November 2024 Main Library Bond Measure

1. How does Sunnyvale’s Main Library serve the community?

The Sunnyvale Main Library’s goal is to serve as a center for life-long learning and connection in our community. People come to enjoy educational and cultural programs. Many also use the Library to learn to read, prepare for jobs, access computers and the Internet, and study for school. In the last year, 380,000 people visited the Library. Customers checked out more than 1.7 million physical and digital materials. And approximately 55,000 people attended Library programs.

2. Is there a plan to build a new Sunnyvale Main Library?

Yes. The Sunnyvale City Council placed a measure on the Nov. 5, 2024 ballot for a $290 million bond to fund design and construction of a new Main Library. The proposed new Main Library would:

• Be 120,000 square feet (twice the size of the current library building),
• Be three stories tall,
• Provide space for the total collection of the library to grow by 30%,
• Expand by four times the spaces dedicated for children and teens, and
• Be located across from Sunnyvale's City Hall at the Civic Center.

3. How would a local funding measure help build a new Main Library?

The Sunnyvale City Council placed a $290 million library bond measure on the Nov. 5, 2024 ballot. If Sunnyvale voters approve the measure, the City will use the General Obligation bond funds to design and construct a new Main Library to:

• Meet modern accessibility, structural and earthquake building standards
• Increase community areas and rooms to provide more space for programs and events
• Expand the spaces dedicated for children and teen educational play, exploration, and programming
• Update wiring to accommodate new and modern technology
• Provide more space to expand the library’s overall collection, including multicultural materials

4. What is a General Obligation bond?

A General Obligation bond is a type of municipal bond issued by state and local governments. They finance public projects such as libraries, schools, and infrastructure improvements. Issuing governments generally levy taxes to repay bondholders over time.

If voters approve Measure E, the City will issue bonds based on the final cost of the Main Library project. The City will make annual debt service payments of principal and interest for a twenty-five-year period, much like a mortgage or other traditional loan, using the funds collected from this tax measure.

The Main Library project is Phase Two of the Civic Center Modernization project. In Phase One, we built the City Hall. We also remodeled a portion of the existing Public Safety Headquarters and added an Emergency Operations Center. After Phase Two, the City will move to Phase Three, which will be a new Public Safety Headquarters. Considering the investments made to Public Safety facilities in Phase One, we do not anticipate initiating Phase Three for another 15 to 20 years.

The City funded Phase One with a combination of cash and borrowing, paid for by existing fee and tax revenue. We have taken a similar funding approach with Phase Two, with approximately $15 million in cash and the remainder through the proposed Main Library General Obligation Bond. In determining whether to propose a General Obligation Bond, City staff and the City Council considered that the City of Sunnyvale has no other voter-approved outstanding debt, parcel tax or local sales tax.

The requirements for General Obligation bonds are established by state law, which requires rates to be uniformly applied to assessed values and does not allow options to cap or vary rates.

5. How much will the Library Bond Measure cost property owners?

If Measure E is approved by voters, all business and residential property owners would be assessed an annual tax that would be in addition to their 1% Property Tax assessment. That tax would be calculated by dividing the assessed value of a property by $100,000 and multiplying that number by the tax rate.

If the City issues the bonds, the tax rate would be calculated each year based on the debt service amount and Sunnyvale’s overall assessed property value. The measure stipulates that the tax rate cannot be any higher than $27.47 per $100,000 of a property’s assessed value per year. This was the approximate rate calculated if the bonds had been issued today. If the total assessed value of properties increases over time, the tax rate would progressively decline over the term of the bonds. Sunnyvale’s historical growth in assessed value has been 5-6% per year.

Hypothetical example:
If the City’s payment of principal and interest for this loan was $15 million per year, and the total assessed value citywide was $100 billion, the tax rate would be $15 per $100,000 in assessed value to generate $15 million in payments. Calculation: ($15,000,000/100,000,000,000) * 100,000 = $15. If a home’s assessed value was $1,000,000, that property owner would pay $150 a year for this tax assessment.

