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 in a single-family neighborhood are not on board and have complained about parking and litter from the increasing density.

MidPen Housing spokesperson Lyn Hikida said the apartments will be available at low- and extremely low-income levels — up to 30% below the area median income, which is $195,200 for a family of four living in the county. She added the city wants to set aside a quarter of these apartments for homeless or at-risk families.

“We’ve been engaging closely with the community as we continue to refine plans for 295 South Mathilda,” Hikida told San José Spotlight. “We’re excited to be partnering with the city to help meet the intense need for high quality, affordable homes in Sunnyvale.”

The project — part of the city’s strategy to increase housing on Sunnyvale property — is still in its early stages. The developer submitted plans March 16, according to the city planning portal, and the planning department responded with comments in mid-April. There aren’t any hearings scheduled yet with the Planning Commission or City Council.

One nearby resident, who requested anonymity for fear of their personal safety, said they’re worried about the building’s height and lack of proportional parking.

While the project has 126 apartments, it will only have 67 parking spots. The resident said other buildings in the area don’t have enough parking for their residents, which makes street parking difficult and driving around the neighborhood more dangerous.

The development is planned to have six stories, which the resident said doesn’t adhere to the city’s Downtown Specific Plan. In the plan, the neighborhood west of Mathilda Avenue has a maximum building height of four stories, to transition from the downtown core into the single-family home neighborhood.

The resident wants the city and developers to work alongside the neighbors to find a middle ground, and suggested creating underground parking to shrink the building size or turning the development into affordable senior housing.

“Change is inevitable, there’s nothing wrong with that,” the resident told San José Spotlight. “We want to make sure that whatever change takes place is not changing the community too much, you can still build in a way that’s integrated into the neighborhood.”

Sunnyvale has to build 11,966 homes by 2031 to meet state housing goals, 6,709 of which must be below market rate. The city’s moving toward those goals, approving hundreds of new homes near transit and in underutilized lots.

District 2 Councilmember Alysa Cisneros, who represents the neighborhood, said some of these issues are harder to address, if not impossible for the city.

Cisneros agreed parking is a big problem in that neighborhood, but state laws say there’s no minimum parking requirement for developments within a half-mile of public transit — in this case, the downtown Sunnyvale Caltrain station. She said underground parking is much more expensive, making it less feasible. The developers need to do a traffic study later in the permitting process, which will cumulatively show traffic and parking impacts.
While residents have been raising concerns with specific parts of the project, Cisneros said she hasn’t heard anyone push against housing in its entirety. Instead, she said residents are establishing a city-sanctioned neighborhood association, including people living at the new affordable housing projects.

“This has been where a lot of affordable housing development has occurred, and (the neighbors) have largely been really gracious,” Cisneros told San José Spotlight. “They do understand the need for affordable housing, and we’re at a point where we’re trying to figure out where we can address these quality of life concerns that they have in a way that’s also not going to jeopardize the project happening.”

Contact B. Sakura Cannestra at [email protected] or @SakuCannestra on X.