Initiative TextCUPERTINO CITIZENS' SENSIBLE GROWTH INITIATIVE
A MEASURE AMENDING THE CUPERTINO GENERAL PLAN TO ENSURE BALANCED
AND SENSIBLE GROWTH BY MAINTAINING CITYWIDE LIMITS ON THE INTENSITY
OF NEW DEVELOPMENT, PRESERVING AND ENHANCING THE VALLCO SHOPPING
DISTRICT FOR RETAIL, HOTEL , DINING AND ENTERTAINMENT COMMERCIAL
USES ONLY AND REQUIRING A VOTE OF THE PEOPLE TO MODIFY THOSE LIMITS
AND USES.
THE PEOPLE OF THE CITY OF CUPERTINO DO ORDAIN AS FOLLOWS :
PART I. TITLE
This measure shall be called the CUPERTINO CITIZENS' SENSIBLE GROWTH INITIATIVE
PART II. FINDINGS
The people of Cupertino hereby find that:
A The City of Cupertino needs binding standards to guide new development within the City.
B . Cupertino's citizens wish to maintain control over the long-term direction of that
development.
C. The City needs to develop in a moderate and controlled way that provides the housing,
shopping, jobs, infrastructure, and amenities that will serve the best interests of City residents
while avoiding overdevelopment and its associated traffic and other impacts.
D. The long-term direction provided by the City's General Plan must be implemented through its
specific plans and zoning ordinance without being subject to change due to pressure from the
profit-driven proponents of specific projects.
E. The City must protect the development density and intensity standards set by the General Plan
through limits on heights, setbacks and building planes to prevent distortion of the desirable
characteristics of the City through the influence of developers and other outside interests .
F . The availability of sufficient retail commercial space is essential to the wellbeing of the City,
its current and future residents, and its workers .
PART III. PURPOSE
This initiative measure (the "Initiative") has three purposes . If approved by the voters of
Cupertino and enacted, it will ( 1) control the intensity of new development by setting general
citywide limits on building heights, setbacks, building planes and lot coverage in Cupertino that
will provide long-term direction, (2) preserve and enhance the Vallco Shopping District for
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retail, hotel, dining and entertainment commercial uses and (3) require that changes or
exceptions to those limits and uses be presented to and approved by the voters of Cupertino.
Under this Initiative, the General Plan (Community Vision 2015-2040)-hereinafter referred to
as "General Plan," specific plans and conceptual plans , and zoning ordinance would be enforced
and not amended on an ad hoc basis to suit individual development projects. The standards in
this Initiative are intended to strengthen these plans to protect Cupertino's vibrant mixed use
atmosphere, schools, and streetscapes, to limit traffic and congestion, and to promote public
safety.
PART IV. GENERAL PLAN AMENDMENT
The General Plan is hereby amended by enacting or reenacting segments of that general
plan as follows:
Note: All numbering of sections, policies, strategies, tables, and figures herein follows that
of the General Plan as amended on October 20, 2015. Following the adoption of the
Initiative, the General Plan's sections, policies, strategies, tables, and figures, and all
internal references thereto, shall be renumbered in a logical order, and tables and figures
shall be modified to conform to the Initiative's changes to the General Plan's text, as
specified herein.
Section 1. Chapter 1 -Introduction
a. The last paragraph of the Section entitled "Purpose of Community Vision 2040" as
of October 20, 2015, is amended as follows:
Due to the breadth of topics covered in Community Vision 2040, conflicts between mutually-
desirable goals are inevitable. For instance, increased automobile mobility may conflict with a
safe, walkable community. This document reconciles these conflicts in the interest of building a
cohesive community by placing a priority upon maintaining the well-being of Cupertino
residents. Per State law, every goal and policy in this plan has equal weight. The City recognizes
that the interests of residents of a particular street or neighborhood may need to be balanced ·.vith
the overall needs and potentially greater goal of building a community. These are
Harmonization of possible conflicts between goals and policies in this plan shall be guided by an
understanding that the General Plan reflects conscious choices that the City makes in the interest
of building community and protecting its residents . That harmonization shall also recognize that
changes made through this Initiative are intended to modify and supersede any section, policy,
strategy, table, or diagram that might otherwise conflict with the amendments being made by this
Initiative, and the General Plan shall be conformed accordingly.
b. A new paragraph is added to the Section entitled "Purpose of Community Vision
2040" as of October 20, 2015 as follows:
Portions of the General Plan were enacted or reenacted in 2016 by a voter initiative. A copy of
that initiative shall be appended to the General Plan as an appendix unless or until that
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requirement is changed or rescinded by the voters. It is the intent of the voters of Cupertino that,
in interpreting and harmonizing the provisions of the General Plan, priority be given to ensuring
that the provisions enacted or reenacted by the 2016 voter initiative be followed and
implemented to the fullest extent possible.
