PC 11-06-73 � CITY OF CUP�?RTINO, STA'LI; OI' C�1I,T�'ORNIA ��.-�$g
1030U Z'orre Avenue, Cupertino, Calii:ornia 95014 Pa�e 1
Teleptione ; 252-4505
MINUTES OF THE ADJOURI�?ED R�GULEIR TIEETIi1G OF THE CITY C()UNCIi�
HELD JOI�'TLY ;JITIi TI�E PLf1NNING COT1rIISSION
NOV�'�IBER 6, 1973 , CITY HALL
CUPERTINO, CALIFORNIA
ROLL CALL �
Councilmen present: Frolich, Jackson, M�yers, Sparks, Mayor Irwin
Councilmen absent: None
Planning Commiss�oners present: Adams, Buthenuth, Gatto, Nellis,
Chairman 0' Keef e
Planning Commissioners a�senL: None '
Staff present: City Manager Quinlan
City Attorney A,dams
nirector of_ Administrat�.ve Services Ryder
Director of Plai�ning and Developm�nt Sisk
Director of � Public [ti�orks Viskovich
Assistant City Attorr.ey Kilian
� Associate Planner Cowan
The Planninb Conur.ission nad a preliminary meeting in t}.ze Confe.renc
Room of the City Hall at 7:30 P.T1,
There was some discussion of the schedule of ineetings for the
balance of November and December of 1973.
The Planning Commission next reviewed City Council Resolution
No. 3569 and the October 31, 1973 "Detai]_ed Description and
Standards of Lar.d Use Designations within the Core Area as
approved by the Ci_ty Council - Exhibit A-1". The Planning
Commission plai�ned to ask the City Counci.l the rati.onale used in
their determinations for the zoning of the core area.
At $:00 F.ri, rlayor Inain called the joint meeting to order in �he
Council Chamber. The purpose of this meeting was to discuss
Kesolution No. 3569. .
�r_�89 TtINUTES OF THE JOINT CITY COUNCIL/PLANNiNG COMt1ISSI0N MLETING 11/6/73..
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Comm. Neliis sLated that she �as very pleased this joint meetin� was
raking place af.ter some eleven long m�nths of public hearings on the
1973 Comprehensive General Plan . Stle said the Planning Commission
attempted to estahlish the goals of a balanced conmunity, controlled
�ro�ath, a gr.een city, diversity, etc: These goals were extracCed
from the Goals Report. She next quoted a portion of the ttten Mayor
Frolich's message at the t�e�;inning of the Goals Report : "The City
Council now ha5 the responsibility to see that these adopted goals get
more than lip service, that they are a strong guideline to the develop-
ment and implementation of our neur General Plan, and that they continue
to be a measuring stick against City policy decisions that aff_e.ct the
future of our citizens. �
Comm. Nellis said the Ci�y should take a more active part in deter-
mining land use; one goal speal:s to a population of 50,000. She
felt it was important to review again the adoptied goals of the City.
In regard to the regior�al shopping center, the major factor was
traffic. Traffic�aise, she felt ttle Vallco Park location �aas somewhat
better than rlariani �Iall far the regional centier. The most important
f.actor was to come out �aith this moderately intensive, localized use.
It ttas been said from ti:ne to time that the Planning Commission dicl
not take the fi_scal factor into consideration. She took issue with
that statement because that is one of the main reasons ;:-hy she voted
for a regiona:L s'r;opping center. The income from this shoppirg center
would produce the revenue to achieve some of our objectives.
As far as the Town Centex is concerned, Comm. Nel.].is said there is no
serious disagreement here; hocaever, slze was surprised to see an alternative
for industrial in the Town Center. The Planning �ommission wants to have
the Town Center a place for community activities.
Moving along Hi.ghway 9, she said there are serious differences of
opinion on tlie part of the Planning Commissior_ and City Council.
She said ulhat the City Council is �lanning �or t.he west side of
Highway 9 tends to ct:ange our goals. As to resid�ntial along Highway
9, she sa�_d therP are aesthetic ways to ha.ndle this successfully.
