CC 06-18-19 #1 Study Session Vallco Initial General Plan Amendments_Late Written CommunicationsCyrah Caburian
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Good evening!
Scott, April <april_scott@fuhsd.org>
Tuesday, June 18, 2019 5:08 PM
City Council
Sandy James; Reed Moulds
What does Cupertino represent?
cc 6/18/19
Study Session Item #1
I am in utter shock at reading about your recent efforts to block the Vallco project. Shock and great disappointment and
dissatisfaction in your so called leadership and vision.
I have lived in this city for 35 years and for 34 of those years, Cupertino was a well-respected, vital, welcoming and
progressive community. It was a city with a name of pride . I wrote to you in the fall, relaying a story from my summer
trip to Italy. Every Italian we met asked us the same 3 questions ...... Are you American? What state are you from? When
they heard California, they immediately asked, Do you know Cupertino? (All their iphones are pre-programmed with
Cupertino California weather). They imagined Cupertino as a mecca ....... a place of pride, innovation, creativity, and a
welcoming attitude . I was almost embarrassed to admit I was from Cupertino ........ because of the ugliness of your
actions and attitudes leading to the election, and sadly, continuing after the election.
It would seem to me that you, as City Council members, would be wanting to preserve and promote the historic
reputation of Cupertino . But, your actions and deceit are doing nothing but destroy what once was a desirable place.
PLEASE PLEASE PLEASE stop this ridiculous expense of energy and funds in trying to stop Vallco. Sand Hill
Properties has been nothing but proactive and collaborative ( even though you are trying your best to discourage that
positivity!). The proposed Vallco project will bring the much need revitalization to our community. It will provide
thoughtful, meaningful and community-focused use of space, including much needed housing and office space, while
also bringing a new spirit to the community with shopping, restaurants, meeting space, etc .
I am hoping you will reconsider your negative energies and efforts and refocus them to the positive. Let's restore
Cupertino to the lovely, welcoming, supportive, kind community it once was! DO NOT have Cupertino known for
being negative, restrictive , unwelcoming, and discriminatory.
A long-time Cupertino resident (who also worked in the high school district for over 30 years!)
April Scott
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Eleanor Chan < eleanorchan6@yahoo.com >
Tuesday, June 18, 2019 5:13 PM
City Council ; Cupertino City Manager's Office; City Attorney's Office; City Clerk
Tonight's agenda item #1
With the announcement of the closure of Flint Center, I would implore you to work with Sand Hill to add a
theater/community events hall to the Vallco plan. Don 't be short-sighted to just include retail to the plan. You're
strangling the fun out of Cupertino .
Eleanor Chan
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Joan Trampenau <trampenau2000@comcast.net>
Tuesday, June 18, 2019 5:20 PM
Steven Scharf; Liang Chao; Rod Sinks ; Darcy Paul; Jon Robert Willey; Cupertino City Manager's
Office; City Clerk; City Council
Agenda Item #1: Study Session regarding Vallco Shopping Center District Special Area Initial
General Plan Amendment.
To Mayor Scharf and the City Council :
I am a long-time resident of Cupertino -over 45 years -and live within about 500 feet of Vall co .
I have observed with growing disappointment the way in which the current City Council has attempted to shut down
development of a new, improved Vallco . In fact, I am disgusted by the way in which you are wasting the resources,
both financial and city employee time and effort, of the city. I believe that many of your attempts will be proved to be
illegal, and the tax-paying residents of the city will end up paying for your foolishness .
As someone who will be closely impacted by both the demolition and construction activities in rebuilding Vallco, I
heartily support Sand Hill Properties and their attempt to build a useful, attractive project.
Joan Trampenau
10141 Colby Ave.
Cupertino, CA 95014
trampenau2000@comcast.net
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Liana Crabtree <lianacrabtree@yahoo.com>
Tuesday, June 18, 2019 5:29 PM
Steven Scharf; Liang Chao; Darcy Paul; Rod Sinks; Jon Robert Willey
City Clerk
Agenda Item 1, 6/18/2019, Study Session regardi ng Vallco Shopping District Special Area Initial
General Plan Amendments
Honorable Mayor Scharf, Vice Mayor Chao, Council Members Paul, Sinks, and Willey:
I regret I am not able to attend this evening's study session to consider General Plan amendments affecting the Vallco
Shopping District site, but I appreciate Council 's willingness to address weaknesses in the General Plan (and zoning)
that leave the City vulnerable to projects that have insufficient support with regards to adequate housing, school
resources, and infrastructure.
