Planning commission backs Village Center Master Plan, urges follow-up to protect neighborhood retail

The Sunnyvale Planning Commission voted Thursday to recommend adoption of the Village Center Master Plan (VCMP), related zoning and General Plan amendments, municipal code revisions and an environmental addendum, forwarding the package to City Council for final action on July 1.

The plan would create three new village center zoning districts—village center mixed use (VCMU), village center commercial (VCC) and village center office (VCO)—and add objective development standards across seven Village Center areas. Senior planner Jeffrey Cucinotta told the commission the VCMP is “the zoning plan for the 7 neighborhoods” under review and that the proposal does not change the city’s pending developer applications at Fair Oaks Plaza (Village Center 5) and Lakewood Shopping Center (Village Center 6), which remain subject to the rules in place when they were filed.

Commissioners and dozens of members of the public focused discussion on two related themes: how the draft rules try to preserve neighborhood-serving retail while adding housing capacity, and whether the plan and timing give enough protection to small businesses and nearby residents before developers submit or pursue projects.

What the plan would do: The VCMP establishes parcel-level zoning maps and development rules intended to make redevelopment more predictable. Key features staff highlighted include clustering a range of base maximum residential densities (22–56 dwelling units per acre on VCMU sites), a requirement that redevelopment achieve at least 85% of the stated density on a given parcel, and minimum ground-floor nonresidential floor area ratios (FAR) to keep commercial uses on site (generally 25% FAR; 10% FAR on…