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Director's Report OFFICE OF COMMUNITY DEVELOPMENT �,. CITY HALL 10300 TORRE AVENIJE • CUPERTINO, CA 95014-3255 C U P E RT 1 N O (408) 777-3308 • FAX (408) 777-3333 • planning�a cupertino.org Subject: Report of the Community Devel��pment Director �" Planning Commission Agenda Date: Tues�iay, September 14, 2010 The City Council met on August 3, 2010 and discussed the following item(s) of interest to the Planning Commission: 1. APPEAL Wimax Antenna (Clearwire) �it 6191 bollinger Road (WV Presbyterian Church - City Council denied the app��al with the change that the radiation levels be monitored: the radio frequencies will b � tested at installation, 6 mos.,1 year, and 3 years. The City Council met on August 17, 2010 and discussed the following item(s) of interest to the Planning Commission: 1. Commission reports to Council - City (�ouncil received the reports. Miscellaneous Items: 1. Develo�ment Permit Process review (CP-2010-01) - The second Development Permit Process review workshop was held on September 8, 2010. Twenty-eight community members representing both residential and commercial interests attended the meeting. Staff has collected many comments/ ic eas and thoughts from the meeting and will be presenting these and other ideas to the Planning Commission in late October 2010. Following the Planning Commission rneeting, staff will present their findings to City Council in November 2010. Upcoming Dates: Sept. 23 Commissioners Appr��ciation Dinner, Community Hall, 6 p.m. Sept. 25-26 Silicon Valley Festival, Memorial Park (formerly Fall Festival) Enclosures: News Articles G: � Planning�AartiS � Director's Report�pd9-14-10.doc Cupertino partnering with Apple on new'AppIslard' - San Jose Mercury News Page 1 of 1 t���,���C'i�C,t� �i�V� MercuryNews.com Cupertino partnering with The city striped the street in November 2009 and Apple on new 'AppIsland traffic flow has improved, but the area could be safer, according to city staff. Drivers sometimes ignore the painted island at the site and cut through By Matt Wilson the center of the cul-de-sac, said Glen Goepfert, mwilson@community-newspapers.com assistant director of public F�osted: 07I2912010 08:Q6;30 PM PDT works. Updated: 07/29l2010 08:06:31 PM PDT The project is slated to be completed before the first day of school on Aug. 16. Apple Inc. and the city of Cupertino are working together to solve a problem without the latest piece of high-tech wizardry or a new communication device. Instead, the issue will be tackled with a simple slab of concrete. The city and the high-tech company are sharing the cost of installing an approximately $24,000 concrete island at the end of Mariani Avenue near Apple's main Infinite Loop campus, where one of the busiest student drop-off areas in Cupertino is located. The island is intended to provide better tra�c circulation and make the area safer. City council approved the project July 22. Apple is not obligated to fund the traffic-calming project, but agreed to share the cost after city leaders expressed concerns about the area and asked the company if it would contribute to the island. Since 2005, the cul-de-sac, which is at the end of the main driveway leading to Apple's parking lot, has become a popular drop-off area for students at nearby Lawson Middle School. The school traffic, combined with Apple employee traffic, has made the street congested and chaotic at times, especially when the two groups come face to face, according to city leaders. Advertisement ',�`; Altemate Ad Image Text Goes Here! � ,v �, �.w �rint Pe�w�red Eiy ��� � �;`� � http://www.mercurynews.com/san jose-neighborh�ods/ci_15636007?nclick check=l 8/2/2010 City gives Cupertino Village another year for retail expansion - San Jose Mercury News Page 1 of 1 t���,���C'til;�t� ��V� MercuryNews.com City gives Cupertino local markets." Village another year for �urrent�y Cupertino Village has numerous Asian- themed shops and eateries including Ranch 99 retail expansion Market, Fantasia Tea Cafe, Porridge Place, Jade Galore Jewelry and Watch, Southland Taste, Joyluck Place and a Starbucks. By Matt Wilson mwilson@community-newspapers.com Posted: 47/29/2010 0$:01:27 PM PDT Updated: 07/29/2010 08:01:27 PM PDT City leaders have given developers at Cupertino Village an extra year to get a retail expansion at the strip mall off the ground while the economy rebounds. The Cupertino City Council voted July 22 to give developer Kimco Realty a one-year extension to construct two one-story retail commercial buildings totaling 24,455 square feet at the southwest corner of N. Wolfe and Homestead roads. The