u/urbangeeksv

Well Sacks is again demonstrating willful propaganda and misinformation about data centers. He stated there are no data centers built close to peoples homes.

Coresite has 5 large data centers within 0.5 miles of the apartments located at 3238 Scott Blvd, Santa Clara, CA 95054.

Not only that there is also an secret Apple semiconductor fabrication facility less than .25 miles from apartment buildings. 3250 SCOTT BLVD

It is fair to judge that Santa Clara should not have permitted housing so close to the preexisting Intel mask shop (SC2) but the housing crisis is real and this is where there was available land for housing close to transit and jobs.

https://preview.redd.it/mul5la3e8ljh1.png?width=449&format=png&auto=webp&s=1e570e6974cb2c60f3e2bc73e9ce05e2dc2c8213

Planning Commission tonight will review and decide on proposed housing project at 494 S. Bernardo Ave. (APN: 161-24-001) just south of Safeway and El Camino Real.

The developer proposes six 3-story residential buildings with a total of 28 townhome units

Due to state laws AB 130 the developer is taking advantage of the law to have 16 waivers from city requirements.

Given state laws the planning commission must review to only safety requirements and they are required to approve the project or face possible fines and other punishments from the state.

List of Waivers requested ( demanded ) are:

1 Lot Coverage 40% max. 40.3%

2 Distance Between Buildings 26’ min. 13.4’ to 13.9’ (varies)

3 Building Height 35’ max. 40’-8”

4 & 5 Setbacks – Front & rear 20’ 15’ (front) and 12’ to 15’ (rear)

6 Parking 64 spaces min. 63 spaces + 1 dual-use parking/loading zone

7 Loading Zone One loading zone per building. 35’ and 350 sf. Min. One for entire site; standard size of 8.5’ x 22’ shared with parking

8 Building Frontage at Front Setbacks 65% (min.) to 85% (max.) 100%

9 Private Balcony 7’ in any direction, and 80 sf minimum. 5’-6” and 66 sf (Unit Type B), or 6’-6” and 92.6 sf (Unit Type C)

10 Residential Buffer for Surface Parking 15’ min. 4’-6” between visitor parking & side property line

11 Landscape Buffer 8’ min. planted area 4’-6”

12 Ground Floor Plate Height 14’ min. 8’-1”

13 Division Standards 30’ (min.) to 50’ (max.) 21’-1” to 23’-1”

14 Parking Lot Shading Requirements 50% 0.7%

15 Roof Eaves 2’ min. 6” to 12”

16 Pedestrian Walkway 5’ min. for first 50 feet adjacent to vehicle access lane None

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IMHO - there is no choice but to approve the project given negative ramifications of rejection.

Sacks went on an on claiming that Anthropic and OpenAI are duopolies when they come nothing close to it.

There are major players like Google/Gemini, xAI/Grok, Microsoft as well as what Apple might be developing.

In reality before the emergence of LLM's Alphabet Google search had monopoly status in search engines and was completely stagnated. Or the 2 companies ( Apple/Google) own over 90% of the mobile phone market.

Ok we get it they don't have stakes in the 2 leading companies, but whatever happened to calling balls and strikes ?

For Sunnyvale residents and interested parties following the federal Clean Water Act litigation, here is a summary of the current status and the critical milestones.

tl;dr: sewer rates are going to be going up by a LOT!

Background:

Following a 12-day trial in 2025, the Court found that the Cities of Sunnyvale and Mountain View violated their stormwater permit provisions 2,761 times by discharging human fecal bacteria into local waterways like Stevens Creek and Calabazas Creek. 

The case is now in the "remedy phase," where the Judge Edward Davila will decide on a mandatory cleanup plan and final civil penalties.

SF Baykeeper Motion Filed May 8, 2026:

San Francisco Baykeeper filed a formal motion for a permanent injunction. Their proposal includes:

• System-Wide Mapping: Identifying all sources of bacteria within every storm drain catchment discharging to the creeks.
• Mandatory Repairs: Requiring any identified leaking sewer pipes (exfiltration) or illicit connections to be repaired within three years.
• 20-Year Cleanup Plan: Implementing a long-term infrastructure plan with mandatory spending milestones at years 5, 10, and 15.
• Civil Penalties: Baykeeper has requested a total penalty of $9,622,000 for the City of Sunnyvale.

Critical Upcoming Milestone: June 12th Cities Brief

The most significant immediate milestone is the City’s formal responsive brief, expected to be filed on June 12th. 

This document will be Sunnyvale’s (and Mountain View’s) opportunity to provide its specific legal and technical rebuttal to Baykeeper’s proposed 20-year injunction and the requested multi-million dollar penalties.

Next Milestone: Baykeeper Rebuttal June 26, 2026

Following the City's June 12th filing, SF Baykeeper will submit a final rebuttal by June 26th. This will likely be the final exchange of written arguments before the Court issues its ruling on the permanent injunction and civil penalties.

The City’s Position

The city has published a memo in which it explains its position 03/09/2026 prior to the Judge’s verdict.  https://www.sunnyvale.ca.gov/Home/Components/News/News/246/111

Sunnyvale officials have maintained that the City’s existing stormwater programs are robust and comply with state requirements. The City has expressed serious concerns that:

• SF Baykeeper’s proposed cleanup measures could cost more than half a billion dollars, potentially doubling sewer rates for local residents and businesses.
• The original sampling data used by Baykeeper is unreliable, yet the interesting thing is the City's own measurements
• The local creeks are not intended for full-body water contact recreation like swimming.

Final Resolution and Potential Appeal

Once the current briefing concludes, the Judge will issue a Final Judgment most likely within 90 days. This judgment will trigger the deadlines for the mandated cleanup projects. 

However, Sunnyvale Council has already approved an appeal the case to a higher court once the final order is entered.

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I attempted to make the above as neutral as possible.

So what can Sunnyvale residents do ? You can write to Council or you can go to City Council and make public comments. Council and staff will not reply to you because it is all blacked out and shrouded due to litigation.

Ultimately all homeowners and renters will be paying a lot more to fix these problems unless Sunnyvale's legal tactics find some relief.

For myself I would like Sunnyvale and Mountain View to address the problems as it affects the health of the bay and the general environment.