From review of the Staff Report for Agenda Item 1, I support Option 2, "Remove the Office land use and associated
allocation at Vallco, set a height limit,
and amend the portion of the site to which the Residential land use designation
is associated with to retain or increase the Residential allocation at the site."
If during the course of this evening's discussion, Council determines that Option 1 is a better fit for Cupertino, then I
support Option 1. I do not support Option 3, "Take no action."
Thank you for your service on behalf of our shared community.
Sincerely,
Liana Crabtree
Cupertino resident
representing myself only
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Cyrah Caburian
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Hello Council Members,
John Geis <jgeis4401@gmail.com>
Tuesday, June 18, 2019 5:34 PM
City Council; City Clerk; Cupertino City Manager's Office
City Council meeting 6/18/19, Agenda Item 1
For Agenda Item 1 -Please choose Option 3 -Take no action.
There is no reason to change anything . Any change will open the city to more lawsuits and unreasonable limit
development which will hurt the city.
Thank you,
John Geis
Cupertino Resident
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GEOFFREY PAULSEN <geoffpaulsen@yahoo.com>
Tuesday, June 18, 2019 4:49 PM
City Council; City of Cupertino Planning Commission; Benjamin Fu; Cupertino City Manager's
Office; City Clerk
Jean Bedord; Reed Moulds; Sandy James ; Gary E. Jones; Richard Lowenthal; Anja Ii Kausar; Rick
Kitson
Vallco -tonight's hearing .
Hello, honorable and dedicated public servants.
Please consider the law.
Cupertino is financially squeezed by tax laws that have eroded, over the last 50 years, tax
revenues at the federal and state levels.
We may not like these laws, and we can't control how they impact the composition and financial
viability of local developments . But they are the law.
8B35 is also the law.
Rather than try to fight SB35 -an expensive proposition -let's work together within the
contraints of the law to focus on areas that we can control. Let's work with the members of our
great community as well as with developers on issues such as design, livability, and financial
viability.
Let's move forward.
Regards, Geoff
Geoffrey Paulsen
Former Chair, Cupertino Planning Commission
Board member, Canopy.org
408 / 480-7509 cell
Cyrah Caburian
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Govind Tatachari <gtc2k7@gmail.com >
Tuesday, June 18, 2019 5:38 PM
City Council ; Cupertino City Manager's Office; City Clerk ; City Attorney's Office
Agenda item 19-5580: Request for allocation and GPA changes
Dear Mayor Scharf, Vice-Mayor Chao, Council member Sinks, Council member Paul and Council
member Willey.
It is heartening to find out about the agenda item 19-5580 (Subject: Study Session regarding Vallco Shopping District
Special Area Initial General Plan Amendments. Application No(s). :CP-2019 -02; Apploicant(s): City of Cupertino; Location : Vallco
shopping District Area) related to General plan amendment and the Vall co site specific
entitlements ( allocations -made right around 2014 elections and more recent
proposals before 2018 elections which were subject of successful referendum
petitions). Thank you for tabling this as part of the study session.
For last two decades, Cupertino has always had a very high jobs/housing ratio amongst its neighbors and
in the county. There is NO rationale to increase this ratio per se and much less reason to allocate an
obscene level of office space to one specific project site within Cupertino.
In view of this, please consider the following changes to Table I -Current Vallco Development
Allocation in the staff report for agenda item 19-5580.
1. Remove the Office allocation completely i.e office (s .f) allocation and buildout be set to O (Zero).
2 . Set the Residential allocation to comply with the RHNA allocation for this site (339 units or so).
3 . Reset the GP A limits for the Vall co site to its pre-2014 level ( set maximum height limit, setback
and building plane ratios as per pre-2014 GP level i.e. as per GPA 2005-2020)
Enclosed is my earlier communication dated Nov 21, 2017 to the City council
( one year before the recent elections) on this subject for your reference.
Please include this as part of the public record for this agenda item.
Thanking you,
Govind Tatachari
Cupertino Resident
----------Forwarded message ---------
From: Govind Tatachari <gtc2k7@gmail.com>
Date: Tue, Nov 21, 2017 at 5:33 PM
Subject: Request for immediate action before new state legislations take effect
To: citycouncil <citycouncil(a),cupe1iino.org>, City Attorney's Office <CityAttomey@cupertino.org>, cityclerk
<cityclerk@cupertino.org>
Dear Cupertino City Council :
A spate of new land-use and housing legislation will take effect on 1/1 /2018 .
Even before it was enacted , many associations including the League of California Cities , the American Planning Association , California Chapter, the California State
Association of Counties and so on, opposed some of the new legislation.