project will include a two-level parking garage at the eastern edge of the project site near Linnet Lane. The permit, granted in August 2008, was set to expire on Aug. 7. The extended permit won't expire until August 2011. In a June 16 letter sent to the city, Curt Taylor, director of construction for Kimco Realty, said the extension is necessary due in large part to the downturn in tenant interest as a result of the unstable economy. He said lending institutions and retailers pulling back expansion plans has made it di�cult to pre-lease the proposed new space at Cupertino Village to potential businesses. Taylor stated in the letter that in recent months, "there has been an increase in deals and a strong interest in Advertisement '�;�`; Altemate Ad Image Text Goes Here! Prir�t Powered �y �ry�� _ ��' .F '.��_.,�� C�yrt�rt`��c.�_.n� http://www.mercurynews.com/san jose-neighborh�ods/ci_15635950 8/2/2010 Hewlett-Packard's Cupertino exit doesn't open up property to home developers - Silicon ... Page 1 of 2 v1'zicome. Gethe(¢�cuperhnc org � Hccount � Emaii Aleris � Si n Out Sllicon Valley 1 San Jose Business Joumal • August 2, 2010 lsan iose/atorfes12010t08/02lstorv2. html �������� Friday, July 30, 2010 Hewlett-Packard's Cupertino exit doesn't open up property to home developers Silicon Valiey / San Jose Business Journal - by Katherine Conrad When Hewlett-Packard Co. announced plans to vacate its Cupe rtino campus and consolidate its work force in ... . ........ .. .... ...... . � � E Palo Alto, many speculated the company's 92-acre site eventually � vould be covered in houses. �,"`""'�.`" � � � Not so, say city officials. � �`°'��» � �_ � ; While redevelopment of the "tired" real estate is likely, city Econoinic Development Manager Kelly Kline said she �,_ ..__,_____._� will discourage residential development or even a mixed-use proje:t on the land in favor of keeping it industrial in View Larqer order to preserve the city's job base. "Housing is not something the staff will recommend," she said. "Tliis is an opportunity. There's not that many 92-acre sites that open up in Silicon Valley right off Interstate 280. This is as good as it gets." Mayor Kris Wang echoed K1ine and said she has heard from tech c�mpanies interested in the property, although she w�ould not specify which ones. "The site is zoned industrial," she said. "We anticipate any future t se will still be in the corporate or commercia] uses." Kline said the city must protect the relatively small percentage of 1�nd in Cupertino's ii square miles that is currently occupied by job- generating companies. She noted that of the city's �,20o acres, jus. under a half-square mile, or 3i2 acres, is zoned industrial. The HP site on Homestead Road represents almost a third of the industrial lan d in this mostly bedroom community. "The industrially zoned area is just 4 percent of the entire city," Kl ne said in an e-mail. "The data supports the city's position on the importance of preserving our limited industrial land." 4'reserve as industi�al space So what is the future for the property? "H P has not indicated to us what their intention is for this site, ho� vever, based on past e3cperience, we would expect them to sell," Kline said. HP did not return calls, and its broker CB Richard Ellis refused to comment. _ ................................ _ ........................ _ .. Silicon Valley brokers agree the site is a prime piece of property gi �en its location. But the almost i.5 million square feet of low-slung industrial buiidings, many of which were built 3o and even 4o yea -s ago, are old and tired, said Erik Hallgrimson, a broker with Cassidy Turley CPS, who tracks that market. "The buildings don't have much modern utility," he said. 'You wou ld need to do a lot to the buildings to make them habitable for a modern tenant." But, he added, "It's one of the best pieces of land you could possib y come across." The value of the properiy is tough to determine, especially in the c.u�rent economic climate. According to the Santa Clara County Assessor's Office, at least one parcel bought in i98� was valued at $9.