PC 02-26-64
10321 So. Hwy 9, Cupertino, California, 95014
252-4505
C I T Y 0 F CUP E R TIN 0
CO PErtTTN S:-è; A IXI<'öï¡ï,ïii\-
MINUTES OF THE REGULAR MEETING OF THE PLANNING COMMISSION, 2/26/64
PLACE:
TIME:
Cupertino High School Auditorium
8:00 P.M.
I
SALUTE TO THE FLAG
II ROLL CALL: MINUTES OF THE PREVIOUS MEETING: 2/10/64
Commissioners present: Rampy, Small, Snyder, Thomson,
Fitzgerald
Commissioners absent: Adamo, Frolich
Comm. Small moved the minutes of February 10, 1964, be received
and filed. Motion was seconded by Comm. Rampy.
.
Motion carried, 5-0
III COMMUNICATIONS:
A. Written:
1. Agendas for the February 19th and March Lfth County
Planning Commission meetlng;~.
2. List of recorded subdivisions for January.
3. Notice of tract number for the Moldaw property on
Blaney.
4. Notice of a four lot sl<bdj,visioD off Lindy lane which
will be coming up before the Plalming Commission.
5. Announcement of University of Cal:Lfornia extension
courses offered for city planners.
Comm. Small moved the written communications be received
and filed. Corum. Snyder seconded the motion.
Motion carried, 5-0
B. Verbal:
1. Mr. Raymond Mayhew, 10415 Westacres Drive, Cupertino,
said that he was the president of the Westacres
Homeowners' Association and they were concerned about
the drainage and ground elevations on the tract of
homes being built behind them. He wondered if re-
taining walls weren't needed since there is such a
difference between the elevations of the two tracts.
The Assistant City Engineer felt the elevation problem
would lessen since the dirt is how being stock-piled
at the rear of the lots and would be spread out and/or
removed later.
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Comm. Snyder moved the City Staff review, this situation
and report to the City Council since the Planning
Commission has no jurisdiction over this. Motion was
seconded by Comm. Small.
Motion carried, 5-0
2. Mr. Loren Acker, 10510 Deodora Drive, Cupertino, wanted
to know v¡hy the new used car lot on Stevens Creek Blvd
was allowed to go into business without adhering to
the landscaping policy set up by the City.
Vice-Chairman Fitzgerald requested Mr. Acker attend tre
next H-Control meeting and the minutes regarding that
application will be reviewed.
IV HEARINGS SCHEDULED:
A.
GEORGE YAMAOKA: Appl. 89-2-63
A-2:B-4 to R-3-H; on the south
Blaney Avenue and Randy Lano.
to rezone 7.85 acres from
side of Lucille between
Second Hearing.
Comm. Thomson noted there was still the same mistake in the
legend of the revised maps Mr. Yamaoka presented. The
legend indicates 9 lots whereas there are actuelly 10.
Mr. Yamaoka confirmed there are actually 10 lots on which
he now plans to put 153 units. He explained that this
property is bounded on the north by the freeway, on the
south by the Church, on the west by R-l,' and on
the east by the Blaney overpass. Because of this, he
feels this site is not appropriate for R-l. Mr. Yamaoka
further emphasized that the road pattern is laid out so
all traffic will be encouraged to make right-hand turns.
The 2-story apartments would be set up 53' from the back
of the property and the parking ratio is approximately
2~:1.
Comm.. Thomson asked the Assistant City Engineer what the
elevation of Blaney is across from Lot #8. He was in-
formed it is 12 to 15' high.
Comm. Thomson went on to say the plans as presented showed
lack of imagination and it was his contention that al-
thoUgh lots 7, 8, 9 & 10 seemed right for apartments, this
whole parcel should not go for multiples.
Comm. Small said that almost 290 acres in Cupertino are
now zoned for multiples, many of which are not built as
. yet. In view of this amount of multiple zoning and the
vacancy factaI' now in exis'tance, he wondered if Mr.
Yamaoka would be wise in going ahead with this venture.
