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PC 12-16-63 10321 S. H\JY 9, Cupertino Calif. 95014 252-4505 C I T Y 0 Feu PER TIN 0 (;U PElì'L'ùTtY;-C1rLrm5mUA -- MINUTES FOR THE ADJOURNED t1IŒ'l'ING OF THE PLANNING COMMISSION December 16, 1963 TIME: PLACE: 8:00 P.M. Cupertino Sen:Lor ¡Ugh School Auditorium Commissioners present: Adamo, Fitzgepald, Rampy, Small, Snyder, Thm.l1~i(m, Frolich Staff present: Assistant City Engineer Plánning Consultants present: Mr. George Volker, Mr. George Gatter, Mr. Ray Schoenfeld The meeting was called to order at 8:10 P.M., by Chairman Frolich. After the roll call, Chairman Frolich announced that this was the first published Hearing on the General Plan; the second Hearing at the Planning Commi:õsion level to be held on Monday, December 23rd, at the Cupertino School District Office, 10300 Vista Drive. When the Pl::mning CommisGion Hearings are completed there will be one public Hcearìng at tile City Council level. Following that will be a review of the zoning map and ordinance. Chairman Frolich then introduced Mr. Volker to the audi- ence. Mr. Voll,er has left the employ of Wilsey, Ham and Blair to accept a pOGition in PJacerville, but since he w< s deeply involved in the Cupertino General Plan he agreed to come and give a brief resume of it and answer any ~uestions. l~r. Volker stated his firm had spent 8 or 9 months on basic recJearch of the lÜnd of people who cLose to live in Cupertino, their backgrounds, income", interests, eto. 'Phey found the average income in Cupertino to be ~;8, 100 per yec:I'. It is a stable community with very little assessed valuation. MI'. Volker' then presented two maps, ODe with an overlay showing the most recent developments in t.ho Cupertino area. He pointed out that thj s General Flan, which is m"H'ely a guide, encom- passed all the land north to F)'cmont r:oad, ea"t to the Lawrence Freeway and Saratoga. Cr'ee1c, south to Cox Hoad, and west to the Montebello TIidge. ;1e felt it WJ8 nec8ssary to include these out- laying areas bccmwe of their impact on the city of Cupertino. The tremendous and rapid f,rowth of Cupertlno W'lS exemplified by the growth of the CupeJ.'t.ino Elementary School Disi-,l'ict from 735 students in 19!¡7 to 17, 000 in 1963. In 1950 the population was 6,500 and in 1962 it had almost reached 60,000. '1'here is an increase of approxi- mately ¡¡,OOO per .year. Mr. Volker stated that the freeways will have a tremendous effect on the growth of Cupertino. Another dominant factor in the story of Cupertino will be Vallco. It will help to provide a broader tax base. Another impor- tant factor is that land is becoming so expensive it no longer is feasibly sound to build low density dwellings. There is a trend toward an increase in multi-family dwellings of the garden apartment or town house variety. The lot sizes for single dwellings are also decreasing. Cupertino will probably reach its saturation point around 1980 with a population of about 180,000. Chairman Frolich then asked each Commissioner if he had any questions before proceeding to questions from the audience. Comm. Snyder asl<ed if the General Plan would include the net density as well as the gross density. Mr. Volker said that it would. He went on to say that this plan is not a zoning map --- it is a symbolic presentation which shows how the community might develop. He pointed out that the red dots on the map indicate a -l~ need for commercial development in that vicinity, not necessarily right where the dot is located. Comm. Small. wanted the difference between medium and medium- high density clarified. Mr. Volker stated that only the larger acre- ages should be developed into h:!ghudensity. It is not the intent of the Planning Consultants to peril the single family dwellings with the threat of apartments, etc., in a vacant lot or two along side them. Comm. Fitzgerald stated that the red dots on the map are a source of controversy·. He wondered if Mr. Volker wanted. to go before the City Council with them still indicated on the map. Mr. Volker did not feel it would be the proper thing to do to remove the red dots from the map. He stated that density is one of many aspects shown on this map. A general plan attempts to show the compatibility of residential, commercial, industrial, civic center, etc., areas. Chairman Frolich wanted to know when the zoning map would be presented. Mr. Volker