� million, less than its assessment in 2009 when it �ras valued at $i2 million. A larger site purchased by HP in i9�3 was assessed at $ 2i 7 million by the assessor's office. The property is currently only about 6o percent occupied by about 3,00o HP workers. And Wang said if a tech company decided to move in and occupy the entire campus, that would be very beneficial for the city. Given the site's location near Cupertino's other major employer, App1e Inc., many have speculated that the consumer e lectronics company might want to expand. Calls to Apple were not returned. Wang said she, too, has wondered whether Apple will announce p: ans to buy the property. But, she added, Apple already owns roughly 50 acres nearby, with plans for a second campus not yet under constr uction. If the property is put on the market, it joins several large parcels a�ound the South Bay either in the beginning stages of development or up for sale. A 43-acre site on North First Street in San Jose is for s ale, as weli as two large parcels totaling i6� acres by New United Motor Manufacturing_Inc. in Fremont on Interstate 880. A 4c �-acre site owned by Grosvenor in Los Gatos is moving through that city's planning process. http://sanjose.bizjournals.com/sanjose/stories/201 �)/08/02/story2.html?t=printable 9/9/2010 Hewlett-Packard's Cupertino exit doesn't open up property to home developers - Silicon ... Page 2 of 2 Still, land in the heart of Silicon Valley is valuable despite the dism al development climate. "It's really your only opportunity to get into this market, more or lE ss," said Cassidy Turley's Haligrimson, "But that being said, you are limited in the value from an investment perspective as to what you can build and lease the product for." HP plans to move its employees in Cupertino to Palo Alto during tlie next two years. Katherine Conrad can be reached at 4�8.299•1820 or kconrad@h rzjournals.com. All contents of this site �O American City Business Joumals Inc. All rights reserv� �d. http://sanjose.bizjournals.com/sanjose/stories/201 �)/08/02/story2.htm1?t=printable 9/9/2010 Rancho Rinconada neighborhood celebrates opening of new city park - San Jose Mercury ... Page 1 of 1 �1��,���'Ct��t� ��V� MercuryNews.com Rancho Rinconada The idea of building a neighbor park has been in nei hborhood celebrates the works since 2007 when the city began collecting g neighborhood feedback. The city awarded a cotnract opening of new city park to Cloved-based Elite Landscaping Inc. and broke ground on the $364,345 park last December. By Matt wilsan A ribbon-cutting ceremony was held Aug. 21 with mwilson@community-newspapers.com city of Cupertino o�cials. Posted: 48I2Q1201 d 01:38:36 PM P�T For more information Updated: 08l20/2010 01:38:36 PM PDT about the city of Cupertino other parks, visit www. cupertino.org/parks. Residents in Cupertino's most eastern edge of town now have a park of their own. The city opened its new 0.6- acre Sterling-Barnhart Park, 10846 Sterling Blvd., on Aug. 18 to the delight of residents in the Rancho Rinconada neighborhood who have long waited for a park within walking distance. The park includes a small sport court, grass area, a play structure with slides, a swing set with interchangeable swings for varying ages, chess boards tables, and picnic tables. Little ones can also play a game of tic-tac-toe or sit on spinning chairs and get diuy. "We are so glad to see that it is finally open," said Andrea Callaghan, who walked to the park with her 4-year-old daughter and 1-year-old son on opening day. Aug 18. "We used to go to the schools or drive over to Rainbow Avenue. It seems like a fun safe place, it has a nice layout and good play equipment." The park, located at a former pumping station taht the city purchased from the San Jose Water Company in 2008, runs along the Saratoga Creek trail and is hidden behind a lush row of trees near Lawrence Expressway. Advertisement ��� � ��� ������� ���� ���� ������ ��� ����� . � ° ' ��� ����'��!� ���� '������ ����!� �� ��� �+��� ����� �lil"�' �� � +� ��� �+t����� .� st:�rt �� ��9.�9 but � """����"�����'����� mayv�t�+b�rnt3d�l. Print Pc�wered �y ���I �! r;M��_ C�yrt�r��c� mp � http://www.mercurynews.com/san jose-neighbonc��ods/ci_15842177?nclick_check=l 8/20/2010 Cupertino's PW market closes - San Jose Mercury News Page 1 of 1 �I����xCt�Ct� ��V� MercuryNews.com Cupertino's PW market 150 workers have been laid off. closes By Sandra Gonzales sgonzales e�mercurynews.com Posted: Q9/OS/2010 06:3826 PM PDT Cupertino's PW store is the latest casualty in the slow demise of the onetime prosperous market chain. The store at 20620 Homestead Road at Saratoga/ Sunnyvale Road closed its doors on Monday, making it the third PW market to close in less than a month. Only three stores now remain, including the San Jose markets at 1710 Oakland Road and 5205 P rospect Road as well as the Castro Valley store. Although the San Jose store on Oakland Road has closing sale signs, the store director Mike Salisbury said it is not scheduled to close -- yet. PW corporate officials could not be reached for comment Wednesday. But their website states that PW is closing its doors after 67 years. Company o�cials have previously said that it has hired a consulting firm that specializes in aiding troubled food chains. Even before the latest closures, signs that the stores was in financial trouble were readily apparent, with their scantily stocked shelves and skeleton staff -- a far cry from the chain's heydey. Ron Lind, president of the United Food and Commercial Workers Local 5, said that more than Advertisement . :# �, ,. � ,� . .r.r � s,... _ _ _. _..._.. '�' � � �' � � �" �s �M �, t F ��K«�. ..