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PC 10-11-94 " CITY OF CUPERTINO, STATE OF CALIFORNIA 10300 Torre Avenue Cupertino, CA 95014 (408) 777-3308 MINUTES OF THE AD10URNED MEETING OF THE PLANNING COMMISSION HELD ON OCTOBER 11,1994 Chair Mahoney called the meeting to order at 6:47 p.m. SALUTE TO THE FLAG ROLL CALL Commissioners Present: Chr. Mahoney Com. Doyle Com. Roberts Com. Harris Commissioners Absent: Com. Austin Staff Present: Robert Cowan, Director of Community Development Ciddy Wordell, City Planner Colin Jung, Associate Planner Bert Viskovich, Director of Public Works Consultants Present: Michael Freedman, Freedman, Tung & Bottomley WRITTEN COMMUNICATIONS - None POSTPONEMENTSIREMOV AL FROM CALENDAR - None ORAL COMMUNICATIONS - None CONSENT CALENDAR - None PUBLIC HEARING 1. Application No.: Applicant: Property Owner(s): Location: 81,152 City of Cupertino various properties along or near Steven Creek Boulevard from Highway 85 to the eastern city limits PLANNING COMMISSION MINUTES October 11, 1994 Page 2 HEART OF THE CITY SPECIFIC PLAN meeting to review the progress of the work on the draft land use and development character policies, development . standards and design guidelines, and financing of streetscape and other improvements. ENVIRONMENTAL DETERMINATION: to be detennined at a later date. Colin Jung, Associate Planner, presented the staff report. He explained the discussion outline and said this is the first fonnal public hearing on the specific plan. It will be a progress review of work preparation of the specific plan with the hopes of looking at land use policies, site and architectural guidelines, development standards anq touching on the financing aspects of the plan. The three major parts of the presentation will be overview, historical background and special plan issues. 1. Overview Mr. Jung said the specific plan is a mid range planning tool, going from the general plan to review of specific development proposals in a specific plan area. There are four basic parts to the specific plan: Land use element, development standards (streetscape design, setbacks, building height, design guidelines, etc.), infrastructure (new streets, sewers, etc.), and implementation (financing). 2. Historical background Mr. Jung reviewed the following: · 1983 Stevens Creek Boulevard conceptual zoning plan (showing streetscape and discussing some defects of the plan and why it had not been implemented) · 1990 General Plan Goals - "Community Identity" · 1993 General Plan - "Heart of the City" · 1993 Heart of the City Design Charette · 1994 Joint Planning Commission/City Council meeting on streetscape design. 3. Specific plan issues Mr. Jung referred to Exhibit C of the staff report entitled, "Heart of the City Specific Plan, Major Themes and Planning Approaches." The major themes are as follows: 1. Provide for a mixture of land uses, including housing, that promote activity. 2. Plan for pedestrian usage. . 3. Create an aesthetically pleasing environment and retain the City's suburban character. 4. Serve multiple modes of transportation. PLANNlNG COMMISSION MINUTES October II, 1994 Page 3 5. Sustain business vitality which includes maintaining commercial visibility. 6. Protect adjoining neighborhoods from the potential negative effects of more intense developments. 4. Implementation (financing) Mr. lung introduced Michael Freedman, Freedman, Tung & Bottomley. Mr. Freedman said that that Mr. Cowan has basically set out to do three things: 1. Develop a streetscape that implements the charette focus. 2. Meet with, listen to needs of, review and keep moving the current development from investors and developers who are making proposals. 3. Meet with Chamber of Commerce to make sure that as we enhance the visual character, the needs of businesses are met in the combination of development guidelines and standards and streetscape design. Mr. Freedman said he was here to show the Commission preliminary graphics and recommendations of the guideline element to complement the streetscape. The Chamber had seen them and given their input 'He said he has been asked to present a streetscape and show preliminary recommendations as they came out of meetings with staff and the Chamber. This has been a four or five year effort that got a lot of focus from the charette. Mr. Freedman continued his presentation using slides including key team graphics from the charette. One of the concepts from the charette was that the corridor should be unified and have a visual character or identity. That identity should bring back orchards and groves and reflect the community's history in a way that makes the corridor's visual character increase and does not make it look like every other major corridor in the Bay Area. He said they wanted something simple, beautiful, recognizable and reflective of our region. He showed a slide of Cupertino taken in the '40s which showed the orchards.. To implement the unity, the concept of groves will be employed from end to end of the City. They had to combine that with making three recognizable areas: Val1co, City Center and OakslDeAnza. The unity is the groves, and the groves have to change. At the western gateway will be an Oak grove. An Ash grove will be at the eastern gateway. The plan is to add to what's there. The town center will contain a flowering