.S. Mayors Climate Protection Agreement, and this month convened a mayoral green ribbon committee to gather ideas for making environmentally friendly decisions.
There were many other changes in Sunnyvale in 2007, which some likened to a rebirth. After years of economic uncertainty and budget deficits brought on primarily by the dot-com bust, the city's finances and budget were more stable. Besides the downtown, construction continued on the new Moffett Towers office complex and the nearly completed Heritage Park Museum.
Change extended to city hall. City manager Amy Chan announced her resignation and will leave as soon as they city council picks a successor. Chan said that with the city in a strong position, it was a good time for change.
Following a contentious council election, Dave Whittum, a neighborhood association leader, defeated incumbent Dean Chu in a close race. The challengers in two other races, Dixie Carney and Patrick Meyering, fell short but garnered a substantial number of votes. Critics of the council said that election results signaled a strong dissatisfaction among residents of recent council actions. Chief among those were a proposed extension of Mary Avenue over Highway 101 and Route 237. The Sunnyvale West Neighborhood Association formed in opposition to the extension.
The changes in 2007 even extended to the selection of a mayor and vice mayor. Voters in November approved a charter amendment creating a two-year mayoral term--one of nine charter amendments that were passed.
Voters, however, turned down a $108 million bond measure for a new library.
--Michael Cronk
By Stephen Baxter
and Cody Kraatz
The residents of Flick's mobile home park at 637 E. Taylor Ave. held a rally Jan. 6 to protest the proposed closure of their park. Clarum Homes wanted to build 32 to 36 homes on the land. Rumors also swirled on the possible closure of Blue Bonnet Mobile Home Park at 617 E. Evelyn Ave., but the owner did not confirm it would close.
A permanent concrete sidewalk, ramp and gap in the fence at W. Hendy Avenue and N. Frances Street by the Sunnyvale Caltrain station was installed to allow residents and commuters to cross the tracks more easily, although they were already using an illegal opening.
The Sunnyvale Planning Commission and city council approved San Mateo-based Sand Hill Property Co. taking over the development at Town Center Mall. The 34-acre project, bounded by South Mathilda, West Washington, South Sunnyvale and West Iowa avenues, would include dozens of shops and restaurants but fewer of the shopping mall features shown in earlier plans. "It would have been like a mall with a roof off, which was a negative aspect," said Robert Paternoster, the city's community development director. The new design is more like a traditional downtown with tree-lined streets, and it centers on a public meeting place called Redwood Square. It would also have a hotel, multiplex cinema and condominiums, and be built by late 2008 or 2009.
The parks and recreation department received bids to run the Fremont High School Pool, and the city also had the option of taking over the pool's management. The California Sports Center had run the $3.2 million pool for its first five years, juggling needs of the school, club racers, its own instructional programs and residents who swim laps.
The city council voted unanimously to install brown, standardized news racks on Murphy Avenue, replacing individual boxes.
On Jan. 30, the city council voted to limit health benefits for city employees but keep lifetime benefits for city council members with slightly less coverage when they retire. The council voted 6-1, with Chris Moylan dissenting.
Members of the Future Business Leaders of America at Homestead High School organized a Teachers Dodgeball Tournament that raised $4,660 dollars for a possible new city library. They also raised money by wrapping gifts at Borders bookstore, and presented Mayor Otto Lee with a check Jan. 28.
February
Bowing to popular demand from audience surveys, Hawaiian slack-key guitarists Dennis Kamakahi and Patrick Landeza played a sold-out show at the Sunnyvale Community Center Theatre on Feb. 3.
The Sunnyvale Chamber of Commerce gave Debbie Owens of Debbie Lyn's Costumes the Athena Award at its 42nd Annual Murphy Awards on Feb. 3. The award is given to businesswomen who have been leaders in the community and mentored future female leaders.
A Feb. 8 fire at the Villa Verdes apartments at 611 San Luisito Way displaced 23 residents. One woman escaped the flames by jumping from a second-story window, but another woman and her baby were trapped upstairs. At about 4: 30 a.m., resident Desiderio Solice drove his van under one of the windows while another man helped the woman and the baby down safely. Sunnyvale Public Safety Officers doused the blaze by 5 a.m.
