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Director's Report OFFICE OF COMMUIJITY DEVELOPMENT ��. CITY HALL 10300 TORRE AVENIJE • CUPERTINO, CA 95Q14-3255 C� P E R M N d (408) 777-3308 • FAX (408) 777-3333 • planning�cupertino.org Subject: Report of the Community Devel��pment Director �C.K. Planning Commission Agenda Date: Tues �ay, November 9, 2010 The City Council met on November 1, 20"LO and discussed the following item(s) of interest to the Planning Commission: 1. A�peal of Wireless Facility @ Results V'I� - City Council continued the item and directed staff to work with the applicarit to explore an additional alternate location for the tower south of Results Way off of Bubb Road to be reviewed by the Planning Commission ahead of returning to Council for a final decision between the two sites. 2. Modification to Shashi Hotel Approval - City Council approved the modification consistent with Planning Commissiori :; recommendations with the following changes: ➢ Parking ratio of 0.75/ room with val et service which amounts to approximately 125 parking spaces for a 138-room hotel; and ➢ Provide Council with an update of :he parking situation after the hotel's first, and second, years of operation. Upcoming Dates: Nov. 11 Veterari s Day holida��, City Hall closed Enclosures: News Articles G: \ Planning � AartiS \ Director's Report � pd11-9-10.doc �� ' ' � ��'� Residents of Cupertino's Monta Vista neighborhood take issue with little- known fence ordinance By Matt Wilson mwilson a�communitv-newsoaaers.com Posted: 10/21/2010 08:02:59 PM PDT More than 20 homes in the Monta Vista neighborhood of Cupertino have been hit with possible fence violations over the past few months after a neigF bor reported their unlawful status to the city earlier this year. According to city staff, the neighbor received a n�tice in March stating that his driveway gate was in violation of a city ordinance because it was higher than 3 feet. The neighbor questioned why he was the only property owner in his neighborhood whc� was the subject of code enforcement action when he had identified others with similar noncompliar t fences and gates in the Monta Vista neighborhood. Over the past few months, the city received sevE ral complaints about those fences and driveway gates that currently do not meet the city's fence ordinance. The city is working through about 25 cases with residents, according to associate plan ier Piu Ghosh. City staff has been meeting with the fence ownei�s to see if their fences were built legally. Many fences in the Monta Vista neighborhood were cor�structed when the area was part of unincorporated Santa Clara County. The neighborhood became F art of Cupertino in 2004. The rules for the county and the city are virtually the same, but work needs to be done to determine if the fences had a city- or county-issued exception, according to city staff. For the fences and gates that have not been buil: legally, the city is working with the residents on a solution that complies with the rules or grants ar� exception in cases where driveway gates meet the necessary criteria, according to Ghosh. The Monta Vista neighborhood is bounded by StEVens Creek Boulevard and McClellan Road. Longji Su lives in one of the more than 20 home:; hit with a potential violation after the neighbor's complaint. He bought his house in 1994 with his illegal 4-foot front yard fence already erected. He said he was not aware of its noncompliant status, nor has he altered the fence. Until recently, Su was unaware that his fence was not in compliance with city or county rules. "This was a complete surprise to me. I thought everything was fine when I bought my house," he said. Su did his own neighborhood investigating and believes that more than 40 homes, including about half the homes on Byrne Avenue, have front yarci fences not in compliance. The status of Su's fence is still under investigatic n, but he said he will do whatever the city wants him to do. He questioned the fairness of having ��nly some residents subject to the ordinance after so many years of what he called neglect. "Why should some residents have to go through this while others do not? It is not fair, and everyone should be subject to the same rules. Either ever��one is in violation or nobody is," he said. Alex Wykoff, senior code enforcement officer witl� the city, said that the city enforces the ordinance on a complaint basis. Code enforcement does no': patrol looking for violations, and issues are usually brought to light only when a neighbor or resideni: alerts city hall. "There is no proactive enforcement done," he said. The city's municipal code outlines the rationale b�hind the fence ordinance. As in most cities, the ordinance promotes community goals, such as pr�eserving neighborhood identity and aesthetics, ensuring neighborhood safety and social interact on and enhancing local Neighborhood Watch programs. Fire officials also have concerns about noncompliant gates being a barrier to emergency response. Fences taller than 3 feet and driveway gates are not permitted in front yards. Taller fences are allowed at side and rear property lines behind th�� front yard setback to maintain the privacy and security of a property. Gates on single-family lot�� are