If the total citywide assessed value grew by 3% in the second year, the new tax rate would be $14.56. Calculation: ($15,000,000/$103,000,000,000) * 100,000 = $14.56. The same property owner would now pay $145.60 in that year.

As the example shows, the payment amount stays the same while the tax rate and citywide assessed value fluctuate.

6. Why would property owners pay different amounts for this bond?

Residents and businesses pay different amounts of property tax based on when they purchased property. Someone who bought property many years ago would pay less for this bond than someone who bought a similar property more recently. This is because the more recent purchase has a higher assessed value. This difference is a result of Proposition 13 and is true for all services funded by property taxes, including additional taxes levied by local agencies.

Proposition 13 restricts annual increases in assessed value to no more than 2% per year. However, local agencies within each county are permitted to levy additional taxes for debt, subject to voter approval. These local taxes are in addition to the 1% Property Tax bill. If passed by voters, Sunnyvale’s Library Bond Measure would fall into this category.

Sunnyvale receives a portion of property taxes collected (13 cents of every dollar) which goes into the City’s General Fund. You can read more about how we pay for City services in a recent special edition of the City’s newsletter, Horizon. It also has an explanation of Proposition 13 and Property Tax on page 5.

7. How can I be sure funds from the measure would be spent properly?

The Library bond measure includes mandatory fiscal accountability provisions:

• By law, all funds must only be used for design and construction of the Sunnyvale Main Library and cannot be taken by the state.
• An independent citizens’ oversight committee will review bond expenditures and City staff will conduct annual audits to ensure funds are used as promised.

8. Why is the City proposing updates to the Main Library?

We built the Main Library in 1960 and have renovated it several times. The building is now double its original size. But Sunnyvale’s population has more than tripled. Despite renovations, the building's size and configuration make it difficult to meet the high demand for programs and services. Challenges with the existing Library include:

• It lacks space for children’s services, our highest demand.
• It lacks enough group study rooms or areas for teens.
• The current configuration limits the number and variety of programs we can host.
• The building needs frequent plumbing, roof and other maintenance repairs.
• The configuration of the Library and the existing wiring limit options for adding or changing technology.

To address these challenges, we included updating the Main Library as part of the 2018 Civic Center Modernization Plan. Since 2023, we’ve worked with library programming and architecture experts to assess facility needs. They took into account the increased number of programs operated by the Library and the increase in materials circulation. They also benchmarked against modern facility standards to determine needed improvements and how to maintain flexibility for future use. Over the past several months, we also gathered information from thousands of Sunnyvale community members about their library values and needs.

All this information enabled us to develop concepts and cost estimates for renovation versus building new. Independent consultants verified the cost estimates. After considering all the options, the City Council decided to pursue a new Main Library in June 2024. The proposed project would build a new 120,000 square foot, three story facility. It would be located across from City Hall at the Civic Center.

9. Why not just renovate the current Main Library?

We developed several concepts and cost estimates to renovate the existing Main Library or build a new facility. Independent consultants verified the cost estimates. In May 2024, the City Council reviewed these options. The Council weighed factors that included community input, the costs of each option, and how well each option could accommodate future growth. They also considered concerns that a renovation would be costly and the service disruptions a renovation would cause.

In May 2024, the City Council ultimately voted unanimously to pursue a new Library versus another renovation.

10. What are the components of the project budget?

For planning purposes, the City developed a conceptual design for the Main Library project. Based on that design, we developed a conservative budget estimate to design and build the project. We will refine the budget once we complete a more detailed design phase for the project. The bond amount is based on the budget estimate and is not to exceed $290 million.

The current project consists of a 120,000 Gross Square Foot (GSF) Library on a site area that totals 460,000 GSF. The project includes demolition of the old library, construction of the new library, construction of recreational open space around the library including a new playground, and all other site improvements. The costs are escalated to the mid-point of construction in the year 2028. Table 1 shows the cost breakdown.

