CC 07-19-2022 Late Oral Communications and Written CommunicationsFrom:Caitlin Huang
To:City Clerk
Subject:Comments to be read for item 1, Lawrence Mitty Project.
Date:Tuesday, July 19, 2022 5:51:52 PM
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Dear Mayor, Vice-Mayor, and City Council:
I am so happy that we will have a new park on the east side of Cupertino near my house. Thank you Mayor Paul for being the driving force to get this done. The new park should be named Darcy Paul Park, but hopefully not for another 50 years or so.
I hope that there can be a fenced in area for off-leash dogs as part of the new park. I currently take my golden retrievers all the way across town to the Jollyman Park off-leash dog area, or drive even further to Sunnyvale. We need an off-leash dog area on the east side of town. I know that it will take many years to develop this park, but I plan to be in Cupertino for a long time.
A big thank you to the City Council for all you do to make Cupertino a wonderful place to live. You have a tough job and receive a lot of unfair attacks from special interest groups and the media but you persevere. Keep up the great work.
Caitlin HuangCupertino Resident
From:Liang Chao
To:City Clerk
Cc:Matt Morley; Dianne Thompson (she/her)
Subject:Communication shared during 7/19 Council meeting - Lawrence-Mitty Park
Date:Tuesday, July 19, 2022 9:15:09 PM
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The images I shared at the Council meeting. For your record for the 7/19 Council meeting.
==============
Liang Chao
Vice Mayor
City Council
LiangChao@cupertino.org
408-777-3192
1
Kirsten Squarcia
From:Danessa Techmanski <danessa@pacbell.net>
Sent:Tuesday, July 19, 2022 8:38 PM
To:Kirsten Squarcia
Cc:Darcy Paul
Subject:Re: Tonight's Orals--Danessa Techmanski is having technical problems
Follow Up Flag:Follow up
Flag Status:Flagged
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Dear Kirsten,
Sorry my oral comment was a bit garbled. You did a beautiful job trying to read it! I am flat on the floor on an icepack
from a back injury and reeling from a reaction to my fourth covid booster—hard to type sideways with one hand, but I
knew what I wanted to say! My dog thought my horizontal condition was some sort of game and she pounced on my
keyboard creating a meeting sound‐feedback loop that I couldn’t seem to fix.
Here is my exact same speech with typos corrected if anyone wants to read it.
Much appreciated,
Danessa Techmanski
I find it incredibly disappointing that the Cupertino‐Sunnyvale LWV has issued an extremely questionable
statement about Cupertino’s lobbying ordinance. It is exactly the same as Santa Clara’s and San Jose’s and
their leagues aren’t suing them. I’ve no idea who within the ranks of their organization promoted this, but why
wouldn’t the public want lobbying organizations to file with the City‐‐non profit or otherwise. It’s not about
silencing anyone and we are all free to speak or write at orals. The question begs—Why wouldn’t we want
transparency in Cupertino?
It’s no surprise that residents who are paying attention have the impression that some of our LWV's more
active members have strong development interests where they should be impartial.
That distrust began with the LWV’s promulgation of the false narrative that the citizen’s Measure C Initiative
would create three‐story houses all over Cupertino despite that they were persistently informed that it was
basically impossible because of floor‐area‐height‐ratios in our city. Our comment cards regarding such were
completely ignored at the LWV forums. Shortly after the elections, one of Vallco’s lead architects, Craig
Bachelor, bragged that he was responsible for the false claim. His wife, an active League member, was also a
Vallco architect.