Employees and visitors at the Sunnyvale Community Center expressed concern for ducks in the center's pond, who often struggle to lift themselves from its high banks. Parks and Recreation officials installed a ramp and pads for the ducks to rest, but they said the pond was not intended for migrating waterfowl. Mallards in the pond are also protected by U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service and may not be touched, officials said.
Talk of the Mary Avenue extension over Highway 101 and State Route 237 began at a Feb. 21 community meeting, which 20 people attended.
The Sunnyvale City Council approved zoning changes Feb. 27 to transform a quiet light industrial complex in the San Miguel neighborhood into hundreds of new houses. The Riding Group said it would construct 242 townhouses on 13 acres near Duane Avenue and De Guigne Drive, and Taylor Woodrow homes plans to build 300 townhouses on 7 acres on Duane Court. Members of 161 households signed a petition against details of the Taylor Woodrow project, led by the San Miguel Neighborhood Association.
March
An advisory measure for publicly funded campaigns was proposed by the city council at its March 6 meeting, and the council directed a committee to look into that and other campaign reforms.
Fremont High School opened an exhibit of class photos spanning 80 years, starting with the first graduating class in 1927. Sue Larson, assistant to the principal at Fremont High, collected the photos, starting with only 11. They hang in the front office.
Victims of the "dinnertime bandit" continued to come forward in the case against Larry Bryan, 53, of San Jose, allegedly responsible for a string of burglaries in Cupertino and Sunnyvale in 2005 and 2006. Arrested Dec. 30, 2006, Bryan faced at least 20 counts of residential burglary in March. He pleaded not guilty. His wife Joy, 51, was also arrested. The "dinnertime bandit" apparently targeted the homes of Asians, typically entering homes in the early evening and taking gold jewelry.
Santa Clara County inspectors pointed out major health violations at Sunnyvale restaurants, as many as 18 at Sunnyvale Golden Wok at 1677 Hollenbeck Ave. Sixteen restaurants had seven or more major violations in the city in 2006, according to county Department of Environmental Health records. Golden Wok's owner had little comment, but other restaurant owners, including those of Tao Tao Café and Chef Lee Chinese Restaurant, with 11 major violations each, said they try to correct problems inspectors pointed out.
Despite signs that forbid weekday parking for more than seven hours, residents north of the Caltrain Station complained about commuters that choke the street, leave trash and were rude to residents, particularly around W. Hendy Avenue and N. Frances.
The Sunnyvale Planning Commission approved Taylor Woodrow Homes' proposal to build 304 three- and five-story townhouses and condominiums in the San Miguel neighborhood near Duane Court. The development accompanied a 242-townhouse project a few blocks away, and the two were expected to add to the traffic in the neighborhood southwest of Lawrence Expressway and Highway 101.
Sunnyvale officials cracked down on amateur mechanics in a March 12 decision to prohibit major repairs like axle installation, bodywork, engine overhauls and painting on residential properties. Oil changes, tune-ups and other minor repairs are now allowed from 7 a.m. to 10 p.m. The shift in gears came after some residents complained of beer drinking and nuisance, but at least one mechanic objected.
"What I'm doing at my house should not be of anyone's concern unless I'm infringing on their right for a clean neighborhood," said Mike West, 32, who rebuilds classic cars.
April
Sunnyvale leaders decided that the redevelopment of the roughly 23-acre Onizuka Air Force Base next to Moffett Field, set to close by 2011, will likely include offices and parking for the U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs and possibly corporate headquarters, a hotel conference center, a car dealership or houses for the homeless.
Six months after a ceremonial groundbreaking for Sunnyvale's upcoming $2.8 million Heritage Park Museum, a demolition crew tore down a storage building near the Sunnyvale Community Center, making for the first major, visible progress toward the new museum, a project of the Sunnyvale Historical Society. The two-story, 8,500-square-foot museum was anticipated to replace a much smaller space in Murphy Park.
