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PC 12-12-91 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 DECEMBER 12, 1991 ROLL CALL: commissioners Present: Chairman Mackenzie Vice Chairman Fazekas commissioner Mann Commissioner Mahoney Commissioner Austin staff Present: Robert Cowãn, Director of Community Development Ciddy Wordell, City Planner Bert Viskovich, Director of Public Works Charles Kilian, City Attorney written communications: - None Oral Communications: Ms. Sharon Blaine asked what are the legal ramifications of down zoning property which is in the Williamson Act? Mr. Charles Kilian, City Attorney, stated there are no laws, that he is aware of that prohibits the down zoning of property. The only restrictions on down zoning are constitutional, whether a reasonable use of property is allowed. He stated down zoning is appropriate under the appropriate circumstances. He stated this is true for property not under the Williamson Act. He explained that the Williamson Act is separate from the General Plan. IV. Planning Commission Discussion on Land Use Chr. Mackenzie explained the process of the meeting, he noted there will be an opportunity for each Commissioner to present their idea of the land use and then public comments. He requested that each Planning Commissioner comment on their vote from December 9, 1991 meeting at the January 13, 1992 meeting. He requested this be placed on the Agenda. Planning Director Cowan presented the staff report. He stated staff looked at the Goals Report and the Grand Blvd. Report and from them developed fundamental basic goals. He reiterated comments from the land use related General Plan topics as submitted to the Commissioners. CITY IDENTITY: Create a heart of the City, a positive memorable image, a gathering place for Cupertino citizens. PLANNING COMMISSION MINUTES special Meeting of December 12, 1991 Page 2 He stated there is a strong desire to create a heart of the city by other commissions. For each goal, staff listed strategies as outlined in the report. The heart of the City would be at City ç~nter/Crossroads which would include mixed-use. A hotel should go in this area. A grid system with on-street parking within City Center to convey typical downtown ambiance. Also create a "distinct signature" at the intersection of Stevens Creek and De Anza Boulevard. Mr., Cowan discussed streetscape as outlined in the report. FREEDOM OF MOVEMENT: Provide freedom of movement which gives residents, shoppers, and employees the ability to travel throughout the City at a reasonable speed. He stated the City has to deal with the regional system as well as the City system. He stated the City is at the maximum traffic capacity at level service D with the existing General Plan build out.. He stated this presents problems for expansion. He stated TDM and TSM programs will have to be implemented. HOUSING OPPORTUNITIES: eProvide ample housing opportunities for individuals of all income levels who live and work in Cupertino to live in a home in Cupertino that is safe and comfortable. Mr. Cowan stated there is a need to provide more housing as mandated by the State. He stated the plan is to increase housing ,along the major corridors. There may be opportunities in Vallco :Park. He stated the nexus study will be submitted to the Commission in January and this will identify what the demands are in the community as a result of employment growth and some solutions. ECONOMIC PROSPERITY: 'Foster economic prosperity which benefits business interests, City government, and individual residents. Mr. Cowan stated the Companies already in the city should be allowed to grow. He stated there is a limited number of trips and the question will be how they are allocated. He stated he has been working with the major companies to look at technical solutions and what kind of mitigation can be implemented. He stated the City will need to use a trip factor. A hotel at the City Center may still be viable. ENVIRONMENTAL OUALITY: Provide a living environment which is free from excessive noise, PLANNING COMMISSION MINUTES special Meeting of December 12, 1991 Page 3 contains clean air, and has access to open space. Mr. Cowan stated they need to discuss open space linkages. He stated the Parks. & Rec. Commission are recommending smaller parks. He stated there may be opportunities to have open space linkages throughout Vallco Parkway. . He stated the above are staff's interpretations of the goals and each have to be more carefully analyzed and developed. Com. Austin asked if the present companies expand over the