CC 10-05-98 CUPERTINO CITY COUNCIL
Minutes
Regular Meeting
October 5, 1998
PLEDGE OF ALLEGIANCE
At 6:45 p.m. Mayor Chang called the meeting to order in the Council Chambers, 10300
Tone Avenue, Cupertino, California, and led the Pledge of Allegiance.
ROLL CALL
City Council members present: Mayor Michael Chang, Vice-Mayor Wally Dean,
Councilmembers Don Bumett, Sandy James, and John Statton. Council members absent:
None.
Staff present: City Manager Don Brown; City Clerk Kimberly Smith; City Attorney Charles
Kilian; Administrative Services Director Carol Atwood; Community Development Director
Bob Cowan; Parks and Recreation Director Steve Dowling; Public Information Officer
Donna Krey; and Public Works Director Bert Viskovich.
CEREMONIAL MATTERS - PRESENTATIONS
(a) Information technology presentation (Mark Henderson). Council concurred to
receive the report.
(b) Presentation by City Manager Don Brown to Carol Atwood, Director of
Administrative Services, of the "Certificate of Achievement for Excellence in
Financial Reporting" for the City of Cupertino's Comprehensive Annual Financial
Report for the Fiscal Year Ended June 30, 1997.
POSTPONEMENTS - None.
WRITTEN COMMUNICATIONS - None.
ORAL COMMUNICATIONS - None.
CONSENT CALENDAR
Dean moved to approve the items on the Consent Calendar as presented. Burner seconded
and the motion carried 5-0.
1. Accounts payable - September 18, 1998 Resolution No. 98-239.
2. Accounts payable - September 25, 1998 Resolution No. 98-240.
3. Payroll - September 18, 1998 Resolution No. 98-241.
October 5, 199/] Cupertino City Council Page 2
4. Minutes of the September 18, 1998 regular adjourned meeting and September 21,
1998, regular meeting.
5. Monthly Treasurer's and Budget Report--August 1998.
6. Requests for facility use fee waivers at Quinlan Community Center:
(a) The Optimist Clubs of Cupertino and De gnTa/Cupertino.
(b) Homestead High School Athletic Booster Club.
7. Garden Gate Drive 98-07 annexation: approximately 0.229 acre located on the south
side of Oarden Gate Drive between Beardon Drive and Bandley Drive; Lee (APN
326-33-016) Resolution No. 98-242.
8. Imperial Avenue 98-08 annexation, property located on the south side of Imperial
Avenue between Olive Avenue and Alcazar Avenue, approximately 0.439 acre, Yinn
(APN-19-051) Resolution No. 98-243.
9. Acceptance of municipal improvements: (a) Kelly Gordon Development Co., 10208,10210 Randy Lane.
(b) Wei-Luh and Tsai Lan Chu, 22371 Cupertino Road, APN 326-15-010.
10. Accepting of city projects performed under contract:
(a) Street Maintenance, Slurry Seal Project 98-104 (Graham Contractors,
Inc.).
Co) Saratoga-Sunnyvale Road Interconnect Extension, Project No. 120-
9502-953 (G.A.B. Construction, Inc.).
11. Accepting Grant of Non-Exclusive Easement, Pacific Bell, APN 326-29-022,
Stelling Road--Resolution No. 98-244.
12. Direction to the Plannlug Commission to schedule a public hearing to consider an
amendment of the Community Con~ixacfion and Noise Control Ordinances (10.46
and 10.48) regarding the hours of operation for construction activities.
13. Hsinchu City, Taiwan-Friendship City relationship: Authorizing Mayor to enter into
discussions with Hsinehu City, Taiwan, to develop a Friendship City relationship
between Cupertino and Hsinchu City.
October ~, 100~ Cupertlno City Council Pase 3
~ 14. Approving contract change order No. 1 for Street Maintenance, Slurry Seal Project
98-104 Resolution No. 98-245.
Vote Councilmembers
Ayes: Burnett, Chang, Dean, James, and Statton
Noes: None.
Absent: None.
Abstain: None.
ITEMS REMOVED FROM THE CONSENT CALENDAR- None.
PUBLIC HI~ARINGS - None.
PLANNING APPLICATIONS - None.
UNFINISHED BUSINESS
15. Report on the Civic Center Expansion Program process.
Public Works Director Bert Viskovich reviewed Phase 2 of the work program as
shown in the backup materials. He said that Task 1, Conceptual Plans, estimated at
$21,000, has been approved and the consultant selected. The Library Commission
has been asked to continue reviewing the operating hours to see if there is a need to
extend those. Staff is also preparing a list of potential uses for the existing library
building and potential needs for the civic center expansion. The remaining tasks are:
Task 2, Preliminary Plans, $25,500; Task 3, Cost Estimate, $31,000; Task 4, Public
Process Outreach Program, $10,000; and Task 5, Public Survey, $13,850.
