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CC 09-04-2024 Oral CommunicationsCC 9-04-2024 Oral Communications Written Comments From:Santosh Rao To:City Council; Cupertino City Manager"s Office; City Clerk; David Stillman; Chad Mosley Subject:Oral comments: 09/04/24 city council meeting. Cancel the DeAnza Blvd lane removals. Date:Wednesday, September 4, 2024 4:07:57 PM CAUTION: This email originated from outside of the organization. Do not click links or open attachments unless you recognize the sender and know the content is safe. Dear City Clerk, Please include the below in written communications for 09/04/24 council meeting. Thank you. Dear Mayor Sheila, Cupertino City Council members, Manager Wu, David and Chad, I wish to bring to your attention feedback from the San Jose residents of changes made on Saratoga Ave by way of the experiences shared on Nextdoor. Many council members monitor nextdoor and several even respond there. As our council does not I am sharing this for your benefit to learn from the experience of Saratoga Ave lane changes that have been a source of great anguish to residents of that area. Please do not repeat the same with DeAnza. Please cancel or halt the lane elimination on DeAnza Blvd immediately. At a minimum please halt the project until this is put on agenda as an explicit item to be voted on. Please see the neighborhood feedback below on Saratoga Ave. Thank you. From:Liana Crabtree To:City Council Cc:City Clerk Subject:written communication: 9/4/2024 City Council meeting Date:Wednesday, September 4, 2024 3:21:11 PM CAUTION: This email originated from outside of the organization. Do not click links or open attachments unless you recognize the sender and know the content is safe. Honorable Mayor Mohan, Vice Mayor Fruen, Council Members Chao, Moore, and Wei: Please include this letter as part of written communication (oral communication) for the 9/4/2024 City Council meeting. I respect and appreciate the dedication and work of current and recent past resident-focused Council Members Kitty Moore, Liang Chao, Steven Scharf, Darcy Paul, and Jon Willey. All have centered listening and responding to all residents and their concerns in their public service. It seems financial interests blame prior resident-focused Councils for the State’s decision to delay its certification of Cupertino’s sixth cycle Housing Element (2023-2031), which is ridiculous. According to Cupertino’s own timeline, the 6th Cycle Housing Element submissions that were rejected happened during the term of today’s Council majority (2023-2024), where Kitty Moore opposed changes introduced by Council majority members because they deviated from staff recommendations. Engage Cupertino: https://engagecupertino.org/public-documents Redevelopment will happen throughout existing communities, but must move forward incrementally. Some forced upzoning by the State through construction-mandate legislation was probably necessary to relax local rules about adding ADUs and modest height (3-4 stories) multi-family homes in and adjacent to existing neighborhoods. But, there must be a plan to pay for infrastructure improvements and maintenance beyond saddling significant costs on current residents. And, punitive measures, such as the State-mandated “Builder’s Remedy”, to force disproportionate, high-density redevelopment islands in neighborhoods with insufficient infrastructure just serves to anger and distract residents. I support the re-election of Council Member Kitty Moore and the election of former Planning Commissioner Ray Wang to the Cupertino City Council in November 2024. I believe both will prioritize Cupertino residents’ needs and concerns in their work as council members. Sincerely, Liana Crabtree Cupertino resident From:Ram Namita Sripathi To:City Clerk Date:Wednesday, September 4, 2024 2:33:56 PM CAUTION: This email originated from outside of the organization. Do not click links or open attachments unless you recognize the sender and know the content is safe. lDear City Clerk, Please include in written communications for oral comments for 09/04/24 city council meeting. This is for the de anza bike lane project Thank you. From:Santosh Rao To:City Clerk Subject:Fw: Please postpone or suspend DeAnza Blvd lane reductions. Date:Wednesday, September 4, 2024 2:01:38 PM CAUTION: This email originated from outside of the organization. Do not click links or open attachments unless you recognize the sender and know the content is safe. Dear Coty Clerk, Please include in written communications for oral comments for 09/04/24 city council meeting. Thank you. Begin forwarded message: On Thursday, August 29, 2024, 7:26 PM, Santosh Rao <santo_a_rao@yahoo.com> wrote: Dear Mayor Sheila Mohan, City Council Members, Manager Wu, Chad, and David, I recently learned of the plan to eliminate one lane in each direction on DeAnza Boulevard, and I am deeply concerned about both the decision and the process by which it was reached. As someone who regularly attends City Council meetings, I was surprised that such a significant change was not explicitly brought before the Council or the broader public. This project stands to impact every resident and commuter in Cupertino, and yet it seems to have moved forward without the transparency and public input that a decision of this magnitude warrants. I urge you to immediately halt this project and reassess the plan in light of the following concerns: 1. Lack of Explicit Agendization: The lane reductions were not clearly listed as an agenda item in any City Council meeting, depriving residents of a direct opportunity to engage with and understand the implications of this decision. 2. Inadequate Public Input: The decision was not subjected to the robust public consultation that it deserves. The Bike Pedestrian Commission, while important, does not sufficiently represent the views of the majority of road users, and its meetings are not widely attended or accessible. 3. Insufficient Traffic Studies: It appears that a comprehensive traffic study was either not conducted or not shared publicly. Without a full analysis of the potential impacts, this decision lacks a solid foundation. 4. Lack of Council Oversight: The City Council was not given the opportunity to weigh in on this critical change, nor were council members presented with the findings of any studies or analyses that may have been conducted. 5. Failure to Inform Residents: Both Cupertino residents and those in neighboring cities were not adequately informed about this project. A change of this scale should have been communicated clearly and openly to all who would be affected. 