The 1,156-acre Moffett Park area sits at the northwest corner of Sunnyvale. Bounded by State Route 237 and US Highway 101 to the south, Moffett Federal Airfield to the west, and Caribbean Drive to the north, Moffett Park also abuts the Sunnyvale Water Pollution Control Plant, the landfill hills, Twin Creeks Sports Complex, and Baylands Park, all of which directly border the Bay. Moffett Park’s predominant current land use is industrial office park and remarkably barren but it also includes approximately 87 acres of natural wetlands and as well as the East and West flood channels.
The site sits within a 100-year FEMA flood zone and projections for sea level rise predict significant flooding in this region.
What’s Happening
The City of Sunnyvale is currently planning a comprehensive update of its 2013 Moffett Park Specific Plan (MPSP) to allow up to 10 million square feet of additional office/R&D space and 20,000 new homes in the 1156-acre Moffett Park area. With a typical average of one employee for every 150 - 200 sq ft, this much office could add 50,000 to 67,000 new employees. In addition, 20,000 units of new housing (nearly twice what the State requires by 2031) can be expected to add about 30,000 new residents (assuming an average of 1.5 people per unit) to Sunnyvale’s total current population of 155,000.
That massive expansion of the built environment in Moffett Park will put more people and assets at risk of flooding from sea level rise, ground water rise, and extreme storms due to climate change. Meanwhile, uncertainty abounds as to the method, timing, cost, and funding sources for Bay flood protection. Indeed, the South San Francisco Bay Shoreline Project, tasked with identifying and recommending flood risk management and ecosystem restoration projects along the South San Francisco Bay, cannot yet anticipate a timeline for funding to even begin studying the feasibility of options for the Sunnyvale area.
In addition, by bringing many more people (both commuters and residents) to the Moffett Park area, the proposed MPSP Update could substantially intensify human impacts on the Bay Trail, the wetlands, and the open space in and near the plan area.
Sunnyvale envisions Moffett Park as a new “Eco-Innovation” district, presenting an opportunity for transformative planning to create a future mixed-use district that is resilient, biodiverse, sustainable, and livable. The proposed land use map lays out office, housing, industrial and mixed-use activity zones, but that’s as far as it goes. Putting the “ecology” into “Eco-innovation,” will require dedicated spaces and specific, dependable commitments to ensure flood resilience, biodiversity, sustainability and livability.