At the City Council's Aug . 28 meeting, Palo Alto Mayor Greg Scharff framed the SB 35 legislation as an attack on local control and argued that it could worsen the
city's parking problems .
League of California Cities found that some of the new regulations will create new technical requirements , force land zoning, reduce mitigation fees to overcome
impact, reduce zoning consistency, increase evaluation burdens, make local governments more vulnerable via court directed awards and fines, force approvals , etc .
What does it mean for the City of Cupertino?
Since 2014 many concerned Cupertino residents have publicly expressed strong concerns about Cupertino 's long-tenn land-use plan and allocation process .
In Dec 2014 , by yielding to the developers demands for obscenely high allocations and very high density large-scale mixed-use development with "no" height limit at
the Vallco Shopping District site (Vallco), the newly elected Cupertino City council made itself very vulnerable in tenns of its ability to control intensity of development
at that site and all across Cupertino .
A majority of Cupertino residents and even residents in adjoining cities felt that Cupertino city coucil had totally overlooked the cumulative impact of this very high
density gargantuan mixed-use development next to a large office complex (AC2), other dense residential developments and the new town center, all concentrated in a
small region. The above scenario will have irrecoverable adverse impact on the local enviromnent and infrastructure.
The new legislation rightly favors affordable housing development. However it also loosen the ability of Cupertino city council to reign in the intensity of high density
development.
Thus it is imperative that Cupertino City council quickly reevaluate some of its land-use and unbalanced allocation decisions . Please take corrective actions to remove
unnecessary entitlements immediately (before 12/31/2017) for the Vallco site i.e.
1) remove the 2 million square feet of office allocation,
2) ensure the General plan is carefully amended to reinstate language
• to restore the maximum density, setback, building height and plane specifications to what they were at the time the current owner purchased the Vallco
property,
• that retail/dining/entertainment/recreation space allocation at Vallco is at least same as before 2014, and
• that open space at Vallco is flat and at ground level and there are no elevated rooftop or canopy parks.
3 . That Vallco stays as a regional shopping/dining/entertainment/recreation destination .
Please take action to make the above changes and ensure that the developer cannot exploit vulnerabilities in the General plan and the new legislation to force Cupertino
city into a comer and enhance its profits at the expense of the needs of the Cupertino community.
Now is the time to act before the new legislation kicks in. Please retain local control over intensity of development at Vallco site and all over Cupertino .
Thank you for your consideration. Please include this letter as part of the public record.
Sincerely,
Govind Tatachari
Cupertino resident
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David Fredrickson <dmfredrickson@gmail.com>
Tuesday, June 18, 2019 10:29 PM
Steven Scharf
Vallco Project
As a resident of Cupertino since 1964, I've seen the Vallco property go thru a number of changes . I rode my bike down
to Sears and watched the construction crews pour the foundations and connect them to the back end of the Sears
building . After school I would walk thru the Mall and visit McDonalds, the record stores, the bookstores, and the video
game section in Sears . As I got older I watched as the lower level ofVallco grew emptier, and finally was closed off to
the public . I went to the movies at the AMC, all the while hoping that more stores would magically open in the near-
empty building. And now I've sat for years, waiting for our City Council to come to some semblance of reason and put
this behemoth to its well-deserved rest, and finally restore Cupertino to the vibrant city it used to be.
I support the current Vallco Project that already has a green light to finally put life back into the Wolfe Road area. I
have faith in the builder and faith in their vision. But now I've heard that the council is considering changing the rules
so as to stirnie the progress of the project. This is not what I intended when I voted for you for this City Council
position! This project may not be perfect, it may not be the utmost efficiency of use for for the land in terms of housing
or business. But its a GREAT START! This is the project I've been hoping to witness . The rebirth ofmy childhood
hang-out! I beg you to please let this project go thru and let Cupertino shine again! Don't hold up the
construction! Don't change the rules! Don't demean us and our city again by throwing unnecessary wrenches into the
works!
This is my city. I need to see it wake up and meet the challenge.
Let Vallco finally rise again! We need this!
-Dave Fredrickson -
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Hello,
greglschaffer@yahoo.com
Wednesday, June 19, 2019 4:39 PM
City Council
The June 18, 2019 Special Meeting Study Session at 5:30pm
I was at the Special Meeting Study Session last night and was one of the speakers . I only found out about it yesterday
after noticing I had received an email from Reed Moulds to his supporters . The letter talks about the use of SB 35 to
bypass the city council. Sandhill intends to build whatever it was that the previous City staff approved.
The letter then went on to talk about "Better Cupertino" and their lawsuit that seeks to "void the City's 2018 approval
and terminate the project." Reed goes on to say that' "Better Cupertino" stacked City Council...'