Section 2. Chapter 2-Planning Areas
a. The Section "Vision" for the Valko Shopping District Special Area is amended as
follows:
The Vallco Shopping District will continue to function as a major regional and community
destination. The City envisions this area as a new mixed use "tovm center" and gateway for
Cupertino providing a unique and memorable shopping, dining and entertainment experience
with appropriate bicycle and pedestrian-friendly access. It Vfill include an interconnected street
grid network of bicycle and pedestrian friendly streets, mMore pedestrian-oriented buildings
with active uses may line lining Stevens Creek Boulevard and Wolfe Road,--and with publicly-
accessible parks and plazas that support the pedestrian-oriented feel of the revitalized area. New
development in the Vallco Shopping District should must be required to provide buffers between
to protect adjacent single-family neighborhoods in the form of boundary walls , setbacks,
landscaping or building transitions.
Section 3. Chapter 3 -Land Use and Community Design Element
a. The Section "Context" is amended as follows:
The first paragraph of the subsection "Economic Vitality" is amended as follows:
Cupertino is fortunate in its location in the heart of Silicon Valley . Despite its mostly suburban
characteristics to the west and south, the city is home to a number of small , medium and large
software, technology and biomedical companies. The General Plan includes more office gro'.vth
recognizes the need to retain balanced growth to support &-strong fiscal revenues and a stable tax
base. In particular, policies focus on retaining and increasing the number of small, medium and
major businesses in key sectors and provide flexible space for innovative startups that need non-
traditional office environment. Policies for commercial areas seek to revitalize the Vallco
Shopping District, and enhance commercial centers and neighborhood centers, which contribute
to the City's tax base and serve community needs.
Table LU-1: "CITYWIDE DEVELOPMENT ALLOCATION BETWEEN 2014-2040" is
amended by the additions and strikeouts shown below.
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The subsection "Site and Building Design" is amended as follows:
Policy LU-3.0: Community Form
The maximum heights and densities for the special areas shown in the Community Form
Diagram (Figure LU-1) shall not be exceeded. Outside of the Special Areas shown in Figure LU-
I, building heights may not exceed 45 feet. Building height shall be measured to the highest
point of the building, excluding light poles, antennae, minor mechanical boxes or roof vent
protrusions which are not easily visible. A below-grade structure is not counted towards building
height. For any project of over 50,000 sg. ft. of building area, maximum lot coverage shall not
exceed 70%.
No provision allowing additional height or density, modifying maximum lot coverage, building
plane, or minimum setback to relax the standards set in this General Plan, other than those
mandated by state law, shall be allowed:
Figure LU-1 "Community Form Diagram" and the Land Use Map (shown below in their
current form) shall be conformed to the requirements set by Policy LU-3.0, Policy LU-3.2,
Policy LU-19.2 and the density changes identified in Footnotes (a) through (c) in the new
Table HE 5.5 [previously Appendix B Table 5.5] as shown in Section 3 of this Part IV.
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In order to assure the retention and enforcement of City guidelines not currently included
in the General Plan, the following policies are amended as shown
Policy LU-3.2: Building Heights1 ftBd Setback Ratios, Stepbacks and Building Planes :
Maximum heights and setback ratios are specified in the Community Form Diagram (Figure LU-
I) and as described below. As indicated in the figure , taller heights are focused on major
corridors , gateways and nodes . Setback ratios are established to ensure that the desired
relationship of buildings to the street is achieved.
Policy LU-3.2.1: Additional Floor Area. In any area where an increase in the maximum
building height is granted in exchange for ground floor retail, no more than 1 square foot of
additional floor area above the otherwise-applicable height limit may be allowed for every 1
square foot of ground floor retail. In any such exchange, all ground floor retail must be fully
accessible to the public during operating hours .
