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CC 02-03-04APPROVED MINUTES cUPER TINO CUPERTINO CITY COUNCIL Regular Adjourned Meeting Tuesday, February 3, 2004 CALL TO ORDER At 3:07 p.m., Mayor James called the meeting to order in Conference Room C, 10300 Torre Avenue, Cupertino. ROLL CALL City Council members present: Mayor Sandra James, Vice-Mayor Patrick Kwok, and Council members Richard Lowenthal, Dolly Sandoval, and Kris Wang. Council members absent: none. Staff present: City Manager David Knapp, Administrative Services Director Carol Atwood, City Attorney Charles Kilian, Community Development Director Steve Piasecki, City Planner Ciddy Wordell, Senior Planner Peter Gilli, Senior Planner Colin Jung, Assistant Planner Gary Chao, and Deputy City Clerk Grace Johnson. STUDY SESSION 1. Economic Development Mayor James said that the purpose of the study session was to gather information from real estate and retail professionals in the community regarding their thoughts about Cupertino's future economic development. Mike Bruner, real estate professional, said that he has been in the real estate business for 20 years and had previously worked on the General Plan. He said that in order for retail to be successful, there have to be enough people in the community spending money to support the retail, and there shouldn't be too much retail. He said that the community needs to be willing to grow or the retail developments will go to other communities. He suggested that Cupertino do a study regarding the types of retail users and where the best place would be for large retail uses. Mike Rohde, Vallco Fashion Park property manager, said that mixed use is a good idea for the Vallco site, especially if it included housing, restaurants, retail, and possibly a hotel all on one site. He said that retail sales tax draws more income to Cupertino than housing. Emily Chen, co-owner of Vallco Fashion Park, said that her group needs support from the City in order for Vallco to be successful. She said that if the City limits height and appears to be anti-growth, than theaters would not be built there, retail would go February 3, 2004 Cupertino City Council Page 2 elsewhere, and the shopping center would not be viable. She said that the idea for Vallco is to build its own character that is different from Valley Fair and the Stanford shopping center. City Planner Ciddy Wordell and City Attorney Chuck Kilian commented that Vallco is under the old General Plan until 2006 through the original Development Agreement with Westfield. Under that plan, the theater height requested would be allowed. Kilian suggested that they write a new agreement that is up to date and easier to work with. Lowenthal mentioned that he would like to discuss the needs of Vallco and Cupertino's economic development with the anti-growth, anti-height community ad hoc group and try to negotiate with them. John Nguyen, co-owner of Vallco Fashion Park, said that the goal for Vallco is to add a lot of diversity, including many types of restaurants. Randol Mackley, retail and leasing professional, gave a PowerPoint presentation that addressed how the City could position its retail inventory to be competitive with other shopping centers, and be representative of the community over the next decade. The slides included the following topics · Pictures showing the style of shopping centers from the 50's to the present · Demographics of Cupertino including population, estimated average household income, education, and percentage of renters · General retail trends · Map showing Cupertino retail districts · Description of Cupertino as a high income community; core location for high tech industry; example of the American Melting Pot with significant Asian community · Description of Cupertino as not a tourist destination; historical, scenic or amusement attraction; regional transportation hub or gateway; central business district; convention city; vertically urban community · Existing inventory of the different types of shopping centers · Future inventory · Pictures of a shopping center before and after being rehabilitated · Picture of a mixed-use center · To take caution in developing a center and take into consideration uses in conflict such as parking; odor intrusion; business hours; access; security; aesthetic; limited critical mass · Curb-side retail · Sales are most important in recruiting retail tenants · Recruitment strategies · How much influence a city has over market forces · Encourage retailers by listening to and considering why a retailer needs certain "success features" February 3, 2004 Cupertino City Council Page 3 Recorrmaendations included: soliciting market input; putting energy into designs that are enduring and not trendy; focusing on quality; developing entry gateways; and testing new ideas with what has been successful elsewhere Kwok said that he is willing to work with the height issue for the theaters and the density issue for the residential to make Vallco as viable as possible within constraints and community input. He encouraged the Vallco owners to come to Council soon with a proposal. Sandoval said that she liked what she saw so far concerning Vallco and would like to see a more fleshed-out proposal. Wang said that the community is reliant on sales tax and she would like to see retail revitalized and to work on developing a downtown. Lowenthal said that he would like to see staff develop a Cupertino marketing packet, as Mackley suggested in his PowerPoint presentation. He said that he isn't looking for more retail, but better service for residents, and to make existing retail successful. He said he would like to see theaters, bookstores, and better restaurants and wants to connect with what the residents really want. He said that he would like to reinforce the other side of the issue that density isn't necessarily a bad thing. ADJOURNMENT At 5:52 p.m. the meeting was adjourned. Because of the President's Day holiday, the next City Council meeting w~eld on Tuesday, February 17, 2004, at 6:45 p.m. Grace Johnson, Deputy City Clerk For more information: Staff reports, backup materials, and items distributed at the meeting are available for review at the City Clerk's Office, 777~3223, and also on the Internet at www.cupertino.org. Click on Agendas & Minutes/City Council/Packets. Most Council meetings are shown live on Cable Channel 26, and are available at your convenience from our web site. Visit www.cupertino.org and click on Watch Meetings. Videotapes are available at the Cupertino Library, or may be purchased from the Cupertino City Channel, 777-2364.