CC 04-30-01 APPROVED MINUTES
CUPERTINO CITY COUNCIL ~ SPECIAL NIEETING
CUPERTINO PLANNING COMMISSION ~ SPECIAL MEETING
Monday, April 30, 2001
ROLL CALL
At 3:39 p.m. Mayor James called the meeting to order in Conference Room C/D, 10300 Torte
Avenue, Cupertino, California.
City Council members present: Mayor Sandra Sames, Vice-Mayor Richard Lowenthal, and
Council members Don Bumett and Michael Chang. Council members absent: None.
Planning Commission members present: Chairperson Patrick Kwok, Commission members
Marc Auerbach, Angela Chen and Geoff Patnoe. Commission members absent: Vice-
Chairperson Charles Corr.
Staff present: City Manager David Knapp, City Attorney Chuck Kilian, Administrative Services
Director Carol Atwood, Community Development Director Steve Piasecld, City Planner Cynthia
Wordell, Senior Planner Colin Jung, Senior Planner Aarti Shrivastava, Associate Planner Peter
Gilli, Public Works Project Manager Carmen Lyrmugh, Parks and Recreation Director Therese
Smith, Public Works Director Ralph Quails, Public Information Officer Rick Kitson, City Clerk
Kimberly Smith and Deputy City Clerk Grace Jol~nson.
JOINT STUDY SESSION- CITY COUNCIL AND PLANNING COMMISSION
1. General Plan
A. Urban design study session
Community Development Director Steve Piasecki highlighted the general plan review process
and explained that the purpose of this session was to evaluate development options that might
achieve multiple objectives of building a safe, balance, connected and walkable community. He
said that the City Council agreed that the theme of the general plan update is building
community, in which growth is directed in order to achieve community objectives. An urban
design finn, Peter Calthorpe and Associates, was hired to brainstorm with the City Council and
Planning Commission on this topic. The presenter was Matthew Taccker.
Taecker described 4 planning pHuciples (1) diversity and balance (holistic approach to
community); (2) human scale (how people perceive their environment to be safe, inviting and
pedestrian friendly); (3) conservation and restoration (understand assets embedded within each
community in order to build on those assets); (4) larger context (how a community fits into a
larger setting).
Taecker talked about opportunity areas that were identified by staff and presented case studies to
highlight some of the possibilities and practical dimensions of new development and re-
April 30, 2001 Cupertino City Council Page 2
development in these areas. These areas included (1) new development (large, vacant pieces of
land) for mixed use/office campuses; (2) aging shopping malls; (3) community college facilities;
(4) strip commercial areas (thinner, shallower lots oriented toward highways); (5) boulevards
(larger streets to shape future development).
Items summarized under the mixed-use/office campus opportunity included thinking about the
pace and rate of renovation, maintaining a balance of jobs and housing, working fi~om a market
standpoint, accessibility to shops (parking and visibility), persuading corporate offices to
intcgrate to mixed use, checking growth parameters (complete change vs. infill), bringing the
community together and making it walkable.
Aging shopping mall items included the Vallco mall and Cupertino Center transition, potential
resistance to private developers such as Dc Anza College, resistance to walkability, and
balancing safety and security.
Strip commercial items included thoughts about redevelopment money, developer/city
involvement in planning, signage and streetscape plans, and street design standards for
walkability.
Boulevard items included free-flowing right turn lanes as a problem for pedestrians (street design
standards for walkability) and connectivity of streets.
General comments included how to communicatc the desirability of urban vs. suburban, retail
hierarchy, learning from what didn't work, infrastr~lcture costs, pace of development, advocating
the need for development and communication (cooperative ventures and constituencies).
ADJOURNMENT
The meeting was adjourned at 5:30 p.m. to Monday, May 7 at 6:15 p.m., Conference Room A of
City Hall
City Clerk