General Plan Introduction booklet - 1964 o
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° CUPERTINO
GENERAL PLAN
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WHAT IS A GENERAL PLAN? 2
THE SITE 5
LAND USE 8
9 LAND USE MAP
' POLICIES AND OBJECTIVES 12
THE GENERAL PLAN 15
' 16 GENERAL PLAN MAP
IMPLEMENTATION 17
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WHAT IS A GENERAL PLAN? The State Planning Law has provided that a long-
term comprehensive general plan be prepared and
adopted by each planning commission. The master t
or general plan shall show the projected physical
development of the city by use of a map and a
statement covering the objectives, principals
and standards.
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The General Plan enables the City to determine
aof o set policies with which the CityCouncil
and the Planning Commission may govern the future
development.
The General Plan allows the City Council and the
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Planning Commission to review proposed construction,
Irezoning and annexations in light of the desired
future development.
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IThe General Plan also allows private property
owners to review their future development.
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IThe General Plan must be a plan that is projected
as far into the future as possible based on
I reasonable educated forecasts.
This usually means
1 thirty to fifty years for most elements;
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however, some areas of forecasting would be at a
longer time schedule. Because of the nature of
Iplanning, the term general plan must mean general,
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and only approximate sizes, shapes, locations
and uses are shown.
The long-range as ect of forecasting, the advances
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and changes in our society requires a built in I
flexibility in the plan, it requires periodic
modification to keep pace with the latest
policies of our City Council and Planning 1
Commission. These changes; however, should
be given ?as much consideration as the original
plan to protect existing uses both public and r
private.
The General Plan, all changes and current thinking
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must be understood by all peoples of the comm
Iunity, it belongs to them and without their
IIcomplete cooperation and support, the General
Plan is worthless.
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IThe Zoning Ordinance is discussed later and
should not be confused with the General Plan
IIsince it deals with the current and short-
II range land uses.
ITHE SITE The Cupertino planning area considered in the
Istudy is bounded by Fremont Road on the north,
Lawrence Station Road on the east, Prospect Road
Ion the south, and on the west by the foothills
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of the Santa Cruz Mountain Range.
The generally flat terrain slopes from the foot- '
hills on the southwest diagonally to the north-
west across the very finest Class "1" soil.
Cupertino is "blessed" with two main arteries
of traffic, Highway 9 and Stevens Creek
Boulevard which cut the City into four ,
quadrants.
The other road system, in a gridiron pattern, '
generally follows section lines and with
the exception of Highway 9, has until recently
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been adequate. Traffic counts taken on Highway
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9 have shown a need for improvement to four
lanes for several years and with the pace of
' development other roadwaysar
e a e now going
rbeyond their optimum capacity.
The recent addition of the proposed Stevens
Creek and Junipero Serra Freeways have now
' bisected the quadrangles and even when completed
will not lessen the traffic load on our present
' road system since the growth of the area will
' surpass the capacity of the freeways in the
State' s five to ten year construction program.
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Altho the Southern Pacific Railroad passes the
present westerly boundary of the City, unless
the use of the line is justified and increased, ,
it is possible that the Southern Pacific will
request the abandonment of the line.
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LAND USE The land use map indicates the present pattern
of uses within the City of Cupertino. The
largest use at present remains in cultivated ' '
orchard land; however, in todays economy and
the rapid growth, the retention of land for
agriculture cannot be justified and seems
for the lack of a solution, doomed. Land prices
for urban uses are always higher than for even
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500 1000 2000 3000 ♦000
1AGRICULTURE SINGLE FAMILY COMMERCIAL LIGHT
\� RESIDENTIALLIGHT
INDUSTRY
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/ HEAVY SCHOOLS B PROFESSIONAL OTHER
/ INDUSTRY CHURCHES JURISDICTIONS LA \ D USLJ
the most valuable agricultural use.