orchard. Mr. Freedman said there are basically four conditions along the route and showed how they will become what is proposed. The City will immediately install as many trees as possible and sidewalks will be moved. The second row of trees will be planted and decorative fencing, grass and irrigation will be installed as development occurs. Mr. Freedman said the lighting in the middle of the road is fine but they want to . complement that lighting by putting in low scale lighting fixtures, 13 ft. high along walkways. This would accomplish two things: make the road safer and make it feel more "peopled." He showed a drawing of the recommended style of light standard. The charette results said there should be big noticeable gateways at the west and east ends of the corridor. Historical photos show that there once was a sign over the street. Mr. . PLANNING COMMISSION MINUTES . October 11, 1994 Page 4 Freedman showed ·drawings of the proposed western gateway, and said they were trying to strike a balance between high tech and the aspirations of community. Another idea from the charette was that the city center ought to feel like "the center of the center of things." The idea is that whatever one sees while moving down the corridor, it culminates here. In dealing with this area, the idea of using the undeveloped corner was not enough, and they explored a lot of options. As part of the effort, Mr. Cowan directed them to meet with the Chamber and developers. They boiled it down to two choices: I. Placing a landmark building on the corner, helping the Apple building step down, enhancing the retail presence on the corner, making retail visible there, and helping enclose the public space. 2. Making the whole thing a public space; frontage on the "hotel" site and the other development site would all be stores that would front on the corner square. There would be orchards flowering at different seasons. Developers preferred the building while the majority of the community preferred the other option. The consultant likes both. Mr. Freedman showed a drawing of what the preferred design would look like including a sundial which would be a landmark visible from moving traffic. J By and large people like the street design in terms of planting trees and enhancing visual character, but there is a worry from the business community - they want their stores to be seen. Mr. Freedman said there are four principles for implementing the charette. · Unify visual appearance of street with orchard/grove street tree plantings, consistent furnishings and civic landmark. · Improve pedestrian environment along street frontage with planting strips and buffering trees and shrubs. · Allow flexibility to address access and visibility needs of commercial development. · Accommodate options for implementing streetscape improvements, e.g., City construction, renovation of existing development, standards for new development. Mr. Freedman said they met with the Chamber and talked about their approach to dealing with the visibility issues as part of the standards. He showed them the streetscape design . presented at that time and said the response was some relief but some concerns about two issues regarding business viability or the effect ~ of the overall combination of the streetscape and guidelines: visibility and cost of improvement to sites as imposed by city policy. The consultants are recommending a relaxing of requirements for landscaping on site. Mr. Freedman suggested a trade - spend money on the edge and open up a corridor to the inside of the site by pulling the trees out to the edge of the property and using regularity of spacing to call attention to access to businesses. They could do that by -....-......, PLANNING COMMISSION MINUTES October 11, 1994 Page 5 planting trees in .an unbroken regular line and allowing big breaks which will be noticeable. Mr. Freedman showed a slide of current placement of signs and how it would look by allowing them nex;t to the curb on public property. The plan will have good visual standards. The signage proposed is much more visible than it is today. Mr. Freedman showed how various situations would look including stores set back on a site, smaller sites with stores behind parking, frontage buildings with shared driveways, small shopping centers behind parking with multiple tenants, and residential over retail. He said they are recommending that the setback be reduced to 35 ft. if all other requirements are met. Mr. Freedman showed drawings with a screen wall and trees planted to separate uses including between businesses and behind businesses separating them from residential. He pointed out a screen wall and trees protecting neighbors. He also showed pictures of signs as they are now and ex;plained the advantages of proposed changes. Regarding office development, Mr. Freedman recommended some on site landscaping for really big office parking areas but relaxing of frontage standards and replacement with light standards previously talked about in the groves, 1/3 maximum for the clear zone and signs as shown before. They want to allow highly visible architectural articulation and spotlit and backlit signs attached to architecture. Mr. Freedman said they think the Chamber, staff and consultant are happy. Mr. Freedman said his last recommendation was regarding architectura1 style. Should