Council concurred to receive the report.
NEW BUSINESS
16. Request to initiate a public hearing to consider a revision of the General Plan and
"Diocese" development agreement to allow the payment ora fee in lieu of below-
market-rate units in the Oak Valley development.
Community Development Director Bob Cowan said that the propose of this public
heating would be to dete,fdne the worthiness of the request. At this time the
General Plan requires that this project provide 18 duet-style, below-market-rate
(BMR) houses on-site. This is a more onerous requirement that what is applied to
other ownership developments, which can choose to construct BMR units on-site or
off-site. These units would serve median- and moderate-income families, and would
range in price fi'om $217,500 to $272,500. The typical market rote for houses in this
development will be about $900,000.
October 5, 1998 Cupertino City Council Page 4
Since the City has a larger demand for affordable rental units to serve low and very
low income families, staff explored the possibility of receiving a fee from the
O'Brien Group in lieu of the construction of the 18 duets on-site. Cowan explained
that the proposal is to convert the 18 BMR lots to 9 market-rate lots. The O'Brien
Group would pay $2.4 million to the City of Cupertino as an in-lieu fee, and a
profit/loss sharing arrangement would allow the in-lieu fee to be as low as $1.8
million or as high as $3 million.
Cowan discussed the pros and cons of the proposal as set forth in the staff report. He
said that staff anticipated being able to create nearly 40 new affordable rental units on
two sites with the in-lieu fees generated by this proposal. The primary disadvantage
would be the lack of economic diversity at the Oak Valley development. The staff
recommendation was to authorize a public hearing process to consider a revision of
the General Plan and the "Diocese" development agreement allowing payment of a
fee in lieu of the development of BMR units in the Oak Valley development.
Dean referred to a City of Mountaln View approach to land ownership, which was
very progressive and not jnst a quick pay-back to the owner. It is regulated annually
by the mount of growth, with a cap at the end of the period by whoever owns it last.
If proposed change is to be considered, he thought a similar approach should be
considered by Cupertino so that at the end of the 30 years the owner of the property
does not get the windfall. Bumett asked if there is any way the city could correct that
situation in this case.
The City Attorney said that it can be done prospectively only. There cannot be
restrictions in perpetuity on property but the timeline could be as long as 99 years, or
30 years for each owner. However, those restrictions could not be placed on existing
property, and probably could not be applied to the Diocese since there was a
development agreement containing restrictions.
Ms. Pat DeMarlo, representing the Cupertino Union School District, was in favor of
the proposal. She said it was necessary to help the school district recruit the best
teachers. Recruitment is difficult becanse of increasing population, an aging teacher
population, and class-size reduction. This school district is one of the top five for
beginning salaries in the state, has a good working environment, and an excellent
community, but those are not enough to attract teachers because of the cost of
housing within a reasonable commute.
Ms. Eunice Cox, said she was speaking on behalf of senior citizens and the
handicapped who live in Cupertino and she was in favor of the proposal. Without
more affordable housing many of those people will be forced to move from this city
or other neighboring communities once their contract with HUD honsing has expired,
for example. It's important for children to be raised in a community with people of
varying levels of income, and she has been working to promote a legislative bill to
support affordable housing for seniors.
October :~, 199~ OupertJno City Council Page
Mr. Mike Bruner, 1144 Derbyshire Dr., opposed the proposal. He had spent many
hours in meetings with city officials and with various constituencies such as
environmental groups, CURB, etc., regarding the development of the Diocese
property. The greatest concern voiced by everyone was that the developer would get
approval for one small thing, and then would return later in the process to change the
deal to their benefit. The reasons the on-site housing was specified in the plan was
because everyone felt strongly it was an important issue. He wanted to make it clear
that this was not the intent of the developer and the issue had been raised by staff.
Ms. Kathy Robinson, 10679 Faralloue Dr., opposed the proposal. She felt it was
important that the City Council stand behind their original decision. She works in
the field of affordable housing, and strongly supports BMR programs that distribute
affordable housing throughout the community. However, it is very difficult to get
neighborhood support for new low-income development, so although the City may
be planning on a windfall to build more units, she did not think that would happen
because of community opposition. She agreed there is a tremendous need for rental
housing for low- and very-low-income families, but there have been no surveys of
teachers and nurses and middle-level managers, etc., if they want ownership housing
close to where they work. Ownership housing provides stability in the community
and a base of people who want to contribute. This project would not provide a lot of
ownership units but it is important to the city's housing stock.
