CC 09-16-2025 Oral CommunicationsCC 09-16-2025
Oral
Communications
Written Comments
From:Jean Bedord
To:City Council; Cupertino City Manager"s Office; City Attorney"s Office; City Clerk
Subject:Oral Communications, Council Meeting, Sept. 16: Mayor"s Chat, Sept. 8
Date:Monday, September 15, 2025 2:46:55 PM
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Please include in Written Communications
City Council,
I commend Mayor Chao's decision to hold monthly chats. I have gone to almost all of them
for the past two years, and find them invaluable in connecting with the community in an
informal setting. I hear concerns that don't surface in the intimidating council chambers with
its protocols. The one held on Sept. 8 was no different than other chats - the lively discussion
centered around the role of the Bicycle Ped Commission on the city council agenda. The
discourse was the same level as the pickleball community at previous chats. Each group is
passionate, and should be allowed to express their points of view. Mayor Chao is willing to
listen to both sides.
It's unfortunate that the Chair of the Planning Commission, Santosh Rao, objects to these
discussions - he is quite opposed to both bike and pickleball advocacy, preferring tennis and
cars. He was absent for a major portion of the chat and the cordial conversations afterward.
He was seated back of the chairs so not even in the circle with the conversation; he came and
went freely.
My observation from attending all these meetings, including all council meetings, is that Chair
Rao, is unwilling to accept decisions and data that he opposes, from bikes to court
modifications, to lane changes. Apparently, his opposition has become quite unreasonable,
and he arranged for THREE sheriff's deputies to stand guard at the Planning Commission on
Sept. 9 with fewer than five people in the council chamber, wasting valuable public safety
resources, and intimidating attendees.
Please counsel Chair Rao on his responsibilities as an appointed official whose
responsibility is public service, not promotion of his personal agenda.
Civil governance advocate,
Jean Bedord
From:Lina
To:City Council; Tina Kapoor; City of Cupertino Planning Dept.; Public Comments; Benjamin Fu; Luke Connolly; Chad Mosley; Gian Martire
Subject:We need new parking and traffic solutions for Memorial Park events NOW- not appropriate to eliminate 89 parking spots on Mary Ave for Villas
Date:Sunday, September 14, 2025 7:45:09 AM
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Dear City Council Members, City Manager, and City Staff,
I am writing as a concerned Garden Gate resident to highlight the severe and escalating
parking and traffic issues on Mary Avenue. The chaos experienced during the Silicon
Valley Fall Festival on September 13th is not an isolated event; it is a recurring problem
that plagues our neighborhood for over a third of the year's weekends, and almost every
weekend in the summer, due to city and non-City run community events at Memorial
Park.
Yesterday, my family and I faced dangerous conditions on Mary Ave while simply trying
to run errands. Mary Ave is the primary and sole commute route from our home daily,
as it feeds directly to Stevens Creek Blvd and CA-85.
We encountered:
1. Traffic Obstruction: Cars double-parked in bike lanes to unload passengers, causing
major slowdowns.
2. Unsafe Driving Conditions: Abrupt stops and aggressive drivers competing for scarce
spots.
3. I had to stop abruptly and maneuver around car doors swinging open into my traffic
lane. This problem is worsened by wider vehicles like minivans and SUVs that are
commonly driven to family centered City festivals as was today's event. This is especially
dangerous for families with children.
4. Street parking was FULL to Milford Lane by Don Burnett Bridge on Mary Ave. My
neighbors and friends could not easily utilize the weekly Recycling truck service seen on
the left side. Usually this lineup is over 10-15 people long on Saturdays.
5. Lack of Access: Our neighbors and I had difficulty accessing our homes and
welcoming guests. The situation is unsafe and disrupts our daily lives. Event visitors
made street parking difficult and sparse for family and friends of my neighbors at Casa
De Anza.
6. This issue is compounded by the fact that 87% of Memorial Park’s designated parking
lots were closed off for the festival, leaving only a fraction of the spots available.
Additionally, no "off-site" public street parking is available on residential streets
flanking the Memorial Park tennis courts: Christensen, Lauretta Dr, Ann Arbor
Ave require parking permits daily from 7am to 10pm.
This parking study taken from the City Memorial Park improvement plan shows 256
"on-site" parking spots designated for Memorial Park Events. However, I only
found 13% (count of 34) of on-site spots to be available at this event.
Reference: https://www.cupertino.gov/Your-City/Departments/Public-Works/Capital-
Improvement-Programs-Projects/Memorial-Park-Specific-Plan-
- Mary Ave Lots 1 and 2 were unavailable since they are reserved for those with
Senior Center permits which are enforced Mon-Sat 8am-5pm.