The applicant said that he was very optimistic about
renting these apartments. 'He would be applying the same
theory he has in his other' deve lopments ,which have proven
to be very successful. He plans' to hold the rent down to
$110 or $115 per month for,. one-bedroom apartments and plans
to steer clear of renters with children, thereby not con-
tributing to the already crowded school conditions.
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Comm. Rampy ae.lced what kind of constructIon is planned.
Mr. Yamaoka said the bu:Udlngs would be of redwood siding
and stucco and have gabled ~oofs of cedar shingles.
Comm. ,snyder commented that lüts 'r, 8, 9 and 10 seemed all
rlr-;ht for apartments but that thj,f) development leaves a
1 nt to bA deG.\.red in terms of q 1\:3. lity .
ComIl. Snyuer a Is 0 stated that the rental
I "''' is :1.llaicative of the type of apartments Cupertino does
not wish to have;
Vice-Chairman F:ltzgerald ae.kcd for comments from the audi-
ence. Mr. Robert Jacobs, 19851 Baywood Drive, Cupertino,
requested the Commission defer their decision on this
application until later in the evening since he and others
had prepared a presentation in opposition to another appli-
cation on the agenda which is in the same general vicinity
and he felt their comments would have bearing on this
application also. 'l'he Vice-Chairman said this probably
would not be legal but that Mr. Jacobs is welcome to voice
any objections to this application at this time.
Mr. Jacobs wanted to know more about this award Mr. Yamaoka
SÐ.id he won. I"lr. Yamaoka sald that it was for design and
liveability.
Mr. Keith Irwin, 19843 Baywood Drive, Cupertino, wanted to
know if land prices were hiGher in Sunnyvale or Cupertino.
He was told that land in Cupertino cost more.
Mr. Eugene D. Inslco, 1061Lr Handy Lane, Cupertino, fe It this
area is becomJng too óensely populated. He said he would
have no ob jection to 4-ple;;cs or duplexes here, however.
Mr. Irwin asked UK! applicant to be more specific about
,the size of tlJo a ,XlI' cment5 he p;'opoßes. r1r. Yamaoka said
he planned elev8n 3-bedromJ, fort~' 2··bedroom and one-
hundred- two I-bedrccm u¡)its,
Mr. Joe 8paragna, 10l¡J5 Plum Tree, Cupertino, questioned
the trafflc pa ttcrn ar.d the effect of a 11 this added
traffic on the main thorougll.l'¿ú'8u.
Mrs. Tom D. Hislop, 10356 Portal, Cupertino, asked if the
applicant p1almed to have wlnð,00ls In the 2-story units
overlooking the TI-l homes. Mr. Yamaoka said he would
try to avoid this.
t/',r. Jacobs stated he felt this was basically an R-l area
and felt there were too ~ìny apartments springing up here.
Mr. Gerard Stern, 10384 Denison, Cupertino, requested a
buffer between these apartments and the R-I.
Mr. Loren Acker, 10510 Decdora Drive, Cupertino, stated
that R-I bordering the freeway would be very hard to sell.
Mr. Merrill Brooksby, 10304 Colby, Cupertinò, stated he was
in favor of town houses on this property. Mr. Yamaoka said
that if hé sWitched to town houses at thiS point it would
cause considerable delay because he would have to have the
proper zoning first and then go to FHA for financing.
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Mr. Robert Hahn, of Plum Tree Lane, Cupertino, wanted
clarification on this present zoning of this property.
This was done by the Vlce-Chalrman.
Mr. W. R. Lynn, 10168 Denison Avenue, Cupertino, wanted to
gp down on record as being ag&inst apartments here.
Mr. Charles Alexander, 10370 Portal Avenue, Cupertino, ex-
pressed his thought that this was an ideal location for
town houses.
Mr. Tom Worrick, 10391 Denison, Cupertino, was against thw
rezoning application.
Mr. A. D. Ankrum, 10568 Johansen Drive, Cupertino, asked
for clarification of zoning and density.
At this point, Comn.
high density in this
for Sunnyvale is not
Thomson stated that he did not like
" d
area. He said, What is goo enough
necessarily good enough for Cupertino."
Comm. Small moved to close the Second Hearing. Comm. Rampy
seconded. the motion.
