For years, Sunnyvale has planned to build pedestrian-friendly “Village Centers” that combine commercial, retail, housing and outdoor spaces across the city. But now the city is considering development proposals for ones in north Sunnyvale that offer mostly housing, leaving little to no space for much else while replacing two popular shopping centers in an already grocery store-sparse area.
It’s a move that deeply concerns residents, who say they would be left without convenient places to buy food. “It will be a loss for the neighborhood,” said north Sunnyvale resident Gail Rubino.
The plan for Village Centers dates back to 2017 when the city chose several areas — including in plazas along Duane Avenue and Lawrence Expressway in the north — identifying them as “underutilized shopping centers” that could be redeveloped into mixed-use commercial and residential units.
Village requirements include having commercial or retail floor area equal to 10 to 25 percent of the lot area, along with 18 dwelling units per acre with a maximum height of three to four stories.
However, private development applications recently submitted to the city want to fill Duane and Lawrence with more housing units instead. The proposal for Duane includes 62 townhouses, while Lawrence is 95 townhomes, 16 accessory dwelling units along with commercial and community open spaces. Both applications are utilizing SB330, a pro-housing state law, to potentially “override the city’s vision” for the villages, according to Deputy City Manager Jacqi Guzman.
SB330, which was signed into law in 2019, prevents local governments from enacting laws or barriers that would downsize or delay the legal limit on new housing, especially affordable ones, within their borders.
North Sunnyvale, which is identified as being a historically underserved and low-income community, has only nine grocery stories across the area, compared to around 20 in the central and southern part of the city. If the proposal goes through, at least three of them will be removed.
The Duane and Lakewood plazas especially are home to several ethnic grocery markets and eateries, including Indian, Filipino and Chinese that are popular with locals already, noted Rubino.
Resident Valerie Suares, who frequents the plazas, is concerned the new developments will limit locals’ access to affordable produce and other foods. They will have to drive further to ethnic stores within or outside the city to do their weekly shopping.
“By removing these places, it creates a food dessert in north Sunnyvale,” she said. “That is not acceptable.”
Suares said she hopes the city can work with the developer to maximize the amount of retail space at these locations.
Community members can still voice their concerns, Guzman said. Both applications are currently under review and the developer needs to hold an outreach meeting to provide opportunities for questions and feedback.
The city’s Planning Commission will review the applications at an upcoming public hearing, where people will also have an opportunity to voice their opinions. The commission’s decision can be appealed to the City Council, Guzman said.
Councilmember Richard Mehlinger, who represents District 5 where the Duane property is located, said it is difficult for the city to deny or modify a SB330 application.
“What the city is going to be able to do on this is constrained,” he said, “But I’m optimistic we can reach a solution that maintains access for retail and fresh groceries for (District 5) and north Sunnyvale.”