CC 08-21-2018 Item No. 12 Response to Santa Clara Grand Jury Report - Written CommunicationBoard of Directors
Ron Gonzales, Cha ir
Hispanic Foundation
of Silicon Valley
Jani ce Jensen, Vice Chair
Habitat for Humanity
East Bay/Silicon Voffey
Kevin Zwick, Treasurer
Hou sing Trust Silicon Volley
Kathy Thibodeaux, Secre t ary
KM Thibodeau x Consulting LLC
Sh iloh Ba ll ard
Silicon Valley Bicycle Coalition
Bob Brownstein
Working Partnerships USA
Christine Carr
Kat ie Ferrick
Linkedln
Arnie Fi sh ma n
Non-Profit Housing Association of
Northern California
Javier Gonza lez
Google
Poncho Guevara
Sacred Heart Community Service
Jan Lindenthal
MidPen Housing
Jenn ifer Lovi ng
Destination: Home
Mary Murtagh
EAH Housing
Chris Nea le
Th e Core Companies
And rea Osgood
Eden Housing
Ke lly Snide r
Kelly Snider Consulting
Jenn ife r Va n Every
The Van Every Group
Staff
Leslye Cors igl ia
Executive Director
TRANSMITIED VIA EMAIL
Cupertino City Hall
10300 Torre Ave
Cupertino, CA 95014
CC 08-21-2018 Item NO . 12
sv [Q)home
Dear Mayor Paul, Vice Mayor Sinks, Councilmembers Vaidhyanathan, Chang, and
Scharf, and City Manager Chan,
The Santa Clara County Civil Grand Jury released a report, "Affordable Housing Crisis:
Density is our Destiny," on June 21, 2018, which issued a clarion call that "affordable
housing is the issue of the day in Santa Clara County" and that "drastic action is long
overdue." The solutions it outlines are a path to more higher-density housing in
general, and more affordable housing in particular. The report makes clear that, as this
is a problem that affects people throughout the county, the response must come from
all our cities, governmental entities, and the County's largest employers . Action needs
to reflect a sense of urgency at the local level, with new policies and stepped-up
commitments, but it also needs to come through better regional coordination and
collaboration. This is a shared crisis, a shared challenge, and must engender a collective
response.
We appreciate the City's timely response to the Grand Jury's request to address specific
findings and recommendations. As the staff response catalogues, many of the findings
are well known to the City, and many of the recommendations have been integrated
into policy. Most recently , of course, Cupertino has experienced the local challenge of
community support for large scale high-density development, even as it moves towards
approval of just the type of solution we believe is envisioned by the report. What the
Grand Jury is clearly calling for, however, is a sustained commitment to long-term
solutions . It would be a shame to allow the opportunity presented by this Report to
pass us by without more forcefully committing to clear, impactful actions.
Some of the most important recommendations of the Grand Jury Report are for cities
to better coordinate in keeping affordable housing high on the agenda, and finding
regional solutions where possible . We are pleased that the City is taking up the issue of
the RHNA sub-region, and the regional discussion about barriers to meeting RHNA
targets . We expect Cupertino to be an active and important partner in these regional
discussions.
On the city level, the Vallco Specific Plan process offers a significant chance for
Cupertino to make progress on its housing goals. The Charities Housing senior housing
project that broke ground earlier this year, cited by staff in the City's response, is also
important in that it will provide 18 homes for vulnerable seniors. At the same time, it is
emblematic of the challenges of community resistance, high costs, and slow processes
that hamper the development of much-needed affordable housing projects in
Cupertino. SV@Home looks forward to being part of overdue discussions on how to
350 W. Ju l ian Street, Bui ld in g 5, Sa n Jose, CA 95110
408 .780. 226 1 • www.svatho me.o r g • in fo@ sili co nva ll eya th ome .org
Honorable Mayor Paul and Members of the City Council
February 22, 2018
Re: Vallco Special Area Specific Plan -EIR Scoping
Page 2 of 2
increase the funds the City collects for the production of affordable housing and more rapidly convert
those funds into actual homes for those who are in the most need.
