Loading...
PC 01-30-80 t- CITY OF CUPERTINO, STATE OF CALIFORNIA 10300 Torre Avenue, Cupert~no, CA 95014 Telephone (408) 252-4505 PC-325 Page 1 (8) MINUTES JANUARY 30, 1980 ADJOURNED REGULAR PLANNING COM- MISSION MEETING CALL TO ORDER/SALUTE TO THE FLAG: 7:30 p.m. * ROLL CALL: Present: Commissioner Claudy Commissioner Adams Commissioner Koenitzer Commissioner Blaine Chairman Gatto COM. GATTO announced that the meeting was called to order for consideration of Item 13 of the Agenda of January 28, 1980 (PC-325). ITEM #3, Application 24-Z-77 of CITY OF CUPERTINO ( TOWN CENTER): REZONING approximately 50 gross acres from P (Planned Development) to P (Planned Development with resi- dential, commercial and office use intent) zone and ENVIRONMENTAL REVIEW: The Environmental Review Committee recommends the granting of a Negative Declaration. Said property is located on the southeast corner of Stevens Creek Boulevard and De Anza Boulevard. (Referred back to Planning Commission from City Council meeting of January 7, 1980. Tentative City Council hearing date -- February 19, 1980. Planning Director Sisk reported that the Environmental Re- view Committee had not taken an action on making a recom- mendation and it was recommended that the issue should be studied further in view of the situation with the traffic on a city-wide scope. One of the primary issues was whether or not it would be possible to review Town Center and go 'ahead with May Investment Company. He asked for consensus from the Planning Commission as to whether they should continue to pursue Town Center. COM. GATTO called attention to a letter from Ko11 Company requesting a continuation or no action on the zoning rule of Town Center. He asked that the record show that the letter had been received and it would be considered as part of the Agenda PC~325 of January30, 1978. Responding to Planning Director Sisk's inquiry as to the Commissioners' pursuit of Town Center, COM. KOENITZER said that he needed some real inputs as to differences in traffi It was possible for him to believe that the traffic pattern might create more difficulty if the traffic ended up on streets other than where predicted to be; Althoug the concept was fine, he wished to have more information. * Staff Present: See page 7 (14). PC-325 Page 2 (9) INUTES JANUARY 30, 1980 ADJOURNED REGULAR PLANNING COMMISSION MEETING. irector of Public Works Viskovich said it was found that the solutions of 1973 were causing very low movements and levels f service. The traffic congestion and the land use problems ere part of the same problem. Finances were scary, he said. Separating two major thoroughfares from interconnecting en- anced the value of solutions. He said that 1) technically it was a good approach, 2) ways could be figured out for raising the funds, and 3) the problem of 1and,use had to be considered. He asked the Commissioners what they wanted the Town Center to be. COM. ADAMS, referring to Exhibit A, asked for orientation as to traffic northbound, southbound, etc. He was told that it was seen as a left turn movement and would repre- sent the Town Center quadrant. Exhibit B, 1990 plus Town Center at the worst hour of the day increases were discussed. COM. ADAMS asked if the traffic generated by the Town ,Center., ould be fromÈidÚ.b:i£Dand-!1ow much-;He"sa-id it was his feeling-ilia.i:-jO%'of"'î:-lie--trafffc wa.s thr·ougli traffic and was generated from outside, and he had reservations about the City financing that one third. Pouring money into 85 might be a better solution. (Mr. Sisk stated that the figures reflected the siphoning off of traffic by 85.) Public Works Director Viskovich pointed out that if the Town Center project went forward, the intersection would be bottled up immediateLy. COM. GATTO asked if the prime necessity of considering the Circulation Plan was traffic motivated or land use motivated. (Mr. Viskovich said he felt it was both and that he felt the two were ,linked and should be integrated.) COM. CLAUDY wished to_knów if E~hibit~D. extension of 85, would increase the number ~f lanes required, (two or three lanes). It was suggested that four lanes would be necessary. COM. BLAINE asked to go back to land use in Town Center. to consider that Va11co was a Regional Center and _t.1'la't.J:,ow,n''____ Center ,would be for the citizens of Cupertino. If there was no traffic roblem hecai.iseOfthe"uIlderpass';-sílesuggested-tha-t -Townëenter-coura-¡¡" allowe,,-'- to ,develop as a regional shopping center. COM. CLAUDY recognized that the plan would serve to pull the City together instead of in the familiar four quadrants. He contended there would be separation but more visual in- tegration. Integrating the four quadrants would be more interesting as a downtown. COM. GATTO pointed out that the plan, which