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The above is unfortunate since many orchardists
' want to remain, many people moved to a "rural
atmosphere" for esthetic reasons and because
of this Class "I " soil it should be preserved or
' held as longfor
as possible e f r agricultural uses,
' The Santa Clara Valley, certainly including the
area of Cupertino' s rich lands, has gained
national and international fame for its fruit
Iproducts. Until some scheme for protecting the
farmer is achieved, houses will continue to
replace trees, "greenbelting" has not by itself
' proven to be the answer. Two level taxation
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does not meet with popular approval. The
answer might be forthcoming after we no
longer have the question. '
POLICIES AND OBJECTIVES Planning for the future of Cupertino had been
to maintain the rural atmosphere by medium ,
density living areas. The trasition from
agricultural to urban expansion should be ,
orderly with possible changes from orchard '
to berries and flowers to urban development.
The economic return for investing in a replace-
ment orchard requires to from thirty to forty I
years, whereas, the smaller capital investment
for berries and flowers may be returned in
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from five to ten years.
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' Commercial areas should be encouraged to
allow Cupertino being the principal shopping
tcenter for the people in the planning area.
Efforts should be made to attract "industry".
' The type of "industry" desired would be the
high type of electronic, insurance home offices,
engineering, research and the like. The
' proximity of Lockheed gives weight to the
' logic of having branches and sub-contractor
groups in the area. The urban development of
a medium to higher residential development
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would provide a labor pool close to this
industrial area.
A minimum amount of light industry shall be
included but the desired character and size
of the City would allow little or no space '
allotments for the heavy industrial types.
Parks and playgrounds shall be acquired to '
provide recreation both as tot-lots and larger
areas for family activities.
A civic center shall be provided to house
future public buildings such as a city hall,
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public librar and museum.
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A road system shall be improved and developed
' to provide convenient movement
ovement within the
area and routes to divert the "through-traffic".
THE GENERAL PLAN Residential areas are divided into neighborhood
' units, each large enough to require an elemen-
tary school. The ideal neighborhood shall have
a well defined boundary such as a creek or stream,
' or a thoroughfare, and shall be separated from
' commercial and industrial areas. Through
traffic shall not enter the neighborhood and
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�/ _ 500 1000 2000 3000 4000 5000 6000 7000 0000 900I 0
SINGLE FAMILY DUPLEX MULTI- COMMERCIAL LIGHT LIGHT INDUST.
RESIDENTIAL RESIDENTIAL PROFESSIONAL INDUSTRIAL RESERVED
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1111
HEAVY ELEMENTARY JUNIOR HIGH SENIOR HIGH PARK AND
INDUSTRIAL SCHOOL SCHOOL SCHOOL RECREATION
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elementary age children shall not have to cross
a major thoroughfare. ,
The density of the neighborhood units can be
seen by the increasing size for the attendance ,
areas, Generally the higher density is grouped
around the area bounded by Junipero Serra
Freeway, Blaney Avenue, Bollinger Road, and
Stelling Road. A reduction in density would
occur east of Blaney and west of Stelling with
a further reduction of density to the southwest
toward the Santa Cruz foothills. '
The reduction of density may be accomplished
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11 byincreasing the lot sizes, larger recreational
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orchardists .
' Maximum enrollment in the elementary schools
' would be 650 children; however, in isolated
cases where the natural neighborhood unit
tboundries limit the size, smaller school plants
are provided, One such example is the area
southeast of the creek, Wolfe Road and Boll-
, inger Road.
Buffering the neighborhood units against comm-
ercial and industrial area has been accomplished
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bymedium densitymultiple housingto include
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duplexes, triplexes and fourplexes. The use of i
this housing in a neighborhood generally does
not materially increase the school burden and
provides housing to the buffered commercial and ,
industrial buffered areas,
The proposed commercial areas are obviously 1
greater than normally would be set aside for
planning areas of the size of Cupertino; however,
it is felt if a priority system were used and ,
a part of the area held for reserve, the potential
marketing area will later justify the increased
size. ,
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The light indu
stry ustry planned along Highway 9
' would in effect be commercial service area
such as automobile service, repair garages,
machine shops, veterinary hospitals, wholesale
establishments, printing shops and like uses.
' The light industrial reserve would be used if
policies were revised to encourage additional
tlight industry that would require the use of
the rail facilities. The natural buffering
by the Stevens Creek Freeway and the railroad
track would be sufficient to protect the
surrounding properties.
