Remarks by Galen Kim Davis
81 remarks on the record, newest first · Page 3 of 4
- Play at 3:14:33
“i got lost do we actually have a motion no no okay um yeah this is uh by far the most painful thing i've had come before me while on the planning commission this is uh i'm just consistently going through my head like what are we doing here what is the city doing here we've got two women-owned businesses in this situation. And we've got so much zoning for this little downtown district, and we're not San Francisco. We shouldn't be this way. My own personal history, I opened a small business in San Francisco in 2002 in a little neighborhood that was three blocks. Before I went and applied for…”
Planning Commission · Aug 24, 2026
- Play at 3:35:43
“30 to 50 statements in two sections. I mean, by the section, what's the exception? So, zero. No, it's just zero success.”
Planning Commission · Aug 24, 2026
- Play at 3:57:53
“Okay. Good thing I wrote the questions down. So looking at all the diagrams and the maps of the areas and the shared path is great, but I just don't know where it goes. What does it connect to?”
Planning Commission · Aug 24, 2026
- Play at 3:58:19
“And I was noticing on the project data table, that there seems to be an acre that's lost between the existing site and the proposal. Is that being portioned off for future development or where's that acre going?”
Planning Commission · Aug 24, 2026
- Play at 3:59:08
“Okay, thank you. That clarifies it. Those are all my questions.”
Planning Commission · Aug 24, 2026
- Play at 4:32:47
“So I'm going to be a little bit unfair. So our last hearing, we always ask the applicants, how can we get you to build more, right? Are there things in the Sunnyvale code that are different from other places that are pushing you towards slightly lower density? And what came up last time was that our Our fire requirements require wider clearances than other cities. So I'm going to ask you if we, let's say, tighten that so that we're similar to other cities and so on. Would some of these concessions have gone away, or could we have gotten more units? And I know I'm asking you a detailed…”
Planning Commission · Aug 24, 2026
- Play at 4:49:54
“With the Greenway, all the amenities, I mean, you guys really know how to do townhomes really, really well. The only thing is when we zoned this, we were imagining something quite a bit bigger. And I would have loved to have seen your concession be height. And we set up to 100 feet. I would have been happy to go much, much higher here. But I'm not a developer. I'm not the one taking the risks. So I know you have your formula down for getting the financing done for town homes. You know how to build them. You know how to market them. You know how to sell them. So the business person in me…”
Planning Commission · Aug 24, 2026
- Play at 2:29
“I pledge allegiance to the flag of the United States of America, due to the authority for which it stands, one nation under God, indivisible, with liberty and justice for all.”
Planning Commission · Aug 10, 2026
- Play at 4:33
“Speakers will have three minutes to speak.”
Planning Commission · Aug 10, 2026
- Play at 13:14
“Likewise, I'd just like to make a note to staff that we make sure that they know to have the sign up before the September 14th meeting so we don't have a repeat of that. But yes, I see no objection to continuing to September 14th. Thank you.”
Planning Commission · Aug 10, 2026
- Play at 25:43
“Thank you, Chair. Thank you for the presentation. First thing, you said it's 100.5 inches in um diameter did you mean to say circumference yes yeah um it's a big tree but it's not eight feet across right so okay um and if i understand the if we were to approve the appeal of the recommended conditions of approval there are it would require three replacement trees”
Planning Commission · Aug 10, 2026
- Play at 26:30
“So there's some flexibility. How big is 15 gallons?”
Planning Commission · Aug 10, 2026
- Play at 26:37
“So what is 15 gallons measuring is that the pot that you buy it in. Yes, yes. Okay. All right. So it's the size of three water jugs. Okay. And if I understand correctly of fruit trees would not qualify as replacements. No fruit trees and palm trees do not count. Okay. All right. I just want to make sure I was clear on that. Thank you. Commissioner pine.”
Planning Commission · Aug 10, 2026
- Play at 40:55
“Vice Chair Davis. uh thank you chair um thank you mr rapio um i i live fairly close to here so i came um I went by your property yesterday and I noticed that you have a large section where it looked like you're growing wildflowers. It was well delineated. I guess my question is then, if you're looking to grow produce, to grow food there, Is there something that allows you to grow wildflowers right there, but not, uh, whatever vegetables you want to grow?”