represented peak hour traffic, would cause some very diverse movements during other hours of the day. From a land use point of ' view. he said the plan would have to be fulfilled at one time. As for the four quadrants, he noted the various MINUTES JANUARY 30, 1980 ADJOURNED REGULAR PLANNING COMMISSION MEETING PC-325 Page 3 (10) installations that would prompt people to get into cars to drive from one quadrant to another. Assistant Planning Director Cowan explained that the one development that would trigger the total program would be development of the Cali property. The Commissioners agreed that they were not going to turn away from a total program that would be of benefit to the City. COM. GATTO asked if the Commissioners felt it was worth pursuing the mountain of detail and work that would have to be put into the concept. - Associate Planner Piasecki reminded the Commission that in 1976 Williams Coo1beck (phonetic) did estimates on the square footage of the Town Center ~hey indicated that thei estimates were predicated on lack of other major commercial shopping facilities within the greater Cupertino trade area That no longer being true, Mr. Piasecki said it was not un- likely to know about developers in the Town Center reaching the 250,000 sq. ft. proposed. With east to west linkage he suggested they would be reinforcing what already exists at the crossroads. Planning Director Sisk maintained that the plan would un- restrict 'land" conditions in the City of Cupertino. COM. GATTO advanced the idea that land use demand and the market demand might not be there. The air rights might not be there. And he said that an area that was viable for 1es than 250,000 sq. ft. would be more difficult to promote. Having beaten the concept of Town Center around for years and having tried to give it a semblance of reality, COM. GATTO suggested reassessing the whole of Town Center. COM. KOENITZER was curious as to where the new people would come from. Re said that 10,000 shoppers would do little to support 250,000 sq. ft. COM. BLAINE asked if limited commercial with the balance residential might not be a reasonable solution to their problem. COM. CLAUDY pòinted out that a lot of reliance was being placed on a survey done in 1976, which could not include current realities. He suggested it might be wise to think about rearranging the various elements of Town Center. He suggested, too, that another survey might be in order. v ~r. Ken Steele, 1054 Market, Palo Alto, member of the Koll Company, at the request of COM. BLAINE, explained that 35% or 38% density coverage would be required for there to be any kind of a return. He said lenders looked for even greater density and noted that their project was in the "30% range. He said that because of cost factors it might PC-325 Page 4 MINUTES JANUARY 30, 1980 ADJOURNED REGULAR PLANNING COMMISSION MEETING (11) necessary for them to come back to request as high as 40% density in order to reap a return on their invest- ment. (quality of tape makes it impossible to pick up the balance of Mr. Steele's remarks.) The Commissioners discussed and questioned Staff about differentiation between uses of traffic generated (whether from office, residential, commercial, etc.) and the percentages of such uses. The left hand turn patterns were indicated to be a source of congestion on side streets, and there was objection to two-lanè left hand turns. COM. GATTO invited members of the public to speak to the issues of Item #3. Mr. Maurice O'Shea, 20367 Clay Street, Cupertino spoke to four points. 1. The benefits of the plan. 2. A view of the driver at peak hour. 3. The concept of core area citizen. 4. Alternative possibilities. After expanding on each point, Mr. O'Shea concluded that drivers and citizens would be very inventive in using side streets to avoid the delay of turns in getting into North County. He recommended a freeway level extension of 85 to Prospect. closing down DeAnza at Prospect, and thus avoiding the construction of an underpass. Public Works Director Viskovich, in response to COM. KOENITZER, stated that the extension of 85 was being worked on vigorou~lybecause it was of basic importance. The grade separationw he said, would depend on what kind of land use was developed in Town Center; however, the grade separation and 85 would go in together. He con- tinued that Ko1l Company ~nd other developers would be required to agree to Cônditions (much as Va11co had been), and as development happened a Special District (of pos- sibly 60% obligation-in sign up) would be formed. COM. GATTO asked that they go to the May Investment issues. Associate Planner Piasecki reported that there were two points, 1) that their agreement to the traffic improve- ments would be necessary to their going ahead and re- ceiving