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PC 02-27-78 CITY OF CUPERTINO, STATE OF CALIFORNIA PC-275 _ 10300 Torre Avenue Page 1 Cupertino, CA 95014 Telephone: (408) 252-4505 MINUTES OF THE REG[JLAR MEETING OF THE PLANNING COM~SISSION HELD ON FEBRUARY 27, 1978 IN TAE LIBRARY, CITY HALL SALtJTE TO THE FLAG Chairman Koenitze~ called the meeting to order at 7:32 PM with the Salu[e to the Flag. ROLL CALL Comm. present: Adams, Blaine, Gatto, Markkula, Chairman Koenitzer Comm, absent: None Staff present: Director of Planning and Development Sisk Assistant Planning Director Cowan Assistant Planner Piasecki - Assistant Planner Kramer Housing & Community Devalopment Coordinator Hastin s APPROVAL OF *SINUTES Minutes of Regular Meeting of February 13, 1978: Postponed. Minutes of Regular Meeting - PC-268: Page 2: Comm. Markkula said we would be defeating our own objectiv s if we modify our slope/density formula. Moved by Co~. Blaine, seconded by Comm. Adams to approve the PC-268 Minute amendment to PC-268 Minutes as of this date. amendment Motion carried, 5-0 POSTPONEME:ITS OR NEW AGENDA ITEMS: Ztems 2 and 3, this Agenda. Per request of the staff, it was moved by Couv¢. Gatto, seconded by Items 2 6 3 Cotmn. Adams to continue agenda items 2 and 3 to March 27, 1978. continued to March 27th Motion carried, 5-0 PC-275 MINUTES OF THE FEBRUARY 27, 1978, PLANNING COMMISSION ~ETING Page 2 WRITTIN COMMUNICATIONS: None. ORAL COMM[JNICATIONS: None. PUBLIC HEARINGS 1. CITY OF CUPERTINO: Public Hearing to consider a comprehensive amend- ment to the General Plan. The Assistant P2anning Director stated this Public Hearing is a result of decisions made at the joint meeting between the City Council and the Planning Co~ission the previous December. Housing is the major issue at this ti.me. It was brought out in the January Public Hearing that the Task Force Report, 208 Housing Bill and the MTC Corridor Study could all have a major impact on the City of Cupertino. Effort is being directed toward trying to get people to live closer to their jobs to cut down the use of fuel and to reduce pollution, The staff at this time is attempting to project the "1990 Build Out". Working Paper !ll - Definition of Housing Need, has been prepared by Assistant Planner Toby Kramer and Housing and Community Develop- ment Coordinator Sue Hastings. Working Paper 1.t2 - Residential Site Suitability Study, Cupcrtino Core Area, has been prepared by Associate Planner Steve Piasecki and Assistant Plannei Mark Caughey. Planning Technician Linda Prat has prepared Working Paper !13 - Proposal for Revision of Standard to Determine Community Park Needs. All three of these Working Papers are dated February 1978. At this meeting, Mr. Piasecki gave an overview of alternatives available for the suitability of types of housing. It has been determined that the City is not interested in high density in the Seven Springs Ranch property. As to the Jobs/Housing issue, the staff report includes a set of crude maps indicating basically what the County and the Corridor people are beginning to find out through their extensive studies. Aftar the Planning Co~ission tias studied these issues and made their determinations, the fiscal impacts must be determi«ru. ~i~e Parks question has tn.-be resolved concurrently with the Housing situation. The School District must be contacted in regard to housing. The biggest issue is land use and how it affects transpo,rtation, Zn answer to Camm. Adams' question, the Assistant Planning Director said the time frame for the "Build-0ut" is 1990. Comm. Adams stated Cupertino is in a"funnel", with the south County traffic travelling north all coming through here. It appears to him that the County and ABAG reprasentatives should look at the source of the problem we are experiencing....affordable housing in south County and high-employee industrial in north County. If wa in Cupertino are supposed to help the problan we would like to know what the North Bay area is doing to help. Are we expected to produce housing to protect Sunnyvale industrial expansion? Comm. Adams would like the staff to relay to the City Council some of the implications here. . . I MIWTES OF THE FEBRUARY 27, 1978 PLANNING COMMISSION MEEfING PC-275 Paqe 3 Co~. Gatto observed that the real problem is not so much the balance of housing and jobs as it is a commute problem. He asked if a study