�...a.,,, i�rin� PQwered By �� � �` ��°����C�y�t�m�c�' http://www.mercurynews.com/cupertino/ci_1602`_ 848?nclick_check=l 9/9/2010 ����������c�� Water district project aims to protect flooding in Calabazas Creek a rea By Brian Babcock Posted: OS/30/2010 07:32:51 PM PDT Updated: 08/31/2010 04:07:27 PM PDT The Santa Clara Valley Water District is set to begin work tiis week along Calabazas Creek that the district says will protect 400 homes, businesses and schools in parts of Sar� toga, Cupertino and San Jose from future flooding. The project will include the widening of a pedestrian bridge at the Union Pacific Railroad crossing just west of Saratoga- Sunnyvale Road in Saratoga. Workers will also enlarge a a�lvert and build a water detention center underneath Saratoga- Sunnyvale Road to better hold floodwater. The project also includes repairing and bracing 10 sites aloig the creek that have given way to severe erosion. Water district employees will be working along a 3.7-mile �tretch of the creek from Miller Avenue to Wardell Avenue in Saratoga. Water c istrict employees will be working Monday through Friday from 7:30 a.m. to 6 p.m., with night and weekend work scheduled in October. The project is expected to be completed by January. The district manages water resources and oversees the coiinty's five watersheds. Those include 10 reservoirs, hundreds of miles of streams and groundwater basins. The Calabazas Creek flood protection project is part of the district's Clean, Safe Creeks and Natural Flood Protection parcel tax measure that voters approved in November 2000. Onc� completed, the upgrades are expected to prevent approximately $5.3 million in potential flood damage to homes, businesses and schools. The culvert under Saratoga-Sunnyvale Road was constructed by the county in 1926, a water district report states. It went through several modifications with road upgrades over the years. The constriction at the culvert entrance is backing water u� and causing overFlow onto the parking lot of the Coldwell Banker Real Estate Office on Saratoga-Sunnyvale Road, th� report also says. The floodwater then travels across the road to the east and across Prospect Road to the north. Major flooding has been an issue in the area for 55 years, rvith the first flood happening in 1955. "During the 1955 flood, water poured into residential streets and homes, forcing the evacuation of more than 100 families," the district stated in a report. One of the project s goals is to avoid utility and transportation shutdowns, along with preventing potential damages of a"100-year flood" tfiat could exceed $11 million. The district hopes to protect the wildlife that lives in and a�ound parts of the creek. Instead of widening the creek and using concrete or metal to stabilize it, the district will use �ocks, logs and "other natural-looking materials," said Marty Grimes, program administrator. "We're learning new and innovative ways to make it a moie natural-looking creek because we want to have the habitat coexist with flood protection," Grimes said. �����������R.�� Neighbors take wireless antenna battle into their own hands By Matt wilson Posted: 08/04/2010 06:01:29 PM PDT Neighbors near Hyde Middle School ii� Cupertino may not have won the battle against the installation of a brc�adband Internet antenna with three microwave dishes near their homes, but they did win a small victory. ClearWire, the company that is installing the antenna at West Valley - Presbyterian Church, will have to conduct radio frequency emissions studies at the site before and after the antenna's installation. The Cupertino City Council added the stipulation on Aug 3 after 113 neighbors signed a petition citing concerns over potential health hazards related to the new technology. "We hope these contract changes will address the concerns about total radiation levels, lack of installation rronitoring, and the possibility that ClearWire could change the power le�✓els or equipment leading to an increase in radiation level without approval or notification," said chruch board president Mikkel Lantz in a letter pre;;ented to council on Aug. 3. Lantz met