a Use Permit; 2) the need for May Investment to detail that their development would accommodate to the rest of the development. Mr. J~son Chartier, 1060 Homestead Road, Cupertino, said that the 14+ acres they had would impact if the guide- lines were followed. He asked that they be allowed to proceed in order for them to avoid the delay caused by the new plans. Mr. Chartier questioned the premise MINUTES JANUARY 30, 1980 ADJOURNED REGULAR PLANNING COMMISSION MEETING PC-325 Page 5 ( 12) that more people would be coming into the area and suggested that businesses seemed to be moving out from the area. He asked that the cost be fair and equally divided. He sug- gested that the fees be levied on commercial as well as residential. COM. 1(0ENITZER questioned the use of low-rise as a term for three and four story buildings. Planning Director Sisk notified the Commissioners that by permitting the ~ay Investment construction, the Commissioner would be setting the zoning for the Geñeral Plan and would be permitting the separation of the construction area from the balance of the Town Center plans. He added that the conceptual plan would be appended to the May Investment agreements. Mr. Jim Joy, 19811 Price Avenue, Cupertino Mr. Mitchell Bonn, 10152 Dee~ Rose Place, Cupertino Mr. Vic Durvin, 19910 Mello Place, Cupertino, all spoke against highrise and congestion, and further objected to permitting one developer to go ahead of others on a section of Town Center. COM. GATTO, questioned by Mr. Joy as to how he was to be able to. understand the General Plan and the need for housing suggested the best reference was the Housing Element Section of the General Plan. Mr. Tim. Steele. Koll Company, asked that some realistic g~als. price tags, and permanent guidelines be established so that they could all get busy on Town Center. Mr. A1 Cali, 20430 Stevens Creek Boulevard, Cupertino, had no objection to May Investment commencing their project. He said that once a plan was set it was possible that the Cali Family could put something together within a short period of time. He also stated that he could see a benefit to the City from the new plans. A general discussion by the Commissioners lead to consensus and the following motions. PUBLIC HEARING CLOSED: PASSED: Com. C1audy. UNANIMOUSLY Second: Com. Koenitzer 5-0 MOTION: Com. Claudy, reiterate support for Negative Declaration. Second: Com. Blaine VOTE: PASSED - UNANIMOUSLY 5-0 - ....."..-..- -~' _.. "._-,- - --- ---, -- .,~_.._--- "-.,. -"-"-'_.- ~.._.."._-..__.,~_....._......__..^...__~_.."...._. _ ._..___..~,,_ ""',,,_,._ m·_.._ PC-J25 Page 6 MINUTES JANUARY 30, 1980 ADJOURNED REGULAR PLANNING COMMISSION MEETING (13) MOTION: Com. C1audy, Approval of 24-Z-77, subject to Conditions as outlined in the Staff Report of January 28, 1980, with the following exceptions: 1) density be lowered to 15 units density, 2) the buildings may utilize three stories in height. 3) Condition 17 shall be changed from "traffic signal" to "traffic signals." Second: Com. Blaine VOTE: PASSED - UNANIMOUSLY 5-0 The Commissioners decided they'd like to see more infor- mation oft the underpass and the overpass, (length," depth, and height), information on creating De Anza Boulevard as a through street without lefthand turns, review. of total traffic problems of the core area and review of the problems in the General P1an--boking at the entire core area General Plan in terms of traffic, industry and housing to determine where it did not come out and de- termine what changes should be made. COM. GATTO asked that they have a work session to review the impaction of side streets and neighborhoods in view of the new plans. Planning Director Sisk recommended on the General Plan and that it be Commission on February 25, 1980. land use goals alternatives should was stated that the purpose of the four corners. that the work continue back before the Planning It was agreed that the be considered. It new plan was to link the COM. GATTO summed up the discussion as consensus that further information be taken up at the February 25, 1980 meeting. Planning Director Sisk asked for a meeting date in February for consultation with the Noise consultant on an Ordinance. February 13, 1980 was-agreed upon. In addition, Mr. Sisk reminded the Commissioners of a meeting of West Valley City Association. He announced that the San Diego Conference was set. Mr. Robert Quinlan, Cupertino City Manager, interrupted the meeting to emphasize an extremely important point. He said that anything done on the intersection meant that time was important. Delay led to inflation and the sooner it was tackled and the frame work developed, the better. The mechanics for providing for funding had to be initiated promptly. He asserted that the plan was not a substitute for 85;