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Neighbors press city and developer over stormwater and parking at proposed eight‑home subdivision on South Wolf Road
Summary
At a June 8 study session, the Sunnyvale Planning Commission heard a proposal to demolish a house at 781 South Wolf Road and build eight two‑story single‑family homes subdivided into nine lots. Neighbors and commissioners focused on stormwater treatment waivers, pedestrian and ADA access, and guest parking; staff and the applicant said they will provide more technical detail before a hearing.
A study session on June 8 brought detailed scrutiny to plans for a small‑lot subdivision at 781 South Wolf Road, where the developer proposes demolishing an existing one‑story house and building eight two‑story single‑family homes and a privately maintained 20‑foot internal street.
Project planner Astabasher told the Planning Commission the proposal requires a special development permit and a tentative map to create nine lots (eight residential lots and one common lot for the private street). The application seeks roughly 16 waivers — including from lot area, lot width, lot coverage, rear‑yard encroachment and on‑site stormwater treatment requirements — and proposes several off‑site improvements such as new sidewalks, street trees and driveway approaches. Astabasher said a third‑party traffic study the applicant commissioned identified no significant traffic or safety impacts and that the team is preparing an addendum to a prior negative declaration.
Why it matters: Neighbors and commissioners said the waivers — particularly the request to treat off‑site pavement in a public utility easement rather than 100% strictly outside that easement — raise questions about long‑term maintenance, downstream water quality and precedent for other infill projects. Commissioners also flagged concerns about guest parking and how private‑street circulation would serve wheelchair users and bicyclists.
Neighbors who spoke during public comment raised a similar list of concerns. Nilamri, representing a nearby homeowners association, praised the project's responsiveness to earlier feedback but asked how the applicant will control construction dust, whether new screening trees will have invasive roots and where trash and guest parking will be located. A remote neighbor said the project could reduce solar output for adjacent homes.
On stormwater treatment, the applicant's engineer, Scott, said the city’s recent rule requires that runoff from new pavement be treated; he described the intended approach as treating a consolidated off‑site area in an in‑lie basin located in a public utility easement on Wolf Road. “We are actually treating the off‑site water onsite but in a public utility easement,” Scott said, adding that the applicant will record a maintenance agreement and that the homeowners association will assume maintenance responsibilities.
Commissioners asked staff to return with more precise technical documentation before a public hearing. Questions staff agreed to address include whether the private street and proposed paver system meet ADA requirements, exact stormwater maintenance responsibilities and the final lot and tent map language (one commissioner noted confusion between materials that list eight versus nine lots).
What’s next: This was a study session; commissioners requested additional engineering and accessibility details for the staff report that will accompany the project's public hearing materials. The planning staff will coordinate responses with public works and building divisions, and the applicant will provide civil and stormwater design details before the item returns for formal action.
