Third story on Rambus building generating neighbor concerns
dg > It seems Rambus just can't seem to avoid Controversy
By Linda Taaffe
March 21, 2001
Town Crier Staff Writer
Los Altos residents living behind the Tree Farm development on El Camino Real are pushing the city to adopt stricter buffer regulations that would protect residential neighborhoods from the noise and glare associated with commercial buildings.
Alleged continuous low- and high-pitched air-conditioning noises and the constant glare of interior lights coming from the newly-constructed three-story, 9,600-square-foot Rambus office complex at the former Tree Farm site prompted about 90 residents to petition the Los Altos City Council to pass more enforceable sound- and light-proofing regulations.
The Rambus building is the only three-story complex along El Camino that lies within Los Altos' city borders. The city re-zoned the commercial lot in the mid 1990s to allow residential units that the city could include in its list of affordable housing. The city granted the developer several variances, including a third-story residential variance and reduced setbacks of 25 feet rather than 40 feet, in exchange for placing affordable housing at the site. The council later decided that housing units wouldn't be acceptable at that site and allowed the developer to relocate those units elsewhere. A 156-room Marriott's Residence Inn is currently under construction at the back of the site.
Neighbors on Rilma, Ray, Mercedes and Loucks said if the city approves massive developments, it also needs to change and update the codes to protect neighboring residents.
Neighbors have described the Rambus building as looking like an "airport control tower." One neighbor said his grandson can't sleep at night because of the lights from the building, which glare into his bedroom.
Others say the building's heating and air conditioning unit makes a constant high-pitched noise as well as a rumbling sound, much like a truck engine.
In the petition, neighbors told the council that the noise and glare of the nearby office building was severely affecting the quality of their lives and the value of their properties. The city's buffer standard requires shielding ... but no way to enforce this, according to the petition.
A recent acoustical study showed that one unit violated the city's current noise ordinance. The others were near the limit, but not in violation. The developer told city officials that he would modify the HVAC unit in violation last month and reduce the noise from other units.
Neighbors say the light and noise intrusion is the same as it was in January.
"I'm not sure if (the noise) is within the code, but I don't hear any difference. It's a significant irritant whether it violates the code or not," said a resident of Rilma, who did not want to use her name. "There's too much going on that lot. We need protection."
The petition comes at a time of massive development along El Camino Real.
The council last week approved the addition of another office building down the street from Rambus at the former Red Lobster restaurant site. This office building is within all city codes.
As part of the approval, the council required that the developer include horizontal blinds to block the lights from surrounding neighbors. Councilman John Moss suggested that the city take a proactive role in preventing future noise and light problems.
He asked the developer to place the building's air-conditioning units below ground and test the unit's noise level for compliance with the city's noise ordinance.
"The third story is causing a lot of problems ... I don't want neighbors to face the same issues (with the new office building). We do have sound ordinances, but it's a pain to try to implement them," Moss said. |