The multiple-professional area between Junipero
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Serra Freeway and Fremont Road is set aside as
the main industry for the City. This being the '
electronic, engineering, insurance type of
industry interspersed with multiple residential
larger than the fourplexes allowed in other areas. 1
Also included in this area should be provided
a heli-port for commuter traffic of the industrial
area to the local and international air terminals. '
The multiple-professional area along Stevens
Creek Boulevard is planned for the same type 1
of compatible uses; however; professional uses
such as medical-dental units, attorneys, accountants,
architects, engineers should be encouraged in this
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area along with the multiple residential.,
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' Recreation had been provided in two types,
neighborhood and the large family type along
IStevens Creek. The neighborhood parks should
be located adjacent to the elementary schools
and should be between five and ten acres. The
State Committee on Park Areas has recommended
that these neighborhood parks adjacent to
elementary schools be 8 acres. The facilities
would include a tot-lot, play area for elementary
1 age children, a hobby area, tennis and badminton
courts, a swimming and wading pool, and picnic
' areas. With cooperation with the school district,
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joint cooperation of the facilities would result
in lower maintenance and supervision costs.
The Stevens Creek Park would be a family type park
and recreation center which would service the entire ,
community and include parking, picnic and barbecue
areas, swimming pools, children' s museum and
play areas as well as quiet areas for the elder ■
people of our community. ,
IMPLEMENTATION The General Plan represents the official policy
of the City Council and the Planning Commission 1
with respect to the goals and its wishes to achieve
only after public hearings and adoption.
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Modification of and amendments will be necessary
' as the policies and desires of the people demand
but shall be periodically reviewed. Normally
this should be at least everyfive but
years with
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' the extreme rapid growth of the area it may
require yearly reviews.
With the adoption of the General Plano each house
' owners prospective home buyer and business man
will know the traffic patterns, school and park
locations and prospective customer location within
the planning area, The Plan will also point up
the needs of the community both current and
future. It will help explain the need for bond
issues to finance the desired improvements
whether it be streets, parks or civic buildings. '
The Zoning Ordinance is based on the General
Plan but is between the existing Ordinance and I
the goal of the General Plan. The Ordinance
regulates the use of land, the height of build-
ings, the land coverage and the off-street 1
parking. The Zoning Map should be changed only
if in the direction of the General Plan and may
never look like the General Plan. The General I
Plan is always thirty to fifty years ahead and
with the Plan being revised to this goal and
the Zoning Map reflecting the current land use, ,
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the possibility of them ever being the same is
' remote.
Priorities mayup be set with which to save
Ivaluable agricultural land and fully develop
the urban areas in an orderly fashion. Using
this method, zoning changes could be denied in
areas reserved for agriculture. This order of
priorities should be set up in the quadrants with
no. 1 being the southeast, noe 2 the northeast,
Ino. 3 the northwest, holding the southwest
11 quadrant as the last remaining agriculture.
1 Subdivision regulations should be reviewed to
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determine whether changes are required to
conform with the policies of the General Plan. '
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Plan lines should be established for all
major streets on the General Plan to prevent
encroachment to future rights-of-way.
Assessment districts may be required for the
improvement of streets, purchase and improvements
mp ents
of a direct benefit to property owners in a
defined area.
In conclusion it must again be emphasized that
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the future of the General Plan lies with the
' people of the community and it might be that a
Citizens Committee need be formed to help the
' City Council and the Planning Commission feel
II ' the pulse of the people, guide future changes and
support adherence to the principals now set forth.
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CITY COUNCIL Norman J. Nathanson, Mayor
Nick J. Lazaneo
Anthony J. Pelosi
John Saich
Warner M. Wilson
Lawrence K. Martin, City Administrator
CITY PLANNING COMMISSION Raymond Bell, Chairman '
John Benetti
Edward Cali
William Craft
Earl T. Fischer
Burrel Leonard
John Rodrigues
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PLANNING CONSULTANT Edwin J. Myers, A.I.A. , Architect
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