general plan do they have a plan to keep traffic mitigated. Mr. Viskovich stated this is the plan and they are working with the companies to provide TDM programs. Corn. Mahoney stated there are other factors to the traffic congestion. Com. Mann questioned if retail/commercial was considered for the City center/heart of the city, and can other areas be down zoned to force retail/commercial in this area and apartments in other areas. Mr. Kilian stated this would create legal non-conforming uses. In response to Com. Austin's question, Mr. Viskovich stated apartments would generate less traffic than offices. Corn. Mann suggested keeping the level of service at D, so as to give the flexibility to go down to E. Mr. Viskovich stated the General Plan does not allow level service E. Each Commissioner presented their view of the city. commissioner Austin presented a hand out on her view of landuse and reviewed this with the commissioners. She discussed a thematic approach. She noted where high density should be and also where retail/commercial should be located. She stated the thematic approach was for the Grand Blvd. recommended concentrating on Stevens Creek for the density. only. She increased Com. Fazekas questioned what are the penalties if the City does not comply with State mandate regarding housing? Mr. Cowan stated if the state is not happy with the progress, the City basically does not have a general plan. Mr. Kilian explained if a City does not comply with the General PLANNING COMMISSION MINUTES Special Meeting of December 12, 1991 pa,ge ,4 Plan' requirements a Judge has various options. iriterest group,could also sue the city. Mr. Viskovich stated that building a bridge from Bubb into De Anza, as suggested by Com. Austin, has been looked at proves to be very costly. De Anza College is not interested in doing this. He stated a footbridge may be more workable. He stated and Com. Mahoney presented a map outlining his view of landuse. He questioned the City Attorney if he could comment on one of the major company's that he works for within the city. Mr. 'Kilian stated as long as his decision will not impact him ~ersonally, and did nót think this is the case. -./ Com. Mahoney stated he agrees with the heart of the City, making it people oriented. He pointed out were he would recommend housing, retail etc. He feels the existing companies should be allowed a reasonable amount of growth for example 50% over 10 years. The traffic should be mitigated, He stated he is consistent with staff's view, but would not put housing right on De Anza Blvd. Com. Austin stated when she met with Apple Inc., they had predicted 20 percent over 20 years. tom. Mahoney stated the meeting with Apple Inc. was to look at a different configuratioñof the campus. f Com. Mann presented a map of her view of landuse. She noted she is not in'favor of the Grand Blvd. concept, but in favor of the idea of a parkway with,trees. She pointed out were she would recommend housing, retail etc. She stated mixed-use should be placed on the ~rándBlvd, if this was decided. She is in favor of a hotel in City 'Center. Com. Mann also spoke in favor of the light industrial in the Monta Vista area. Retail should go into the crossroads area and other areas down zoned to apartments. She noted these are very long term goals. She noted mixed-use should be encouraged and strip retail discouraged. ,.¡, CÌ'lr. Mackenzie presented his view of the landuse. He presented a map' outlining his views øfwhere residential and office should be as well as retail. Most of Stevens Creek was presented as residentiiil. The strip commercial should remain on De Anza. He ·f·eels some retail should be forced into existing retail centers. 'I'he"·h'otel should be full service. He feels the heart of the city should begin with the expansion of the library. He was not in favor of a thematic approach. He stated the height of the buildings would depend on the Grand Blvd. concept and is not opposed tomixed~use. Mr. Cowan'noted some of the Commissioners had talked about PLANNING COMMISSION MINUTES special Meeting of December 12, 1991 Page 5 ,;1 ,.~"" l' i.