HomeMy WebLinkAboutCC 12-12-2025 Item No. 2 Conduct Study Session on Mary Avenue Project_Written CommunicationsCC 12-12-2025
#2
Conduct Study
Session on Mary
Avenue Project
Written Communications
From:Paul Krupka
To:Public Comments
Cc:Brian Avery; Lina Meng
Subject:Public Comment – Special Meeting on December 12, 2025 – Study Session on the Mary Avenue Project
(“Project”)
Date:Thursday, December 11, 2025 3:01:00 PM
Attachments:krupka Georgia t 50.png
Cupertino CC re Mary Avenue Villas 121125 f.pdf
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Dear City Council Members:
Please accept and consider my attached public comment letter during your deliberations on
December 12, 2025.
Thank you!
Sincerely,
Paul Krupka
Paul J. Krupka, PE
(he/him/his)
KRUPKA CONSULTING
Trusted Advisor | Transportation
650.504.2299
paul@pkrupkaconsulting.com
KRUPKA CONSULTING
431 Yale Drive | San Mateo, CA | 94402
650.504.2299 | paul@pkrupkaconsulting.com | pkrupkaconsulting.com
December 11, 2025
City Council Members by email only > publiccomment@cupertino.gov
City of Cupertino
10300 Torre Avenue
Cupertino, CA 95014
RE: Public Comment – Special Meeting on December 12, 2025 – Study Session on the Mary
Avenue Project (“Project”)
Dear City Council Members:
I am supporting Brian Avery, owner of the Glenbrook Apartments, and Lina Meng, a neighbor,
both of whom represent the Garden Gate Neighborhood Group, in providing transportation
advisory services and a professional opinion on the Mary Avenue Villas Project. I offer the
following information and comments for your consideration.
Qualifications
I am a registered Civil Engineer and Traffic Engineer in California and have over 40 years of
diverse experience across all phases of project delivery, including preliminary assessment,
conceptual planning, feasibility analysis, design, and construction. I have demonstrated
expertise in transportation, traffic, and transit planning, engineering, and design related to
transit-oriented development, transit facilities, parking facilities, roadway and highway
improvements, large and small development projects, neighborhood, community, downtown,
city, subarea, county, and sub-regional plans, and transit and highway corridors.
Comments
I have visited the Project site and surroundings, observed traffic and parking activities, surveyed
peak parking occupancy on Mary Avenue and at Memorial Park, and reviewed recent
photographic evidence of related parking conditions during Memorial Park events. I have
reviewed the Transportation Study for Proposed Affordable Housing Project on Mary Avenue
(Hexagon Transportation Consultants, Inc., November 13, 2025, the Memorial Park Specific
Plan (City of Cupertino, February 2024), including the Memorial Park Parking Study (City of
Cupertino, January 2024), the Westport Mixed-Use Project Environmental Impact Report
Addendum No. 1 (PlaceWorks, December 2024), and information on current and planned
development at De Anza College.
The Project will have a significant impact by removing 89 spaces of public on-street parking on
Mary Avenue (95 spaces with recommended Project changes in the aforementioned
Transportation Study), amid heavy observed demand for this parking (upwards of 60 percent
occupied) during many major events at Memorial Park. This 37+% reduction in on-street parking
supply will affect residents who rely on it, spreading parking demand further into residential
neighborhoods. This impact was documented in the formal Project application in April 2025. It
was acknowledged in the aforementioned Transportation Study. Still, it was seemingly
dismissed with this simple conclusion – “With the Project, there would be 152 on-street
City of Cupertino City Council Members
December 11, 2025, Page 2
parking spaces…, which would still provide enough spaces to meet the anticipated parking
demand…along the project frontage.” The anticipated parking demand noted was only 37 spaces,
which reflects a non-Memorial Park event condition.
My peak parking occupancy survey on Saturday, November 1, 2025, found a demand of 42 spaces
(17% occupied (42/241)) on Mary Avenue (total parking supply of 241 spaces). The photographic
evidence I cited above indicated a demand of approximately 140 spaces (58% occupied) during
Memorial Park events. With the Project, this level of demand would equal 96% of the total
parking supply (146 spaces).
Other approved and planned developments will exacerbate this significant impact.
• Memorial Park enhancements, intended to serve existing and new patrons, will increase
parking demand in the neighborhood and on Mary Avenue. While the aforementioned parking
study did not include Mary Avenue, it cited “Maintain Current Parking Configuration along Mary
Avenue” as a recommended management strategy.
• Completion of the Westport Mixed-Use Project will reduce residential and retail areas,
associated vehicle trips, and the total parking supply, but will require accommodating the
resulting parking demand off-site along Mary Avenue.
