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Director's Report OFFICE OF COMMUNITY DEVELOPMENT , CITY HALL 10300 TORRE AVENUE • CUPERTINO, CA 95014-3255 C V P E RT 1 N O (408) 777-3308 • FAX (408) 777-3333 • planning�a cupertino.org Subject: Report of the Community Development Directo� Planning Commission Agenda Date: Tuesday, February 8, 2011 The City Council met on February 1, 2011 and discussed the following item(s) of interest to the Planning Commission: 1. Green Buildin� Ordinance - City Council continued the item to a future meeting to give Staff the opportunity to respond, investigate and provide feedback on what was discussed at the meeting 2. Reconsideration of the denial of the Appeal of the Bubb Rd wireless project - City Council continued the item to the March 15, 2011 meeting Upcoming Dates: February 21, 2011 President's Day holiday, City Hall closed March 9-11, 2011 Planner's Institute Enclosures: News Articles G: � Planning � AartiS � Director's Report � pd2-OS-1 l.doc Los Altos Town Crier City eyes Homestead Road improvements: Residents offer input on busy thoroughfare �. t'':.i`Cl:r , a';tii[ ` ,� <€ �TI �:�t �_ 1 �I;_i� si��ll�:;E II i_.:is���_ ,< � .._ i'1�...:J;I Los Altos city officials solicited feedback from residents on a conceptual preliminary street improvement plan for a section of Homestead Road. Approximately 90 residents attended the Jan. 8 meeting, held in the Grant Park Center Multipurpose Room, to comment on the city's proposal to install safety-enhancing measures designed to maintain order and ease traffic congestion around the busy Foothill Crossing shopping center in south Los Altos. Improvements specifically target the area along Homestead between Foothill Expressway and Lucky Oak Street. "Improved public safety (for pedestrians, bicyclists and vehicle drivers) is the main goal of the project," said Jim Gustafson, engineering services manager. Another goal is to mitigate several existing challenges in the complex traffic corridor and intersection, said Jim Schul, senior project manager at Ruggeri-Jensen-Azar, a Gilroy-based engineering firm hired to design the project. The proposal includes a traffic signal at the entrance leading to Trader Joe's, median and sidewalk upgrades, pedestrian crosswalks with Americans with Disabilities Act accessibility, a mixed-use trail for bicyclists and pedestrians, new landscaping and improved signage and drainage, Schul said. Efforts will be devoted to preserving existing trees — the oak trees will remain, Schul said, but the dying walnut trees may have to be removed. Residents suggested reducing the speed limits on Homestead and Foothill, installing a"No U Turn" sign, adding a pedestrian crosswalk at the Fallen Leaf Lane intersection, coordinating light timings at the signals to prevent long lines of traffic along Homestead and Foothill and extending the bike lane past El Sereno Avenue along Grant Road. The Foothill Crossing complex suffers from a host of problems, one attendee said, and city officials should work with the center's property owners to resolve them. Gustafson said city officials are in discussions with the property owners, the city of Cupertino and Santa Clara County to address the center's safety hot spots. Funding for the $640,000 project will be drawn from the state's Proposition 1 B disbursement, allocated for traffic improvements, Gustafson said, but the city remains approximately $200,000 short. A Safe Routes to School grant or a possible deal with Cupertino, in which part of the center sits, could make up the funding shortfall, he added. Construction could begin in a year, with improvements slated for completion in approximately four months, he said. Contact Jana Seshadri at janas`r?latc.cc�m. ��� ������ Franco Park comes to Cupertino �an. 22 By Matt Wilson mwilson@community-newspapers.com Posted: O1/20/2011 08:02:28 PM PST A new park is coming to the northern tip of Cupertino. The freshly constructed Franco Park will be unveiled to the public on Jan. 22 at 10 a.m. as part of a ribbon- cutting ceremony with Mayor Gilbert Wong and the other members of the Cupertino City Council. Members of the public are invited to hear remarks from the mayor and check out the new park. The little pocket park is located at the corner of Franco Court and W. Homestead Road, near Homestead Square Shopping Center and Villa Serra Apartments. The park runs up against the apartment complex, which is currently undergoing an extensive renovation and expansion project. The park is part of the renovation that was approved by the city council on July 3, 2007. The city will maintain the park, which will be open to the public. The park features lawns, a sand play area, picnic benches, public art, granite walkways and a playground with a rubberized surface in the middle. This is Cupertino's second park unveiling in the past year. The city finished and opened the 0.6-acre Sterling-Barnhart Park, 10846 Sterling Blvd., in mid-August. � ' �� ���� Cupertino shorts: Mayor Wong set to address state of city ]an. 26 Silicon Valley Community Newspapers Posted: O1/20/2011 08:03:39 PM PST Mayor Wong to give state of the city address Newly appointed Mayor Gilbert Wong will give his first State of the City address on Jan. 26 from 11:30 a.m. to 1:30 p.m. at the Quinlan Community Center, 10185 N. Stelling Road. The event is presented by the Cupertino Chamber of Commerce, in cooperation with the city of Cupertino and the Cupertino Rotary Club. Wong will address Cupertino's strengths and successes as well as those of the community. He will also discuss projects and services he says will protect and enhance the quality of life in Cupertino. The program will also include presentations of the Public Safety Officer of the Year awards. Seating is limited and reservations are recommended. Lunch reservations are $30 each. For more information, call the Cupertino Chamber of Commerce at 408.252.7054 or Rotary Club of Cupertino at 408.257.4320. Updated bike plan for city is ready for public review The final draft of an updated Cupertino Bicycle Transportation Plan is available for public review. The document was adopted in 1998 and is the city's long-range plan for designing and encouraging bicycling as a safe, practical and healthy alternative to automobile