• She was concerned about intensity of land use along I�igh�ti�ay 9. She
feels that 16 trip eztds per pe:3k hour is too intense.
On the Saich property, Comm. Ne_llis thinks sfie heard something that
made sense and that is the designati_on for a parlc site ��ith underlying
lo units per acre residential use.
Comm. Nellis said tlier.e is a very serious discrepancy between the
tllinlcing of tlie Planiiirig Comcnission and ttie City Council. in regard to
Stevetis Cr. eek �lvd ., east of Iligtu,�ay 9. 'itie Planning Commission took
MINI;TF.S OF THE JOINT CITY GOUTdCIT�/PLAI�;NING COMMISSION MEETING 11/6 CC-189
Page 3
a very strong stand on this in regard to strip commercial. It
�sas pointed out there exists 150,000 sq, ft. of strip commercial
an� �ith 250,U00 in f_i]_1_ing of stri_p cor.unercial; and if we go L
resident ial here we �aill run into some real_ problems c;�ith non-
conforming uses. In tisc3l terms, Co�nm. Nellis said it would
probably malce sense to retain the existing commer.cial; but on the
south side we do noL have �xisting conunercial. and she wondered
how the City Council arrived at their decision for commercial ther�.
Counci].man Frolich wanted to giv� his understanding of. the treat-
ment of Stevens Creek Blvd. Tt1e proposal was thaC the exist:ing
uses on Stevens Creek Blvd. �•�ould he zoned in accordance with C-1
or something similar_. The reriaining undeveloped areas and exist-
ing uses that woul.d fit into this new kind of zone �aould have
similar traf_fic generation restr_ictions as being used on Highway
9. It was proposed tliat tnis be a planned development approach
along Stevens Creelc Blvd. Some sort of overall landscaping plan
should be established here so i.t L�aill all tiP together. This
would get rid of the vi_sual aspects of strip commercial. He sai.d
it was also based on L end gen�ration. SoMe types of commerciaJ
such as furniCure stores do riot. create the traffic that some other
types of commercial do. . .
Mayor Ir�vin said there were three primary �oals: 1) The Planni.n g
Commission intended to have aesthetic tre�tment �aherever possible
on our major streets; 2) The Planning Comriission intended to
mitigate strip commercial; and 3) The Planning Conunission intende
to keep a low intensity land use. He said the City Council speak
to intensity �aith a mix of uses to keep the peak hour trip ends
down.
The P•layor said the. t�ao major thoroughfares sho�a very severe prob-
lems cai_Lh Crossroads ��1. Atternpts to mitigate the. problems fore-
seen on the �aest side of Highcaay 9 are being explored . He felt
that planned industrial along the easC side of Highway 9 made a
very low profile and a nice entrance to the City.
Mayor Ircoin said everybody agrees trat the To�an Center must be a
very closely controlled development. The reason industrial was
added to it was to lceep the door open to innovative ideas.
The Mayor said it �oas pointed out very cl.early that the corners
at the intersection of Stevens Creek Blvd. and Highway 9 was no
place to put a par.k. T'he decision on the south side of Stevens
Creek Blvd. �aas made quite quickly, based on present use of the
property. He felt there �aere too many inLluences around the
undevel_oped properties to allo�a residential use there.
CC-1$9 MINUTES OF THE JOINT CITY COUNCIL/�Ll1.NN7NG COTI�IISSION r1�.ETING 11/6
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Comm, ButhE�nui.h said he is stiLl_ concerned witll IIigfi��ay 9, It appears
tliat the City Council did not feel residenrial. t��ould be appropriate there.
He asked if they fe.lt st.rip comm�rcial and industrial would Ue appropriate.
Councilman Jacksan said the Coutic�l evaluated single family residential
al_ong Highc,ray 9 negatively. Tiie entire 140 acres �•�ere evaluated
negatively as residetit_ial. Tiie City Council did not put a density
f:igure on the east si_de of Highoray 9. Mayor Irwin said some of the
policy statements �ail.l clear up some of this.