We are all in this housing crisis together and all jurisdictions need to do their part. SV@Home stands
ready to continue to work closely with Cupertino to meet our shared commitments.
Sincerely,
ilar Lorenzana
Deputy Director
350 W . Julian Street, Building 5, San Jose, CA 95110
408.780.2261 • www.svathome .org • info@si liconvalleyathome .org
1
Lauren Sapudar
From:Kitty Moore <ckittymoore@gmail.com>
Sent:Thursday, August 16, 2018 3:57 PM
To:Darcy Paul; Rod Sinks; Savita Vaidhyanathan; Barry Chang; Steven Scharf
Subject:Move Item 12 off Consent Calendar, Oppose RHNA Subregion
Dear Mayor Paul, Vice Mayor Sinks and Council Members,
Please move August 21, 2018 Item 12 off the consent calendar because it is a hot topic with name calling insults
“NIMBY” in it. There is also some bullying by the Grand Jury in the wording. The documents presented seem
highly irregular.
12. Subject: Response to Santa Clara Grand Jury Report on "Affordable Housing Crisis: Density is our
Destiny."
Recommended Action: That the City Council review and approve the City's response.
Staff Report
A - Response Letter
B - Letter from Peter L. Hetman, Foreperson
C - SCC Civil Grand Jury Report - Affordable Housing Crisis: Density is our Destiny
As to the paired RHNA subregion topic, the Grand Jury Report must be read before the RHNA subregion
discussion because it contains the necessary background information.
The Housing Commission meeting last week was recorded by a resident and is available here:
https://youtu.be/J1YVO0VPn78
What struck me was the attempt to use the RHNA subregion to fob off our BMR requirements to far flung
places and have the residents take a bus in or drive which negates the whole purpose of having BMR units
located in the cities where the need is. Then bringing up transportation improvements as a substitute for
actually providing the housing is purposefully causing sprawl.
Best regards,
Kitty Moore
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From: ckittymoore@gmail.com
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CC 08-21-2018 Item No. 12
From:Jennifer Griffin
To:City Clerk
Cc:grenna5000@yahoo.com; City Council
Subject:Items Number 12 and 22 In Consent Calendar at 8/21
Date:Thursday, August 16, 2018 4:13:23 PM
Dear City Clerk:
Items Number 12 and Number 22 on the Consent Calendar of the 8/21 City Council
meeting are controversial and have not had any public discussion. They should probably
be under the Public Hearing of the meeting. I am going to ask that Items 12 and 22 be pulled for
discussion from the Consent Calendar at the August 21 City Council meeting.
I am wondering if the City Council meeting with be very long with all the items to discuss?
Thank you very much.
Sincerely,
Jennifer Griffin
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From: grenna5000@yahoo.com
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From:Jennifer Griffin
To:City Council
Cc:grenna5000@yahoo.com
Subject:Items Number 12 and 22 On City Council Agenda:8/21
Date:Thursday, August 16, 2018 1:04:34 PM
Dear City Council:
Items Number 12 and 22 on the Cupertino City Council Agenda for August 21 are currently under
Consent Calendar and should be under Public Hearings since they are controversial and
have not been discussed in front of the public at a City Council meeting yet.
Item Number 12 is the highly controversial report of the Santa Clara Grand Jury about
"Density is Our Destiny" and this item needs to be discussed before the public at City
Council before any response by the city is determined.
Item 22 involves projects being submitted to the Metropolitan Transportation Board for
the Horizon Initiative. This should be discussed before the public at the City Council
as they have not been discussed before at the Cupertino CIty Council and there needs
to be public discussion before anything is submitted. This involved highly controversial
projects involving Stevens Creek Blvd. All five of the proposals are highly controversial
and have not been discussed before the public and need to be discussed at the
Cupertino City Council before any submissions.
Neither Item 12 or 22 are appropriate at Consent Calendar level and should be
placed at the Public Hearing level.
Thank you very much.
Sincerely,
Jennifer Griffin
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To: citycouncil@cupertino.org
From: grenna5000@yahoo.com
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