Sunnyvale officials hear draft community equity assessment, spotlight gaps in north Sunnyvale and language access

Consultants leading Sunnyvale's community equity assessment told the City Council at a June 16 study session that residents generally value the city's parks, services and responsiveness, but that significant disparities remain for several groups and neighborhoods.

Fernando Pera Marcine, the city's equity, access and inclusion manager, introduced the project and the consulting team: Dr. Sarah Romano of MIG and Dr. Shakaryi Berley of Evitarus. Romano said the assessment used mixed methods — GIS-based community profiling, a representative resident survey (400 respondents, in English, Spanish and Chinese), targeted interviews, focus groups and three public forums — that reached 531 residents in total.

The consultants summarized two organizing themes. On access and gaps, Romano said a majority of residents reported it is easy to use city services, but that access is uneven. "We found disparities by income, race and ethnicity, primary language, neighborhood (notably the two northern zip codes), disability status and educational attainment," she said. The team reported that one-third of residents (about 33%) said they'd never tried or were unaware of the city's services; 12% reported difficulty accessing services, often because of online/digital barriers, inconvenient hours and transportation.

On connection and belonging, Romano said 61% of respondents reported feeling connected to their local community, but nearly half of residents in zip codes 94089 and 94085 disagreed. "Younger residents and some language communities reported lower levels of engagement," she added. Youth participants wanted safe evening activities, teen lounges and extended library hours.

Council members pressed the consultants on sample sizes and next steps. Council Member Cisneros asked whether the survey can be compared to other cities using the National Community Survey; Romano said it can and emphasized that deeper comparisons depend on other jurisdictions' release of their data. Staff and the consultants agreed the 400-sample survey is representative citywide but that some subgroups are too small for statistically reliable subgroup conclusions; they recommended larger or targeted follow-up samples for future rounds.

Council members also raised language-access concerns. Council Member Lelay asked about simplified versus traditional Chinese and other languages. Staff said the survey was offered in simplified Chinese and Spanish, that in-person engagement included Mandarin, and that the city is developing a language-access policy tied to Title VI thresholds and county translation practices.

What happens next: staff said the final Community Equity Assessment report will be returned to council on August 11, 2026 and that an equity, access and inclusion strategic plan is planned for spring 2027. Councilmembers requested follow-up briefings and deeper, cross-tabbed analyses (for example by length of residence, household composition, and race/ethnicity) before final adoption.

Speakers quoted in this report are drawn from the council study session transcript and include Fernando Pera Marcine (equity, access & inclusion manager), Dr. Sarah Romano (MIG), Dr. Shakaryi Berley (Evitarus), Assistant City Manager Connie Verscell and several council members. The consultants' draft findings and implementation recommendations will return to the council for adoption and more granular crosstabs in the final report on Aug. 11, 2026.

Next steps: staff said they will present the final assessment on Aug. 11, produce a staff-led equity strategy that maps recommendations to existing council priorities and report back on funding needs and timing during the FY2027 budget process.