Councilman Nieyers said t City Council did not eliminate single family
residential along Highway 9 if. the noise and other problems can be
mitigated. He said he could visuali.ze industrial a blocic deep along
the east side of Highway 9 and residential beliind that. Iie compared
it to the type in West Valley Industrial Parl.c. Mayor Irwin added
that 50` rrom the curbline ��i11 be iT.i landscaping. Councilman Meyers
said the City Council did not ttiink Che Sunn_yvale approach to resi-
dentia]. along Highway 9 c�ras the rig,ht �aay to handle it .
Comm. Gatto said he appr_eciated ttiis opportunity to get together with
the City Council and wished that it could have happened earlier.
He said we have �_o finci some basic agreement on ��lnat we are trying to
achieve. ln �eneral, he thinks the City Ceuncil approach here is
feasible. He sees a development of perfo7-mance standards Lor the Ci.ty.
[�ith this, �ae can achieve our goals for Cuper.tino. He said the term
"i_ntensity" should be defined. He S�11_C� the use is not as important
as what it �enerates. The approach taken allows flexibility and
innovation.
Comm. Adams said he endorsed C�mm. Nellis' arid Gatto's statements
regardin.g goals �nd requirements to see where we are going. He ��aanted
to make sure c•�e don't �aalk ourselves into a box. He notel the Pianning
Commission initiall_y looked at a shoppi.ng center of 1.3 rnillion sq,uare feet.
This was reduced cons�_derably. 'The City Council has established 16 trips
per acre as a standar.d. Residenti��l generates about 8 trips per acre.
Niayor Irwin said a study is being coilducted at this time as to trip ends
at peak hour and what tlii.s really means.
Comm. E'�dams said the Flanning Co�r.mission learned that industrial
. generates 3 tii;ies what the average residential does, and commerci�l
generates 4 timPs as mucti as an average residential area. He suggested
we be as restrictive on Stevens Creelc B:Lvd, as on Highway 9.
Councilman �Ieyers said to continue designing our highwa;�s for peak hour
traffic loads is a waste of land. Secondly, ti� is :Looki.ng at the energy
cr-isis and its implicat:ions . It is his opinion that we. �vi11 be seeing
some dra�natic changes in i:�ocles of travel.. fie noted tliat along Stevens
Creelc Blvd. many of ttie pa.rce:ls are very small. DeveLapme:�t in large,
agglomerated center.s is not the i�est in a:11 cases. �igness -is not
Uetter=-- ��tliat happens to the ":L:itL guy"?
MTNUTES OF T��L JOINT CITY COU�ZC:�I /PLANNING CU��IISSIOi� MrETING ?.1/6 CC-189
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Comm. Nellis �.rondered if t,te ar.e suff.ering from "automobil.e
syndrome". She feels there should be raom for the "little guy"
in Cupertino, but �aondered haw much room. Stie noted the Plannin�;
Cornmission acicnotalpdged the exi.sting commercial.
Chairmar� 0'Keefe said that as �•re go along tYLe soutll side of Steven..
Creek }3].vd. we must adclress ourselves to i5laney Avenue. He would
not lilce to ir�crease the traffic on this residential street. Ne
noted that Jack In T�ic Box has purchased the Shell station at
Blaney and Stevens Creek Blvd. He would IIOt lilce to see this
trer.d expanded. He said a lot of the Hi.�hway 9 traffic is non-si.t
generated. We cannot control traffic �,aith zoni.ng alane.
Councilman Frolich said that one of the problems in tryin� to plan
this City is that we probably have more ]_inear miles of heavy traf
fic corridors than most cities irl this Count��. The City Council
haci to temper thei_r decisic�ns ���itn concerns of the fiscal aspects .
The City Council said the development of transit shoul.d absorb t}ie
areas of ignorance in the futur�.
