Loading...
PC 10-27-80 CITY OF CUPERTINO, STATE OF CALIFORNIA 10300 Torre Avenue, Cupertino, Ca. 95014 Telephone: (408) 252-4505 PC-344 Page 1 MINUTES, OCTOBER 27, 1980 REGULAR PLANNING COM}IISSION MEETING CALL TO ORDER/SALUTE TO THE FLAG 7 : 30 P. M. ROLL CALL: Present: Commissioner Adams Commissioner Claudy Commissioner Johnson Chairman Koenitzer Commissioner Blaine Absent: APPROVAL OF MINUTES The Commission was of the op1n10n that the Minutes of the Regular Meeting of August 11, 1980 were unsatisfactory, as they had not been revised as requested. MOTION: Com. Adams, that the Minutes of August 11, 1980 be completely reviewed by Staff. SECOND: Com, Johnson VOTE: PASSED 3-1 abst. (Com. Claudy abstaining, since he was absent at the August 11 Meeting). (Com. Blaine absent) POSTPONE~ŒNTS/NEW AGENDA ITEMS Assistant Planning Director Cowan wanted to have ITEM #2 commence at approximately 9:30 p.m., when some architects had volunteered to come to consult on it with district personnel. CHR. KOENITZER suggested that the Hearing on I-GPA-80 be cut off at 9:20 p,m. and the Meeting reconvened in the Conference Room at 9:30 p.m. to hear ITEM #2. WRITTEN COMMUNICATIONS CHR. KOENITZER announced that the Commission had received two letters, fro T.L. Fitch and Paula Tice, regarding the Highway 85 extension, to go into the record on that Hearing. ORAL COM}ruNlCATIONS \. PUBLIC HEARINGS: ITEM #1, Application I-GPA-80 of CITY OF CUPERTINO: PUBLIC HEARING to consider various amendments to the City of Cupertino General Plan includin , but not limited to (1) Land use changes for a number of individual proper- ties located throughout the community; (2) An evaluation of alternative land use types and development intensities for property located along Homestead Road, De Anza Boulevard, and Stevens Creek Boulevard; (3) A refinement of the City Circu~ion Plan including a plan to provide long- term financing of major transportation improvements. First Hearing continued. PC- 344 Page 2 MINUTES, OCTOBER 27, 19BO REGULAR PLANNING COMMISSION MEETING CHR, KOENITZER explained that the specific portion of this Hearing to be heard tonight had been going on for some time and would probably continue for several months. He described it as being in the area of traffic problems on De Anza Boulevard and the De Anza/Stevens Creek intersection, and announced that there would be a report from Public Works Director Viskovitch to follow. Assistant Planning Director Cowan had received calls from people confused by the process , and as it waS a particularly comprehensíve General Plan Amendment, involving land use, circulation and other factors relating to parks and housing also, he had listed on a sheet dated today some consensus votes the Commission had taken last spring, when they had gone through the land use element, for the benefit of the Commission and the audience. COM. CLAUDY questioned the accuracy of item 2 on the sheet, the Forge property, in that to his recollection their explicit decision was that the mini-storage be developed at the same time, not just jointly planned. Assistant Planning Director Cowan acknowledged this, and stated that he had not researched the motion. He had tried to highlight the Commission's consensus at the last Meeting in terms of traffic circulation in the 85 corridor, he said, and inquired if they had any changes to make. COM. ADAMS had asked the other Commissioners, who had concurred, for a change in the second sentence under No.1, which was now to read: I1A 1.8 mile extension to Saratoga/Sunnyvale Road is acceptable as a partial completion point." He ex¡Üained that though the whole freeway should be completed, it could hardly be completed all at one time. Public Works Director Viskovich pointed out that the arr,lOgement had been similar when the freeway was brought as far as Stevens Creek Boulevard; he had understood from the last Meeting that the Commission did not want to take that chance. CHR. KOENITZER specif~ed they would want the whole schedule laid out with completion dates. COM. ADAMS suggested, to say what they wanted, the second and third sentences read: IIExtension to Saratoga/Sunnyvale Road is acceptable as an interim partial completion point. The Staff is to develop a timing mechanism geared to implementation of an alternative corridor improvement should the full extension become infeasible. II CRR. KOENITZER,had understood that the basic idea was to extend the freeway to 101, and the section to De Anza Boulevard would be part of this, COM. CLAUDY thought Staff was considering the triggering mechanism, and not the schedule for building, in the last sentence of the paragraph. COM. JOHNSON thought the last sentence satisfactory, with the provision that Com. Claudy's second and fourth paragraphs were inserted prior. Assistant Planning Director Cowan confirmed with the Commission that they wanved some type of timing mechanism to trigger alternatives. MINUTES, OCTOBER 27, 1980 REGULAR PLANNING COMMISSION MEETING PC-344 Page 3 COM. AD~ wanted inserted into the second paragraph on the alternativ~ plan tne sentence: "The alternative plan for an alternate corridor improve- ment study is a four-lane parb.