The Sunnyvale Clinic Pharmacy in Camino Medical Center closed for the last time on April 3, and patients faced challenges finding some of the creams and ointments that owner George "Buzz" Armanini made there. It was the last pharmacy in Sunnyvale and one of few in the South Bay that made compounds from its own formulas.
The city council changed city rules to limit major car repairs to garages and places out of public view and refined its definition of allowable minor repairs on April 3.
A 48-year-old man on a mountain bike was struck and killed by a VTA light-rail train on March 28 at the corner of E. Java and Geneva drives. The train was probably traveling less than 20 mph because it was between two close stations, Borregas and Crossman. An onboard video camera captured Douglas Cowber of Menlo Park turning in front it, officials said.
Sunnyvale pilot Tom Boyer, 64, survived a crash landing into a muddy marsh at Baylands Nature Preserve on April 23, citing quick thinking and good training as his lifesavers.
The city council viewed plans for a proposed 133,000 to 143,000-square-foot new library that would require a $108 million voter-approved bond and some creativity to preserve the popular Charles Street Gardens, which were in the way of the initial design. The council brushed off immediate plans for a branch library at Columbia Middle School.
May
Don and Charmaine Thomas, who also founded the Cherry Orchard Neighborhood Association about eight years earlier, founded the Stratford Gardens Neighborhood Association, located near the Sunnyvale Community Center and composed of 64 townhouses on Ives Terrace.
Three cell phone companies were pursuing plans to install five wireless communications towers in parks, a school and a golf course and residents from surrounding neighborhoods expressed concern. Planners said that growing wireless demand led companies to look to parks for cell towers.
Sparks, Nev.-based Sierra Chemical Co. pleaded no contest May 3 to releasing chlorine gas at The King's Academy high school in March, and was fined $67,000.
The Sunnyvale West Neighborhood Association applied for city recognition on May 7, in large part to oppose the Mary Avenue extension project. It held two meetings about the project that each drew more than 70 people.
Big city council campaign contributors, including SUNPAC, the Public Safety Officers Association and the South Bay Labor Council, said they were unfazed by city leaders' steps toward publicly funded campaigns. The groups collectively raised more than $200,000 for Sunnyvale candidates in the 2005 election.
As part of plans to streamline its bus network, the Valley Transportation Authority intended to eliminate route 51 on Homestead Road from Foothill Expressway to Wolfe Road. Route 53 was expected to run on Homestead from Mary Avenue to Hollenbeck Avenue.
The city had a $2.1 million surplus at the end of its 2006-07 budget year thanks to property taxes, sales taxes and hotel taxes after years of deficits several years before, said city manager Amy Chan in a May 15 budget summary. The surplus was to be returned to the city's 20-year reserve and the 2007-08 budget level was to remain level.
Despite a winter cold snap that froze nearly all of its tomatoes, the Charles Street community garden, near City Hall, thrived on friendship and a shared love of homegrown produce during its first year. The 92-bed garden, which is open to city residents, had a waiting list of 55 people and 300 members on its e-mail list when 30 attended a barbecue and celebration of its first year on May 29.
June
Downtown Sunnyvale business owners said that despite the dust and noise from the demolition of the downtown mall, they were pleased with developer Sand Hill Property's respectfulness during the process.
"For such a big project it's pretty noninvasive. Dirt is everywhere, but they're not magicians," said acupuncturist and Sunnyvale resident Ann Dugan.
About 120 honorees and 120 guests gathered at the historic Del Monte Building for the city's Celebrate 60 event on June 7, created to honor residents who have lived in Sunnyvale continuously since 1947.
Jed York, the San Francisco 49ers strategic planning director, touted a proposal to build an $854 million football stadium in Santa Clara, less than a quarter-mile from Sunnyvale's north-side residents, by fall 2012, during a Chamber of Commerce breakfast at Belmont Village Assisted Living.
The city council approved a $278 million 2007-08 city budget in the early hours of June 20 that was 6.8 percent lower than the city's actual 2006-07 budget. It called for $40 million in capital and special projects and $100,000 divided among outside organizations, after funding city programs.