there be a theme? He said he felt no sense of unanimity of preference for any style. He said it is clear that Cupertino has an eclectic mix of architectural styles and they do not suggest that a style be forced. He said the City should make sure that they end up with quality architecture using the two visual guiding elements that 1. Landscaping would unify corridor visually, not one kind of architecture, and 2. Guidelines are not to enforce a particular style but to make sure the landscaping is unified and that quality continues to increase. He said they need the Commission's input. Commission members and Mr. Freedman discussed the following: · Timing (phasing) of planting trees, moving sidewalks, constructing gateways · Screen walls separating businesses - how it blends with minimizing curb cuts · Feasibility of realizing objectives simultaneously without relieving Stevens Creek Boulevard of traffic; possibility of light rail - the current plan does not affect traffic and does not include a transit system in the design · Keeping Cupertino green, "parkurbia" - seems to have gotten translated into paying tribute to Cupertino's agricultural past. Thought emphasis was more on present and future (high tech). Consultant thought intent was to change back to a more suburban look using regional materials, a blending of past and present. Charette said orchard from end to end (groves). Low fences - thought they went with the orchard theme (not from charette) PLANNING COMMISSION MINUTES October 11, 1994 . Page 6 · A better vision. of trees, signs, fences - will they create a barrier? Consultant says you will see trees, openings and signs at irregular intervals and signs are lit or on tower of building. "Screen and trame" concept - won't see buildings as well, so big openings and signs near street are necessary · Tradeoff of reduced landscaping on site with trees on edge - concerns that you will only see buildings from on foot, no trees · Concerns regarding landscaping if water becomes scarce and/or more expensive. Use of reclaimed water possible in future · Must be a compromise regarding signs - signs must be big or plan will kill businesses - allow individual banner signs, signs for multiple tenants, variety of sizes, lighting and design, desire for unity, more control of signs than in proposal · Idea that three nodes should not be so traffic- or auto-oriented and should be more pedestrian friendly. Consultant says this is not included in this proposal, Grand Boulevard design was thrown out earlier · There will be a residential only schematic presented · Office massing - encouraging towers to show over trees · Unifying or highlighting decorative elements (gateways, sculpture, fences, etc.). Possible consultation with Fine Arts Commission or art community, degree of participation of Fine Arts Commission - Staff recommends no on fundamental street design but on sculpture at DeAnza Boulevard and Stevens Creek Boulevard, other opportunities. Strongly recommend against using artistic input for fence (time, hassle, expense), only on public parts, not private. Consult Fine Arts Commission regarding what they are prepared to do (staff has letter from them). Will talk about degree of participation later · Winter aspect - screening walls are deciduous trees - consultant described seasonal interest, better visibility in winter. Concerns regarding maintenance, leaves · Concerns regarding City Center - orchard/sundial compatibility · Recommendation for comer - building or no building? - Can be a major retail destination or a "set piece" plus some retail · Southeast comer of DeAnza and Stevens Creek Boulevards crucial to success of Heart of City plans · How to tie in Apple towers to rest of development - will guidelines alone suffice? Have to be market realistic · Coordination of buildings not built with ones already there - can create standards to fit with Heart of the City concept. Requirement for master plans, continue collaboration with developers · Concept of increasing wall and window sign size as visibility issue · Need more stringent architectural guidelines (massing, entry location, roof shape, fenestration, grouping, proportion of windows and doors, etc.) \ · Levels of detail to address at this meeting, scope - staff said visibility to buildings is critical · Cost outlines of different aspects presented does include cost of moving sidewalks · Existing guidelines regarding tower ( southeast comer) - presented unobstructed views of towers or softening of aspect PLANNING COMMISSION MINUTES October 11,1994 Page 7 Public Testimony Farokh Deboo, 10257 Nile Drive, Cupertino Waterfall, commended the City on their progress and said he hopes they continue to encourage affordable housing. The density of town center is increasing. He and other residents have encouraged open space and pocket parks. Mr. Deboo indicated a triangular area and said he hoped it would be park and open space. Mr. Deboo was informed that the Parks and Recreation Commission will be looking at parks in the area and that staff will be directed to track when those discussions will take place. Mr. Deboo said that staff is already showing the triangle with housing, and he felt this is objectionable. He asked what discussion had been held in this regard. Mr. Cowan said the key is a question of having small scale sites. The City