allowed in certain cases by exception. For more information about the city's fence ordinance and municipal code, visit www.cupertino.ora. � � � � : -z Also covering the Stanford University community PALO ALTO MAKING SUSTAIl1ABLE STRIDES Environmental leaders find transportation and land use tiie major challenges in sustainable city planning. By Maggie Beidelman � Email the author � October 26, 2010 "Did they install the waterless urinal? Is purple pipir, g in the ground?" These are the types of questions that Sustainability Planner Kristin Parineh now asks when on site during the construction of a new commercial property in Palo Alto, where more than one million square feet of green construction is taking place. Parineh joined three sustainability leaders from Mol.ntain View, Sunnyvale and Cupertino Monday night in a discussion hosted by Sustainovation at World Centri � in Palo Alto: Creating Sustainable Cities-4 Local Cities Lead the Way. The four city employees discussed thE successes and challenges involved in making a city more sustainable. "Transportation is the hardest nut to crack," said Steve Attinger, the Environmental Sustainability coordinator for the city of Mountain View. "You can't tell someone, though shalt only drive to work three days a week." Parineh also views transportation as a major issue ir� sustainability for Palo Alto. "It's the hardest thing to get people to change their behavior on, trying to get the�n out of their cars," said Parineh, who works in the Palo Alto Planning Department and Green Building Progr �m. In an effort to understand commuter behavior, Palo .�lto has begun to use a new technology. "We are starting to install counting stations throughout the city that, �:hrough microwave frequencies and infrared, track bicyclists to count how many people are switching tlieir mode of transportation," said Parineh. The city's planning department is also looking into creating gr��en-painted bike lanes, an idea that was first implemented in Portland, OR, to increase bike safety among car traffic and, therefore, encourage more people to bike to work. "Greenhouse gas emissions aren't a motivator," said Erin Cooke, Environmental Affairs coordinator for the city of Cupertino. Cooke has found that treating greenhouse gases as units of ineasurement in which to quantify an expense to the city—and in turn quantifi� the monetary savings due to emission reduction—is an effective way to make sustainability more attractive. "We're writing a climate action plan as part of San Mateo County," she said. "All of those programs lead to monetary savings." Cooke expressed the need for more technological support in the realm of sustainability. She suggested the need for an "energy dashboard, where everybody can go online and see what their environmental impact is during the day." In Britain, a new track and trace technology scans barcodes of food items, allowing for "farm to fork" transparency. Cities here in Sillicon Valley c��uld model those advancements in order to support sustainability, said Cooke. Palo Alto's other major challenge in becoming more sustainable is land use, according to Parineh. "We have over 20,000 existing buildings in the city of Palo Altc�," said Parineh, who focuses on construction and renovation of these buildings. "Working to measure �eductions with single family homeowners or commercial properties is challenging." The Green Building Program wors with utility comp�inies to build a relationship with the city, using greenhouse gas reduction reports and green buildin;; reports like LEED to certify Palo Alto structures. High-speed rail, the largest transportation issue on residents' and city workers' mind right now, could create a significant impact on land use and transportation, :;aid Parineh. "It has enormous benefits for sustainability and enormous drawbacks in other areas," she said. "How do we fit high-speed rail into our land use planning for sustainability and also our public transportation:'" These are the questions that Bay Area cities, leaders in sustainability commitment and innovation, have begun to ask with each new construction project, transportation issue and environmental concern. Though they work to increase sustainability on a cir�-wide level, the speakers said that it really starts with individuals making an effort. "We have a changing demographic that's going to ca�ise cities to rethink how they plan," said Dustin Clark, Environmental Sustainability coordinator for Sunny��ale. "By engaging and educating people on what the future holds for them, they can begin to make decisic,ns for themselves." As one audience member put it, "You don't have to be perfect. Every little bit helps." Cupertino uses high-tech program to reward stude:its who bike, walk to schools - San Jos... Page 1 of 2 �1��L'C'ttC�l� ��W� MercuryNews.com CU ertino uses hi �1— The zap beeps and the student's data is uploaded to p g a computer database. Student tags can be read only program to reward �a� a day and are programmed just for school Y students who bike, walk Each student has an account on the Boltage website, t0 SC�lOOlS where they can see all their trips. Boltage also provides reports and data that can be used to measure the number of children walking to school and to By