stated a zoning map and ordinance will be prepared as soon as the General Plan is adopted by the City Council. He further stated that the zoning ordinance will need the same pre- sentation as the General Plan. Chairman Frolich quoted a l.etter from three property owners who felt that perhaps the proPo:Jed regional shopping center should be on west side oí'U:!ct?h..1aY9, /·11'. Volker said the red dots should not float too far from the High.,,"y 9 - Junipera Serra Freeway area. Chairman Frolich then introduced a letter from about 16 property owners which contained four questions: 1) Why doesn't the Preliminary jV[aster Plan recognize the existing zoning in Cupertino? 2) Whyare the presently zoned commercial areas in Cupertino classi- fied as "bad zoning?" 34) Where should commercial zoning be located in Cupertino? ) Is there a specified period of time that this commercial zoning should develop? In answer to 110. 1, ~1r. Volker pointed out that an attempt to do this will be made. He felt that in answer to No.2, the "bad zoning" was too far from the freeway. No.3 -- He felt that the commercial zoning should be approximately where the red dots are on the map. And No. 4 - -- "I'here is no fixed t:lme 11mi tatlons for development. CLairman Pr01ich then called for. a five-minute break so the audience could come forward 2nd inspect the maps at close hand before they asked their questionH. The meeting reconvened at 9:20 P.M. ~1r. Edwin ¡.¡. Bellis, Jr., 20127 John Drive, Cupertino, asked for clarification of the park sites. !>II'. Volker stated that, in general, they would be located adjacent to school sites. Inaddi- tion, some will be in conjunction with the creeks. It was felt that 2 to 5 acres would be sufficient for neighborhood parks adjacent to K--6 schools and a little more than that next to junior high schools. Larger, community parks would be in conjunction with the five senior high s~hools. A regional park is associated with the Stevens Creek area. Chairman Fro1ich stated that the City Council has looked into the neighborhood park site and community park site situation and has turned it over to the City Staff to look into acreages, costs, etc. It might be on the next bond issue. Mr. Paul Mariani, 10930 No. l~y 9, Cupertino, wanted the term "density" elaborated upon. Mr. Volker stated that gross density included streets, parks, etc. He was referring specifically to resi- dential density. Mr. Mariani further wanted to know if there have been any changes made in the past year in the prognostication of the -2- 350-450 acres needed to make up the commercial development. l'lr. Volker did not know. Mr. Anthony Lillo, 20820 McClellan Road, Cupertino, stated he was representing Mr. Calli, and wished to go on record as protest- ing the idea of not recognizing the existing commercial areas. Mr. Volker said it is going to be difí'icult to reconcile existing com- mercial along with the proposed commercial zorÜng. However, every effort will be made to try to accomplish this. A Mr. Halen, on Montebello Road, wanted to go on record as protesting Montebello being included in this plan. Mr. Volker again stated that this is not intended as a city limit plan --- the reason for using these boundaries is to tie in the school districts and other areas that will have an effect on Cupertino. Mr. K. Engleson, P. O. Box 303, Cupertino, wanted to know if businesses, colleges, etc., had been notified of this meeting. He found it disturbing that Mr. Volker referrcd to statistics of 1958 and 1960 rather than 1963. Mr. Engleson's contention is that Cuper- tino is and will continue to be chiefly a bedroom area; that business will go to the areas nearer the Bay where utilities are brought to the property line free of ch3.rge cmd transportation of goods, etc., are accomplished more effici2ntly. He referred to the December 12th San Jose Mercury-News, the North County Section, an articlc by Planner Alvin Zelber entitled, "Planner Looks Into Peninsula's Future." He felt that ¡.1r. Zelber made statements that do not tie in wi th Mr. Volker 1 s statements. ¡'1r. Volker countered with the infor- mation that he was in touch with the Vallco people long b.,fore there was any public announcement on it. Hel felt nobody could doubt the feasibility of the access to the freeway affecting Cupertino's future. He emphasized that it is necessary to have a broader tax base to pay for