Policy LU-3.2.2: Rooftop Height Extensions. Rooftop mechanical equipment and utility
structures other than cell phone transmission antennae, but no other structures or building
features , may exceed stipulated height limitations shown in Figure LU-1 if they are enclosed,
centrally located on the roof and not visible from adjacent streets.
Policy LU-3.2.3: North De Anza Boulevard. For the area from I-280 south to Alves Drive on
the west and from I-280 south to St. Joseph 's Church on the east, not including St. Joseph 's
Church:
• For all new construction, there shall be landscaped setback areas extending a minimum of
50-ft. from curb line. Alternatively, the landscaped setback areas adjacent to North De
Anza Blvd. may have a varied depth but a minimum square footage equal to the lot
frontage distance multiplied by 50 ft., and a minimum setback distance at any point of 35
ft . from curb line .
Policy LU-3.2.4: Stevens Creek Boulevard
• The minimum setback on both sides of Stevens Creek Boulevard from CA-85 to the
eastern boundary of the City of Cupertino is no less than 3 5 feet from the curb line .
• On both sides of Stevens Creek Boulevard from CA-85 to Perimeter Road buildings shall
be below a 1: 1 (i .e . 1 foot of stepback for every 1 foot of building height drawn from the
curb line) slope line drawn from the Stevens Creek Boulevard curb line .
• On the north side of Stevens Creek Boulevard from Perimeter Road to the eastern
boundary of the City of Cupertino buildings shall be below a 1.5 :1 (i .e. 1.5 feet of
stepback for every 1 foot of building height drawn from the curb line) slope line drawn
from the Stevens Creek Boulevard curb line.
• On the south side of Stevens Creek Boulevard from Perimeter Road to the eastern
boundary of the City of Cupertino buildings shall be below a 1: 1 slope line drawn from
the Stevens Creek Boulevard curb line .
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Policy LU-3.2.5: Homestead Road in the North Valko Park Area
On Homestead Road from Linnet Lane (west of Wolfe Road) to Swallow Drive (east of Wolfe
Road) buildings shall be below a 1. 5 : 1 slope line drawn from the Homestead Road curb line.
Policy LU-3.2.6: Building Planes on Arterial/Boulevard Streets.
Unless specified in other LU-3.2 policies, all other arterial/boulevard streets buildings shall be
below a 1: 1 (i .e . 1 foot of stepback for every 1 foot of building height drawn from the curb line)
slope line drawn from the curb line or lines.
The Subsection "City Center Subarea" is amended as follows:
Strategy LU-16.1.3: Building form. The form ofB.Quildings should, through the use of step-
downs and setbacks, be designed be moderately scaled to transition from existing taller buildings
(new or existing) to the scale of the surrounding area. Taller buildings should provide
appropriate transitions to fit into the surrounding area.
The subsection "Vallco Shopping District Special Area" is amended as follows:
Valko Shopping District Special Area
The City envisions encourages the renovation and improvement of the existing Cupertino 's
Valko Fashion Shopping Mall while maintaining its important role as a retail shopping center
serving Cupertino 's residents and regional visitors. a complete redevelopment of the existing
Vallee Fashion Mall into a vibrant mixed use "tovm center" that is a focal point for regional
visitors and the community. This new As renovated, the Vallco Shopping District will become a
destination for shopping, dining and entertainment in the Santa Clara Valley .
GOAL LU-19
CREATE A DISTINCT AND l\4Etv10RABLE l\4IXED USE "TO'.VN
CENTER" THAT IS PRESERVE AND ENHANCE THE V ALLCO
SHOPPING DISTRICT AS A LOCAL AND REGIONAL RETAIL,
HOTEL, DINING AND ENTERTAINMENT COMMERCIAL
DESTINATION AND A FOCAL POINT FOR THE COMMUNITY
Policy LU-19.1: Specific Plan
Create a Vallco Shopping District Specific Plan prior to any development or other significant
changes in use on the site that lays out the land uses, design standards and guidelines, and
infrastructure improvements required. The Specific Plan will be based on the following
strategies:
Strategy LU 19.1.1: l\faster De,'eloper. Redevelopment will require a master developer in
order remove the obstacles to the development of a cohesive district ·.vith the highest levels of
urban design.