AYES:
NAYS:
Comm. Rampy, Small, Snyder, Thomson, Fit¿gerald
None
Motion carried, 5-0
Comm. Snyder moved application 89-2-63 be denied. Comm.
Rampy seconded the motion.
AYES:
NAYS:
Comm. Rampy, Small, Snyder, Thomson, Fitzgerald
None
Motion carried, 5-0
Vice-Cha:lrman F:ltzgerald advised Mr. Yamaoka of his right
of appeal to the City Council within 5 days.
B.. MASON EN'EERPRrSES , INC.: Appl. 1-2··64 to rezone 20 acres
from R-l :B-2 and R-3-1I to R-24-H; between Blaney Ave., and
Portal Ave., 500' north of Stevens Creek Blvd. Continued.
Tentative Map appl. I-TM-64 (176 lots)
Mr. Thomas Traeumer, 10376 Tonita Way, Cupertino, gave a
resume of the problems which arose at the last meeting.
He then turned the presentation over to Mr. Louis Tersini,
whp gave a recap of the project for the benef:lt of those
who may not have been present at the previous Hearings.
Mr. Tersini said several of the people who had signed the
protesting petition had been contacted and when this town
house concept was explained to them they said they did not
object to it.
Mr. Nes~or Barrett, 275 N. First Stréet, San Jose, was then
introduced to the Commission and the audience. It was ex-
plained that he had designed the ,master plan for Los Gatos
and Los Altos Hills. Mr. Barrett was called in by Mason
Enterprises to study this project '~md to give his opinion
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on how it stacks up in relation to the Cupertino Master
Plan. He said that he first contacted Wilsey, Ham and
Blair to see if this deve lopmcnt would fa 11 within the
density standards of the General Plan. lie found that 284
of the 400 acres co~ld be developed residential. This
includes streets, but does not include nBnufacturing and
commercial acreage. In respect to the density, Mr. Barrett
felt this development would not be contrary to the Master
Plan.
In another important area, Mr. Barrett had discussed this
town house situation with Mr. John Lofgren, Coordinator fa'
Pupil Housing in the Cupertino School District and found
this would in no way disturb the school's outlook. In
Los Angeles, it was found that the pupil load in town house
developments is 1.2 childre~ per acre.
In the area of safety, Mr. Barrett pointed out that this
development yields 2 rather than 'che conventional 6 inter-
sections at the main thoroughfares. Further, there would
be only one strcet for the City to maintain. Since Blaney
is already establish"d as a very busy street, an additional
20 cars (as opposed to present zoning capaèity) would be
minimal.
Aestheticswise, this town house concept presents a park-
like atmosphere which legally must be properly maintained
as opposed to R-l where the individual homeowner has the
responsibility fo!.' upkeep and maintonance and where you
won't find the uniformity in maintenance standard:'!.
Mr. Barrett felt that from the City's standpoint, Cupertino
would be far better off with this development. The town
houses fall within the $22,000 to $26,000 bracket and FHA
reqùires a $3,000 to $L¡.,OOO down payment.
Comm. Small said there Has talk the Council may decide to
take the ~; acrcs adjoining the school from this parcel for
a parle site. 'l'he Assistant City Engineer said the northeast
quadrant has been earnk':!rked for a park. Mr. Ters ini said
this part: would be comv1etely compatible with the develop-
mm1t and offered no ob jection. COIfim. Small then said that
if the city takes 5 acres for a park then this would act
as a buffer between the town hOtUJes and R-l, and the density
for this development would be reduced to 132 units. He
felt that it now comes down to the question of whether or
not it would be a well built project.
Comm. Snyder asked if the developers really felt this
would sell, considering all the multiples in this area.
It was explained that they planned to select one of the
quadrants, possibly the 44 units on Blaney, and would be-
gin by bu:tlding 12 w1its and developIng the common green
area. Then, once they have developed a sales background,
they will continue on to the next quadrant, and so on.
When asked whether he felt this would compete with R-l,
Mr. Tersini said .these 1600 sq.ft, 4-bedroom homes would
definitely compete with R-l homes.
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The Vice-ChaIrman as!œd fop comments from the audience.
