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PC 05-06-1993 CITY OF CUPERTINO, STATE OF CALIFORNIA 10300 Torre Avenue Cupertino, CA. 95014 (408) 252 -4505 MINUTES OF THE SPECIAL MEETING OF THE PLANNING COMMISSION HELD ON MAY 6, 1993 The meeting was called to order at 6:50 p.m. SALUTE TO THE FLAG: ROLL CALL: Commissioners Present: Chairwoman Austin Vice Chairperson Mahoney Commissioner Doyle Commissioner Bautista (arrived 6:52 pm) Commissioner Roberts Staff Present: Robert Cowan, Director of Community Development Ciddy Wordell, City Planner Colin Jung, Associate Planner Michele Bjurman, Planner II Bert Viskovich, Director of Public Works Charles Kilian, City Attorney APPROVAL OF MINUTES: MOTION: Com. Mahoney moved to approve the minutes of April 26, 1993 SECOND: Com. Doyle VOTE: Passed 5 -0 WRITTEN COMMUNICATIONS: - None ORAL COMMUNICATIONS: - None CONSENT CALENDAR: - None PUBLIC HEARINGS: 1. Application No(s) 3- GPA -90 and 50 -EA -90 Applicant: City of Cupertino Property Owner: Same Project Location: Citywide Proposed General Plan Amendments and Draft Environmental Impact Report. City Planner Wordell reviewed the schedule for this meeting as PLANNING COMMISSION MINUTES Special Meeting of May 6, 1993 Page 2 outlined in the staff report, noting no final decisions will be made at this time. She stated if the Commissioners anticipate any changes they should direct staff at this meeting. Ms. Wordell also reviewed the procedures for public comment, noting public testimony will be received at the May 18th meeting. Chr. Austin opened the public hearing at this time. Ms. Robin Phillips, Cupertino Union School District, stated she has her comments and proposed changes in writing and will leave them with staff. She noted the general concern of the School District, regarding the proposed General Plan, is in the EIR section regarding the impact on schools. She stated in reading through this section, the very last paragraph on page 4 -14 is the crux of the matter. She addressed the schools capacity, noting there is a potential facility problem. Ms Phillips noted there needs to be communication between the City and the School District to prevent this potential problem from becoming a reality. She stated the district enrollment is growing at about 4 percent annually, due to new construction and a rising student yield of existing housing stock. She stated they have recently completed a demographic study and results show that growth will continue through the coming decade. She noted the district has sufficient classrooms available to accommodate the growth from the existing housing growth. Any additional growth could require the district to reopen one or more additional schools. Ms. Phillips reviewed the cost to reopen the schools. She stated the District receives no revenues to pay for the facility costs associated with growth from existing housing. Ms. Phillips outlined the proposed changes as follows: Policy 2.65, Planning for schools should read "Recognize the financial impact of increased development on the School District's ability to provide facilities. Work with the District to assure that the continued high level of school services can be provided, prior to granting approval for new development ". Mr. McQueen, City of Sunnyvale, stated the City of Sunnyvale appreciates the effort Cupertino has taken to inform them of the General Plan. He submitted a detailed letter which covers three areas of concern in more detail. Those areas being traffic, jobs /housing balance and land use. Regarding traffic, Mr. McQueen stated traffic impacts do not address adjacent jurisdictions which will be impacted. Regarding jobs /housing, Mr. McQueen noted the City of Sunnyvale does recognize the goals and policies of Cupertino's housing plan, but feels the plan will increase the jobs /housing imbalance. He feels more specific mitigation measures should be included to address the affects of an increased jobs /housing ratio. He noted the Vallco Park planning district may create potential significant land use compatibility impacts on surrounding single family uses located in the City of Sunnyvale and Santa Clara. He stated the policy which discusses neighborhood protection should be applied to adjacent sites in other cites. He PLANNING COMMISSION MINUTES Special Meeting of May 6, 1993 Page 3 noted Sunnyvale would like to be kept involved in this process. Com. Bautista stated the EIR does address the impact of growth at nearby street intersections outside the City and reference is made to certain mitigation methods in the plan. Ms. Bjurman stated that the City currently has a referral method involving the School District, which informs the schools of all new sub - divisions. Ms. Nancy Burnett, CURB, commented on the visual image of Cupertino and balance. She expressed concern about the visual image of the City