CC 11-02-2022 Item No. 15 SB 9_Written CommunicationsCC 11-01-2022
#15
SB 9 Municipal Code
Amendments
Written
Communication
From:Tracy Hsu
To:City Council
Cc:Emi Sugiyama; Piu Ghosh (she/her)
Subject:SB-9 - concern on the ratio of 2nd floor to 1st floor
Date:Monday, October 31, 2022 3:54:50 PM
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Dear city council members,
In 2020, Cupertino adapted the statewide ADU rule to allow ADU up to 800sf. When
counting the ratio of second story to first story, the ADU living space has been
counted towards to the first story space since 2020. Last week, city planner
mentioned ADU won't be counted towards first floor living space when validating the
ratio of second story to first story for a SB-9 property. The result of this new rule
would set the maximum living space on the second floor to 750SF which can only
accommodate 2 bedrooms and 2 baths. Most of family has 2 kids or more, a three
bedrooms on the second floor would be highly desired.
City already put the strict rules like maximum 2000SF living space, and two daylight
planes on SB9. It's unclear why city is making the ratio of second story to first story
more strict now. I would like to ask city council members to allow ADU living space to
be counted towards to the first story living space when validating the ratio of second
story to first story for both R-1 and SB-9 R-1 properties.
Thanks,
-Tracy
From:Mike Wiese
To:Emi Sugiyama; Piu Ghosh (she/her)
Subject:SB 9 Ordinance, 2nd floor ratio
Date:Monday, October 31, 2022 5:58:28 PM
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Emi and Piu,
I would like to clarify the rules for calculating the 2nd floor ratio
The Cupertino Planning FAQ website, https://www.cupertino.org/our-
city/departments/community-development/planning/faq
says Floor Area includes
All accessory structures, such as sheds and Accessory Dwelling Units
The draft SB 9 ordinance says Floor area includes
10. Sheds and accessory structures
Looks like this means that an ADU (attached or detached) is included in the first floor area. If
not, please clarify where it is specified in the ordinances that ADUs are not included.
The draft also says
The ratio of the second story to first story floor area shall not exceed 50% except that [66%
with additional setback requirements]
Therefore the ADU floor area should be included in the denominator when calculating the
second story ratio. If you disagree, please clarify where that is mentioned in the ordinance.
Regarding the 2000 sq ft limit, the Staff Report on the proposed ordinance says
Research indicates that this limitation impacts approximately 100 of the close to 17,000
R1‐zoned lots in Cupertino, which is about 0.5% of the total lots …
The report does not go into detail on the research, but I disagree that this only impacts 100
lots, since by using a 40/60 split many resulting lots could be over 4444 sq ft. Please consider
this in future reports.
Thanks,
Mike