Courtesy Holly Lofgren Oct 8, 2014
On Oct. 14, the Sunnyvale City Council will consider whether to rezone a 34 percent floor area ratio (FAR) site at Wolfe Road and Arques Avenue into an M-S 100 percent FAR site. This is TRIPLE the normal standard for this area.
The proposed site is 770,000 square feet and towers at 89 feet tall. The Transportation Demand Management (TDM) program required is only 30 percent and is on Wolfe Road, which is overloaded with commute traffic with more on the way.
While homes are 1,000 feet from the site (at LinkedIn they were 250 feet), this project will clog traffic in the area and a rezone could set a precedent for other developers to expect 100 percent FAR and the ability to do a similar TDM program when the environmental impact report (EIR) would show that the traffic impact was “significant but unavoidable.”
This project is way too large for the area and is not in a transit-oriented development area. It is spot zoning without the benefit of following the General Plan (i.e. there is no agreement from the residents).
Former Mayor Pat Castillo is a consultant on this project and has been a consultant on many other rezoning, General Plan amendment and special development permit type projects.
We need real representation from our current sitting council members to make intelligent decisions for our community. I urge community members to understand this project and demand a better plan from their elected representatives.
Holly Lofgren
Sunnyvale
eyesunnyvale.com 