Councilman Frolich said the State computer sa}�s that if_ �ti*e don't
get the extension of Higll�aay 85 beyond Hi.gh�aay 9 it �a�ll dump more
traffi� oi7to High�aay 9. He believes this is not true,
Chairman 0`Keefe said he has expressed concern for Blaney Avenue
and Stevens Creek Blvd. The Planning Commission felt the automobile
woul.d not be as important a n2ode of transportation and perhaps we
should help the sm�ll businessman by providin� residential along
Stevens Creel� Blvd. To date, parking has been sucti an important
factor in developing. In the future, we will end up with an over-
flow cf parlcing spaces,
Councilman Meyers sai.d the City Council also talked about the
larger parcels on tne south side of Stevens Creek Blvd,; tha.t they
could be developed similar to that complex along Lawience Express-
way, around the Smugglers' Inn restaurant �ohere there i.s
residential. Councilman Jackson sa�d Vista del Lago, on Sar�toga
Avenue, also has a mix af uses. .
Councilman Jackson said he could see some extremely difficult
problems among the property o�sners along Steverls Creek Blvd, with
phasing in the r.esidential. For instance, he wondered wYiat the
future of Boulevard Shopping Center would be if that pr.operty ctiTere
zon�d residential. There t�Tould be some suUstantial economic and
legal prot�l.e�ns tirith ncnconforming uses, Tlie more the Council went
for comrnercial along Stevens Creek Plvd. the liarder it became to
put residential zoniiig on the otrer properti_es there.
�G-•�g9 MINU'L'ES OF TI�T JO.IN'I' CITY CUUNCIL/PL�'1�'�'NING COI�IMISSIQN P'[F:ETING 11/6
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Comm. Btithenutti said he agreed �r:i_th tlle City Couticil on ttie Stevens
Creek Llvd , decision. Ite would lilce r�omments from the Council on
wli.y industrial. � .zncl_uded .in t11e `L'o��rn Center . Tli�� Plannin� Commission
Eelt thi_s sliould T�e a unic�ue, pedestrian oriented cortmercial development.
Councilman Jackson said this was meant not to rule out this use but to
keep it as f1e:�ible as possible. The C:ity C�unc:il talked about a mix.
He sees some very fine architecture in the buildin�s in j�'est Valley
Inclustrial Parlc . fihey env isian a total. community : residential ,
commercial, and pertiaps some light indust.rial. Comm. T3uthentith feels
the City Council slatement o� industrial in tlie mix for the Town GPnter
destroyed the Planning Commission�s concept for the Toi„n Center.
Comm. Gatto said the industrial connotation is not what the Planning
Co�nmission had in mind . TheS� had in min.d a comr.lu�ity oriented
development . �Iayor Ir�ai.n said i_t isn't so much that the Council
i�ranted to make s�_ire industrial goes in�o the Town Center , but rather
they did tiot �aant to close tile door to industrial r_here,
Comm. ilellis does n�t feel that industrial goes along with the Planning
Commissioi.'s concept of tlie To�•m Center. If this is an active part of
the community, residential. �aorlcs well �•�ith it.
Counci_lman Jacicson sasd itirther standar.ds could be added that the
in�lustria:l shall_ be �n incidental port:ion of the Town Center..
Councilman Frolich said tliere is the possibil-ity that �:�e have not
thought of every possible use her�. The flavor of the discussion
on this was that certain uses shouLd not be excluded.
ChaiL 0'Keefe agrePd ���ith the Council �s position. He spoke strongly
for pedestrian uses over long perivds of time.
Councilman Spa��ks was c�u:i_te happy with the input at this me�_�ting.
He thinlcs performance star.dards should be the "name �f the game".
Tlie. ideas of SO' buLfering and aest.lietics and landscaping shoul.d a11
be included in per�ormance standards.
Comm. Buthenutli said the Planni_ng Colrmission is guing to have to look
inco their reasons for 5or,ie af tlie dec:.i.sions made. �Ie asked ��hat the
� Council sees For recreational/canmie.rci.al use at the southeast corner
of Stelling and Homestead 1Zoads. r�ia5or Irwin said the sel:l.ing of
sporting goods is one example. Counr_i_lntan Meyers referred to the
"Supreme Court" in Sunnyv�le tliat is be:i.ng deve7_oped for p1a_ying
squash, etc. That property across j�;olie Road trc�,t ttte Hil_tor. Iiotel
is also plann��c� for these types of uses. Comm, i3uthenuth asked why
that particu.Lar_ site ��as picic�d tor that parti.cular use. Councilman
lacl:s��n said the site acr�ss the streei� is comm`�rc_i.al. There was
some discus5ion ab�ut a bocaling alley �;o_ing in there. �ecause of the
Iiigh clensity res-idential ar��ncl it, lie :;aca no rea��on for IlOt putt:ing
this type zoni.n�; there.