The Sunnyvale Chamber of Commerce unveiled its plans to move from 101 W. Olive Ave., its home for nearly 50 years, to 260 S. Sunnyvale Ave., Suite 4. With 735 Chamber members, the new 3,200-square-foot space was expected to be a better fit.
July
The Fremont Union High School District announced it would pay former superintendent Stephen Rowley nearly $600,000 in retroactive salary, legal fees and the remainder of his contract, which ends on Feb. 10, 2008. Rowley was fired on Aug. 22, 2006 over an e-mail in which he accused board president Avie Katz and his wife Cathy of causing two popular Monta Vista High School teachers, Tim Krieger and Melanie Walczak, to resign in June 2006.
In the midst of alarm about possible water shortages, the city said it was confident that it had enough sources of water to be safe, and did not require its water users to conserve water. Besides some local groundwater wells, the city buys water from the San Francisco Public Utilities Commission, which gets its water from Hetch Hetchy Reservoir, and the Santa Clara Valley Water District, which gets its water from the Sacramento Delta.
Downtown Sunnyvale got funky on June 27 when a crowd of more than 1,000 people gathered to watch Double Funk Crunch on S. Murphy Avenue during the eighth annual Sunnyvale Summer Music Series, put on by the Sunnyvale Downtown Association.
Sunnyvale West Neighborhood Association, the city's newest and largest neighborhood association, gathered on July 16 to discuss the proposed Mary Avenue extension over Highway 101 and Route 237. One of the group's leaders, Gopal Patangay, said it had collected 500 signatures opposing the project.
The Sunnyvale City Council dropped a proposed ballot measure asking residents if they would support public financing of elections on July 10, in advance of the Nov. 6 elections. Instead, it decided to create a subcommittee of council members in January to consider the proposal, which some residents strongly supported.
The council voted to put a $108 million library bond measure on the Nov. 6 ballot to pay for a planned new library, but not the estimated $2.2 million per year it would cost to operate the proposed 116,000-square-foot, environmentally sustainable facility.
The boxing program at Columbia Middle School was expecting to pack up its donated boxing ring and close its doors on Aug. 10, unless it could find a suitable new home.
The city announced plans to hire Granicus to webcast and archive city council meetings online, something most neighboring cities already were doing.
Fremont Union High School District officials released the results of a previously redacted investigation into the events surrounding the resignation of popular Monta Vista High School teacher Tim Krieger.
August
The Sunnyvale Planning Commission granted Full Circle Farm a use permit to operate an organic farm on 11 acres of open fields next to Peterson Middle School. The farm is leasing the land from the Santa Clara Unified School District for $1,000 per month for 10 years, with a possible 10-year extension.
The city council approved a $14 million contract to upgrade machinery at the Sunnyvale materials Recovery and Transfer facility or SMaRT station.
Controversy pitted neighbors against neighbors on Tamarack Lane on Sunnyvale's eastern border when Elvira and Rodolfo Cardona began renovating a house to become a residential care facility for the elderly. Neighbors tried to stop the renovation, complaining that the three doors facing the street and cement wheelchair ramps in the front yard do not fit into the neighborhood.
Sunnyvale Rotary donated an old-fashioned-looking clock tower to the city to be placed in the 100 block of S. Murphy Avenue. "It's just to show that Rotary cares about Sunnyvale," said Councilman Ron Swegles, also a Rotarian.
With seven candidates vying for four open seats on the city council, two forums kicked off the race for the November city council election. Only Mayor Otto Lee was running unopposed. Councilman Dean Chu faced Dave Whittum for seat 4, Swegles faced Dixie Carney for seat 6, and Councilwoman Melinda Hamilton faced Pat Meyering for seat 7.
Hung Wei, a Cupertino resident, was sworn in as the newest Fremont Union High School District trustee, appointed to fill the vacancy left by Kathryn Ho, who resigned for personal reasons.
The city of Sunnyvale pledged to cut carbon emissions by 20 percent from 1990 levels by 2010 through 21 proposed projects that the council was to consider paying for during budget discussions in January.
The Planning Commission approved three of the six blocks of the downtown Sunnyvale Town Center redevelopment project on Aug. 13. The approved blocks, 3, 4 and 5, contain Macy's and Redwood Square, Target and Century Theatres, respectively.
