Planning commission reviews MidPen plan for 172-unit affordable housing at 1171 Sonora Court

Sunnyvale planning staff and the developer MidPen Housing presented plans July 28 for a 100% affordable, seven-story residential project at 1171 Sonora Court, a 1.3-acre site in the Lawrence Station area.

Senior Planner Margaret Meadow told commissioners the proposal would demolish a 19,512-square-foot industrial building and construct 172 apartments — 170 affordable units and two managers’ units — in a single seven-story building over two levels of podium parking. “This is a study session to review a 100% affordable housing project at 1171 Sonora Court,” Meadow said, and corrected the agenda to note the site is 1.3 acres, not 3.54.

The project would be built on land owned by the city and ground-leased to MidPen Housing. MidPen associate project manager Claire Kosterz said the units would be affordable to households at roughly 30% to 70% of area median income and that MidPen has worked with city housing staff on the site since about 2020. “We really appreciate the time you’ve put into this,” Kosterz said.

Why it matters: the site sits adjacent to the Lawrence Caltrain Station and is designated in the general plan as transit mixed use and zoned flexible mixed use under the Lawrence Station Area Plan (LSAP). Staff said the proposed residential density would be about 132 dwelling units per acre, achieved through LSAP incentives and the California state density bonus law. Commissioners praised the project’s location near transit but raised repeated concerns about parking, school access and how visitors and people with disabilities will be served.

Project details and design concessions - Units and layout: staff presented a mix of 27 studios, 57 one-bedroom, 43 two-bedroom and 43 three-bedroom apartments, arranged on floors two through seven. Two levels of concrete podium parking on floors one and two would provide vehicle parking stalls. - Parking: staff and the applicant gave differing counts during discussion. The project plans two levels of podium parking; MidPen’s Kevin Griffith said the parking would be assigned and managed by the building operator. Meadow and MidPen stated the design provides 88 parking stalls; one commissioner’s tally during the meeting reached a count of 85 stalls. Commissioner Cerrone summarized the ratio as roughly 0.5 spaces per unit. “Parking spaces are assigned by our management company, and we keep track of who is utilizing them,” Griffith said. - Storage and concessions: the applicant requests four concessions and two waivers. Concession items include reduced ground-floor plate height (proposed 12 feet vs. the citywide standard of 14 feet, with a canopy to give a 14-foot appearance), roof form/cornice variations, and a reduced per-unit individual storage provision. The project proposes a consolidated 4,800 cubic feet of lockable storage on the second floor to provide 24 individual storage spaces; staff said code would otherwise require 200 cubic feet per studio/one-bedroom unit and 300 cubic feet per larger unit. - Waivers: staff said the project requests (1) no additional setback above the third floor where the citywide standard calls for a five-foot setback from a public street-facing wall, and (2) smaller vertical recesses than the city objective design standard (proposed vertical divisions range roughly 5–9 feet vs. a 75-foot interval with recesses 10 feet wide and 5 feet deep). - Trees and site features: staff reported two heritage trees would be removed, driveway access would be from Sonora Court, and walkways would be installed around the building perimeter. A virtual community outreach meeting on June 10 had about six participants and staff reported no comments were submitted.

Building height, code constraints and materials Staff presented a maximum building height of 86 feet and said that is within the site’s 100-foot zoning limit. Later in the discussion planners and the applicant explained that construction-type and life-safety rules limit practical building height; staff noted building code and construction-type triggers (Type III construction versus high-rise requirements) that make heights above certain thresholds cost-prohibitive. MidPen and the design team described cladding choices (fiber-cement paneling and stucco) and recessed-window options to achieve the desired articulation.

Transportation, parking management and bike access Commissioners repeatedly questioned whether the parking supply is adequate for a 172-unit, family-oriented development where about half the units are two- or three-bedroom. Commissioners noted nearby amenities are limited and that the nearest grocery is more than a half-mile away. MidPen said the project qualifies for the state density bonus for parking and therefore meets state law; Griffith and project staff added that they are implementing multimodal measures including a large bike room (MidPen cited capacity for about 112 bikes), potential transit pass programs, and parking assignment and management practices (a lottery among interested residents during lease-up and priority accommodations for residents with disability placards). “We will assess who is interested in the parking space, and then we’ll run a kind of fair process to assign them,” Griffith said.

Commissioners and staff also discussed electric-vehicle infrastructure and the incoming state green building code’s EV requirements; the applicant said the design is being prepared to meet those upcoming standards, including day-one EV receptacles and rough-ins for future EV charging.

Tenant eligibility and monitoring MidPen described typical affordable housing tenant income certifications and recertification practices. “We recertify the tenants every year,” Kevin Griffith said, and explained that tenants who rise above an initial income band are not evicted but units are managed so future turnovers are rented at the appropriate affordability level.

Public comment and next steps One remote speaker, Steven Meyer, urged the commission to support the project, calling it “the perfect project” for transit-oriented density. Commissioners praised the proposal’s contribution to affordable housing in the Lawrence Station area but asked for more information before a hearing. Staff said additional material will be provided in the staff report for the public hearing, including more detailed bike/pedestrian circulation plans and comparative parking analysis from MidPen’s nearby project (1178 Sonora Court).

No formal action was taken at the study session; staff asked commissioners for feedback before returning the project for public hearing and decision.

Ending: Staff said they will incorporate commissioner feedback (additional bicycle/pedestrian circulation diagrams, clarification of parking counts and management procedures, and more detail on unit income bands and storage) when the item returns for public hearing.