Okay, now for a bit of history . In November 2016 Sandhill's Measure D was defeated by THE VOTERS OF
CUPERTINO. In November of2018 three Council Members were elected. Two of them were from Better Cupertino .
(Stacking City Council) All three candidates backed by Sandhill were DEFEATED BY THE VOTERS OF
CUPERTINO. Unless I am missing something here, Cupertino voters have voted Sandhill's projects down twice in a
row .
Reed's letter goes on to urge his followers to attend the special meeting and voice their opposition to the new Council's
actions.
I am an independent voter. I am not opposed to redeveloping Vallco . But I don't want to be told by Sandhill why their
plan is good for Cupertino citizens . I have found fault with every proposal that Sandhill has made. If Sandhill is so
intent on adding housing, why not make ALL of Vallco housing? I know, that means the profitable Office buildings
would have to go . Well, as I tried to point out last night, office buildings are on their way out. If Sandhill continued
with their existing design, in about 20 years the office buildings will be about half vacant. Vallco, like the original mall,
would once again become a semi ghost town. But Sandhill would have their money and Cupertino would be stuck with
the project.
About a month ago I proposed to the Planning Commission a couple changes that would prevent unscrupulous
companies from taking over Cupertino : require a detailed business plan and, if approved, purchase a completion bond
before starting work on the project. I know that Sandhill will never agree to either of these, but a reputable company
would.
Say, is their a way to keep NON-Cupertino residents from speaking at our City meetings. I resent outsiders telling us
what they think we should do .
Sincerely,
Greg Schaffer
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Dear City Councillors:
Raymond Chiu <chiuraymond@yahoo.com>
Wednesday, June 19, 2019 8:00 PM
Steven Scharf; Liang Chao; Darcy Paul; Jon Robert Willey; Rod Sinks
City Clerk
Cupertino redevelopment vision
I am very concerned with the present Vall co redevelopment focusing on housing solely because of SB3 5 because its
other plans did not meet resident hopes and desires . Yes, the City has to contribute its share of housing in the whole
Bay area but all cities in the Bay area have ignored the fundamental linked issues of housing and viable public
transportation systems . It is senseless to increase housing density only to push more people and cars onto crowded
highways . Anytime housing is discussed, public transportation must also be reviewed . Bay area city and county
governments have ignored the latter because it is goes beyond their capacity and mandate. Furthermore there is no
leadership, coordination or cooperation between cities and counties (which are like fiefdoms) and ABAG has done little
on this pressing issue.
As a resident of Cupertino, I would like developments that make business sense (both for the investors and also the
City government and its residents) and balanced by housing objectives and a social vision shared by residents.
I am for balanced mixed developments in Cupertino that comprise following:
1. Retail and hotels that are less impactful on transportation and contribute more income to the City than housing or
offices;
2 . Mixed income housing consistent with housing objectives of the State and Bay area;
3 . A purposeful plan for office developments that would reduce transportation impacts;
4 . Development plans that are architecturally and environmentally graceful and pleasant; a source of enjoyment and
pride for residents;
5 . Building height limits that should not exceed 10 stories so residents and building occupiers can enjoy the wonderful
views of the valley;
6 . Adequate parks and recreational facilities to promote quality of life .
Sincerely,
Raymond Chiu
Cyrah Caburian
From: Long Ching Yeh <longchingyeh@yahoo.com >
Wednesday, June 19, 2019 7:59 PM Sent:
To:
Cc:
Steven Scharf; Liang Chao; Rod Sinks; Darcy Paul; Jon Robert Willey
City Clerk
Subject: Vallee
• Do you want housing? How much housing? What types of units?
• 800 units apartments
• Do you want affordable (below market rate and/or other) housing? What% should it be?
• 40% affordable housing
• Do you want a mix of rental and for-sale housing? What% of each? _
• 60% for sale, 40% for rental
• Do you want retail? If so, what kind of retail would you like to see? What retail do you consider most
needed in our community?
• yes, movie theater, walmart or target type retail stores
• Do you want on-site, ground level, flat, contiguous parkland?
• 100%yes
• How much parking should be provided? Should it be enough to accommodate residents of and visitors to
the development, or curtailed according the new idea out there that "if you don't build parking, people
won't drive?
• 1000 parking space both for residents and visitors
• Do you want office? If so, what type of office? (ex: corporate/Class A, small medical type, service office
spaces? How much? Why?
• medical and/or service offices are needed, because you can not buy medical service through
amazon
• What height limits (how many stories) and setbacks (how far from the curb) do you think are appropriate
?
• 6 stories is a maximum , 120 feet setbacks
1