September
The city of Sunnyvale released the draft Environmental Impact Report on the Mary Avenue extension project. It indicated that traffic would swell on the city's north-south arterials by 2020 no matter what, and that some of the proposed extension alternatives--which included four different configurations of the number of lanes on the bridge and on Mary Avenue--would reduce traffic on Mary Avenue south of El Camino Real.
A Resident Satisfaction Survey found that 85 percent of respondents ranked quality of life in Sunnyvale as good or excellent and 95 percent rated the city as a good or excellent place to live. Only 7 percent though crime was a problem, and 85 percent favorably viewed the community's openness and acceptance of diversity.
The planning commission approved architectural designs for office, residential and retail buildings in blocks 1, 2 and 4 of the Sunnyvale Town Center redevelopment, although some remained dissatisfied with the look of the buildings for various reasons.
It was revealed during a city council campaign forum that the city was looking at outsourcing paramedic services to American Medical Response, stationing AMR employees at six fire stations throughout the city. The Public Safety Officers Association was strongly opposed.
Full Circle Farm moved forward with the first step of its groundbreaking next to Peterson Middle School, digging hundreds of post holes for a fence to encircle the property, securing the tools, materials and demolition that were expected to come soon after.
The city streamlined its websites with a set of new domain names ending with .inSunnyvale.com. A directory was created at directory.inSunnyvale.com.
Fremont High School held its 25th annual Watermelon Run, in which 284 students raced to win a whole watermelon and then feasted on tables covered with slices.
Kimeli Naiyomah, a Sunnyvale resident and former Maasai warrior, teamed up with Vice Mayor Tony Spitaleri and several East African-born Indians in an effort to ship three donated ambulances to Naiyomah's village in southwestern Kenya. The long-range plans included building a hospital.
The India Community Center moved from its Arques Avenue home in Sunnyvale to a temporary home at the Rancho Rinconada Recreation Center in Cupertino, near Bollinger Road and Lawrence Expressway. It was pushed out because Sunnyvale stepped up its environmental rules for a use permit.
About 70 airmen from the 129th Rescue Wing, stationed at Moffett Field, were expected to return home from a three-month tour in Afghanistan, greeted by friends and family.
The city extended the comment period for the Mary Avenue extension draft EIR from Oct. 12 to Nov. 12.
Council members grilled a NASA-Ames Research Center representative over the center's plans to seek further partnerships such as one that allowed the Google co-founders to land their plane there, an effort to make up for a $7 million operating deficit.
October
The city council gave Trinity Baptist Church until November to convince councilmembers that its proposal to move to the Peery Park industrial area would not hurt city hopes for a biotech hotspot there.
The city revealed plans for a possible full-time sustainability manager position to guide its efforts at environmental sustainability.
Sunnyvale Department of Public Safety officers arrested Jaime Menjivar Lopez, 29, of Mountain View on Sept. 25 as one suspect in the murder of Pablo Rosales, 21, in a fight on the 1100 block of Ayala Drive on Aug. 17.
Sunnyvale fell far short of its "fair share" of affordable housing between 1999 and 2006, according to a report by the Association of Bay Area Governments, which assigns housing targets to cities. Sunnyvale permitted 7 percent of the very low-income housing, 16 percent of the low-income housing and 112 percent of the above moderate-income housing units it was allocated, for a total of 2,167 affordable units. Officials said it is difficult for cities to meet the numbers, although some fared much better.
Ashley Novosad, a Fremont High School senior and emancipated minor since 2006, was one of six students honored by the Fremont Union High Schools Foundation for overcoming major challenges. She rented a room at a family friend's home, worked 30 hours per week, was a student body leader, earned mostly A's and played two sports. Stephen Mitchell, a special education student at Fremont, also won the award, as did Travis Kenyon, a Homestead High School senior who is paralyzed on the left side of his body but has succeeded in P.E., English and choir.