In May of 2018 the Cupertino Sunnyvale LWV stunned residents by doing their own Vallco forum. Since when
does the LWV get involved in developer issues? It got worse at the 2020 Council Candidate Forum where
questions smacked of taking pokes at our resident‐centric candidates and appeared to come straight from the
mouth of one of their members who is Vallco’s biggest full‐time supporter. Their apparent candidate of choice
2
was an LWV Board Director at Large and is a die‐hard Vallco supporter. Isn’t the League’s purpose to remain
basically ,impartial, but also to apprise the public of any factual and measurable negative impacts? Remember
that Vallco and the Rise will leave Cupertino short housing for about 4,000 new workers‐‐a very serious issue
considering our current housing crisis and RHNA issues. This was never mentioned. Many who watched the
forum were incensed.
The elephant in the room is that one of the League’s very active members is also the editor and writer of the
self‐proclaimed Cupertino newspaper,"Cupertino Matters," which appears to be dedicated to the glorification
of Vallco and Main Street alongside weekly smears and criticisms of our City Council (minus their favorite
member). That same person is also a regular fixture at our Council orals, on Nextdoor, and anywhere else she
can spew her negative Council narrative in a full‐time job to make it look like a resident majority despite that
this group is only a small handful of dissenters. Residents have grown weary of the constant negative fodder
and the uninformed have the right to know who is who. Is it any wonder why our City would create a lobbying
ordinance?
So why would our local LWV object to an ordinance that brings transparency to the table unless it is some
misguided, personal deflection by one or more of its own threatened and self‐serving members to tarnish our
Council and position their own candidates before the coming elections?
Danessa Techmanski
30‐year Cupertino Resident
On Jul 19, 2022, at 7:12 PM, Kirsten Squarcia <kirstens@cupertino.org> wrote:
Yes, will do
Kirsten Squarcia
City Clerk
City Manager's Office
KirstenS@cupertino.org
(408) 777‐3225
‐‐‐‐‐Original Message‐‐‐‐‐
From: Danessa Techmanski <danessa@pacbell.net>
Sent: Tuesday, July 19, 2022 7:05 PM
To: Kirsten Squarcia <KirstenS@cupertino.org>
Subject: Tonight's Orals‐‐Danessa Techmanski is having technical problems
CAUTION: This email originated from outside of the organization. Do not click links or open attachments
unless you recognize the sender and know the content is safe.
Hi Kirsten,
3
Could you please read this in my stead? Darcy called me and I am having technical problems:
I find it incredibly disappointing that the Cupertino‐Sunnyvale LWV has issued an extremely
questionable statement about Cupertino’s lobbying ordinance. It is exactly the same as Santa Clara’s and
San Jose’s and their Leagues aren’t suing them. I’ve no who within the ranks of their organization
promoted this, but why wouldn’t the public want lobbying organizations to file with the City‐‐non profit
or otherwise. it’s not about silencing anyone and we are all free to speak or write at orals. The question
begs‐‐why wouldn’t we want transparency in Cupertino?
It’s no surprise that residents who are paying attention have the impression that some of our LWVs
more active members have strong development interests when they should be impartial.
That distrust began with the LWV’s promulgation of the false narrative that the citizen’s Measure C
initiative would create three story houses all over Cupertino despite that they were persistently
informed them that it was basically impossible because of floor‐area height ratios in our city. Our
comment cards as such were completely ignored at the LWV forums. Shortly after the elections, one of
Vallco’s lead architects, Craig Bachelor, bragged that he was responsible for the false claim. His wife, an
active League member, was also a Vallco architect.
In May of 2018 the Cupertino Sunnyvale LWV stunned residents by doing their own Vallco forum. Since
when does the LWV get involved in developer issues? It got worse at the 2020 Council Candidate Forum
where questions smacked of taking pokes at our resident‐centric candidates and appeared to come
straight from the mouth of one of their members who is Vallco’s biggest full‐time supporter. Their
apparent candidate of choice was an LWV Board Director at Large and is a die‐hard Vallco supporter.
Isn’t the League’s purpose to remain impartial, but also to apprise the public of any factual and
measurable negative impacts? Remember that Vallco and the Rise will leave Cupertino short housing for
about 4,000 new workers‐‐a very serious issue considering our current housing crisis and RHNA
issues. Many who watched were incensed.