Mr. Robert Jacobs asked to see the Mason Enterprises
petition which they said they had cIrculated. It was ex-
plained that they had no written petition -- that they
had talked with some of the people and realized they had
been misinformed or !1ßd not fully understood this town
Þ()Use concept. A show of hands :J.ndicated there were
four persons present who had changed their minds.
An elaborate presentation was then made by members of the
audience: Mr. Keith Irwin gave his explanation of the
effect the town houses would have on the schools; Mr.
Robert Jacobs gave a recap of similar developments;
Mr. Joe Sparagna explained the study he had made on traffic
in this area; and Mr. Herman Doorman, 19781 Amherst,
Cupertino, explained how he had arrived at the conclusion
that these town houses would reap no more taxes but would
cause added expense to the City.
Mr. G. E. Frazier, 10153 Colby Avenue, Cupertino, said he
attended a recent meeting where Dr. Knight indicated he
wants to reduce the class load from 34 to 30 in the
Cupertino School District.
Mr. Juanita McLaren explained that she has been dealing in
Cupertino ,real estate since 1956 and is now concentrating
on this area being discussed. She said that if this one
quadrant is going to be purchased for a park it will cost
the City $25,000 per acre and she wondered where all this
money is going to come from. She said that an interested
group had been wllHng to help tho City obtain the Horse
Farm for a park at much less cost but that this had fallen
through.
Comm. Snyder, after further study, felt there was an ingress
and egress problem here.
Mr. Bill Botsch, 10184 Portal, Cupertino, wanted to go on
record as being against 2.-story buildings here.
Mr. Paul Williams,' 10168 Colby, Cupertino, a Iso wanted to
go on record as being against thIs development.
At this point, Mr. Richard Rogers, Vice-President of Mason
Enterprises, came forward with his rebuttal on the
Homeowners' presentation of objections.
Com. Small moved to close the Second Hearing. Seconded
by.Comm. Rampy.
AYES:
NAYS:
Comm. Rampy, Small, Snyder, Thomson, Fitzgerald
None
Motion carried, 5-0
Comm. Small moved to reopen the Hearing to enable the
Vice-Chairman to .call for a show of hands in the audience
of those in favor of and those against this application.
. Comm. Rampy secondeQ. the motion.
AYÈS:· Comm. Rampy, Small, Snyder, Thomson, Fitzg'crald
NAYS: None
Motion carried, 5-0
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The show of hands indlcated 21 people for approval of this
application and 45 people against it.
Comm. Small moved, anù Comm. Rampy seconded, to re-close
the Second Hearing.
AYES:
NAYS:
Comm. Rampy, Small, Snyùer" Thomson, Fitzgerald
None
Motion carried, 5-0
Comm. Snyder at this time gave a recap of the basic issue
at hand:
At present, 4~ acres are zoned R-3-H which couli go 20 per
acre, or 91 units, and 15~ acres are zoned R-l which could
yield a total of 152 units on this whole parcel. The
applicant wishes to request R-24-H zoning and wishes to
have 8.8 units per acre, totaling 1'(6 units. The City
Ordinance permits a potential of 320. The applicant plans
to put 1:8% of the land into common green, 23% into paved
area, and 2Yþ into buildings.
Comm. Thomson felt that thls was a good development but
that it is in the wrong place. On this basis, Comm. Thomson
moved application 1-2-64 be denied. This motion was
seconded by Comm. Snyder.
AYES:
NAYS:
Comm. Snyder, Thomson, Fitzgerald
Comm. Rampy, Small
Motion carried, 3-2
Comm. Thomson wondered if it wouldn t.t be in order to start
drafting an ordinance for town hOUSèS. Vice-Chairman
Fitzgerald said this was belng done by the planning
consultants.
C.
A. J. & II, E. WILLTÞNS:
------~_.- .--.---------
from R·-I-A :D-2 to C-I--H;
Blvd and S~clling Road.
a service station,
AppL 2-2--64 to rezone 0.77 acres
sout¡~a0t corner of Stevens Creek
First Hearing. Appl. 3-u-64 for
The presentation was made by Attorney John Howard. He ex-
plained that, along with the ùevelopment of this property,
the applicant was willing to dedicate street widening on
both Stev(ms Creek Blvd and Stelling Road. He noted that
92' of the Wllliam$ property is not included in this
application for rezoning.