About 30 parents and their children gathered in the Cherry Chase Elementary School multi-purpose room for a presentation and discussion on the Mary Avenue extension project led by Jack Witthaus, Sunnyvale transportation and traffic manager. They voiced concerns about the danger of increased traffic for children traveling to school.
A 5.6 magnitude earthquake shook up the city council meeting on Oct. 30, starting just after 8 p.m. and lasting about 10 seconds. It was the strongest to hit the Bay Area since the magnitude 6.9 Loma Prieta quake in 1989.
November
The city unveiled and the city council approved an updated Community Engagement Sub-Element of the city's General Plan that calls for new technology and the repetition of public information via different channels in order to reach all the members of the Sunnyvale community. The city's changing ethnic makeup presents a particular challenge, it stated, to be met with translation services and a committee focused on ethnic diversity.
Four of the six Town and Country buildings were set to be demolished in December. Sand Hill Properties, which is redeveloping the site, hoped to harvest terra cotta roof tiles and redwood timbers to be used in the adjacent, ongoing Town Center redevelopment.
Officials tried to sooth concerns over a toxic plume of perchloroethylene, or PCE, a dry cleaning chemical, beneath Sunnyvale's downtown at a meeting that drew about 10 residents. The cleanup plan included dry wells to extract and filter the hazardous vapors rising from the soil. A plan for the groundwater was expected to come later.
Councilman-elect Dave Whittum, a physicist and Heritage District Neighborhood Association leader, defeated Councilman Dean Chu for seat 4 on the city council in the Nov. 6 election. He earned nearly 51 percent of the vote, winning by 243 votes. Challengers Carney (seat 6) and Meyering (seat 7) lost, but earned 40 percent and 42 percent of the vote, respectively.
Meanwhile, voters approved nine of the 11 charter amendments the city put on the ballot, including one creating a two-year mayoral term, but turned down a $108 million library bond. While 59 percent of voters approved, it required a two-thirds majority to pass.
Troy Tulowitzki, a Colorado Rockies shortstop and Sunnyvale native, barely missed the National League Rookie of the Year award on Nov. 12, shortly after his team was swept by the Boston Red Sox in the World Series. He lost to Milwaukee Brewers third baseman Ryan Braun 128 voting points to 126.
The NASA-Ames Research Center was moving forward with plans for a research park that would include as much as 200,000 square feet of new office space and 1,000 rental housing units on the south side of the complex, NASA officials said.
City manager Amy Chan's raise and bonus drew heated criticism at a city council meeting when it was announced. The raise was 9.5 percent to $252,554 and the performance bonus was 10 percent of that.
The city council approved Trinity Baptist Church's move to 477 N. Mathilda Avenue, despite city staff concerns that the rezoning required could threaten plans for a biotechnology hotspot in the surrounding Peery Park industrial area.
December
The city of Sunnyvale kicked off a lengthy parks and recreation study that it hoped would inventory the city's current offerings, identify impediments to their use and identify possible funding sources for future park and recreation services. The consulting team hired for $185,000 for the study was to report its recommendations to the city council in July 2008.
Lucio Caciano, 37, an undocumented immigrant living on Sunnyvale's north side and a youth group leader at a Mountain View church, was coming to terms with the likelihood that he would have to return to Mexico after 15 years in the United States. He was arrested on Oct. 10 at his home by U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement agents who were looking for a previous resident. An immigration judge in San Francisco gave him some hope that he could apply for a special religious worker visa, but many hurdles remained.
An eight-member mayoral green ribbon Committee including Sunnyvale business leaders, researchers, residents and environmentalists convened to gather ideas to get residents and children involved in making environmentally friendly decisions.
The Haight Ashbury Music Center on W. Washington Avenue in downtown Sunnyvale was liquidating its stock to close its doors for good by Jan. 19 after the property owner raised the rent from $6,100 to $15,000 per month, possibly because of the Town Center redevelopment project's anticipated 2009 completion.
In a closed session meeting with the city council, Amy Chan, Sunnyvale's city manager, announced that she would retire as soon as the council could bring a new city manager on board.
"This is a bittersweet decision for me," stated Chan in her resignation letter, adding, "I believe the best time to leave is when we have a strong foundation."