with neighbors earlier in the week to talk about possible alternatives, including mandatory testing, after re�eiving the petition. Lantz said the church board is confid��nt that the device is safe. "You get more radiation out of your rnicrowave oven then you do out of this antenna," Lantz said. Neighbors said they would rather not have the antenna, but testing is better than no testing. "If [the device] were a little bit furth��r away, I would not have this concern or if this were built in a place where �eople are not living, or sleeping or where their kids aren't in their buildii�gs," said resident Norman Yuen, who led the petition drive with his wife, Ic►ne. Yuen said the petition was about the only recourse neighbors had since federal law prevents city government: from regulating personal wireless service facilities for reasons other th��n aesthetics. Yuen began circulating the petition a��ter the city staff approved the project in May, allowing Internet company Clearwire to install the antenna on the church at 6191 Bollinger Road. Yuen also appealed the decision to the planning commission, which upheld the staff's decision during an appeal hearing .on ]uly 27. Yuen said his neighborhood is concerned about the potential safety issues of having the antenna near a school in �� residential area. The antenna is part of a technology that relies on connecting cell sites through microwave communications rather than through typical land lines. For smooth connections, the microwave antenna:� need to be high off the ground with a straight line of sight. Residents are a�ncerned that the WiMax Broadband Radio wireless service, which is supp��sed to bring faster connection speeds to Internet users, is a different technology than other wirelE�ss services and that caution should be used when installing it near homes. The antenna will be housed about 59 feet off the ground inside a decorative cupola on the church's roof. The device will link up with others in the Clearwire network, which will use mic;rowave communications rather than typical land-lines to provide broadbai�d Internet. The church will receive about $2,200 a month for renting ou = the antenna space. As part of the city's requirement, a tf�ird party will conduct emission studies six months, one year and three year:� after installation. All results will be published for public viewing, and Cle;�rWire will pay all associated costs. Officials from ClearWire and its cons�ilting firm said the emissions from the church device would be less than a fraction of 1 percent of the allowable limit. The proposed antenna is one of seve�al planned for the city, as it pushes to improve wireless communications, in part for public safety reasons. There is also high demand among its tech-sa��vy residents, according to city staff. ClearWire is in the early phases of rolling out a mobile WiMax 4G network in Cupertino and other cities. The servic:e allows customers to access the Internet wirelessly at broadband spe��ds. The Bay Area network tentatively will be complete late this year. HP announces plan to move out of Cupertino - Sar� Jose Mercury News Page 1 of 3 �I�����Cttl�l� ��V� MercuryNews.com HP announces lan to city. IYs a terrific loss," Knapp said. "They are a great p company with a great history and are a part of the mov� out of Cupertino whole evolution of the high-tech industry." Knapp said the city had met informally with HP ey Matt wi�son about two years ago and was aware that the mwilson@community-newspapers.com company was considering consolidating due to its slowly shrinking workforce. At that time, there was Posted: 0712212d10 08:Q4:40 PM PDT a possibility of moving the headquarters to the Updated: 07/22/2010 08:04:41 PM PDT Cupertino campus, he said. Hewlett-Packard is packing up and leaving "There were a variety of plans out there and several Cupertino. The company told employees July 15 that different approaches to keep us in the loop. IYs it is consolidating its Cupertino site with its been obvious for a number of years that their staff headquarters in Palo Alto over a two-year period. levels were not what it used to be and there was going to be some kind of consolidation," he said. City officials say the high-tech company's departure could have far-reaching impacts on Cupertino. HP is Knapp said the city had not held any formal one of Cupertino's largest sources of tax revenue. meetings to persuade HP to stay in Cupertino. City officials said that the city's revenues will take a short-term dip with HP's departure, but the extent is "You always like to imagine that [cities] can unknown. influence a decision. But the realities of business