the schools, etc. Chairman Frolich backed up this statement with the figu:res that the Cupertino assessed valuation is $7000 per pupil as opposed to the State's assessed valu3.tion of $10,000 per pupil. We are already in trouble with the 23¢ tax rate. We need parks, improvement of Stevens Creek Blvd., etc., and these things don't come cheap 0 Comm. Small vJOndered if the people in the audience would like to have their taxes increased $50 per year. ¡'lr. Engleson, in a closing statement. said the "textbook" says Vie should have in- dustry, but does inchwtry want to come rcere? Mr. Jason Spiller, 10371 Plum ~l'ree L::me, Cupertino, ques- tioned the high density areas. He felt Cupertinians wanted swimming pools, tennis courts, etc., and wanted more detail on the park plan. Mr. Volker stated they had generally indic2ted where park sites should be but have Dot t::llcen a study of what facilities should go into them. Mr. Spiller expreßsed concern that the proposed parks are located away from the high-density areas. Comm. Fitzgerald of- fered the information that the multiples that have been presented to the Planning Commission lately have had their com private parks and pools -- a garden type ofsettin6' Mr. Robert N. Jacobs, 19851 Baywood Drive, Cupertino, wanted to know if this plan will be adopted before it is obsolete. He also wanted to know what financial compensation Cupertino will get when Varian moves in. Mr. Volker couldn't tell what the tax rate will be because some new services will be needed. He wished Cupertino had adopted a plan five years ago. Chairman Frolich added that the Planning Commission has worked with Mr. Volker and has been aware of the direction this Plan has taken and took this into consideration when making decisions on rezoning, etc. He also added that Varian has had experts working on a traffic pattern for Vallco. Mr. Blay, 868 Stelling Road, Cupertino, questioned whether there is any coordinating being done between Cupertino and surround- ing communities. Mr. Volker said there was none to his knowledge, but there certainly was some logic in presuming other communities will adhere to this plan. -3- Mrs. Edwin Bellis, 20l27kJohn Drive, Cupertino, stated that it was her understanding that in 15 years we \Üll be three times as large. She wondered if any provisions have been made as to smog con- trol and the preservat:!.on of at least some of the orchards? Chair- man Frolich answered that the smog control is h;mdled by a higher jurisdiction. He further stated that the type of industry proposed for Cupertino would create very little smog. It is very desirable to save some of the land from the population and consideration should be given to some of the existing orchards. About the only way this can be accomplished is by buyinb and retaining them. Mr. Volker added that there is a Constitutional Amendment which was passed last fall to give relief to the agricultural industry. Mr. Schoenfeld also offered the information that the open and green areas could be re- tained. Mr. Walter Ward, General Manager of Vallco, spoke briefly about the traffic pattern. He stated that where there are now sixteen lanes of traffic there will be fifty-two lanes of traffic. Chairman Fro1ich stated that a long term street pattern will be needed once the general plan is accepted. Mr. Dale Hecht, 19660 Merritt Drive, Cupertino, wanted to emphasize that more thought should be given to parks and their ac- cessibility by the children. Comm. \JJÞiomson stated that he was con- tacted a number of times as to park sites and wanted to point out that this problëm is now being considered on the City Council level. Comm. Fitzgerald thought it would be in order to ask for a show of hands as to the feelings of the audience to the general plan; Complete agreement . . . . 95% agreement... .. .. .. .... .. 50% agreement. . . . . .. 25% agreement. . . . . . . · 0 .12 · 5 · 2 It must be noted there were many who did not raise their hands at all. Some had already left the meeting by this time, too. Comm. Fitzgerald moved to close the First Hearing. Comm. Small seconded. Motion carried, 7-0 Comm. FHzgerald moved to adjourn the meeting at 10:25 P.M. Comm. Small seconded. Motion carried, 7-0 Mr. Volker asked for a caucus immediately following the meeting to clarify the points to be considered at the Second Hearing. APPROVED: /sl.. Donald Frolich Chairman ATTEST: