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CC 08-12-96-- CC-928A MINUTES Regular Adjourned Meeting Joint Meeting of the City Council and Planning Commission August 12, 1996 CALL TO ORDER Mayor Burner called the meeting to order in the Council Chambers of Cupertino City Hall, 10300 Torre Avenue, at 6:10 p.m. and led the Pledge of Allegiance. ROLL CALL City Council members present: John Bautista (6:30 p.m.), Wally Dean, Lauralee Sorensen, and Mayor Don Burnett. Council members absent: Michael Chang. Planning Commission members present: Donna Austin, David Doyle, Andrea Harris, Orrin Mahoney, and Chairperson Paul Roberts. Staffpresent: Acting City Manager Bert Viskovich; City Clerk Kimberly Smith; City ._ Attorney Charles Kilian; Administrative Services Director Carol Atwood; Parks and Recreation Director Steve Dowling; and Community Development Director Bob Cowan. ORAL COMMUNICATIONS - None. CONSENT CALENDAR (City Council only) Sorensen moved to approve the item on the consent calendar. Dean seconded, and the motion carded 3-0 with Bautista and Chang absent. 1. Review of application for transfer of Alcohol Beverage Control license for Whole Foods Market of California, Inc., 20830 Stevens Creek Boulevard. Vote Members of the City Council AYES: Bumett, Dean, and Sorensen. NOES: None ABSENT: Bautista, Chang. ABSTAIN: None August 12, 1006 Joint Meeting Page City Council and Planning Commission NEW BUSINESS 2. Joint meeting of the City Council and Planning Commission to introduce a proposed development plan for the "Diocese" property. Mr. Steve Zales represented the O'Brien Group, the firm proposing to develop this property. They are based in San Mateo and specialize in projects with complicated environmental or community sensitivities. Mr. Zales said they particularly appreciate the good job that has been done on this project to date. Mr. Zales reviewed the four areas proposed for development and said there are 168 lots planned, which is 10 less than was approved in the General Plan amendment. Seventy-five percent of the property will be dedicated open space. Their focus will be on q~mlity rather than on quantity, so the houses will be slightly smaller than could have been placed on those lots. There are six basic floor plans proposed, with three architectural styles per home. These are identifiable, historical styles which include the following styles: shingle, prairie, craftsman, Tudor, English country, Mediterranean, Tucson, and eastern colonial. - Mr. Zales explained that the drawings were color photocopies of designs which were created for their Menlo Park project currently under development, and they would be modified during the design process to adapt the color, materials, and landscaping to blend into the hillside area. Each home would have a different width and depth in the lot, and would be situated to best fit the slope and existing trees. There will be no grading walls, and the maximum slope would be 3-1. The edges of the project will be contoured to blend into the open space areas. The streets will be 24 feet in width from curb to curb, with 25-26 feet of natural landscaping, mostly incorporated into the linear park which also has a meandering sidewalk. Mr. Zales reviewed the overall land plan. This is a 208-acre project with 160 acres of open space. The majority of that is public open space, although some is private open space. The open space corridor between two developed areas was widened from 150 feet to 200 feet. Discussions are under way as to whether the open space areas will be offered to the city or county. The Snyder House will also be offered. There are two other small areas fronting Cristo Rey Drive, and one may be proposed for a neighborhood park. They will also create an access road south of Stevens Creek for pedestrians, cyclists, and equestrians. Trails will run Augm 12, 1996 Joint Meeting Page 3 City Council and Planning Commission through the open space areas, including one up to the DeAnza Knoll. There may be a monument placed at that location. The tree inventory has been updated and they expect to retain 80%-90% of the native and high priority trees. The O'Brien Group's arborist was very conservative, but the City's arborist will review their findings about the health of the trees. Mr. Zales concluded his presentation and the Mayor asked for questions from the City Council, Planning Commission, staff, and members of the public. In answering these questions, Mr. Zales provided the following infom-sation: Mr. Zales said the designs shown tonight did not reflect all craftsman homes with porches, but were representative of a general direction in design. Many of the elements shown here may be included, but changes will be made based on input from the community. The lot sizes in that portion of the development will be about 10,000 square feet, which allows the placement of homes in such a way as to retain the most trees. The Cristo Rey area lots will also be the same size, and the homes will average 3,100 square feet. He referred to the land use map, and explained that the General Plan would have 178 units with a requirement for 18 below-market-rate (BMR) units. However, only 168 units will be constructed, but the number of BMR units will remain at 18. The BMR units will be duets dispersed throughout Area 4 and the architecture will be consistent with the other homes. These duets will be 1,500 sqn~re feet, with three bedrooms and 2.5 baths, and will be placed so that fi:om the front it will appear as a single residence. The largest home in the development will be 3,600 square feet. Mr. Zales acknowledged that there are many visually sensitive areas in the development, and said that all of those areas will have one-story units. At this point the fencing has not been designed, but it will probably be made of wood, with a limited number of entry points to the park. He noted that there are two "non-production" areas. These are planned to be 20,000 square foot minimum lots. They will probably be sold as lots, although the plans are to retain architectural control. The O'Brien Group would control dispersal of the types of homes on the developed areas. Also, there would be no homeowners association to maintain the linear park. Instead, there will be a lighting and landscape district funded by the property owners through their taxes. The City will do the maintenance of this area of natural vegetation, which will require only light maintenance. - The tentative map application will be flied in 3-5 months, and the if the market remains the same they hope to sell out the project 3-4 years. City Council and Planing Commission Mr. Zales said they are working with County officials about plans for the water tank, and hope to find a less visible site for it. There will also be discussions about an alternate route between the seminary area and the Forum. Council members asked that the city be kept informed about the status of discussions regarding dedication of park space, the Snyder House, the Forum access, etc. Mr. Zaies acknowledged the importance of the housing styles blending into the area, especially in teu~-~s of house color and types of materials. The colors for this project had not yet been designed, and the firm would be careful to incoq)orate porches and other features as desired. He felt if the homes were historically accurate they would blend well and not look like a "sea of roofs." Commissioner Harris said she agreed with Bautista's concerns about the homes blending into the hillside. The General Plan specifically discusses design and materials, which should weather over time. Mayor Burner said that the hillside standards would probably address any concerns about colors and reflectivity. Commissioner Mahoney said that the General Plan specifies a unique rural character. Although Cupertino's standards are not as strict as those in Portola Valley, that may be closer to what is desired than to emphasize diversity. Mayor Burner said that he preferred the craftsman or prairie style of architecture for this area. Chairperson Roberts said that the General Plan calls for architectural review, and a lot of these issues will be addressed then. Mayor Burner asked that they take steps to water the existing trees so that no more will be lost. Mr. Zaies invited interested members of the public, Planning Commission, or City Council to call him. The O'Brien Group was very interested in this input. They can be reached at (415) 377-0300. RECESS At 7:30 p.m. the joint meeting of the City Council and the Planning Commission was recessed. The Planning Commission reconvened at 8:00. p.m. for their regular adjourned meeting (minutes of that meeting were prepared separately). August 12, 1996Joint Meeting page 5 , City Council and Planning Commission CLOSED SESSION At 7:30 p.m. the City Council were into closed session in Conference Room A pursuant to Government Code Section 54956.9(a) - pending litigation, re Floyd Meyer. At 8:00 p.m. the Council reconvened and the City Attorney announced that the City Council had authorized the City Attorney to proceed with enforcement remedies against Mr. Meyer. ADJOURNMENT At 8:00 p.m. the City Council adjourned. The next City Council meeting is scheduled for Tuesday, September 3, 1996, due to the cancellation of the August 19, 1996, meeting and the Labor Day holiday. City Clerk