Comm. Small asked which oil company was interested in this
location. Mr. Howard said he preferred not to divulge this
inforr~tlon at this time since there were actually two
interested companies, one for lease of the property and
one for purchase òf the property.
Comm. Small asked if, the red barn on the property would
go when this property is developed. He was assured it would.
Comm. Small then corrmented that the City certainly needs
the widening of these streets. He said there are four
R-I homes along Stelling there and he wonders if they
could be contacted before the Second Hearing to see if the
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widening in front of their property could be accomplished
at the same time, since a heavily-travelled street such
as Stelling which is wide, then narrowed down, and again
widened prescnts a traffic hazard. MI'. Howard said every
effort would be made to do this.
Vice-Chairman Fitzgerald advised Mr. Howard that design
layoùts and more specific details would be in order at the
Second Hearing.
Comm. Snyder felt that C-l-H would be good zoning for this
property but he asked the applicant why it is good for a
service station since there already are several in the area
and some in Cupertino have gone under. Mr. Howard de-
scribed this as a higher and better use for this property
and it was his contention that if the architecture is in
good taste it should not be a detriment to the area. For
example, if an office building should be constructed here
it could very well develop into a blind corner.
Mrs. Audry Kullick, 20820 Bonny Drive, Cupertino, and
LCDR Clifton M. Holladay, 20850 Pepper Tree Lane, Cupertino,
were pre~ent to voice their objections to a service station'
at this corner; however, LCDR Holladay said he would like
to see this street widened.
Comm. Snyder moved, and Comm. Thomson scconded the motion,
to close the First Hearing.
AYES:
NAYS:
Comm. Rampy, S~311, Snyder, Thomson, Fitzgerald
None
Motion carried, 5-0
D. ELDRED J. KUNKEL: APPl. I-v-64 for a Variance to allow a
rear yar.d set-baclc of 13' l¡" where Ordinance requires 20 ';
southwest cOI'nerof Wolfe Road and Vicksburg Drive.
Commission was reminded that at the previous meeting the
application had indicated a front yard variation and legally
it must be republished. Several of the neighbors were at
.the last meeting and after looking at the plans and hearing
an explanation by Mr. Kunkel, they said they would be
happy with this arrangement.
Corrnn.Thomson moved, and Comm. Rampy seconded the motion,
to close the Hearing.
AYES:
NAYS:
Comm. Rampy, Small, Snyder, Thomson, Fitzgerald
None
Motion carried, 5-0
Comm. Small moved, and Comm. Rampy scconded the motion, to
approve application I-v-64.
AYES:
NAYS:
Comm. Rampy, Small, Snyder, Thomson, Fitzgerald
None
Motion carried, 5-0
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V UNFINISHED BUSINESS:
A. Miscellaneous
The Assistant City Engineer needed the advice of the
Commission on what to do with the Uenaka application which
was scheduled to come before them at the first meeting in
March. It was delayed until that time in anticipation of
a completed Master Plan. Since the Master Plan has not
yet been completed, it was decided to delay a decision on
Mr. Uenaka's application until June 1st. Mr. Schoenfeld,
of Wilsey, Ham and Blair, has assured the City Staff that
within 2 or 3 weeks the first draft of the Ordinances will
be ready for study sessions and he requests at least five
study sessions as close together as possible.
Comm. Snyder moved, and Comm. Rampy seconded the motion,
to postpone the Uenaka application until June 1st and to
instruct the Assistant City Engineer to inform Mr. Uenaka
the reasons for the delay.
Motion carried, 5-0
The Vice-Chairman advised the Commission to start thinking
about setting aside 5 nights for these study sessions in
the near future.
VI NEW BUSINESS
A. Miscellaneous -- None
VII ADJOURNMENT
Comm. Small moved, and Comm. Thom20n seconded the motion, to
adjourn the meeting at 11:55 P.M.
AP?ROVED :
Isl Jerry Fitzgerald
Vice-Chairman
ATTEST:
g(JJ- Y)ILic
Ro ert S. Shook
Secretary, Planning Commission.
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