Sunnyvale has been struggling to preserve grocery stores in its northern neighborhoods, and residents are frustrated with plans to build more housing that would push the area toward being a food desert. True Life Companies has plans to develop 101 townhomes that would replace the Lakewood Shopping Center, which includes New Wing Yuan Market, one of...
Sunnyvale neighborhood boxed in by multiple housing developments
Another affordable housing development is planned for downtown Sunnyvale, but some neighbors are feeling claustrophobic. Sunnyvale is planning for 126 affordable apartments at 295 S. Mathilda Ave. on a 1.04-acre city-owned site, developed by MidPen Housing. The site is adjacent to multiple new developments like the Meridian and downtown Cityline’s various apartments. Some nearby residents...
Sunnyvale ready to dip into surplus with looming federal cuts
While Silicon Valley grapples with millions of dollars in federal cuts, one city is trying to use its own money to weather the storm. The Sunnyvale City Council allocated its fiscal year 2025-26 federal grants on May 6. The city has about $383,000 from the HOME program, $1 million in Community Development Block Grant funding...
Sunnyvale under fire over festival booth controversy
Sunnyvale is facing criticism after officials asked a Palestinian art booth to leave a city-run children’s event for refusing to remove a poster. City officials confronted the “Palestine Palette” art booth’s organizers partway through the Hands on the Arts festival Saturday, citing unapproved political content: a poster with a historic map of Palestine. The Council...
Sunnyvale workers must go 40 miles to drop off animals
Sunnyvale’s new partnership with Santa Clara County Animal Services has some major glitches. The county doesn’t accept healthy stray cats. Its spay and neutering services are limited and it’s more than 40 miles away to the animal services facility in San Martin. Peter Hoang, senior management analyst with the city’s Department of Public Safety, presented...
Santa Clara County expands hotel program for homeless residents
Santa Clara County is expanding its hotel shelter program for North County homeless residents following the delayed opening of a modular housing site in Palo Alto. The county has selected WeHope, a nonprofit homeless service provider, to work with up to 40 unhoused adults who will be temporarily housed at a hotel in Sunnyvale or...
Sunnyvale public safety chief retiring in April
Sunnyvale’s top public safety officer is retiring after eight years of service. Public Safety Chief Phan Ngo will step down at the end of April, after steering the city through its COVID-19 emergency response and bolstering community trust in the department. City Manager Tim Kirby will appoint an interim chief while officials search for Ngo...
Sunnyvale aims to preserve retail spaces in northern neighborhoods
Sunnyvale wants to preserve retail space in an underserved community, but the city will have to convince developers the investment is worthwhile. The Sunnyvale City Council voted unanimously Tuesday, with Councilmember Murali Srinivasan absent, to approve a retail preservation program for two aging retail centers slated to be turned into townhomes. The program would allow...
Sunnyvale houses homeless residents in hotels after sweep
Sunnyvale is trying a new approach to homeless encampment sweeps by putting people in motels and giving them an opportunity to make necessary life changes. The city on Feb. 26 placed about 25 unhoused people in 18 rooms across two Larkspur Landing hotels — one in Sunnyvale and one in Milpitas — for 30 days,...
Sunnyvale residents split on improvements to dangerous road
As Sunnyvale expands its bicycling network, one neighborhood is grappling with decades-old limitations. Residents in North Sunnyvale, a portion of the city that historically lacks resources, are excited about planned safe transit infrastructure on Tasman Drive, from Fair Oaks Avenue to Lawrence Expressway. Other residents are less enthusiastic, saying the proposed changes — bike lanes and...