Sunnyvale is having bright days.
Mayor Larry Klein praised Sunnyvale’s long-term economic planning during his state of the city address on Saturday, Sept. 19. Sunnyvale, per voter mandate, must maintain a 10-year plan for balancing its budget. City staff goes further — it advises council members using 20-year spending strategies.
Sunnyvale’s financial stability is, in part, thanks to investments from strong technology and science industries. In May, Google renewed its lease on 2.1 million sq. ft. of office complexes. The renewal is the nation’s second largest this year. Applied Materials will also open its EPIC Center this year. The center is a $5 billion investment that will become the world’s largest advanced semiconductor facility.
These investments help fuel resident inclusion efforts across the city, as its council members grapple with a report detailing how more than a third of residents feel disconnected from their community.
The city launched an equity assessment at the top of the year, as a way to gauge how people feel about their local government. City staff contacted more than 500 Sunnyvale residents from different neighborhoods throughout the spring, and they presented their final report to the Sunnyvale City Council in August.
The results: 61% of residents feel connected to the city, but several historically marginalized communities feel otherwise. Half of northern Sunnyvale residents feel disenfranchised; Spanish-speaking, disabled and low-income residents struggle to access city services.
“Institutionalizing equity, if nothing else,” Vice Mayor Richard Mehlinger said in August, “is something I want everyone to take away from tonight — the importance of having this baked into the fabric of the city.”
The assessment recommended the council establish a framework for city staff to follow when developing future policies. Staff is overseeing that effort, but there is no public timeline for when the city council will return to it.
In the meantime, the council is advancing a framework for homelessness programs in Sunnyvale. Council members approved a homelessness response plan during its Sept. 29 meeting. The plan will prioritize prevention, interim housing, and formalized community engagement programs over the next five years.
Previous State of the City Address:
Sunnyvale’s 2024 State of the City Honors Community Volunteers