Design review commission recommends design changes, studies for proposed Taiwanese Cultural Center on Sunnyvale Avenue

The Walnut Creek Design Review Commission on May 7 reviewed a proposal for a one-story, 4,500-square-foot Taiwanese Cultural Center and after-school program at 1755 Sunnyvale Avenue and provided a set of recommended design changes and follow-up studies for staff and the applicant.

The project would merge three parcels that currently include the East Bay United Methodist Church, a social hall and a pastor’s residence. Staff said the site contains 50 parking stalls in total (including ADA stalls and two pastor-home stalls) to be shared under an agreement allowing the church’s Sunday use and the center’s weekday programs to avoid overlap. The applicant proposes adult cultural classes 9 a.m.–noon, Monday–Friday, and an after-school program 2–5 p.m. for kindergarten through eighth-grade students; staff said the after-school program’s maximum cap is 33 students and that the applicant anticipates fewer (the staff report listed 20 students; a separate numeric entry in the transcript about the number of teachers was unclear).

Why it matters: the site is zoned R-8 (single-family residential) and requires three conditional use permits — one to legalize the existing religious assembly use and separate permits for the cultural institution and the after-school program — so the project’s design, neighborhood impacts and operating plan are central to future Planning Commission review.

What the commission heard and asked

City senior planner Simmer Gill opened the staff presentation, describing the site layout, parking count and proposed program and noting that “the city's traffic administrator… confirmed that the existing parking on-site is sufficient given that the church would be operating only on Sundays.” She also listed several design standards…