or someone would have to buy the property in order for it to be a park. The Parks and Recreation Commission wiJI look at this issue. Land use issues have not been talked about at this meeting. Mr. Deboo said he feels the need for a master plan and public participation before other applications are heard for this area. He mentioned Application 7-U-94 which was for rental use. Mark Kroll said he represented ownership at City Center. He said there is a master plan for City Center that was the subject of many hours of Planning Commission and Council deliberation. City Center is unfInished and could take a long time to build out. Mr. Kroll said the existing master plan has buildings that will step down to the street from the towers. The landscaping already installed along Steven Creek Boulevard is in keeping with what is proposed. He said owners are interested in working with what is proposed and in listening and cooperating. It is key to the City and to the value of the property. Referring to the triangular parcel, Mr. Kroll said it has never been open space. If someone wants to buy it for a park, owners would have no objections. Hotel and retail at the comer would be exciting, but must also be economically viable in order to attract the capital necessary to make it happen. John Statton, Cupertino resident and Executive Director of the Chamber of Commerce, said the Chamber has been involved with beautifying Stevens Creek Boulevard since 1966 when they planted ISO trees. As a result of these and other efforts the street is beautiful and· supports a thriving commercial area. Mr. Statton said the Chamber is not really happy about the proposal, but is cautiously optimistic. Certain principles need to be addressed: I. Reduction of visual access to their places of business. There needs to be no natural loss of visibility. He expressed concerns regarding screening of buildings by trees. Mature trees would have a canopy that would not obscure the businesses PLANNING COMMISSION MINUTES October II, 1994 . Page 8 behind them, and a corresponding reduction in interior landscaping would offset the impact of the foreground plantings. Increased on site signage would be required. 2. Saddling business with a disproportionate share for a community wide benefit. One option for maintenance would be to treat this as an "urban parkway" and have maintenance cost above existing levels paid for in the same manner that the City uses for its other parks. 3. Existing businesses will incur significant cost for adapting to the new landscape. Mr. Statton said it is only fair that if Steven Creek Boulevl\1"d landscape is changed dramatically that the City should establish a no interest loan fund to help offset the burden that will be created. Mr. Statton said that some businesses are only marginally viable. The Chamber has had good discussions with Michael Freedman and staff, but this is only the beginning. He said he didn't think that some of the things that should be addressed have been. He said it is their desire to conÛDue to work with staff, Commission and others toward a plan that will beautify the community and strengthen it economically. Murray Horton, 27040 Stevens Creek Boulevard, owner of Fontana's and the Good Earth restaurants, said the country is going through a period of recession. Businesses are looking up but there are still lots of vacancies. The key is location and signage. Finding a store or restaurant is critical from a visibility point of view. With the proposed plan, you are talking about five rows of trees across the street. Driving by you have four lanes, a center divider and two rows of trees. Even if signs are set out a little bit from the trees it is not clear whether those signs would be visible when you are driving by. Mr. Horton said this needs to be more fully explored. He suggested an alternative using native plants and flowers to beautify the street. Obscuring the businesses might do more damage than good. He said he would be very interested to know if this type of plan has been carried out elsewhere and would like to talk to merchants in other areas. Did they get greater volumes and would the city benefit? Mr. Horton said there is impulse buying, and sometimes "out of sight, out of mind" applies. Mr. Statton will be talking with other Chamber members. They would like to work with the City. Judy Tembrock, 20791 Scofield Drive, said she thought everyone was ignoring the fact that making everything look better is good for business. She said she has lived here 27 years. Despite trees, we know Valleo is along Wolfe Road. Though we want to be unique, is there any precedent for using Oak trees as street trees? Do they work? Ms. Tembrock suggested using sycamores. There are lots of them at DeAnza College. She said she thinks the college has been ignored. Ms. Tembrock said sycamores have been used on The Alameda and she has no problem finding places there. Also, there is a precedent for their use: in Rome and Paris, they are the major street trees and you can still could find places you are looking for. -...