has been made as to the desirability of housing and jobs in close proxi.mity. He said if the co~ute situation becomes more difficult people will make individual decisions and companies will relocate. It is his opinion that no matter what we do, it will have very little effect on the entire problan. Ms. Kramer said that at the last Public Hearing they tried, in general terms, to describe the "Build-Out". They have since tried to determine not only how many but what types of housing could be generated to meet the demands. They studied only new housing and new jobs within the Urban Service Area. They studied eaployment picture and income•levels. This has aIl been projected to 1990. Ms. Kramer then went into a detailed review of the February 1978 Working Paper ~1.• She pointed out the greatest need is for housing in the $40 to $60 thousand range. Comm. Blaine said we are going to have 10,000 more employees living in this city. The question is whether we are going to provide housing for them. We should allow them the option of making the shoice of whether or not they want to work and live in the same city. She wonders what happens eo a community that only has a wealthy group of people in it. No children? Only older people? She wonders what the make-up is of the kind of people who will live here. Will.a different kind of park be needed? Perhaps we will need more expensive apartments and condominiums rather than single family dwellings. Ms, Kramer answered Comm. Markld3la that the average commu[e distance in the Bay Area is 17 miles round trip. The median for Vallco Industrial Park is 5 miles one way. Chaixman Koenizter asked for comments from the audience_in regard to Working Paper A1. Since there were none, the meeting moved on to Working Paper 112. Assistant Planner Piasecki said the City Council directed the staff to study 16 sites as to their suitability for residential, the optimum density level and.building form. He then went on to review Working Paper U2 and showed colored slides of multiple residential rxamples in Palo Alto and Mountain View that are located on major streets and this has not inhibited their value. He said that at th~ next public hearing on this subject, programs will be discussed and the Planning Coumission can indicate their opinions as to suitable sites for residential, Co~.~Adams said that if we don't provide jobs for these people - living south of us we are forcing them to drive farther north, through our city, to their jobs. PC-275 MINUTES OF THE FEBRUARY 27, 1°78 PLANNING COMMISSION MEETING Page 4 Chairman Koenitzer acknowledged that the South County is experiencing the same problems with lack of schools as we had some ten years ago. He asked for co~ents from the audience. Mr, Walter Ward, Vallco Park General Manager, passed out copiea of his February 27th letter giving Vallco Park's views on this subject. It was his opinion that [he staff report is biased and inadequate. They feel they have the right to develop Vallco Park according to the General Plan. The land development road system including the landscaped buEfer area dictate development of thair land as planned. It is the opportunity to pr w ide for less co~ute traffic by providing jobs in Vallco Park. They have had much professional guidance along the way. It is very difficult for them to market Vallco Park with these threats of possible change of 2oning haging over their heads. He feels it is not equitable for only those with vacant land to have to meet the social goals of the City. They feels there are many errors in Ms. Kranier's report and don`t feel they should have to hire professional people to rectify this. They have put some $8 million into off-site improvrments, They have been planning Vallco Park for 14 years. Mr. Will Lester, of Lester and Lester, read his February 27, 1978, letter to the Planning Conmmission. He asked for a statement from the Planning Co~ission. Mr. Burrell Leonard said Ms. Lester has had 8 years of planning experience on the County Level and Mr. Leonard had 8 years on the Cupertino Planning Commission. Mr. Leonard said in regard to the "Jarvis Proposal" that a great many people want to knock off big government. It is impossible for this community to disassociate with ABAG. He said he is appalled by the "garbage in/garbage out" here and all together too much dignity and too ~ch time has~bem~spent rechewing