are bigger than civic engagement," he said. "We HP, along with Apple and Insight, generates more assumed there would be some kind of exodus or than half of Cupertino's revenues from the city's consolidation." business-to-business sector. The move will cost the city a significant amount in tax revenues as well as In a July 15 internal memo, HP's chief administrative an estimated 2,500 jobs, and will further affect officer Pete Bocian told employees that only 60 Cupertino's bottom line when business travelers percent of the work space was in use at the visiting HP no longer stay at local hotels or dine at Cupertino and Palo Alto sites, and combining the local restaurants. sites would increase work space use to about 90 percent in Palo Alto. According to Cupertino city manager David Knapp, HP's announcement came as a surprise to the city, ���/e need to improve efficiency and utilization of the which learned the news one day before employees Cupertino and Palo Alto sites," Bocian stated in the received the memo. memo, adding that the move is intended to create a "more productive, flexible, ecological and highly "They have been a wonderful asset to the energized work environment ... that better reflects community, and they bring a lot of prestige to our our brand, better supports the way we work today Advertisement ;:�; Altemate Ad Image Text Goes Here! Print Pawered BY ����� ' .` � ��C��rn�rr���s � http://www.mercurynews.com/san jose-neighborhoods/ci_15581738?nclick check=l 7/26/2010 HP announces plan to move out of Cupertino - Sar� Jose Mercury News Page 2 of 3 �1����CCttl�l� ��V� MercuryNews.com and improves our impact on the environment." Knapp would not disclose how much revenue the Mayor Kris Wang said the Cupertino campus may city generates from HP. have been at a disadvantage for consolidation compared to Palo Alto, which has new buildings on "Suffice it to say [HP] is in the Top 10, if not No. 2" site. Palo Alto also has sentimental value in the in generating city revenues, Knapp said. campus' proximity to the original HP garage where Bill Hewlett and David Packard founded the company The approximately 100-acre campus on Pruneridge in the 1930s, she added. Avenue is home to HP's executive briefing center, which features high-tech briefing rooms, product "Even though we hate to see them go, we have to demonstration areas and exhibit halls. HP has support their consolidation," Wang said. owned the site since the 1960s. Councilman Orrin Mahoney, who worked for more Since the announcement, the city has already begun than 25 years in management positions at the looking at future budget projections and planning Cupertino HP site, estimated that there were as many for a life without the computer giant. Wang and as 5,000 employees on the campus 10 years ago. Mahoney head up the city's fiscal strategic Knapp estimates that there are now about 2,500 committee and will meet next week and discuss a employees at the site. post-HP Cupertino, where there will be fewer business travelers spending money in the city, fewer This is the second time the city has lost high-tech employees eating lunch in the city and fewer business to consolidation in the past year. Knapp traveling executives staying in Cupertino hotels. said Symantec recently moved some of its The city is looking at its general fund revenues and operations out of Cupertino to a consolidated at capital improvement projects that could be campus in Mountain View, but retained its sales deferred, and could continue its selective hiring office in Cupertino. freeze on certain positions indefinitely. HP's decision to move comes almost a year after the Some residents said the city should have done more Cupertino City Council voted to allocate an to keep HP in town. additional 483,053 square feet of o�ce space in the city General Plan for major companies on the scale "Is this the best Cupertino has to offer? I would like of Apple and HP. Representatives from both high- to see that there was a committee and negotiations tech companies thanked the council at the July 2009 with HP saying, 'We want you to stay, we value you meeting for the decision, which could allow major and we want to keep you in Cupertino,' " said Anne companies to move into the city or to expand. Malcolm. "I thought there would have been something more done. This is a good opportunity According to the city's 2010-2011 budget report, for someone to run [for council] and use this issue HP, Apple and Insight make up a large share of the and say that'my job is to keep business here.' " city's businesses-to-business sector and account for 57 percent of the city's sales tax revenue. Cupertino, however, will have at least one new high- Advertisement '�``, Alternate Ad Image Text Goes Here! F�rint Pawer��l By �� � �����-�-�_� tC��rr��mrc� " http://www.mercurynews.com/san jose-neighborhoods/ci_15581738?nclick_check=l 7/26/2010 HP announces plan to move out of Cupertino - Sat� Jose Mercury News Page 3 of 3 �I�j���l�'UC,� ��V� MercuryNews.com tech company coming to the city next spring. Hard drive and storage manufacturer Seagate recently announced it is moving most of its headquarters from Scotts Valley to 10200 S. De Anza Blvd. Seagate plans to consolidate its retail and sales teams from Sunnyvale and Santa Clara to the new site. Advertisement �.