Mr. Dick Schuster, 777 Stendhal Lane, opposed the proposal. He requested
additional information be provided on the following: How this project came to have
BMR units required on-site; the process leading to the duet concept; more defined
income levels described in the s~; how many duets are planned for areas 1 and
4 of this project; identification of all BMR ownership and rental units in the city and
who has management responsibility over those; illustration of how the 40 new
affordable rental units would be provided and how the down payment assistance
program would work; and a copy of the Nexus study of 1992 regarding impact of
residential development on housing supply.
Mr. Mike Hawkes, Associate Superintendent of Fremont Union High School
District, said they had just filled a number of teacher positions. This was quite an
achievement because California will soon be facing a shortage of teachers. The real
issue is that this community must do everything it can to create situations where the
school districts can both recruit and retain young teachers, and the schools appreciate
the opportunity to speak to this issue now and in the future. They support affordable
housing for teachers, whether rentals or an opportunity to buy.
Mr. Richard Robinson said he was opposed to the proposal. He did not feel it would
be a better deal for the city or for more affordable housing. One of the key issues in
the community was that the property not be built solely for the rich. It was promised
that the developer chosen for this project would respect the policy of keeping 10%
below market rate and the developer would not request a change in the plan to pay in-
lieu fees. Even if the city got the full $3 million the 40 units at $60,000 each could
Octol~er :~, 1/)/)/~ /~upert~no City Council Page
not be built because there are not places to build them. Low=income families are
forced to pay month after month of rent with no incentive to stay in the area if they
can find something better. Homeownership means a stake in the community and the
developer should be held to their promise.
Mr. Bob Barrie, representing Long's Drug Store, spoke in favor of the proposed
change. The need for affordable housing goes beyond teachers - he said he had lost
over 5 employees this year because they could no longer afford to live here. Others
are doubling and tripling up. Ultimately the shortage in affordable housing will
mean a deterioration in basic services.
Ms. Linda Asbury, representing the Cupertino Chamber of Commerce, was in favor
of the proposal. Affordable housing for very-low-income individuals and families is
a primary concern in Silicon Valley, particularly in Cupertino. Using in-lieu fees to
create affordable housing with no sunset, a 30-year-deed restriction, would create a
permanent stock of affordable housing and a permanent stock of more than lg
homes.
Ms. Mary Ellen Cheil said she was representing Cupertino Community Services, its
board of directors, and the community it serves. She explained that low income
means a salary of up to $32,000. Very low income is a maximum salary of $27,000.
Most of their clients are the working poor employed by restaurants, retail stores, or
are retired and getting social security. People who leave because they can no longer
afford housing continue to commute to their jobs in Cupertino, which impacts traffic
and stress on the environment. She said that CCS manages the affordable housing
program for this city. This last year there were 40 BMR units available. Through
word of mouth with no advertising, CCS received more than 200 applications. She
said CCS board of directors is committed to building more affordable housing in the
city, and discussed the obstacles to that including competition for funding. Even if
none of the in-lieu fees went to the CCS program, she still was in support of the in-
lieu fee proposal if that is what the community wants. Council should do what is
best for the community at this time, not what was needed 3 or 4 years ago.
Ms. Trudy Bradley, said she was a resident of Greenwood Court Aparhuents, a low-
income facility managed by CCS. She is a single mother making less than the very-
Iow-income amount and couldn't even afford a BMR. However, some of the others
who live at the apartments could afford one if they were available. Her time at
Crreenwood Court will be up in 10 months and she may be forced to leave the
community.
Burner said the housing shortage is a terrible problem in this region but it cannot be
solved with any one action. He is a strong supporter of affordable housing, but right
now the biggest problem is developing new projects. The 18 units are already
approved. He will do what he can to support all the other affordable projects that
come before Council, but they should stick with the arrangement that was made.
October ~, ! 99g (2upertlno (2~ty Council Page
Dean said the city has been extremely generous in working with the developer of this
project. There is some leeway to adopt some of the things discussed tonight, such as
increasing the 30-year limit on the BMR units or considering the fixed-rate schedule
that Mountain View uses. He agreed with Burnett that Council should stay with the
! g units, but consider changes to the cap rate, etc., on a city-wide basis.
Statton said he would like to have discussions before the Affordable Housing
Committee and the Planning Commission on this issue because he has questions he
would like answered, such as the number and prices of homes sold in the city over
the last 12 months; the number of duplexes and small apartment complexes sold over
the last several years and what uses they now have; what discussions, if any, have
been held with the school districts about building housing for their teachers on
district property with support from the city; consider a dom-payment assistance
program; and what is the current situation regarding available affordable housing
funds.