¡ay with residual land used as open space. II This was the way the Commission had suggested, and he did not want any misunderstanding. COM. CLAUDY, referring to the last paragraph where Staff was to develop a mechanism to ensure the new growth in the westerly area of town was controlled commensurate with scheduled improvements within the 85 corridor, stated that the Commission had discussed the matter, but had held off on it He suggested substituting "within scheduled traffic improvements" for "cormnensurate with scheduled improveménts within the 85 corridor" to permit the growth to take place. Assistant Planning Director Cowan understood that the improvements referred to could be on De Anza Boulevard in that case. Public Works Director Viskovitch reported that Staff felt there.were four basic decisions to be made in the circulation segment of the General Plan Amendment, firstly involving the 85 corridor, secondly, De Anza Boulevard and the intersection of De Anza and Stevens Creek, thirdly the trip constraints, in terms of the 16 and one-way performance standard and Town Center, and fourthly, Vallco Park Focusing first on De Anza Boulevard and the advantages and disadvantages and appearance of the underpass, he said that it had been acknowledged since 1973 that something had to happen at the intersection of De Anza Boulevard and Stevens Creek Boulevard in order to relieve future congestion Two loop systems had been discussed in the past, but had been dismissed mainly because of neighborhood concerns. He saw the one possibility of implementing a surface improvement only as being the limiting of developmen potential within the I1CrossroadslT area, and pointed out that between Stelling Road and Tantau Avenue there were approximately 125 acres that could be developed or redeveloped, the development intensity being mainly de endent upon improvements on De Anza Boulevard. The feeling of Staff, after listening to brokers, was that .it might not be possible to build to the magnitude planned in Town Center and that the land uses proposed might not work, leaning towards more housing emphasis, but that the Town Center concept might remain alive by shifting the commerc al emphasis to the traditional I1Crossroads" area of the City where there was the potential for additional development, so that a IIdown-town" feeling could be created there, he said.He referred to the appearance of the projected underpass, and to the diagram issued showlng a IIbirds-eye viewn and explained the concept was to transport the commu~ing traveller through the De Anza/Stevens Creek intersection directly. COM. CLAUDY established that the improvement would fit into the existing street width and would be six lanes, two in each direction and two left tur s. Assistant Planning Director Cowan compared an at-grade improvement, which, with ten lanes, would require an additional right-of-way. CHR. KOENITZER observed that the time permitted for through traffic could be cut from the traffic light cycle. PC-344 Page 4 MINUTES, OCTOBER 27, 1980 REGULAR PLM~NING COMMISSION MEETING COM. CLAUDY wondered which areas would lose access, as they were in the.. depressed area. Public Works Director Viskovitch advised that on the north, Pacific Valley Bank would be the first access point, and on the south, McWhorters at Scofield Drive. It was anticipated to tie-in McWhorters to the Crossroads center, however. COM. ADAMS wanted to know why the through lanes had not been put together in the center. Public Works Director Viskovitch explained it would mean two intersections, leading to conflict and less efficiency. He pointed out that as there would be two culverts, construction would be simplified, as through traffic could be shifted to one side and then the other, and observed ,that the level of service when the project was finished would be almost a liB" He described the side lanes as being wide enough so that they could be made into three lanes each way instead of two, should the need arise. CHR. KOENITZER was concerned with the two-lane concept, as at present there were three in each direction and he felt a bottleneck would be created, as in other areas on the roadway where it narrowed down. Public Works Director Viskovich assured him that the capability of going to three lanes if necessary would be thoroughly researched, but added that the two lane configuration was based on the volume each could carry through. CHR. KOENITZER saw no question that eliminating the stop light would speed up the traffic going through. Public Works Director Viskovitch sensed a concern that there would be congestion at the other intersections, but saw the De Anza!Stevens Creek intersection as the only major intersection that had to be dealt with, as the others,apart from Mariani, became very secondary with properly timed signals. CHR. KOENITZER inquired whether Bollinger would be improved. Public Works Director Viskovitch answered that a double left turn improvement was out to bid, and was a cooperative project. COM. JOHNSON, referring to De Anza Boulevard, wondered how many streets would be impacted and how deep the depression would be. Public Works Director Viskovitch advised that from Alves to Scofield Drives would be ùepressed,with the depression being a gradual one, at the deepest, 16 1/2 ft, below grade. COM. CLADDY asked how long the construction would take. Public Works Director felt probably six to eight months, as there were utilities to deal with. COM, CLADDY noted that the Cupertino Scene had mentioned that the signal at De Anza Boulevard and Stevens Creek Boulevard êauld not be interconnected because it was a "State road". He .wanted confirmation of this point. MINUTES, OCTOBER 27. 1980 REGULAR PLANNING COMMISSION MEETING PC-344 Page 5 Public Works Director Viskovitch confirmed that it was a State-owned controller and that tne State had to issue an encroachment permit for the interconnection. He noted that action would be delayed until the State could agree upon a standard controller interface that would suit the type 170 controller. 