Planning Commission · Aug 10, 2026
- Play at 42:30
“Okay, okay, understood. This is my only question. Thank you.”
Planning Commission · Aug 10, 2026
- Play at 57:28
“Yeah, just continuing the discussion. I live, I don't know, probably less than half a mile from the applicant. And I have protected trees on my property as well. My lot's actually one of the larger ones in the neighborhood, and yet it's less than half the size of this lot. And perhaps it's just my property, but all the trees in this neighborhood seem to be bullies. You can't grow anything under any of the trees that are prevalent in the neighborhood. I don't know if it's our particular soil, if it was the species that were chosen. I don't have this particular species in my yard. The three…”
Planning Commission · Aug 10, 2026
- Play at 1:13:16
“by chair davis uh thank you chair um like commissioner pine i i just can't make the findings um so on item c um reasonable use or economic potential of the property whoever planted the tree knew what they were doing they put it in a spot where it's not going to impact the neighbors at all. The neighbor question is out of it. The property is so large, and it's facing the street. I can't squint hard enough to find that you can't reasonably enjoy the property. Everything that's been discussed that they want to do, there's adequate space on other parts of the property to do. saying that the tree…”
Planning Commission · Aug 10, 2026
- Play at 1:33:53
“vice chair davis yeah i kind of regretfully seconded yeah thank you i think i've said all i have to say on this at this point uh likewise um this is one of these situations where your personal values conflict with the law and so we're up here to uphold the law um And yeah, so I urge my commissioners to vote for this motion. Thank you.”
Planning Commission · Aug 10, 2026
- Play at 1:47:50
“Okay. I ask this for every one of these. We got the letter, I think from the Housing Defense Fund, asserting that this is covered by the Housing Accountability Act, which means that we can only deny this if we can find safety or health concerns, which has a very high bar. I just want to confirm that that is true. Just for the public's sake, I know that it is.”
Planning Commission · Aug 10, 2026
- Play at 1:57:23
“Yes, for the applicant. So we're doing 19 units per acre, right? And that's below our maximum zoning wise with the housing density bonus. You could have gotten more units. I understand that townhomes are what pencils out. So the question I have is, is there anything the city can do where we get more density? is there anything in that this in the city regulations in our zoning that's keeping you from going even denser because as we've said before we are in a housing crisis my house should not be worth what it is right um gosh I you know there's so many different things working against each…”
Planning Commission · Aug 10, 2026
- Play at 2:02:20
“Vice Chair Davis. Thank you, Chair. I'm ready to make a motion. I move that we adopt alternative one. Find the project is exempt from CEQIP for AB130 and approve the use permit investing tentative map with the recommended findings in attachment two and subject to the recommended conditions of approval in attachment three.”
Planning Commission · Aug 10, 2026
- Play at 2:03:14
“Yeah, I mean, we all know what's happening here, right? This is a it's a housing project that follows the state laws and so on. It does take away some of our discretion. We need a lot. We need housing. This is a good project. So I encourage my fellow commissioners to vote for this motion. Thank you.”
Planning Commission · Aug 10, 2026
- Play at 2:14:44
“I like 7 a lot better. I have a lot of privilege with my schedule, so it doesn't really impact me. But I think about the public, other commissioners, potential future commissioners, 7 is just easier to make work when you have a job, right? And perhaps you're commuting or if you have, let's say, children that you need to cook dinner for. If it starts at 7, you can cook dinner and you know, hand it over to the spouse. Six o'clock, you're coming straight here from work. So thank you. Thanks.”
Planning Commission · Aug 10, 2026
- Play at 19:01
“Yes, just a quick thing for staff. First of all, my understanding is that most of the data center demand is actually in there. neighboring city of Santa Clara because they have their own utility and correspondingly much lower rates for electricity. Aside from that, do we have any projects in the pipeline for large data centers?”
Planning Commission · Jul 27, 2026
- Play at 31:12
“Thank you for the presentation. Just a couple of largely for the public. clarifications right in the recommended findings that states that there are three story buildings in the neighborhood. Do you know where those are exactly because I know that the two adjoining properties right are not three stories and fine.”
Planning Commission · Jul 27, 2026