��++�- u� �f �' � � $ � 6 �*�"� . ��,lkRl' �1� M� i��lA! t tY ��������J t!�l �� �,P �: i It a P1us, g�et � ���u C�ift� � �,� r� � �r • � `� Print Powered E3y � ���� � _�"_�"��� � � �7�rtar�rc� � http://www.mercurynews.com/san jose-neighborh�ods/ci_15581738?nclick check=l 7/26/2010 Community launches pilot program to tackle back-to-school traffic - San Jose Mercury N... Page 1 of 2 t���,���Citl�l� ��V� MercuryNews.com Communit launches Drive and Bubb Road and near Fort Baker Drive and � Hyannisport Drive by Kennedy Middle School. The pilot program to tackle sheriff's office has been doing directive enforcement near schools for the city the past two years, but back traffic through the pilot program, deputies now will be on site every school day to By Matt wilsan evaluate traffic flow and enforce traffic safety, mwilson@community-newspapers.com according to West Valley Capt. Terry Calderone. Posted: 08/26t2010 08:�5:5Q PM PDT ��Because the traffic around the tri-school area continues to be a problem, we can and will take any a Honking horns, idling cars and overall traffic nd every measure we can to resolve these issues," congestion in Cupertino's tri-school area near Calderone said. McClellan Road have become just as much a part of the new school year as the ringing of the class bell. Sheriff's deputies were scheduled to start the IYs a dangerous routine that has put many on edge extended shifts this week during Lincoln and year after year as thousands of students make their Kennedy's first full week of the school year. High daily trek to Monta Vista High, Lincoln Elementary school started Aug. 23. and Kennedy Middle schools. "It has always been bad, but it has just gotten worse Calderone said he is unsure how the new program because Monta Vista [High] has gotten so much will work, but his deputies are prepared to try bigger," said Monta Vista principal April Scott, who various methods to see what works best. began teaching at the school in 1988. Scott estimates that the campus has grown by roughly The plan also calls for the addition of two crossing 800 students since the late 1980s. guards, including one at Orange Avenue and McClellan Road and one at Bubb and McClellan This year, however, local leaders have launched a roads. pilot program that they hope will permanently put an end to tra�c woes. A new student drop-off zone at Monta Vista High is also in the works. During the trial period, parents The city is working with the Cupertino Union and will be asked to wait in color-coded parking spaces Fremont Union High school districts and the Santa until their passengers call for pick-up. IYs a method Clara County Sheriffs Office to implement about half similar to the cell phone waiting lots now found at a dozen traffic-calming techniques over the next airports. four months. The plan is to get idling cars out of bus circles and Part of the plan includes increasing deputies' shifts off the street, Scott said. for an additional 30 to 60 minutes in the morning and afternoon to direct traffic near Hyannisport The city plans to evaluate making possible street Advertisement r �. � ..� � ,; �._ l . � f'�. � wr `Ut' . � � . �-' . .Fg,. r �� + � Ll � i � � iY. �t� a �� Print PQwered E�Y' �_���_.�_�_..`, ' �.w`.�t��r��rr��c� ... http://www.mercurynews.com/san jose-neighborhoods/ci_15907129?nclick check=l 8/31/2010 Community launches pilot program to tackle back-to-school traffic - San Jose Mercury N... Page 2 of 2 i���,���CCt�C1� ��lU� MercuryNews.com improvements, such as adding additional traffic signals or pedestrian crossing signal near the "That would really alleviate many of the problems. schools. We just need to keep communicating and sharing with the public what they can do and hoping for The pilot program will cost about $20,000. The city change," she said. and school districts are set to share the cost. The city will use money already earmarked for easing tra�c in the tri-school area. The new traffic measures will be