----. PLANNING COMMISSION MINUTES October 11, 1994 Page 9 Alex Byer representing Byer Properties, San Francisco, said his family owns the Crossroads Center, and Mr. Horton is their tenant. He said calls from tenants regarding visibility are the ones most often received. The proposal is an excellent thing that everyone has worked hard on. Mr. Byer said his biggest concern is that business is not so great right now. Cupertino sales numbers have taken as big a dive as any due to a number of economic factors. Mr. Byer said he has heard that Cupertino is difficult when it comes to signage. He said if we don't address the visibility issue we will scare off potential property owners. Beautification and unification are wonderful, but the tree issue is one we have to look at and not scare away merchants but attract them. Mr. Byer said he thinks everyone's goals are the same. We need to alleviate tenant concerns. At this time there is no vacancy in Crossroads. It is a good location and it is visible. When asked for an example of a retail project merging visibility and aesthetics, Mr. Byer mentioned one in Campbell at Bascom and Hamilton, and one in San Jose at Camden and Union. He said his company is doing one at El Camino and San Tomas in Santa Clara. There are plenty of trees and landscaping but you can see it. He said he thinks the proposal can be worked out in spite of the trees. He has seen successful projects where these objectives have been met. When asked if he thought the project would be recognizable after it has been worked out, Mr. Byer said the bottom line is we need businesses inside the stores. Out of sight out of mind is the biggest negative in trying to attract tenants. Stevens Creek needs to be improved, but he said he didn't know that trees are the answer. He said he often gets calls from tenants asking when he is going to trim or cut down trees. Mr. Cowan suggested that staff come back on October 24 with just a scheduling item, no testimony. Staff needs to talk to the consultant and budget issues need to be worked out. He asked for direction. Chair Mahoney said he would like to have general direction about the major issues heard at this meeting, especially on the visibility issue. Com. Harris said she believed a concept can be worked out in everyone's favor. She . would like to see the City and the Chamber of Commerce work together. She believes the elements along Stevens Creek Boulevard need to be unified, for example the fence, parking, trees, etc. should be uniform. Ms. Harris expressed concerns about the cost of watering as well as maintenance of the deciduous trees and the painted light standards and other costs that would not be met by an assessment district. She said she would like staff to comment on these items. She stated she is in favor of the gateways, orchards in the center, the sundial and maybe some trees. Com. Roberts said he continues to be enthusiastic about the plan but we may have run into a potential major obstacle. Any major compromise on the landscaping would be tantamount to ditching the plan. He said we need a compromise. He said he has trouble relating to the sign issues, but if a compromise can be found that retains this unifying landscape element, we still have a plan. Another major issue he felt had not been PLANNING COMMISSION MINUTES October I I, 1994 Page 10 addressed satisfactorily is that of mixed use. He said he was not sure if there was a consensus on this issue. He said he needs to see some tangible alternatives as to what it would look like and would like to know how the business community feels about it. Mr. Roberts said he feels strongly that what happens in the city center area is crucial to the success of the plan. He feels there is a strong base at each end but some deficits at the intersection of Stevens Creek and DeAnza Boulevards. He said we need a concept and to implement it carefully if it will work, particularly integration of the towers into the rest of the Heart of the City. Com. Doyle said Commission should not be specific now and thinks the Chamber and the City need to work as a team so there is a converging of input and actions.' He said we are asking businesses to pay for changes and they need to know how the project will benefit them. Mr. Doyle said he would like to have staff address that question and come back with ideas. Either business will payor the community will pay in some way or other. He said he would like to see some example of how other people have made this concept work, someone who has done it right. He requested examples of the best projects of this type. Chair Mahoney agreed that Commission needs examples. He also said he would like to know if the old post office location already has a problem with trees, and if so, how would that compare with what we are talking about. He felt the questions raised about funding are very compelling and other alternatives must be explored. The examples are the key. Mr. Mahoney said that given those issues, he still finds the proposal very exciting. Mr. Cowan said the item will be placed on the agenda for October 24 just to talk about scheduling. He said the Parks and Recreation Commission will be considering land use in reference to parks; he will find out what their schedule is and then will recommend a more detailed schedule for Planning Commission. By consensus, the matter was continued to October 24 for purposes of scheduling. At 9:50 p.m., the meeting was adjourned to October 16 for a joint meeting with City Council to hear a report and provide input in regard to the County's draft general plan. Roberta Wolfe, Recording Sec etary