• The replacement of the Flint Center at De Anza College will enhance opportunities for public
and on-campus entertainment and increase public reliance on off-site parking on Mary Avenue.
Conclusion
The project's significant impact has not been adequately studied to determine appropriate
mitigations.
It is in your community's best interests that you strongly consider doing so.
I appreciate your consideration.
Sincerely,
KRUPKA CONSULTING
Paul Krupka, P.E.
Owner
Cc: Brian Avery
Lina Meng
From:Hal and Janet Van Zoeren
To:Public Comments; City Council; City Clerk; Cupertino City Manager"s Office; bcc: Cupertino ForAll; Hal and Janet
Van Zoeren; Connie Cunningham; Andy Lief; Saadati Louise; Kathy Robinson; Kiran Varshneya; Orrin Mahoney;
Gia Pham HCC; Housing Choices
Subject:Mary Avenue Villas, a Cupertino community created project
Date:Thursday, December 11, 2025 11:19:51 AM
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Dear Cupertino City Council Members,
As you most likely know, a few individuals have fired up a group of heartless NIMBYs by
feeding them misinformation regarding the Mary Avenue Villas project and the characteristics
of those it would benefit. In their quest to kill the project, these community members and
their naive followers keep trying to delay the project by adding to their numbers and falsely
claiming
· Mary Avenue will no longer be a safe place to
o Drive
o Bicycle
o Walk or
o Exist
· The decrease in parking spaces will be detrimental to those who can now park
along Mary Avenue and, therefore, will create a problem for the adjacent
neighborhoods
· The health and welfare of the residents of Mary Avenue Villas will be compromised
by
o Air pollution from the adjacent freeway
o Soil pollution
o No where for fiire trucks and EMT vehicles to park during their assumed to
be frequently needed visits to these villas
It will not be possible to placate these false excuses for the supposed concerns of this NIMBY
group. Those spreading these lies choose not to listen to the facts that dispute them. They
simply do not want the Mary Avenue Villas project in their backyard or anywhere near it, and
they continue using these false claims as ammunition to defeat it.
This is sad because the people who need affordable housing like this are members of our
Cupertino community, many have family here, and may have grown up attending school here
as well. They will benefit from continuing to live near their supportive families and friends and
the local amenities that they use. It was also sad to hear one of the NIMBYs attempt to spread
to others his fear of living near the people who might live in the villas if they are developed.
Sad as well has been hearing the ignorant attempts of NIMBYs, who clearly lack familiarity
with people who have IDD, to inappropriatly characterize people with IDD, how impaired their
mobility is, and how dangerous it will be for others to live near people with IDD and how
dangerous for the villas residents it will be for them to live on Mary Ave due to the unsafe
traffic conditions this project will create.
People with IDD are members of our Cupertino Family at large. They attend our schools, live
in our neighborhood, shop at our stores, go to our library, our churches, and our colleges.
They walk our streets and ride our buses. As a representative of Cupertino, do you want to
take the position that our community members with IDD are dangerous and unworthy of
housing in this city? I find it hard to believe you want that, so please do not give in to this
vocal minority group of troublemakers!
Finding a way to create housing in Cupertino to meet the needs of people with IDD has been
an enormous task. Some of us began working on it for over 25 years! However, within the
last 5 years or so, many Cupertino community members have united together to meet this
challenge. The feasible plan they have developed has involved the cooperative efforts of the
Housing Choices Coalition, the Cupertino Rotary, and Charities Housing Developers, who
together have formed a leading partnership. They have received additional help and expertise
from West Valley Community Services, several past Cupertino mayors and past city managers,
several city staff members, and many other Cupertino citizens. The incredibly unique plan that
has been developed is designed to create affordable housing well-needed by people with IDD
and or with similar economic status in Cupertino. Our Cupertino community has worked
together to do this!
Not only have these community members and groups found a way to make the project
affordable, but they have identified a site that will meet other needs of Mary Avenue Villas'
future residents as well, many of whom cannot drive and do not own cars. The villas will be
near bus routes, grocery stores, drug stores, Quinlin Center, the Cupertino library, parklands,
the senior center, West Valley Community Services, DeAnza Community College, and a bus
route to The College of Adaptive Arts, located at West Valley Community College. In addition,
many of the people living in the Mary Ave Villas will be able to receive services from West
Valley Community Services and or the San Andreas Regional Center via the Housing Choices
programs, the Independent Living Skill programs, or the Supported Living Services programs.
This community project will benefit the community at large by housing some of its most
economically deprived residents. Please do not allow the very vocal, self-centered members
of our community to use their false claims to delay this project while they continue to seek
a way to kill it.