6. No Collaboration with Neighboring Cities: There was no effort to collaborate or communicate with adjacent cities like Sunnyvale, Saratoga, and San Jose, whose residents and commuters will also feel the impact of these lane reductions. 7. Lack of Regional Consideration: This decision was not agendized or discussed in the city councils of neighboring jurisdictions, effectively excluding input from the wider community of commuters who rely on DeAnza Boulevard daily. 8. Absence of Broader Public Engagement: The broader public, including commuters from other cities, was not given a chance to provide input on this change, despite the fact that it will significantly affect their daily lives. 9. Overreliance on the Bike Pedestrian Commission: The sole reliance on the Bike Pedestrian Commission for input is concerning. This commission, while valuable, does not represent the broader spectrum of roadway users and its meetings do not facilitate wide public engagement. 10. Lack of Transparency on lane reductions during Funding Approval: When seeking funding approval for this project, the lane reductions were not disclosed to the City Council or the public, undermining trust in the decision-making process. Given these serious stakeholder engagement gaps and the potential negative impacts on our community, I strongly urge you to halt this project immediately. It is crucial that decisions of such significance are made transparently, with comprehensive analysis and meaningful public involvement. DeAnza Boulevard is a vital thoroughfare, and any modifications to it must be carefully considered with input from all stakeholders. I trust that you will take swift action to correct this situation and ensure that future decisions are made with the transparency and public engagement that the residents of Cupertino deserve. Sincerely, Santosh Rao Cupertino resident Driving on DeAnza Blvd daily and often multiple times a day since 1998 From:Connie Cunningham To:City Clerk; City Council; Pamela Wu Subject:2024 Sep 4, City Council, Oral Communications, Date:Wednesday, September 4, 2024 1:03:45 PM CAUTION: This email originated from outside of the organization. Do not click links or open attachments unless you recognize the sender and know the content is safe. Good evening, Mayor Mohan, Vice Mayor Fruen, Councilmembers, City Manager and City Staff: I am Connie Cunningham, Chair, Housing Commission, speaking for myself only. I want to thank the City Council and City Manager and Staff for having created and passed a remarkable Housing Element that has been approved by the state. Thank you, too, for the excellent rezoning effort that will allow homes to be built on the housing element sites. I am disappointed that the City Council votes were not unanimous. I am disappointed that two of the Councilmembers, Kitty Moore and Liang Chao, are not serious about working together with the region to combat scarcity of housing for all incomes and abilities. Because these two Councilmembers have not been serious about the Housing Element, many residents remain confused about why there are builders remedy projects within our city limits. Residents need to know that the previous city council, including these two Councilmembers, delayed the housing element for so long, that our city lost its local control. If residents understand that simple point, they will know who let them down. It is easy to divide us residents, because of the fear that people have of change. The fear that new neighbors will be different, that new neighbors will not want the same things that the existing residents want. Things like safety, clean air and water, and good schools. We are, in fact, all of us residents, wanting those things. The fears are in how we will maintain those things while growing the number of residents. Fear is caused by avoiding the facts and thinking new neighbors will be different from us. I ask that the City Council and all residents take pride in the accomplishment of the housing element with its rezoning . By inviting new neighbors into our city, we will increase all the things that we would like to have, and together will solve any issues with parking or traffic that may happen. Let us seriously approach the lack of housing in our region. I urge Councilmember Moore and Councilmember Chao , to reconsider their approach. I ask them to become serious about helping people of all incomes and abilities to have a chance at housing within our city borders. We are not expected to solve all the problems of the region. We are asked to do our fair share. Please be serious. Sincerely, Connie Cunningham From Connie's iPhone From:Rhoda Fry To:City Clerk; City Council Subject:City Council 9/4 Oral Communications Date:Wednesday, September 4, 2024 12:00:41 PM CAUTION: This email originated from outside of the organization. Do not click links or open attachments unless you recognize the sender and know the content is safe. Dear City Council, In mid-February I reported the mis-allocation of funds from our below market rate housing fund toward other uses. We have yet to be informed as to whether or how this has been rectified. I ask that you provide a full accounting for the last five years of this fund and also explain the staff hours that were allocated to it – because it seems so high. Today you have before you a potential affordable housing project that could benefit from these funds – let us make sure that we have money to give to it when that time comes. Related to the Housing Element and Builder Remedy and SB330 projects, can the City please provide a study session? There has been an inordinate amount of misinformation floating around and I hope that the city can set it straight. Thanks, Rhoda Virus-free.www.avg.com From:Santosh Rao To:Sheila Mohan; City Council; Pamela Wu; Kirsten Squarcia Subject:Request to move oral comments to after ceremonial items and before presentations. Date:Tuesday, September 3, 2024 7:23:41 PM CAUTION: This email originated from outside of the organization. Do not click links or open attachments unless you recognize the sender and know the content is safe. Hello Mayor Sheila, I request you to please move oral comments to after ceremonial items and before presentations for the 09/04/24 city council meeting. Oral comments allows for comments for items not on the agenda. As council has not met in a while a large number of comments may be pending. I request you to be considerate to residents and not keep them waiting for presentations items to complete. Thank you. Thanks, Santosh Rao