Table One

^*This number is used for the per square foot cost in Table Two.

11. How does the cost of this project compare to other City projects?

Each project has unique characteristics that affect cost. Table 2 compares two recent City projects to the proposed Main Library project. The per square foot costs are based only on the direct building construction costs to normalize the comparison.

Table Two

^*Escalating the cost per square foot of the Lakewood Branch to 2028 would align it with the proposed Main Library cost. This would result in a cost per square foot for Lakewood of $1,283, or 88% of the cost for the proposed Main Library. The Main Library project costs more per square foot because of the higher costs for LEED Platinum (as opposed to LEED Gold), Net Zero Energy, multiple stories, and the larger site and related improvements.

12. Where would a new Main Library be located?

The proposed new Main Library would be located at Sunnyvale’s Civic Center across from City Hall and next door to the current Main Library. Plans for a new library are part of the City’s Civic Center Master Plan, a multi-year vision to modernize the 26-acre Civic Center campus approved in 2018. Phase One of the plan built a new City Hall which opened in March 2023. Phase Two focuses on the Main Library.

Image description: Aerial diagram showing the location of the proposed new Main Library in relation to the current City Hall and Public Safety Headquarters. The Library is shown on the north side of Olive Avenue across from the City Hall. Parking lots are shown on the western and northern sides of the Library. The diagram also includes other site improvements such as an open meadow, trails, a storywalk, and a playground. A plaza extends between the Library and City Hall. The Public Safety Headquarters is in the southwest corner of the diagram.

13. Does this measure affect the current plan to build the Lakewood Branch Library in north Sunnyvale?

No, the November 2024 Library bond measure is separate from the Lakewood project. More than just a stand-alone Branch Library, the Lakewood Branch Library and Learning Center is a partnership between the City of Sunnyvale, the Sunnyvale School District and Fremont Union High School District. The Lakewood Branch will serve as a primary resource for literacy, learning and wellness activities for the residents of north Sunnyvale. The Lakewood Branch is projected to open in late 2025.

14. How do Sunnyvale’s Library spaces compare to surrounding cities?

Currently, the Sunnyvale Main Library is the only library in the city. The library square footage per resident is lower than surrounding communities.

Chart comparison of square footage of library space per person in some nearby cities

Chart comparison graphic text

Bar chart displaying the comparison of the square footage of library space per person in some nearby cities. The chart includes the number of libraries each city has and the amount of square feet per capita per person. Cities listed in order from the top to the bottom of the chart are Palo Alto which has 1.33 square feet per capita and four libraries, Los Altos which has 1.04 square feet per capita and two libraries, Cupertino which has 1.03 square feet per capita and one library, Los Gatos which has 0.90 square feet per capita and one library, Santa Clara which has 0.83 square feet per capita and three libraries, Milpitas which has 0.77 square feet per capita and one library, Mountain View which has 0.74 square feet per capita and one library, Sunnyvale with Lakewood would have 0.52 square feet per capita and two libraries and Sunnyvale Today has 0.39 square feet per capita and one library.

15. What will happen to the current Main Library if the November 2024 Library Bond Measure passes?

If voters approve the Library bond measure, the City intends to keep the current Main Library open while constructing a new library. Services will not be disrupted. Once a new library is built, the existing library will be demolished and replaced with a meadow, trails and playground.

16. When will the measure appear on the ballot?

The measure will appear on the ballot on Nov. 5, 2024. All registered voters in the City of Sunnyvale will be eligible to vote on this measure. Under current law, least 66.7% of voters voting on the measure need to approve the measure for it to pass. If Proposition 5, a state measure on the November 2024 ballot, passes, the measure will pass if 55% of voters voting on the measure approve.

Related

• Sunnyvale Elections
• Voting and voter registration information