for the future. She stated residents do not want the change described in the General Plan and feels this was not what was discussed by the Goals Committee. Ms. Burnett addressed the potential development and the impacts. She also addressed the tier system and feels this system ignores non - traffic impacts of the development. She addressed the :jobs /housing imbalance and feels the DEIR ignores the housing needed for the additional growth proposed in the General Plan. She stated the tier system of traffic mitigation would be creating a housing imbalance. She suggested the City set a building limit to keep the City in balance and keep it from growing to the dense urban metropolis as suggested in the proposed General Plan. CURB feels the tier system is a blank check for runaway growth as State and Federal standards are in place to improve traffic and air quality. In response to Com. Mahoney's question, Ms. Burnett explained the potential loss of floor area ratio, she stated this could protect from excessive growth. She stated the tier system will result in development agreements and these agreements frequently change. Mr. Julian Rice stated the tier system should be completely eliminated from the General Plan in its present form. He noted tier one is already being practiced by the major companies in the City. He stated this system will allow for an additional growth of two million square feet. He suggested setting up a pilot program to see what can actually be reduced in traffic. Mr. Rice also expressed concern about additional commuters coming into Cupertino if additional growth is allowed. Ms. Diane Moreno Ikeda, FAIR, stated she would like to encourage the implementation of the General Plan and to move forward. Mr. Edward Yikeo, Fairgrove Homeowners, stated that the population in California will double in the year 2010 and noted growth and change is inevitable. He stated the growth proposed in the General Plan will totally change the character of the City and it will not change for the better. He stated there is not the space for the development proposed. Mr. Yikeo expressed concern about the character of the neighborhoods. He suggested the build out allowed PLANNING COMMISSION MINUTES Special Meeting of May 6, 1993 Page 4 in the current General Plan is more than enough for Cupertino and no further allocation of square footage for large commercial development be made. He noted if more build out is allowed affordable housing can not be provided. Mr. Yikeo expressed concern about traffic and does not feel any mitigation methods will help traffic if additional growth is allowed. Mr. Steven Haze, 22681 San Juan Road, addressed the SMRA Act of 1975 as it relates to the Kaiser operation. He addressed Section 7.4 regarding extraction of minerals. Mr. Haze addressed State law regarding this. Ms. Wordell stated this is addressed in the General Plan, noting the law requires the City to address the classified mineral resources. Ms. Ann Anger, President, Monta Vista Improvement Association, addressed the freeways and the main arterials which provide access to the businesses and residents in Cupertino. She expressed concern about neighborhood preservation. Com. Roberts supplied the other Commissioners and staff with a written copy of his comments on the General Plan. He stated the General Plan is a fine document. Com. Roberts comments and response from staff and Commission: Land Use Com. Roberts stated he supports the strategy of encouraging high - tech industry, but is concerned about how much growth the City can handle without adversely affecting the quality of life. He expressed concern about the increase in jobs as opposed to the increase in housing. Mr. Jung explained that there is much employment in Cupertino which can not be solely attributed to office /industrial. Employers not represented in the office /industrial area are De Anza College, City Hall, Utilities (PG &E), Agriculture, Home occupations. Com. Mahoney reviewed a policy regarding the decreasing number of employees per square foot. Mr. Cowan stated staff will prepare a separate analysis regarding Com. Roberts concerns. Housing Com. Roberts stated the proposed General Plan will create more jobs than housing. PLANNING COMMISSION MINUTES Special Meeting of May 6, 1993 Page 5 In response to Com. Mahoney's question regarding housing, Mr. Cowan stated the Council did cut back the number of houses requested in certain areas in the City. He discussed the possibility of going to higher density. Transportation Com. Roberts feels the residents of Cupertino will be disappointed when Highway 85 is complete. He expressed concern about traffic going through residential neighborhoods. Mr. Cowan stated without any growth, Highway 85 will be at level of service F. Com. Roberts urged staff to take measures to eliminate some traffic on City streets. Air