James agreed that it was important to open these items for discussion among the
school districts and community members on partnership approaches. The question is
what is the best use of the public funds to provide the best opportunity for the most
people, and what promises and issues were raised in the past which must be honored.
Chang said in some cases the discussion appeared to be adversarial and in reality
everyone is pulling in the same direction. His own leaning was to stick to the old
agreement. However, since the hearing might lead to new solutions he was open to
further discussions as a means to honor the old promises and think of new
approaches.
City Manager Don Brown said he wanted to make it clear that the developer is
completely comfortable fulfilling the original requirement of the General Plan. Staff
felt that because there are two significant choices it was important to bring it to the
attention of Council and let them decide whether it was worth pursuing the options.
They are very different approaches to affordable housing, and it can be a very civil
discussion about the best goal.
Statton moved to initiate the public hearing and consider amending the Housing
Manual. James seconded and the motion carried 3-2 with Burnett and Dean voting
no.
17. Approving and supporting multiculturalism statement developed by the Interagency
Multicultural Collaborative.
Brown said that representatives from DeAnza College District, Fremont High School
District, Cupertino Union School District, and City of Cupertino met for about five
hours of discussion about values in the community, they developed the following
statement about expectations and values around the city's multicultural community:
October ~, 100g Cuper6no ClOy Council Pa~e I
Cupertino is committed to becoming a model multicultural community for
the 21st century. Multiculturalism includes, appreciates and respects the
complexity and richness of our community, and the various life experiences
and perceptions of our residents.
Multiculturalism is a dynamic, evolving and complex process which is based
on a powerful set of core values. These are:
· understanding differences in ways that promote unity, not separateness
· promotes inclusion, cooperation and movement toward mutually
shared goals
· Respects the unique characteristics of individuals as well as
commonalities among culturally diverse groups that make up our
community and reflects all aspects of who we are (race, class, gender,
ethnicity, religion, national origin, etc.)
A realistic and working definition of multiculturalism recognizes that conflict
and disagreement, as well as collaboration and consensus, are essential parts
of a rich dialogue and necessary to achieve the goals of a culturally rich
community.
In our multicultural community, an action plan is to be developed to
influence behaviors and organizational structures to nurture the common
good and integrate the positive contributions of all members of the
community.
Burner moved to accept and endorse the multiculturalism statement. James
seconded and the motion carried 5-0.
ORDINANCES
18. Second reading and enactment of Ordinance No. 1799: "An Ordinance of the City
Council of the City of Cupertino Amending Chapter 19.28 of the Cupertino
Municipal Code, Privacy Protection Requirements for Single Family Dwellings."
The City Clerk read the title of the ordinance. Burner moved and Dean seconded to
read the ordinance by title only, and that the City Clerk's reading would constitute
the second reading thereof. Motion carded 5-0.
Bumett moved and Dean seconded to enact Ordinance No. 1799. Motion carded 5-0.
STAFF REPORTS - None
October 5, 199~ (~upertlno City Council Page 9
COUNCIL REPORTS
City Manager Don Brown and the members of the City Council discussed the success of the
20th anniversary celebration held with delegates f~om Cupertino's Sister City of Toyokawa,
Japan. All were grateful for the efforts of the Sister City organization and city staff, and for
Toyokawa's gift of a beautiful grandfather clock that was placed in the lobby of City Hall.
James reported that she went to a meeting of Joint Venture Silicon Valley, and she reported
on the fastest growing technology companies over the last five years. Two of those are
Cupertino companies, CKS Group on Bandley Drive and DSP Communications, Inc., on
Stevens Creek Blvd. The technology companies will be focusing on housing,
transportation, and education issues in the coming year.
Chang reported that he attended a graduation ceremony for Emergency Preparedness
students, which is a wonderful program led for Cupertino residents by the city's Emergency
Preparedness Coordinator Marie Moore. He was invited to a neighborhood watch meeting
and a block party on Milky Way as part of a neighborhood revitalization. Sergeant Steve
Angus and Made Moore did a fme job there too. Chang said that a trip is planned for
November to visit Hsinchu City, which will be a Friendship City, and a meeting will be held
at city hall on October 6 to begin the process of setting up a nonprofit organization.
Burnett said that on October 7 there will be a meeting of the neighbors of the
Bollinger/Calabazas Creek area that flooded, and it is open for anyone wishing to give input.
CLOSED SESSION - None.
ADJOURNMENT
At 8:30 p.m. the meeting was adjourned.
City Clerk