The elephant in the room is that one of the League’s very active members is also the editor and writer of
the self ‐proclaimed Cupertino newspaper, Cupertino Matters, which appears to be dedicated to the
glorification of Vallco and Main Street alongside weekly smears and criticisms of our City Council (minus
their favorite). That same person is also a regular fixture at our Council orals, on Nextdoor, and
anywhere else she can spew her negative Council narrative as a full‐time job to make it look like a
resident majority despite that this group is only a small handful of dissenters. Residents have grown
weary of the constant negative fodder and the uninformed have the right to know. Is it any wonder why
our City would create a lobbying ordinance?
So why would our local LWV object to an ordinance that brings transparency to the table unless it is
some misguided personal deflection by one or more of its own threatened and self‐serving members to
tarnish our Council and position their own candidates before the coming elections?
Thank you so much,
Danessa Techmanski
30‐year Resident
From:EAC Chair
To:City Clerk
Subject:Lawrence-Mitty Park project - Public comment to be read into the record
Date:Tuesday, July 19, 2022 5:51:33 PM
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Good evening, Mayor Paul and Councilmembers,
My name is Annie Yang, and I am the Chair of the Environmental Action Committee of the
Santa Clara Valley Audubon Society. I am also a Cupertino resident. I am really glad that the
city has decided to develop this site as a park. I would love to see the area restored to some of
the natural habitat it once was to bring back some healthy biodiversity. As mentioned in the
Environmental Summary Report, this site is adjacent to Saratoga Creek, an important wildlife
corridor that runs through largely developed areas that lack natural space for resident and
migratory species to shelter, forage, and breed. In fact, one California species of special
concern has been identified as using the area now. Once the park is developed, I am sure more
species, special-status or otherwise, will also be found in the park.
Therefore, in order to protect the ecosystem and allow for safe recreation, I encourage three
things.
Number one, please plant all native trees and plants appropriate to the riparian habitat of
Saratoga Creek. Please also protect the existing native trees that are there.
Number two, put trails as far away from the creek as possible. I've walked on trails in
the south bay that are too close to water, and you can see inevitable bits of trash and
trampling by humans or pets along on the banks.
Finally, please do not put artificial lighting at the park. The City Council, members of
the public, and environmental experts have all discussed here previously the dangers of
artificial light at night to birds, insects, and the ecosystem, especially in sensitive areas
such as the location of this park.
Again, I am looking forward to seeing healthy natural habitat thrive at Lawrence-Mitty Park.
Thank you.
Annie Yang
Annie Yang
Environmental Action Committee ChairSanta Clara Valley Audubon Society
22221 McClellan Rd
Cupertino, CA 95014
eac@scvas.org
From:JOHN KOLSKI
To:Darcy Paul; City Council; Kitty Moore; Jean Bedord; Jean Bedord; Lauren Sapudar
Cc:Richard Lowenthal
Date:Tuesday, July 19, 2022 5:06:48 PM
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DO YOU PEOPLE KNOW HOW TERRIBLE YOU ARE AND HOW
THE RESIDENTS OF THIS CITY FEEL ABOUT YOU?
WORTHLESS IS THE WORD THAT DESCRIBES ALL YOUR
ACTIONS.
YOU ALL SHOULD BE FIRED. EVEN A PAST MAYOR SPEAKS
OF YOUR TERRIBLE LEADERSHIP.
YOU ARE DESTROYING THE CITY.
MAKING THIS CITY LOOK LIKE A JOKE TO EVERYBODY IN
THE VALLEY.
YOU HIRE YOUR FRIENDS ONLY SO THEY GET ANOTHER
RETIREMENT PLAN AFTER THE LEAVE IN TWO OR THREE
YEAR OF DOING NOTHING FOR OUR CITY AND YOU HIRE
PEOPLE HOW KNOW NOTHING ABOUT THEIR JOBS. YOU
DON'T EVEN DO CURRENT SEARCHES WHEN HIRING. YOU
JUST HIRE ANYONE OR AS I SAID FRIENDS!