- Alves Drive parking (L toot 4) and the Quinlan Center Parking Lots off of N.Stelling
Rd (Lots 5 and 6) were closed off from the public with "do not turn" signs and
sheriff vehicles. This is often is the case for festivals for conversion to a food court
area, portable restrooms, handwashing areas, vendor loading, rendering 50+42+44
parking spots unavailable at this City Event.
An Escalating Crisis
This existing problem is poised to become significantly worse with several major
developments underway or planned in the area:
Mary Ave Villas: The proposal to remove 89 street parking spots is unacceptable
and will decimate an already limited supply.
Memorial Park Improvements: While beneficial, new features like the all-abilities
playground and eight new pickleball courts will dramatically increase daily visitors,
overwhelming the current infrastructure. (adding 9 new parking spots isn't going to
be enough on weekends!)
Ongoing Developments: The Westport Project and De Anza College construction
will further strain local traffic and parking.
The current parking configuration for memorial Park events is not effective, contrary to the
2022 parking study. Most of Mary Ave is and continues to be a heavily utilized during Park
events. Visitors will continue to seek out free, unrestricted, public parking closest to Memorial
Park, which will overload Mary Ave.
Walking over 0.5 miles from the Stelling side of De Anza's lot is significant and can be a
barrier for families with young kids, seniors, those with mobility issues, and for anyone
during extreme weather (heat or rain). In my observations, many visitors prefer to drop
off family members or hover around Mary Ave for parking closer to the Park.
The Path Forward
Approving these projects in their current form without a comprehensive solution would
be a critical mistake. We need a forward-thinking plan to ensure the safety and quality of
life for residents.
I urge you to take immediate action on the following:
1. Preserve Street Parking: Don't approve the removal of 89 street parking spots in
the Mary Ave Villas proposal. Removal of parking between the Mary Ave dog park to
the former Oaks center will be devastating.
2. Implement New Solutions: Develop and implement new solutions to protect
resident parking and decrease traffic congestion on Mary Avenue.
3. Conduct a Comprehensive Study: Commission an updated, comprehensive
traffic and parking study that accounts for all planned developments and their
combined impact on our neighborhood.
The parking stall availability I present here contradict the findings in the 2022
parking report
(
works/capital-improvement-program/b-mpsp-report-appendices-2024.pdf). It is
crucial to obtain an accurate occupancy rate reflecting publicly available
parking stalls. That report lists a falsely low occupancy rate because it included
permitted parking stalls (unavailable to the public) in the denominator.
Please support our community by prioritizing our safety and quality of life.
Sincerely,
Lina
Concerned Cupertino resident
From:Brian Avery
To:City Council; Public Comments; Tina Kapoor
Subject:Factual PHOTO presentation of "Saturday"s" REDUCTION IN PROPERTY VALUE .... and this is before the proposed illogical ELIMINATION of 89 parking stalls on Mary Avenue
Date:Saturday, September 13, 2025 6:24:02 PM
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PREFACE: What I have learned in 47 years of operating the 517 units (1,100 resident) Glenbrook Community is that a "landlord" should never ask for
empathy. That is not the purpose of this eMail.
All that I ask is that you ponder this question: Would you make a worsening parking condition even more dramatically worse by eliminating 89 full size
parking stalls, for residents in the neighborhood where you live?
BOTTOM LINE: Saturdays are the most important leasing day of the week and the Glenbrook Apartment Homes had a CRAPPY leasing day today. The
photos below prove the difficulty in renting our 40 vacant/on-notice apartments during ALL eight leasing office hours of any rental community's most
important leasing day. That translates into significant property value reduction through loss of income.
WHAT IS THE WORSENING CONDITION: 55% of the Westport Development is soon to be built out, De Anza College's future $40 million Creative
Arts Building, $60 million Services for Students Building, and Event Center (unknown cost) to be built across the street where Flint Center was located.
And the City of Cupertino is building eight pickleball courts (statistics show that the courts will have 4 players per court 75% of the day which is a need
for 20 - 24 parking stalls for players and players who have just played or are waiting to play) and the remaining portions of the $83 million Memorial Park
budget to increase usage of Memorial Park. PARKING at MEMORIAL PARK? When you SUBTRACT the Senior Center parking, the 15 permanent
PERMIT PARKING ONLY stalls, and the ADA parking stalls, Cupertino offers damn few parking stalls for a huge park. And like today, several events
consume 100% of the parking stalls with tents/tables/trucks/food trucks etc.
. WHAT IS WORSE THAN LOSS OF INCOME? I BELIEVE YOU ALL HAVE BEEN AN EMPLOYER IN YOUR CAREER: Yes, we have
angry confrontations with illegal parkers on days like this. But this is becoming a daily occurrence because there is so little parking at Westpark across the
street, and the regular number of De Anza students. So how do I interview prospective employees? Like employees in a Walgreens or CVS in San
Francisco, do we train them to just let the Westport overflow, the event parkers, the De Anza students take as much of our private property as they want?