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Strategy LU-19.1.2: Parcel assembly. Parcel assembly and a plan for complete redevelopment
of the site is required prior to adding residential and office uses. Parcelization is highly
discouraged in order to preserve the site for redevelopment in the future .
Strategy LU 19.1.J: Complete Redevelapment. The "tovm center" plan should be based on
complete redevelopment of the site in order to ensure that the site can be planned to carry out the
community vision.
Strategy LU-19.1.4: Land use. The following uses are allowed on the site (see Figure LU 1 for
residential densities and criteria):
1. Retail : High-performing retail, restaurant and entertainment uses . Maintain a minimum of
600,000 1,200,000 square feet ofretail/dining/entertainment that provide a good source of sales
tax for the City and provides high quality convenient shopping for residents of the city and
surrounding areas . Entertainment uses may be included but shall consist of no more than 30
percent of retail uses .
2. Hotel: Encourage a business class hotel with conference center and active uses including main
entrances, lobbies, retail and restaurants on the ground floor.
3. Residential: Allow residential on upper floors with retail and active uses on the ground floor.
Encourage a mix of units for young professionals, couples and/or active seniors vmo like to li•;e
in an active "tovm center" environment.
4. Office : Encourage high quality office space arranged in a pedestrian oriented street grid with
active uses on the ground floor, publicly accessible streets and plazas/green space .
Strategy LU 19.1.5: "Tawn Center" layaut. Create streets and blocks laid out using "transect
planning" (appropriate street and building types for each area), 'tvhich includes a discernible
center and edges, public space at center, high quality public realm, and land uses appropriate to
the street and building typology .
Strategy LU-19.1.6: Connectivity. Provide a newly configured complete street grid hierarchy of
streets, boulevards and alleys that is Any changes to the existing circulation pattern as part of a
development or revision should be pedestrian-oriented, connects-to existing streets, and creates-
walkable urban blocks for buildings and open space. It should also incorporate transit facilities,
provide connections to other transit nodes and coordinate with the potential expansion of Wolfe
Road bridge over Interstate 280 to continue the walkable, bikeable boulevard concept along
Wolfe Road. The project Any such development or revision should also contribute towards a
study and improvements to a potential Interstate 280 trail along the drainage channel south of the
freeway and provide pedestrian and bicycle connections from the project sites to the trail.
Strategy LU-19.1.8: Open space. Ground-level Gopen space areas in the form ofa central town
square on thew-est and east sides of the district interspersed with plazas and "greens" should be
included that create community gathering spaces, locations for public art, and event space for
community events:-
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Policy LU-19.2: The Vallco Shopping District shall continue to be devoted to retail, hotel,
dining and entertainment commercial use. No residential or office use shall be allowed. Building
heights shall be restricted to a maximum of 45 feet. Figure LU-1 and the Land Use Map shall be
conformed to this policy.
The subsection "North Valko Park Special Area" is amended as follows:
Policy LU-20.3: Building Form. Buildings in the retail and hotel area should provide active,
pedestrian-oriented uses along the street. Buildings should shall transition to fit the scale of the
surrounding area. Taller buildings should shall provide appropriate transitions to fit into the
surrounding area. In addition to the height limits established in the Community Form Diagram,
buildings abutting the campus shall incorporate appropriate setbacks, landscaped buffering, and
building height transitions to minimize privacy and security impacts.
Section 4. Chapter 4 -Housing Element
a. The Section "Housing Resources" is amended as follows:
The subsection "Overview of Available Sites for Housing" is amended in its second and
third paragraphs as follows:
Figure HE-1 indicates the available residential development opportunity sites to meet and exceed
the identified regional housing need pursuant to the RHNA. The opportunity sites can
accommodate infill development of up to l,400--1,3 86 residential units on properties zoned for
densities of 20 dwelling units to the acre or more. The potential sites inventory is organized by
geographic area and in particular, by mixed use corridors. The sites identified to meet the near
term development potential are shown in Table HE-5. As shovm in Table HE 5, sites identified
to meet the near term development potential lie v1ithin the North Vallco Park Special Area, the
Heart of the City Special Area, and the Vall co Shopping District Special Area.