MINUTES OF T1IL JOIIe'1: CITY COt1I�ICIL,'1'I.A�NINC� Cb^'i:`'IISSTON rIEi:TING 11/6 CC-1.89
Page 7
Comm. Gatto said tl�at if you zone that wi.th a resLrictive pattern
and it is a mix oi this and o�iier uses, and if the mix is developec
first you severely restrict ttie market ior the remaining pr.operty.
Councilman Sparks said his pitch for recreation here is that in th
future we are supposed to have mo�-e Lime for leisure. Perhaps we
can have an uncier].ying resident:ial zone here.
There f.ollo�aed a discussion about �ti7hether there shoul_d be more
j oint meet ings and if so , their f r_ equency .
Councilman Frolich said the r.iost un.f_ortunate thing al�out
this joint meeting ��ras that it �Jas too bad the �entlelnan who
passed out the CCC bulletin ��las not preserit.
Comm. Nellis said there is an ir.ibalance in that we are going to be
lieavy on the industrial and conli in relation Lo residential.
She is in favor of f_1e.�iUility and innovat.ive ideas, but she is
afraid of the "red dots". The City needs guidelines. Mayor Irwi
said the perforniance stardards and the ordinances will be very
importarit . A balanr_ed community spealcs to land uses , tax revenue ,
and quality of life for :its residents. Tt provides a range of
goods and services and living conditions to a var;_ety of people in
a mix that is benef i cial to the corcununity .
Councilman Frolich said balanced conuntinities are not necessaril}r
always the same. Cupertino has a unique si.tu.aLion oi hav:i.ng so
much through traffic. He is nor so concerned 2�Gllt per_farmance
standards. �1e cannot foresee ail the types of land use� that
may come up in the f_uture, ihe City is having some studiesdone
prior to drawin� up t}Ze new com.-nercial ordinance . It �aill not ba
as unstructured as it appear.s at first glanc�.
Councilrnan rl�yers does not believe �ae have gone out of balance to
any great extent.
Councilman Jackson said in the long run, the input. from the public
will result in our having a stron�;er general plan.
The Ci.ty Council adjour.ned at this point to an executive session
for tlie ptirpose of: discussing ��tage con�r.ols of employees, and
the filli_ng of vacancies on the Library Commission. The time �aas
10:20 P.ri.
rloved by Corim. Nelli.s, seconded by Comm. Gatto to continue this �
put�lic licaring t,o the next regular meetin,. The time was
10:22 r.r1.
Moti.on carried, 5-0
T
(;C--]_$9 TIINUT.:S OI TfiE J[)itiT CITX CCU�C;:I1,/I�LE1NNf.IvC: t:Q;L�ITSSTUN PII .LZ1�tG 11./6
Y��e $
1'he City Counci7. meetin�; re�onvenec: irt ttic� Cc�nci.1 Ch; rlber aL 11 :07 P.:t, ,
as Moved by C;ouilcilman L'i �1 ic'.t and seccn;ieci b}� Ccunci i:.^,3I1 ?�ieyers .
�iotic�n carried, 5-0
;�ovecl. by Counci_lman F- �icti, seconded by Counci_l.rr,��1 "tc�� ers to adj�urn
this r.�eet ing t ?;30 P.`i. ezl November 12 , 1973 , in the Library
Conf �rec�ce R��OTll ror tllc purnose cf :intervie�viT1� ap;;1_icants for. vacanci�s
on the Library Co;�,r,ission.
rlotion car_ried, 5-0�
iloved by Counci7_mar� Pieyers, st�conded by Ceuncil.man Jackson ta close
�hc� pt.lbla�c: hear.ing on Lhe Core �1.rea.
T;ation carri�f3 5-0
APP :C�JI1D :
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