use. The revised plan has been in the works for two years and has been handled by the Cupertino Bicycle Pedestrian Commission. The plan was set to be presented to the commission at a Jan. 19 meeting. The commission was expected to recommend that the city council adopt the plan. The council is tentatively set to discuss the plan's adoption sometime in March. The document can be viewed at www.cupertino.ora. The city is encouraging residents to provide input or feedback on the draft plan. For comments or questions, contact civil engineer David Stillman at 408.777.3354 or davidsC�cupertino.org. M�e�utyN�w�COm Cupertino council gives boost to Stevens Creek Corridor trail proj ect By Matt Wilson m�vilson «communit,y-news�apers.com Posted: Ol /27/2011 08:04:13 PM PST . Fred Zieber's golden retriever, Arnold, stares, seemingly wistfully, over the fence at the end... The city of Cupertino made a decision last week that spells good news for federally threatened steelhead trout, nature lovers, pedestrians and bicyclists looking for a straight route from McClellan Road to Stevens Creek Boulevard. The city council on jan. 18 unanimously voted to start design work on a project that would restore portions of Stevens Creek and extend the trail from Blackberry Farm onto Stevens Creek Boulevard near the Blue Pheasant Restaurant. The project is Phase II of a long-term Stevens Creek Corridor restoration project. The trail meanders along the creek and currently dead-ends near the Blackberry Farm parking lot. The desire to extend the trail has existed for some time, but the project has been in limbo due to the uncertainty of grant money and other funds dedicated to the project. The city plans to work with SSA Landscape Architects on design services. The city manager will also send letters of intent to various granting agencies in hopes of getting more money for the $3.5 million project. The letter will spell out the city's intent to proceed with the creek restoration and trail portions of the project. The project has a budget shortfall of about $1.6 million, according to city staff. The city estimates it could bring in $2.7 million in total outside funding. The project recently became time sensitive, as some of the grant money that became available to the city has strict deadlines. The city can leverage a$1.2 million state grant from California River Parkways; however, creek restoration must be completed by September 2013 to remain eligible for the full $1.2 million reimbursement. To complete the full scope of the work by that deadline, city staff determined that design on the project must begin immediately. The city also needs a generous amount of time to cut through red tape and get environmental clearance and obtain permits from the regulatory agencies. Much of the prep work will take another two years, with much of 2011 devoted to designing the project. City architect Terry Greene said that major construction work would likely start in the summer of 2013 and wrap up in September. Members of the city council appeared confident that funding will reveal itself over the coming months and years and that the environmental investment will be worth the effort. "We'll figure a way to make it work and [creek restoration] is the right thing to do. In the long run, we are going to be very happy with it and as happy as we were with Phase I," Councilman Orrin Mahoney said. Restoration The creek restoration would be similar to the creek work done in 2008 during Phase I, which also saw Blackberry Farm get new amenities. Plans for the creek include the removal of broken concrete rip rap, building riffles, pools for the steelhead and "widening the channel for high water events and improved habitat value," according to a city staff report. Just as in 2008, the project could see the capture and relocation of fish during restoration, while engineers drain the creek, remove non-native vegetation and plant native vegetation and trees. A wrinkle in the project would see construction on the widening creek creep into the adjacent Blackberry Farm Golf Course. The city consulted with golf course design firm Landmark Golf to find ways to lessen the construction impact. It was determined that the impact will likely be minimal with an encroachment of less than 35 feet. Landmark Golf also told the city that there are several temporary ways to keep the golf course operating for an estimated four or five months of construction. However, the ninth hole could be redesigned once the project is completed. The city has a stake in keeping the city-operated golf course running to its full potential during summer 2013, when the course should see a lot of golfers, according to city staff. In fiscal year 2009-2010, the city reaped more than $111,000 in profits from the nine-hole course. "Keeping the golf course open during construction is a bottom line consideration that we want to take into account," said Timm Borden, director of public works. At the Jan. 18 public hearing, the issue brought a number of creek and trail enthusiasts, all of whom urged the council to make creek restoration a priority and praised the council for supporting the project. "I want to thank the city for a tradition of supporting creeks and restoration, and it really shows in the quality of your parks," resident Brad Allen said. Some residents had praise for the ecological aspects of the project and stressed the importance of creek restoration. "What I would like to stress is that [restoration] creates a hydrological and ecologically functioning ecosystem even with the compromises and the revisions, which is the purpose of habitat restoration," said Deborah Jamison, a resident who has spent more than 20 years weighing in on creek-related issues. Dale Compton, who lives near the creek, added, "I think it is an absolute win-win-win situation for all stakeholders. I think the excellence of what you have done in Phase I will show in Phase II and the money will come." While many residents expressed delight that the trail was being extended, the creek was the main attraction. "Fixing the creek was the most amazing thing about Phase I," said Anne Ng, a member of the Friends of Stevens Creek Trail. "It doesn't make sense to proceed with the trail and Phase II without fixing the creek first."