One particular site will involve substantial coordination for redevelopment (Because
redevelopment of the Vallco Shopping District, Site A2h cannot involve additional housing
units, Due to the magnitude of the project, the City has established a contingency plan to meet
the RHNA if a Specific Plan is not approved ·.vithin three years of Housing Element adoption.
This contingency plan (called the City must follow its contingency plan to meet the RHNA,
known as Scenario Band (discussed further in General Plan Appendix B),. Scenario B wettltl
involve§ the City removing Vallco Shopping District from its inventory of available sites for
housing, adding other mere priority sites to the inventory, and also increasing the
density/allowable units on some of the other priority sites.
Figure HE-1: Priority Housing Element Sites: Scenario A is deleted in its entirety and
replaced by Figure B-8 from Appendix B, page B-148, which shall be relabeled as Figure
HE-1: Priority Housing Element Sites -Scenario B. Both the current Figure HE-1 and
Figure B-8 are provided below.
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TABLE HE-5: SUMMARY OF PRIORITY HOUSING ELEMENT SITES TO MEET THE
RHNA -SCENARIO A
'
Site
Site A 1 (The Hamptons)
Site A2 (Va llco
Shopping District)
Site A3 (The Oaks
Shopping Center)
Site A4 (Marina Plaz a)
Site AS (Ba r ry Swenson )
Adopted General Plan/
Adopted Zoning
High Density
P(Res )
RS /O/R
P(Regional Shopping)
& P{CG)
C/R
P(CG, Res)
C/O/R
P(CG, Res )
C/O /R
P(CG , Res)
•• _·
• •
North
Vallco Park 85
Valko
Shopp ing 35
D istrict
Heart of
t he City 30
Heart of
t he City 35
Heart of
the City 25
Max Height
75 ft; or 60 ft in certain
lo cations*;
height to be determined
in Vallco Shoppi ng
District Spe ci fic Pla n
45 ft
45 ft
45 ft
Total
• .
600 net
389
200
200
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1,40oj
Notes: Zoning for Si te A2 (Val/co) will be determined by Specific Plan to allow residential uses. Site A 1 (Hamptons) height limit of 60 feet is
applicable for buildings located within 50 feet of property lines abutting Wolfe Rd, Prune ridge Ave. & Apple Campus 2 site. Site A2 (I/al/co)
height will be determined by Specific Plan. For more detail on height limits, see Land Use and Community Design Element, Figure LU-1 .
Site B1 (Ha mptons) North Vallco Park High De nsity 12.44 750 Ve ry Low/
P{Res) Low
Site B2 (T he Oa ks Heart of t he City C/R 35 (b) 7.9 23 5 Very Low/
Shoppi ng Cen ter) P(C G, Res) Low
Site B3 {Marina Plaza) Heart of the C ity C/O/R 35 6.86 200 Very Low/
P(CG , Res) Low
Site B4 (Barry He art of t he City C/0 /R 25 0.5 5 11 Very Low/
Swen son ) P{CG, Res) Low
Site BS (Glenbrook Heart of t he City Medium De nsity 20 3 1.3 58 Very Low /
Apartments) R3 (10-20) Lo w
Site B6 (H omest ead Homest ead C/R (c) 3 5 (c) 5 .1 132 Very Low/
Lanes an d Adjace ncy) P(CG , Res) {c) Lo w
Total 64.24 1,386
Notes:
(a) A General Plan Amendement and zoning change w ill be ncessary to allow the increase in density from 85 to 99 un its per acre on Site 81.
(b) A Genera l Plan Amendment and zoning change w ill be necessary to allow the increase in density from 30 to 35 units per acre on Site 82.
(c} A General Plan Amendment and zoning change w il I be necessary to allow residentia l uses at 35 units per acre on Site 86. Existing zoning for
Site 86 is P(Rec, Enter).
(d) Realistic capacity reduces the max i mum developable units by 15 percent on Sites 8 1, 82, 83, B4, and 8 6. Realistic capacity of Site BS is (d)
reduced by 46 percent due to existing site constraints.