Quality Com. Roberts expressed concern abut the increase in truck traffic through the City. He addressed the toxic air pollutants and stated the AIR does not address incremental emissions resulting from the project. He stated this is a serious problem and the Draft EIR is inadequate, and must be amended regarding this issue. Mr. Cowan stated trucks will be prohibited from using highway 85. Ms. Bjurman stated the emissions were not addressed because the City cannot predict what the emissions will be until the project is proposed and at that time the Pay Area Air Quality Management District will be the permitting agency. Com. Roberts stated the residents of Cupertino need assurances that the emissions will be controlled. Noise Com. Roberts expressed concern about the noise impact of highway 85. Drainage and Flooding Com. Roberts addressed the increase in storm runoff peak intensity caused by hillside development and noted this deserves more careful consideration. Com. Roberts elaborated on this as outlined in his written comments. He stated Section IIB, 2nd paragraph of this chapter is misleading. Mr. Jung stated the intent of the statement was a comparison of higher and lower tensity residential development in the hillsides. PLANNING COMMISSION MINUTES Special Meeting of May 6, 1993 Page 6 Parks and Recreation Com. Roberts stated he is pleased with the City's intention to expand the parks into neighborhoods and make them more accessible. He expressed concern about L1 and L2 neighborhoods as these areas will be the most impacted by the development and traffic. He stated the City should provide some amenities to these areas and would like to see language built into the General Plan to address this. City Planner Wordell stated there is a section in the General Plan regarding new development in the non - residential areas and that parks should be provided. The Commissioners discussed the policy regarding providing parks. Com. Bautista stated the General Plan has provided for mixed -use along Stevens Creek Blvd. and there is no allotment of park space in this area. He suggested the triangular parking lot on Torre Avenue be devoted for park space. Ms. Wordell stated acquisition funds are limited, because the City is indebted to other recent acquisitions. She noted the idea is to get dedication for parks when new development is proposed. Com. Roberts stated the L1 and L2 areas deserve a guarantee that a park will be developed in this area to mitigate the increased traffic and development impact. Com. Bautista suggested that the specific policies dealing with Stevens Creek and Vallco Park include strategies with a emphasis on open space. Mr. Cowan stated the lead agency on this issue is the Parks and Recreation Commission and would like some input from them before changing the policies. Com. Mahoney stated unless the City can purchase property, parks will be developed in areas not chosen by the City. Ms. Wordell stated staff will look into the suggestion to include parks in specific plans for Stevens Creek and Vallco. She noted the proposed General Plan indicates that the 3 acres per 1,000 population is to be maintained. Vegetation and Wildlife Com. Roberts express concern about Pg10 -9, Section IID.2 regarding storm runoff and asked does this plan allow for more hillside development than the existing General Plan? , PLANNING COMMISSION MINUTES Special Meeting of May 6, 1993 Page 7 Mr. Jung stated there will be less run -off under the new General Plan. Mr. Cowan stated there will be clustering in the new General Plan and this will help prevent storm run -off. Com. Roberts stated he would like to see language in. the General Plan that makes it clear that the City's efforts to protect the stream beds and riparian environments are dependant upon implementing those aspects of the General Plan. Economic Development Com. Roberts stated the economic development proposed is not the best way to promote diversity and stability by allocating virtually all new growth to the three largest employers. Chr. Austin concurred with Com. Roberts and stated Measurex and Symantec have both requested additional growth. She noted their request should be part of the allocation. In response to Com. Mahoney's question, Mr. Cowan stated it was a former Commission's recommendation to allocate the square footage to the three major companies. He stated the criteria was that each company must have at least 1500 employees and their headquarters must be located in Cupertino. Ms. Wordell stated Measurex does not fall under the criteria addressed by Mr. Cowan. The Commissioners discussed the possibility of changing the criteria in the General Plan regarding the reallocation of additional growth. Mr. Cowan stated the large companies have the resources to meet the mitigation required by the City. Chr. Austin stated her main