Matt Wilson mwilson@community-newspapers.com help create an incentive program for students and classrooms. Posted: 10/28/2010 08:02:58 PM PDT Updated: 10/28/2010 08:02:59 PM PDT ° This is yet another way to encourage kids and parents to try biking and walking to school. We just New high-tech programs at Lincoln Elementary and can't handle the cars. We need a multifaceted Kennedy Middle schools are rewarding students for approach, and this one on the wheel that is helping keep cars off the road. The schools going to get this going, said David Greenstein, a Lincoln Elementary parent who is working with launched their respective Leopard Trax and Cougar parents and the city on the Boltage program. "The Trax programs, which use technology to reward ciry is trying to solve a problem, but they need the students who bike and walk to school. parents at Lincoln and Kennedy to take an active The technology, called Boltage, measures how many [role]." students walk and bike to school in one of the most �en the students register, Boltage software car-congested areas in the city. The city of calculates how far they live from school, how many Cupertino's Public Safety Commission and parent miles they travel and total trips they make. At volunteers spent this summer working out the Kennedy, about 450 of its 1,300 students have logistics tof bring the Boltage program to the signed up, and between them they've racked up Lincoln and Kennedy and tackle congestion. more than 7,500 miles since Oct. 6, according to The schools near Monta Vista High School are in the Leslie Reid, a parent volunteer at Kennedy who is notoriously car-heavy tri-school area near Bubb heading the Cougar Trax program. and McClellan roads, which often resemble a Statistics from the Lincoln Boltage program show parking lot before and after school. that registered students are biking or walking an The Boltage system uses a machine called "the zap," average of .088 miles to get to school. a solar-powered radio frequency identification Parent volunteers with the Leopard Trax program reader. Students who walk and bike in the program Would like to visually display how many miles the get an RFID tag that attaches to their backpacks, and student body has walked and pedaled over the the zap reads their unique number when they go course of the school year, by mapping out how past it near school entrances. Advertisement �� _"'� � � � £�� ; _ �� c�� r� ��a��c��i�+� �c��ic�t�`� F�I�t�(�' � �� ; � � �� e ! inv�i�� pr��. �� t��r �ic�n'� �� t�. ,�. � _� �. W�� , : ,� :. � � � : ��rr r��r� c�� a�E�u�i��,��r� � �. �� c�y �`�r ��I �si�� J!�► �� _. Print Powered Hy � ��m��„��!r�ics ` http://www.mercurynews.com/san jose-neighborhoods/ci_16462593?nclick check=l 10/29/2010 Cupertino uses high-tech program to reward stude�its who bike, walk to schools - San Jos... Page 2 of 2 �1��,��C'l�l�l� ��V� MercuryNews.com many miles it is to certain destinations such as donated money for prizes. Yosemite National Park, the East Coast, Australia and even the moon. Periodic statistics and updates on the program will be reviewed by the commission, which will also "Hopefully, this demonstrates that walking and consider bringing the program to other schools if biking that little bit each day adds up to a lot," said Boltage is a success, Nguyen said. Susanne Millar, a parent volunteer helping head the Lincoln program. At Lincoln Elementary, approximately 15 percent of the student population has already signed up for a Boltage tag. "My vision is to see 25 percent," Greenstein said. "This is not going to solve the traffic problem but it is going to make it better, and the kids will get healthier, too." Lincoln will focus on non- material rewards for its frequent bikers and walkers. Ideas in the works include winning a lunch with their teacher, classes possibly getting extra recess time for a day or getting a pass to the front of the lunch line. Students are easily motivated once they've signed up, Millar said. "At this point in time, they are just stoked hearing the beep coming off the [zap]." Reid is distributing passes to laser tag, coupons for drinks at 7-Eleven and candy. She is working on getting pedometers and bicycle odometers as prizes for extremely dedicated bikers and walkers. Other possible prizes include water bottles, keychains and tickets to Stanford athletic events. The city of Cupertino contributed $21,400 to pay for the program at both schools for this year and an additional two years, according to Daniel Nguyen, chairman of the public safety commission. The program is in effect for three years so that the schools and commission can analyze any long-term impact from the program. Reid said the Kennedy PTA Advertisement ' � ��rv� C�'�r �� N` � �''�� al - �a�r� ,J�se �15 f�r Individual � � .... i ' � �" '!�' .. :' +��°ship i�lJp ts� �35 �falue) ar $�5 far Family � , �� ; � �`�r��hi� ��Q Value� to Mus�ums �rf Los �atos � ' � � �� s � �� ti&dH`.ky �fL.�� ,S i �j��g�, � . : , :�e �'��r�,�� 3��A��as � � s Get thi� ��r� r�#�� ,�� ;;. � 1� '� F F�� : y .., ��T�° r+�tu��um� �� atc�� - -� www,Prin��rc��° c�r�.±��r18�! � �i:�:u kii n u+ I ex i:4m< � Print Powered By � F�c�rr��tD r��mics . http://www.mercurynews.com/san jose-neighborhoods/ci_16462593?nclick check=l 10/29/2010