(e) Identified capacity of sites that allow development densit ies of at least 20 units per acre are credited toward the lower-i ncome RH N A based
on State law. Pursuant to Government Code Section 65583 .2(c)(3)(8), local governments may utilize "defau lt" density standards to provide
evidence that "af>propriate zon ing" is in place to support the deve lopment of housing for very-low and low-income liouseholds . The default
density standard for Cupertino and other suburban Jurisdictions in Santa Clara County is 20 dwelling units per acre (DUA) or more.
(f) Real istic capacity for sites B 1 and BS represent net new units.
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b. The Section "Housing Plan" is amended as follows:
The subsection "Implementing Strategies" is amended as follows:
The fifth bullet point under Strategy 1: Land Use Policy and Zoning Provisions is amended
as follows:
• Priority Housing Sites : As part of the Housing Element update, the City has identified
fi.ve-priority sites under Scenario-A B-(see Table HE-5) for residential development over
the next eight years . The General Plan and zoning designations will allow the densities
for this development. shovm in Table HE 5 for all sites except the Vallee Shopping
District site (Site A2). The redevelopment of Vallee Shopping District \vill involve
significant planning and community input. /•£ specific plan will be required to implement
a comprehensive strategy for a retail/office/residential mixed use development. The
project applicant would be required to \Vork closely vfith the community and the City to
bring forth a specific plan that meets the community's needs, with the anticipated
adoption and rezoning to occur within three years of the adoption of the 2014 2022
Housing Element (by May 31 , 2018). The specific plan would permit 3 89 units by right
at a minimum density of20 units per acre .
If the specific plan and rezoning are not adopted within three years of Housing Element
adoption (by May 31 , 2018), the City will schedule hearings consistent with Government
Code Section 65863 to consider removing Vallee as a priority housing site under
Scenario A , to be replaced by sites identified in Scenario B (see detailed discussion and
sites listing of "Scenario B" in Appendix B Housing Element Technical Appendix). As
part of the adoption of Scenario B, the City intends to add two additional sites to the
inventory: Glenbrook Apartments and Homestead Lanes, along ·.vith increased number of
permitted units on The Hamptons and The Oaks sites . All sites in Scenario B, except the
Homestead Lanes, have Aapplicable zoning is in place"' for Glenbrook Apartments;
hov;ever the The Homestead Lanes site will weuld need to be rezoned at that time to
permit residential uses. Any rezoning required will allow residential uses by right at a
minimum density of 20 units per acre.
Delete the following table:
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Cupertino Department of
Responsible Agencies: Community Development/
Planning Division
Ongoi ng; Adopt Specific Plan and
rezon i ng for Vallco by May 3 1,
Time Frame: 2018; otherwise, conduct public
hearings to consider adoption of
"Scenario B" of sites strategy.
Funding Sources: None required
1,064 units (178 extremely
!ow-, 178 very !ow-, 207 low-,
Quantified Objectives:
231 moderate-and 270 above
moderate-income units)
Part V: EXEMPTIONS FOR CERTAIN PROJECTS
This Initiative shall not apply to any development project which has obtained as of the effective
date of this Initiative a vested right pursuant to State law.
Part VI: EFFECTIVE DATE, PRIORITY, AND CONSISTENCY
This Initiative shall become effective immediately upon the certification of the election results.
Within six (6) months of the effective date of this measure, all provisions of the municipal code,
ordinances, including zoning ordinances, resolutions, administrative policies, general plans,
specific plans, conceptual plans or any other plan of the City shall be revised and amended to
make them conform with the provisions of this Initiative. Until such time as the above referenced
ordinances and plans have been so revised and amended, the provisions of this Initiative shall
prevail over any conflicting provisions.
Part VII: SEVERABILITY
The people of Cupertino hereby declare that they intend to enact each and every provision of this
Initiative regardless of the presence or absence of any other provision, and to that extent all of
the provisions of this Initiative are to be considered severable. In the event a final judgment of a
court of competent jurisdiction detennines that any provision, section, subsection, sentences,
clause, or phrase or application of this Initiative measure is found to be invalid or unenforceable
for any reason, the invalid or unenforceable portion shall be severed from this measure, and the
remaining portions of this measure shall remain in full force.
Part VITI: AMENDMENT OR REPEAL
Except as otherwise indicated herein, this Initiative may be amended or repealed only by the
voters at a City election.
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