~": \, ~.. . redevelopment schemes. He explained ways in which an agency could be created. He feels the only way to get many places redeveloped is through market incentives. Com. Mahoney residential. requested the economic studies on office.v$. . . '.,.,'" ., The Commissioner discussed the current General Plan in comparison to the proposed. Com. Mahoney stated the housing problem cannot be resolved by rezoning to residential. Com. Fazekas stated he liked the layout of the staff report anð the points outlined. He noted the Landuse Committee had concluded :tq¡;¡t the deeper the lot the better for high residential. The shallower lots being dedicated to office, etc. v. Public Comment '" ,"},.:;;'" . ., Mr. steven Haze, San Juan Rd., commended staf·f for the process' of the meetings and feels they have been sucpessful. He requestep that time be made available to him to make a presentation at a later hearing. Mr. John Sobrato, Sobrato Development, noted he attended some of the TDM program meetings. He stated the Companies wiLI,not, De al¡le to mitigate traffic 100 percent. He requested that the Commission give consideration to level service E at certain peripheral locations, this will give the companies room to grow. He. stated that only 29 percent of the congestion is attributed to.·the Major Companies in the City even with their expansions. ! . Mr. Mark Kroll suggested that the Planning commission hear thé presentations from the Major 'Companies sooner than p'lanned. He feels this would be helpful to the Commission as well as .the citizens. Mr. Jerry Matranga, Cupertino School District, stated the School District has been involved in the planning. He gave the' Commission an update of the school sites in cupertino. He noted they are looking into the future as to how they..willaccommodate ,the growth.. Mr. John Harley, Tandem Computers, stated they are still interested in perusing the idea of a hotel and looking at where the best site would be. In response to Chr. Mackenzie's question, Mr. Harley stated he will be prepared in early January, if necessary, for the presentation. > Mr. Cowan noted the Commission will meet on the, l~th and 22nd January for special meetings. It was decided that the Major companies will make there presentations at·the 22nd meeting. PLANNING COMMISSION MINUTES special Meeting of December 12, 1991 Page 6 Com. Mahoney requested information on the impact of TDM programs if development doubled. Mr. viskovich stated the impact is hard to determined without the programs béing implemented, but will look into other areas were TDM programs are already in place;·'He stated there will have to be agreements made with the large Companies, if they want to grow they must keep the trips down. VI. Discussion on Memorandum from Daryl Fazekas regarding Architecture and Site Approval Appointments The Commission held a discussion on Com. Fazekas' request regarding "Density Mitigation Fee". Com. Fazekas reiterated comments from his letter addressed to the City Attorney dated 4-21-91. He explained how the process would work. He noted it would have to meet all the guidelines. Charles Kilian, city Attorney stated that he has to research the questions asked by Com. Fazekas. Mr. Cowan explained the concept of the City controlling the pool of trips available, the trips would be dealt out for economic benefit, but it would not be dollars. Chr. Mackenzie suggested looking into this issue further before making any decisions. The Commissioners held a discussion on the ASAC appointments. In response_'Eô.colli. Fazeka.s' request, Mr. Kilian stated that ASAC can change their Ordinance to add professional personnel to the Committee. Com. Mann stated there is already an Architect on ASAC and adding another Architect may be of no benefit to the city. She feels this proposal should be discussed with ASAC before going any further. Com. Fazekas stated he is proposing a non-resident to work with staff to help develop guidelines. MOTION: Com. Fazekas moved to send a Minute Order to ASAC suggesting that the look at adding a non-resident to the Committee Com. Austin Passed 3-2 Chr. Mackenzie, Com. Mann SECOND: VOTE: NOES: VII. Discussion on possible Selection of Planning commissioner on Affordable Housing Committee Com. Mann volunteered to serve on the Affordable Housing Committee. PLANNING COMMISSION MINUTES special Meeting of December 12, '·1991 Page 7 ';""... It was agreed by acclamation that Com. Affordable Housing Committee. Mann will serve .on the " ADJOURNMENT : The Planning Commission adjourned at ·8;45 P'~" to· the next Regular Meeting of January 13, 199,2 at) 6:45 p.m. C", Respectfully submitted, t .- , ._ _... " .1 "0.'-- I C....~,~"',. <.~. .CII.. Catherine M. RobJ.llard, Recording Secretary '~~ :., ^, Approved by the Planning commission at the Regular Meeting of January 13, 1992 :, <-------....... ~- Don :,:.,,-. v , ha1rman Attest: 1 .. C er Amended 1-13-92 .- './,,- ,,C....;;..: .. J; '^- .. ,¡ (;', :'- :' '1' ~0,¿ - ?~.'-: ' ':'-j'~.) :.. " J " '" .. 'e _, ,("ù""::' i..' ...¡.I ¡,., hc~." .