45 MINUTES OF MEETING TAPE MISSING AT THIS POINT. CHR. KOENITZER compared the peak hour traffic on De Anza & Stevens Creek in the model for 1990 with the traffic today, the figures for southbound De Anza traffic being 2800 today versus 3700 in 1990, and on Stevens Creek, in e'lch direction,llcO versus 14/1500, and noted that an underpass would at least help with one-third of the traffic that was going through in this very seriously impacted sitaution, and would be less of a barrier than a ten-lan at-grade intersection which would otherwise have to be considered. COM. JOHNSON wondered if the 1990 figures assumed the development of the Town Center approach. Public Works Director Viskovitch advised that the 1990 figures assumed full build-out of all Cupertino. CHR. KOENITZER, referring to Mr. Viskovitch's comments regarding a focal point and center of town with examples of Saratoga, Los Gatos and Los Altos, observed that none of these had their main shopping street on a main traffic thoroughfare, and questioned whether the Crossroads area of Cupertino would be suécessful as a town center, as it was on a major street which would make it too disjointed. He wondered whether the Commission's consensus could be that the study of the De Anza Boulevard improvements should be continued. He observed that he personally did not want to make any decisions until there was some understanding of how the interconnect would work, and what the development plans would be in order to have a balance between traffic and development; the latter not having been discussed as yet, He suggested that the Commission should start out the next Meeting studying the General Plan Amendment with regard to the trip-end and Vallco Park constraints, Assistant Planning Director Cowan suggested it might be simple to address these by concurring that they both related to constraints on development. and that if the traffic problems could be resolved, then perhaps the constraints could be lifted. Referring to Vallco Park, he advised that their present plan was workable in 1990, assuming some improvements were made within Vallco Park itself. COM. CLAUDY established Vallco, was nvt affected by the 85 corridor or the De Anza grade separation in Staff's estimation. CHR. KOENITZER agreed with Staff, that anything in the 85 corridor would not have much influence on Vallco, apart from a full freeway; it was too far away COM. ADAMS' feeling on the 16 one-way trip constraint "as that if it had worked so well so far, it might noe be advisable to lift it yet. pc- 344 Page 6 MINUTES, OCTOBER 27, 1980 REGULAR PLANNING COMMISSION MEETING Public ~-Jorks Director Viskovitch thought that minimizing the intensity oJ development in the area had helped, but that the desired goal had not been accomplished, due to changes in the way traffic operated, because of f~ctors such as industry's use of flextime. COM. ADAMS observed that the use of flextime was due to the conditions put on developments by the Commission because ot the constraints, and was not convinced they should be let go at this time. Public Works Director Viskovitch stated that the constraints were an administrative headache. CHR. KOENITZER wanted a fuller discussion on both ending the trip constraints and the Valleo issue. Assistant Planning Director Cowan wanted to know, if the traffic problems were resolved, whe.ther the Commission would be willing to let the constraints go, or if there was another reason why they should be kept. CHR. KOENITZER wanted some discussion of how much was left to be devèloped in the constraint area, and the intensity, if the constraints were lifted, and in regard to Vallco Park, the intensity levels for their build-out and a review of their current plan. Public Works Director Viskovitch wanted the Commission's permission to take the position that,because of traffic, other ways had been found of managing Vallco Park, and that Vallco be allowed to bring in their plan to be analyzed on a traffic basis, reporting back to the Planning Conunission for a decision on whether or not they could proceed. He asked if the' Commission would be wiJling to do this,' or if they were not prepared to lift the constraints. CHR. KOENITZER wanted a chance to look at all the facets, at least briefly, before making a decision, examining some material so that they could make a recommendation to the City Council about constraints in the core area, the north De Anza Boulevard area and Vallco Park. COM. CLAUDY felt he would be more willing to give consideration to removing constraints if he could be convinced that there were mitigating measures to be taken for the traffic. COM. ADAMS felt that if the administration of the constraints was over-burdensome the matter should be considered immediately, but otherwise the Commission needed more facts. COM. JOHNSON suggested that it be dealt with at the next Meeting, as it appeared it would only take a short time. Public Works Director Viskovitch suggested that the Commission's consensus vote might be to go ahead with a more detailed analysis, so that Staff could proceed with an overall study of the plan and come back for a final decision at a future date. CHR. KOENITZER agreed that the consensus was the Commission would consider, after hearing the facts, lifting or modifying both the 16 trip-end constraint and the constraints on Vallco Park. MINUTES, OCTOBER 27, 1980 REGULAR PLANNING COMMISSION MEETING PC-344 Page 7 Public Works Director Viskovitch confirmed with the. Commission thRt th{;!re would be no more discussion on the items until the full-blown report w;s ready. MOTION: Com. Johnson. to continue Applicàtion l-GPA-80 until the Meeting of November 24, 1980 SECOND: Com. Adams VOTE: PASSED 4-0 (Com. Blaine absent) RECESS 9:20 P.M The Meeting reconvened in the Conference Room at 9:30 p.m. UNFINISHED BUSINESS NEW BUSINESS: 2. Discussion of Central Fire District's Land Development Standards. (Discussed in the Conference Room, without record). REPORT OF PLANNING COMMISSION REPORT OF PLANNING DIRECTOR ADJOURNMENT APPROVED: bs1~AAA i~ »= R. D. Koenitzer, airÏña , , ATTEST: c~ ~,-~