concern is that Cupertino will become an elitist community by only allowing the three major companies to expand. She stated the smaller companies should be allowed to grow. Com. Doyle expressed concern about the Tier 2 system as to how well this will work over a long period of time. If tier 2 is to stay in existence, the only way this can work is to have the three major employers be involved. Com. Bautista stated reallocating the space does not make sense unless the space is allocated to companies that have the resources to mitigate the traffic and housing impacts. PLANNING COMMISSION MINUTES Special Meeting of May 6, 1993 Page 8 In response to Commissioners questions, Mr. Jung stated the 150,000 square feet is not part tier 2, but is categorized as a non - designate pool that would be allocated on the priorities of 1500+ employees and companies with headquarters in the City. He stated lowering the criteria to 1000 employees will still not include measurex. He stated there is also the category of Town Center and Cross Roads corners office /industrial square footage of 111,000 s.f. This planning includes the City Center area as well as the property where Symantec is located. He noted City Center Associates are also interested in this square footage for a new building for Apple Computer. Mr. Jung reviewed Symantec's proposal, noting in order to accomplish the 100,000 s.f. of additional growth under the tier 2 program they would have to mitigate 50 percent of the peak hour trips. Mr. Jung stated this is not feasible. Com. Bautista suggested eliminating the criteria which requires a certain number of employees. He suggested reallocating the 150,000 square feet to the smaller employers and establish criteria in that respect. Mr. Cowan explained how the 150,000 square feet was allocated. Com. Mahoney stated the spirit of the discussion regarding the additional square feet was commi and long term partnership with the City. Com. Roberts stated there is language in the vision statement regarding diversity. He feels diversity is important and the allocation formula does not promote diversity. Chr. Austin concurred, noting that diversity should be encouraged. Mr. Cowan stated staff will work on this policy. He suggested such criteria as 100 employees and have roots in the City. He noted staff will bring this back to the Commission for further review. Com. Bautista also presented his comments in writing to the Commissioners and summarized as follows: Transportation Com. Bautista expressed concern about transportation and the impact of the growth on the transportation network. He noted if the City wants to encourage a Heart of the City Concept De Anza and Bollinger and Stevens Creek and De Anza intersections will be impacted. He stated if this is the case this issue needs to be addressed directly and decide if this is what the City wants to tolerate. He expressed concern about being unable to develop the Heart of the City given the traffic constraints. He stated if the PLANNING COMMISSION MINUTES Special Meeting of May 6, 1993 Page 9 City does want a Heart of the City, they must either directly address mitigation or do a balancing and choose the Heart of the City over traffic problems. Heart of the City Com. Bautista also expressed concern about building height. He stated the City has allocated a maximum building height of 45 feet along Stevens Creek and 30 -35 feet in other areas. He suggested putting a lower building height limit on those areas to help mitigate the traffic situation and also create the intent, as written in the vision statement, to have a more livable Community that is pedestrian oriented, with store fronts. He stated the height limit proposed seems to be inconsistent with the mixed use policy. Regarding policy 2 -25, the use of high quality architecture for landmark buildings is stressed. He stated the same kinds of architecture standards should be in the specific plan for the Stevens Creek corridor. Mr. Jung stated the building height was discussed at the Council level and noted the type of mixed use they were visioning called for the 45 ft. height limit. Mr. Cowan stated when the Commission gets involved in the Stevens Creek Specific Plan the building height will be discussed in more detail. Com. Bautista stated the plan leaves open the possibility of three story commercial next to three story residential and this is not a feature he would like to see. Com. Doyle summarized his concerns as follows: Housing Com. Doyle expressed concern about the jobs /housing imbalance and the affordable housing required by the State. He stated increased development is putting more demand on the need for affordable housing and this needs to be addressed. Schools Com. Doyle stated the impact on schools has many secondary effects. Com. Doyle shared the other Commissioners concerns regarding the