Do we train employees to confront the illegal parkers? What is our legal liability in these confrontations? I think we all know the answer to that last
question :)
PHOTOS TAKEN BY BRIAN AVERY TODAY, Saturday September 13, 2025:
1. A prospective Resident considering Glenbrook Apartments turns onto Mary Avenue and immediately must get by backed-up traffic for Memorial Park
event; and then....
.
2. A Prospective Resident sees that Glenbrook Apartments once had a beautiful entrance, but the prospect's eyes are drawn toward tow away signs and
traffic cones....and then
.
.
3. A Prospective Resident parks in the Future Resident Parking stalls and sees that the Community has a parking problem:
.
4. As the Prospective Resident begins a Walking Tour of the Glenbrook Apartments, it is hard to miss all the tow away signs and ugly bright bollards.
5. Next, the Prospective Resident notices that 100% of the parking stalls on THE ENTIRE LENGTH OF Mary Avenue are taken, and cars are "hanging U-
turns" everywhere, and turning into the Glenbrook Apartments at the back entrance:
.
Parting Thought: (Please see PHOTO BELOW) Glenbrook's 1,100 residents only
have 2 Exits on our 32 acre property. Our traffic engineer designed two lanes on each
side of our Back Entrance/Exit of Glenbrook because so many of the 1,100 residents
use this Entrance/Exit....even more so now that Westport has its main driveway directly
across from our Front Entrance.
In my 47-year career I have never seen a more illogical idea than removing 89 full size
parking stalls and then shoehorning a building onto a street where those cars in the
photo below are CURRENTLY parked all day long!
From:Jennifer Griffin
To:City Clerk
Cc:grenna5000@yahoo.com; City Council
Subject:Fwd: Floating Bus Stop Islands
Date:Friday, September 12, 2025 10:12:58 AM
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Dear City Clerk: Please include the following comments as public comments for the City
Council Meeting on 9/16/25. Thank you.
-------- Original Message --------
Subject: Floating Bus Stop Islands
From: Jennifer Griffin <grenna5000@yahoo.com>
Sent: Friday, September 12, 2025, 10:09 AM
To: citycouncil@cupertino.org,cityclerk@cupertino.org
CC: grenna5000@yahoo.com
Dear City Council:
(Please consider this as public input for the City Council meeting on 9/16/25)
I don't think it is a good idea to put in Floating Bus Stop Islands on Stevens Creek Blvd. This
is going to limit the use of the slow lanes on Stevens Creek Blvd. because the buses will
be sitting in the slow lanes for long periods of time. This will make other vehicles and buses
Have to go around the buses and go into the middle lanes which is very dangerous and
disrupts
Traffic flow.
These bus stops are being considered for the bus stop in front of the Le Boulengerie building
at the southeast corner of Cali Mill Plaza at De Anza Blvd. and Stevens Creek Blvd. They are
also
Planning one at Target on Stevens Creek Blvd.
Our bus stops are nice now because they get the bus off the road into the traffic turnout
And allow passengers to board the bus in peace and safety. There is the Senior Community of
Cupertino Chateau that is near this intersection. Three close family friends of mine have lived
at
This community and all had mobility issues and two were 85 plus. The residents of Cupertino
Chateau
Often walk or drive senior mobility scooters near this Cali Mill bus stop. I have a friend who
is
Blind and rides the bus from her home on Stevens Creek Blvd. to visit her mother who is
In the new Senior Care facility at 85 and South De Anza Blvd. Floating bus stop Islands
would not be safe for any of these people.
We have so many new housing complexes proposed for Stevens Creek Blvd. that we should
not be
Sacrificing the slow lane on Stevens Creek Blvd. Traffic flow on Stevens Creek Blvd. will be
greatly
Increased when these complexes are built so it is not a good time to.build such bus stop
experiments,
Especially those that will compromise the slow lanes. We are not having BRT on Stevens
Creek Blvd.
We are going to have to focus on bike barriers on Stevens Creek Blvd, not create further
problems
By installing controversial bus stop constructions as Floating Bus Stop Islands.
Thank you.
Best regards,
Jennifer Griffin
From:Mahesh Gurikar
To:City Council
Cc:City Clerk
Subject:Mary Avenue Villas Issue
Date:Tuesday, September 9, 2025 8:30:54 PM
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Dear City Clerk,
Please include the following for the next City Council meeting under written comments section.
Thank you.
Dear City Council Members,
There are many issues and concerns regarding building residential units on Mary Avenue.
These issues need to be investigated further to make sure all concerns of the affected residents are addressed.
I request you to refer this issue to the Planning Commission for a detailed study and recommendations before the
City Council takes any further action on this issue.
Thank you for your prompt action.
Mahesh Gurikar
Shrividya Gurikar