implemented by September and will continue through December. In January, the city council and both school boards will review a report about the program's effectiveness. "The data is worth collecting on what works and what does not work. (Making improvements] is a long-term cost, and the payback is what council is really interested in," said Craig Lee, a public safety commissioner. "Does it pay to have the crossing guard long term? Does it pay to have the deputies long term?" Over the years, numerous groups have tried to improve the school commute. Mayor Kris Wang even listed tackling the traffic near the schools as a priority in her state of the city address in January. Last spring, the teen commission sponsored a Walk One Week program that rewarded students for walking and biking for a single week. The public safety commission has taken the lead in trying out the Boltage program this fall, which will place an automated device on both campuses to count students walking and biking to Lincoln and Kennedy. Scott, who has seen vehicles make U-turns on McClellan Road, said that parents can do their part by following traffic laws and moving cars along efficientl . Advertisement ���� ������ �� tt+���. ,r�� o,e,� �,�� � �t��at� �a��u� ��r, ��t or � _ �� � � ���� �`r�wi�� ■ T�� �+��d��t��l� ����� ���l�;�� ��#e��na� � t ' �� � ', �r +� � � .. , � � �, Print Pdwered By �€��-��_���� C�yrtam��s� http://www.mercurynews.com/san jose-neighborh�ods/ci_15907129?nclick_check=l 8/31/2010 ������������� Recession puts another commercial project on hold By Matt Wilson mwilsonCacommunity-newspapers.com Posted: 08/12/2010 08:04:39 PM PDT Another commercial development slated for Cupertino is or hold due to the recession. Dipesh Gupta, CEO of the Cupertino-based Shashi Corp„ sent a letter to city staff on luly 7 requesting a permit extension for construction of a five- star hotel planned for De Anza Boulevard. The 138-room S iashi hotel, initially slated to open this fall, will likely be on hold at least another year. "Due to extremely challenging market conditions and highl�� restrictive financial markets in the last two years, we request a one-year extension to provide us with sufficient time to sec ure the financing and successfully move the project forward," according to the letter. This is the second time in the past month that the city has granted a one-year extension to a major commercial development. On July 22, the city gave Cupertino Village rc�tail center an extra year to construct two single-story retail commercial buildings at the southwest corner of N. Wolfe and Homestead roads. Without the extension, the project's use and architectural permits would have expired Aug. 7, and the project would have had to go through the whole planning process again. Last year, developers of the Results Way tech campus aske d for and received a five-year extension to demolish five buildings and develop three two-story office buildings totaling 155,500 square feet and a parking garage at the tech campus informally known as the MeasureX property. In 2009, the city gave a five-year permit to Sand Hill Prope rty Co. for its 17-acre Main Street Cupertino project, which will be developed in phases, according to Kelly Kline, economic development coordinator for the city. The project will include a hotel as well as retail shops in a downtown or town-square style setting. A hotel and o�ce project at the Oaks Shopping Center is a so on hold. Developer Sand Hill Property Co. had planned to knock down the center's then vacant movie theater and so re buildings to put up a residence-style hotel, but opted to lease the site to Blue Light Cinemas until the economy imp�oves. "It's no secret that the funding for projects isn't out there right now. Cities are doing what they can to keep these projects in play. The more time they have means that there will be more time to get funding available to these people," Kline said. Beyond extensions, the city is looking for more ways to help nurture projects along to completion. "Our standard response is to be as flexible as possible as H e can be," Kline added. She said the city benefits greatly from hotels in the form o transient occupancy taxes, which are used for local needs. The city currently has four hotels generating about $2.1 million in TOT revenue for the 2008-2009 fiscal year, according to the city's budget report in May. "We'd love to have that [tax revenue] start rolling in as so�>n as possible. We believe they are not going to delay as long as necessary. We have the same goal in mind--to break grourid as soon as possible, but we understand the market conditions," Kline said.