visual character and transportation. PLANNING COMMISSION MINUTES Special Meeting of May 6, 1993 Page 10 Waste Disposal Com. Doyle expressed concern as to how the City will reach the reduction level which is required with the additional growth. Ms. Bjurman stated the City is currently at 25 percent reduction. She noted the Public Works Department has initiated•a series of requirements that are currently being drawn up and will be implemented with existing and new development. Com. Mahoney summarized his written comments as follows: Transportation Com. Mahoney stated traffic needs to be mentioned in the EIR as a significant impact including De Anza and Stevens Creek & De Anza and Bollinger intersections. He stated he would have difficulty in finding the EIR adequate and complete. Com. Mahoney addressed tier 2 system. He noted the major companies have not rejected the tier 2 system as unworkable, but feel the proposed implementation plan is what they are objecting to. He recommended taking the implementation out of the General Plan and review it at a later time with the new Commission and the major companies. He stated he would like to separate the procedure for implementing it from the policy in the General Plan. Mr. Kilian stated the Companies don't want restrictions imposed on the 2 million square feet after development occurs because of difficulty of receiving money from lenders. Mr. Jung suggested following the example of the housing mitigation program. The Commission could go ahead with the policy and follow - up with a procedural manual. Mr. Cowan stated it would be his preference to work this out and not delay the procedure. Mr. Bert Viskovich, Director of Public Works joined the meeting at this time. In response to Com. Mahoney's suggestion, Mr. Viskovich stated tier 2 is meant to be an application process. He suggested when the General Plan is adopted the major companies request the application process to occur and commit to a time frame. He noted the development agreement which would be a 10 year agreement, staff could live with this time frame and begin the application process. He stated the three major companies can work together and come up with a weighted average of the three companies, or they may want to go as an individual company. All new development before the two million square feet, would be fixed to 1.7. He stated a PLANNING COMMISSION MINUTES Special Meeting of May 6, 1993 Page 11 development agreement would be executed outlining the full procedure. He stated it is still the Planning Commission's and City Council's decision to keep the criteria which requires revocation of their use permit. Com. Mahoney spoke in support of leaving the use permit revocation criteria in the General Plan. City Attorney Kilian recommended that the details involved in the use permit revocation be included in the General Plan. He stated he would like to avoid adopting the General Plan with the 2 million square feet and have a manual to be reviewed and approved at a later time. Chr. Austin re- opened the public comments. Mr. John Hailey, Tandem Computers, stated the major companies are proceeding with trip reduction efforts and the way the language in the General Plan is written is a detriment to the companies. Regarding the six month period to undertake new TDM measures when the companies want to use part of the 2 million pool, this works counter to all the trends in the industry today. He stated this is a six month up front delay. Mr. Bailey requested that the City do not implement policies which would encourage employees to leave in the partial peak period. He noted if the TDM programs are successful this requirement would not be necessary. He stated if a use permit has a condition that would ultimately nullify it, the company is concern about a building being built and not being usable. He added the companies agree that managing the demand side of the traffic is the right approach and agree with the concept of the tier 2 approach, but the implementation measures are onerous. In response to Mr. Hailey's comments, Mr. Viskovich stated the six month period was included, if a quick application was submitted staff need the six months for the traffic to stabilize. He noted this condition could be worked out. TDM programs will be mandatory by July 1994 by the Air Quality Board. Mr. Hailey stated the development agreement is the right tool to use to make modifications by both parties. He stated if the companies want to attempt to attain the use of the 2 million square feet, they must go into this process knowing they are going to be successful with TDM's. He stated if the goal is to reduce the trips in Cupertino as opposed to specific companies this can be achieved. Mr. Viskovich stated the concern is that, in the future, what is measured at the driveways is exceeded. He noted the goal is for