the General Plan. Every last acre must be co~itted now. If the owners of the property are paying the taxes, it is not unreasonable to let them have something to say about what is going to be done with their propety. Mr. Leonard said he will not build homes on his property for "a bunch of ageing teachers". The whole theory of Vallco Park is that i[ is under one ownership. The idea of jobs and housing to be put together is Feudalism or Company Towns. He went on to tell of the 1964 Urban Land Institute meeting in Mexico City. Mr. Leonard said he is upaet that the staff has never stopped by the Vallco Park office for input, He said Vallco Park has not been a subsidized project. He said it is time they are permitted to get on with their reasonable business. f . , MINUTES OF THE FEBRUARY 27, 1978 PLANNING COMMISSION MEETING ~ PC-275 Page 5 Co~. Gatto said he thinks the staff in general and in this case, in this town has done a very good, subjective job. In his pro- fession he k~as the opportunity to deal with a lot of cities and by comparison, this staff has done an excellent job. He suggested Mr. Leonard's r~arks were better suited for the City Council than the Planning Commission and staff. Chairman Koenitzer said this question of jobs and housing has been delegated to the Planning Co~ission and they have been obligated to look at as much input as is available. Messrs. Lester and Ward asked the Planning Commission to pass on exclusion of Vallco. Park from this .7obs/Housing Program, Coffi. Gatto said the general question for this body to discuss was on policy rather than on~specific properties. Comm. Adams said that anything done here will not make much difference in the entire Valley Floor area, We are not going to change the pollution level of the Valley, He was not in favor of supporting a policy of making the jobs/housing balance ratio. He would be in favor of looking at the characteristics of property to determine the best use for it. Comm. Gatto said he does not believe an imbalance of 2000 units is enough to make that much difference and he would prefer to stay with the General Plan. Rather than make a change to the General Plan, Coffin. Adams and Gatto and Chairman Koenitzer felt considera- tion should be $iven to increasing the density range. The Assistant Planning Director said it might be productive to wai.t until the next meeting to make a decision. There have been external pressures to study this; e.g., Task Force and Corridor Studies. This is a very frustrating and complex problem. Mr. Walter Ward said the lands c:e a__ ~^l::ing about are in Category 4. As to pollution - it isn't the number of cars, but rather the stopping and starting and idling of them. Mr. Burrell Leonard said he fully understands the pressures. He feels the time comes when you have to stand up and make a decision. Co~. Gatto believes the City should not be in the position of saying: "Thou Shalt Have Housing." Zt would be differmt if Vallc Park would do some rethinking and would come in with a proposal including some residential. If we are going to look at anything right now, it should be increase in density, i I ~ PC-275 {MINUTES OF THE FEBRUARY 27, 1978 PLANNING CONAfISSION MEETING Page 6 ~ Comm. Markkula, addressing the commute problem and the housing imbalance, ~said this seems to be because of the locations of the jobs and the locations of the houses. He believes we should consider low-pollution mass transit as a way of getting people back and forth. Moved by Comm. Adams, seconded by Comm. Gatto, to recommend to the City Council that, after a review of the staff's studies and results of these studies, it is the concensus of the Planning Commissiqn that the present General Plan provides for the optimum approach to balance jobs to housing within and surrounding Cupertino and that further improvement in the Job/Housing ratio should be accomplished by considering density increases where practical on an individual basis. Comm. Blaine said that she could go along with this statement, but it was her opinion that we are not meeting our goal of providing certain kinds of housing which we just don't have for all segments of our population. Motion carried, 5-0 REPORT OF THE PLANNING COr4fISSION: None. REPORT OF THE PLANNING DIRECTOR: None, AD.TOURNMENT : Chairman Koenitzer adjourned this meeting at 11:11 PM. APPROVED: Chairman ~ ATTEST: City Cler