AGAIN YOU ARE HIRING A CITY MANAGER LIKE THE LAST
THREE WHO HAVE NEVER BEEN A CITY MANAGER LIKE YOU
HIRE EVER POSITION INCLUDING THE CITY ATTORNEY.
IT IS NO WONDER WE ARE IN LAWSUITS COST US
MILLIONS.
Retention of city staff is a major concern well expressed by Richard Lowenthal,
former mayor, speaking out in a Letter to the Editor in the July 14, 2022,Mercury
News: “Fractious Council costing Cupertino leaders”. Instead of opening a new
search, the revolving door continues with Mayor Darcy Paul extending an offer to a
candidate previously interviewed a year ago, Pamela Wu, who currently serves as
Community and Economic Development Director in San Bruno. Her resume
demonstrates a lengthy and consistent background in planning, though it does not
appear that she has any experience as a city manager or assistant city manager. Her
contract calls for quarterly performance reviews and requires coordination with the
city council on a press release if she resigns. She is scheduled to start on August 29,
if her contract is approved. The bigger question is timing on this hiring decision,
especially with council composition changing in less than four months. Should
a new council elected in November have the opportunity to choose a new city
manager, or should this lame-duck council?
JOHN KOLSKI
THIS IS A CASUAL COMMUNICATION AND ALL STATEMENTS ARE MY OPINION
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From:Caitlin Huang
To:City Clerk
Subject:Oral Communications
Date:Tuesday, July 19, 2022 6:54:52 PM
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Dear Mayor Paul and City Council:
With a few residents that are paid by special interests to constantly attack the City Council, I wanted to just say THANK YOU for all the City Council has accomplished since 2018, when a majority, resident-focused, City Council was elected. Councilman Willey often talks about “the residents.” He is spot-on. The residents elected all of you and it’s vital that you act in residents' best interests.
Major accomplishments that I have seen in the past six years:• The official opening of the Apple Park Campus and the wonderful open house that my family attended.• The funding and completion of the Library expansion and the $1 million in federal funding that was received.• The overturning of the Vallco Tier 2 approval. The SB-35 project, while flawed, provides a lot of affordable housing. It’s sad that we didn’t have a resident-focused City Council back in 2017 because we gave up the chance for a really great project at Vallco.• The funding of the All Inclusive Playground at Jollyman Park.• The VIA shuttle, which my elderly parents use when visiting from Taiwan, and the $8.5 million in grant funding received to expand it.• The acquisition of the Lawrence-Mitty land which was discussed earlier tonight.• The off-leash dog area at Jollyman Park. I bring our golden retrievers there often and they have a great time.• The response to Covid-19 which resulted in Cupertino having the lowest infection rate in the County and perhaps the entire State.• The seamless transition to remote-working for which the City and its IT director were praised in Forbes Magazine.• The addition of the Linda Vista and Regnart Creek Trails.• The protected bicycle lanes that will help us become less dependent on cars.• The paving program that has resulted in the best roads in the region.• The lobbyist registration ordinance. It’s unacceptable when organizations hide behind their non-profit status to lobby the City on behalf of their corporate sponsors. Now one of the worst offenders is suing the City over this vital ordinance.
• The investigation into taxpayer's money being given away to the Chamber of Commerce.
• The recruitment of a new City Manager. The City Council acted quickly to rectify an unfortunate hiring decision. Sometimes these mistakes happen despite best efforts to avoid them.
We are so fortunate to have a resident-focused City Council. It was not always like this. It is vital that Cupertino residents continue to elect Council Members that act in the best interest of the City and its residents, and that are not beholden to special interest groups and their lobbyists. We must not go backward.
Caitlin HuangCupertino Resident