the major companies to reduce the number of cars in their driveways and not to control intersections. PLANNING COMMISSION MINUTES Special Meeting of May 6, 1993 Page 12 Regarding the revocation of the use permit, City Attorney Kilian stated the Companies and Governments have to view traffic impacts as the same kind of nuisance as the traditional nuisances such as air quality. He noted companies and lenders will have to realize that traffic is as much a nuisance today as air quality is. Mr. Viskovich stated traffic will be scrutinized by the region as well as local cities. Com. Doyle stated there was a suggestion made to use the development agreement as a way of enforcing reduction in traffic. Mr. Kilian stated the revocation of the use permit can occur in the development agreement language or in the standard procedures. He explained the law regarding a nuisance. He stated it is important to keep the language in, in order to receive funding from the State. Mr. Al Hoffman suggested that the tier system be re- evaluated as a pilot program which can be inserted at the annual review of the General Plan. Com. Mahoney stated there are three issues: 1) if it can be achieved the procedure should be left in the General Plan; 2) revisiting the baseline; 3) revocation of the use permit. Com. Bautista spoke in favor of leaving the revocation of the Use Permit in the General Plan. Chr. Austin concurred. City Attorney Kilian stated the last commercial lender he dealt with realized that the City can revoke a use permit if there was a public nuisance. Coms. Doyle and Mahoney both spoke in favor of keeping the use permit revocation in the General .Plan. Com. Roberts stated the revocation would be the last step the City would take. Mr. Viskovich stated there are several layers of sanctions in the General Plan before they reach the revocation. He added if the City does not take steps to enforce such sanctions, the City itself may face sanctions from the State. Chr. Austin reviewed her written comments: Chr. Austin expressed concern about the lack of sensors on Stevens Creek Blvd. and noted they should be added at Foothill Blvd. PLANNING COMMISSION MINUTES Special Meeting of May 6, 1993 Page 13 Ms. Bjurman stated the sensors are at the same receptor locations that were analyzed during the last two General Plans. Mr. Cowan stated there is a limit as to how many sensors can be located and noted the City cannot control truck traffic from Kaiser Permanente. In response to Chr. Austin's questions, Ms. Wordell stated staff will bring back De Anza's growth plan at the next meeting. Mr. Viskovich stated the traffic model does include the existing traffic generated by De Anza College, but the future growth is not included in the model. Com. Mahoney pointed out that highway 85 will be an advantage to traffic overall. Chr. Austin stated she would like to address housing at the next meeting and inclusionary zoning should also be revisited. She added she liked R.J. Moore's Cali Square Plan. Chr. Austin also expressed concern about the fire at Kaiser as the water pressure failed. Mr. Viskovich stated that the Fire Department's fire hydrant failed and is not a public utility. Com. Mahoney reviewed the consensus issues and issues to be reviewed by the Commission as follows: 1. Consensus, traffic needs to be in the EIR as a significant impact. 2. Tier 2, Mr. Viskovich will work on cleaning up the baseline issue. 3. Consensus, 150,000 square feat, criteria to be 100 employees and the three major companies have no part in this. 4. Consensus, parks on the Stevens Creek corridor. 5. Jobs /Housing to be addressed. 6. Mixed use and inclusionary zoning - needs to be addressed. 7. Heart of the City concept, clarify the definition of mixed use and revisit the height limit. 8. Protect the neighborhoods from traffic impact. Look at existing policy regarding traffic mitigation in the neighborhoods. 9. Toxic air emissions - needs to be addressed. PLANNING COMMISSION MINUTES Special Meeting of May 6, 1993 Page 14 10. Discussion of the tier 2 system on May 18th. 11. Solid waste baseline - needs to be revisited. Mr. Viskovich stated the solid waste baseline is based on the 1989 numbers. He stated as growth occurs, solid waste must be reduced. Mr. Viskovich stated State law prohibits truck traffic on highway 85 from Stevens Creek Blvd. to I -101. 12. Clarification on clustered development. REPORT OF THE PLANNING COMMISSION: - None REPORT OF DIRECTOR OF COMMUNITY DEVELOPMENT: - None DISCUSSION OF NEWSPAPER CLIPPINGS: - None ADJOURNMENT: The Planning Commission adjourned at 10:45 P.M. to the next Regular Meeting of May 10, 1993 at 6:45 p.m. Respectfully submitted, Catherine M. Robillard, Recording Secretary Approved by the Planning Commission at the Regular Meeting of May 24, 1993 Donna Austin, Chairwoman Attest: Dorothy Cornelius, City Clerk