As Cupertino City Council members, you have shown your support for the IDD community by
your recent presentation of awards to both the Parents Helping Parents and The Friends of
Children with Special Needs organizations, and by awarding approximately 4 million dollars
toward the community’s Mary Avenue Villas project. Our community has very much
appreciated this support! As a community, we are also counting on you to keep this project
moving forward in a timely fashion.
Thank you for your support!
Most sincerely,
Janet and Harold Van Zoeren
From:Connie-Comcast Swim5am
To:City Clerk; City Council; Public Comments
Cc:Tina Kapoor; Floy Andrews
Subject:2025-12-12 CC Agenda Item 2, Mary Ave Project— urge approval today!
Date:Thursday, December 11, 2025 3:44:40 PM
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Dear City Clerk, Please add this to the written communications for this meeting. Thank you,
Connie
December 12, 2025 City Council Agenda Item 2: Mary Ave Project—urge approval now!
Good Evening, Mayor, Vice Mayor, Councilmembers, City Manager, and City Attorney:
My name is Connie Cunningham, 38 year resident and Chair, Housing Commission, speaking
for myself only.
Thank you to the City Council for its vote five months ago, on July 15, 2025, to move the
Mary Avenue project forward . I was excited to see that vote. I am supportive of the
application to develop new Extremely Low Income homes for Intellectually Developmentally
Disabled Individuals (IDD) and, also, other Below Market Rate (BMR) housing units on City-
owned property along Mary Avenue. It is the right thing to do for Cupertino to join other cities
in our region to provide housing for residents of all incomes and abilities.
I am disappointed that this project has been delayed five months. The follow-on meeting to
July 15 had been expected to be held in September. After waiting four months, I was shocked
by the sudden ending of the December 2, meeting with its agenda item for the Mary Avenue
Project. I was shocked by the method used by a Councilmember attending virtually, who had
been clearly opposed to the Project. The method to “unplug” his computer disrupted and
forced adjournment of the meeting. He thus bullied the City Council by ending the meeting
using Brown Act rules never-before-used this way. Two of his prior "Brown Act sudden
forced endings” of meetings he blamed on his plane’s departure time. Although annoying, it
was "clearly forgiven and forgotten” since he was authorized virtual attendance on December
2. I am heartened that the Mary Avenue Project is back, ten days later, on the Special City
Council Agenda December 12, although wary of actions that are possible by this
Councilmember or other persons opposed to the Project.
Mary Avenue Project provides much needed housing that has been on the Council’s Work
Program for years. I remember seven years ago when former Mayor Scharf made it a City
Council priority and I was new to the Housing Commission. I have attended the Housing
Commission and City Council meetings for this project. I have also attended Housing
Element meetings at which the site was identified for this purpose.
I understand that there are residents who do not want to have this project built. They have
raised many concerns, and some have raised outright requests to “not build it here,” or “this is
not the right place.” Their concerns have been answered, although the answers, perhaps, have
not accepted by those residents. Those who “do not want it built here” have even said that the
IDD people will bring "danger to the community." Clearly they do not understand the IDD
community. These residents are not dangerous: some live with parents, some live in
apartments, some go to school, some work in our community—they have lives like you and
me.
.
It is hard to find land in Cupertino. I applaud the Council and the City Planners for finding
this special place. It would not be possible to build these homes without Cupertino-owned
property. ELI housing is the most difficult to finance. Many families and individuals will be
helped with this housing. The City has also provided over $3,000,000 for this project.
The City has another goal: keep individuals from falling into homelessness. Many
Individuals who are Intellectually Developmentally Disabled (IDD) live with aging parents,
therefore, these homes will help them remain housed after their parents are gone. There are
many financial benefits to the City to build housing that keeps people from homelessness.
Recognizing this, Cupertino has a partnership with the County and with non-profit
organizations to find ways to find homes for the unhoused. Cupertino is at the point of
providing homes with this project for 40 apartments.
I am disappointed that this project has been delayed often, sometimes without apparent reason.
Construction costs are increasing and new building requirements are coming in 2026. Delay
may also make it difficult for the builder to obtain financing. Financing for Extremely Low
Income (ELI) housing is particularly difficult.
This project is critical. I urge you to take the remaining steps today. Move this project
forward.
Sincerely, and Urgently,
Connie L Cunningham
(Former meetings 2025-07-15 CC Agenda Item 11, Study Session, Mary Avenue Project.
2025-09-03 Oral Communications supporting Mary Avenue Project.
2025-12-2 CC Agenda Item 12)
From Connie's iPhone