HomeMy WebLinkAboutCC 03-03-2026 Oral CommunicationsCC 3-3-2026
Oral
Communications
Written Comments
From:David Yan
To:City of Cupertino Planning Commission; info@sccfd.org; Public Comments; City Council; Emi Sugiyama; Tina
Kapoor; E-Permits@pln.sccgov.org
Subject:Fire Safety Clarification Request – Linda Vista Corridor (Cupertino)
Date:Friday, February 20, 2026 12:32:55 PM
Attachments:Joint Letter to SCC Fire and City of Cupertino_Linda Vista Fire Safety_02.20.2026.pdf
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.
Santa Clara County Fire and City of Cupertino:
Attached please find a formal request for coordinated clarification regarding fire safety and
cumulative evacuation review for the proposed development at 10857, 10867, 10877 and
10887 Linda Vista Dr in Cupertino.
Thank you for your attention to this matter.
David
FORMAL REQUEST FOR FIRE SAFETY DETERMINATION
Proposed 51-Unit Development at 10857–10887 Linda Vista Drive, Cupertino
Project Reference: CUP-029 (“Evulich Court”)
To: Santa Clara County Fire Department, Office of the Fire Marshal, Cupertino City Council;
Cupertino City Manager; Cupertino Planning Division
Date: February 19, 2026
To the Santa Clara County Fire Department and the City of Cupertino:
I. Purpose of This Letter
We are writing to request coordinated clarification from the City of Cupertino and the Santa
Clara County Fire Department regarding whether the proposed 51-unit residential development
at 10857, 10867, 10877, and 10887 Linda Vista Drive (CUP-029, interchangeably referred to as
“Evulich Court”) has been evaluated for consistency with safe emergency access and
evacuation under the State’s March 2025 Fire Hazard Severity Zone reclassification.
The City’s July 2024 rezoning of this parcel from R1 to R3/TH relied on the 2007 Fire Hazard
Severity Zone designation that was in effect at that time. In March 2025, CAL FIRE updated the
hazard classification for this corridor. That update materially changes the hazard baseline
applicable to this site.
We respectfully request confirmation that the project, as currently proposed in its approved unit
count and site configuration, has been reviewed under the updated High Fire Hazard Severity
Zone designation and that cumulative corridor level risk has been evaluated in coordination
between Planning and Fire.
II. Project and Site Context
Evulich Court is a proposed 51-unit residential development on a 2.55-acre parcel located on
the west side of Linda Vista Drive in the Monta Vista area of Cupertino. The site sits
approximately 500 feet south of the road’s northern terminus at Hyannisport Drive, within a
corridor that functions as the primary evacuation route for approximately 75 existing
single-family homes.
Linda Vista Drive is a two lane, curved/winding residential road approximately 2,600 feet in
length. It runs generally north-south between Hyannisport Dr and the Santa Teresa Drive area.
The corridor is characterized by significant tree canopy overhang, narrow roadway width, and
limited-access side streets many of which are cul de sacs with no secondary egress.
In addition to Evulich Court, a second development Vista Heights (35 units) is planned along the
same corridor with its sole access point via Linda Vista Drive. The combined projects would add
86 residential units to a road currently serving approximately 75 homes. The Vista Heights
project's sole vehicular access is also via Linda Vista Drive, within the same block of the already
constrained Evulich Court driveway.
The primary evacuation load for the southern segment of Linda Vista Drive consists of
approximately 75 existing homes whose access depends on that corridor. While the broader
Monta Vista neighborhood includes additional homes on adjacent streets with connections to
Bubb Road and McClellan Road, this analysis focuses on the segment of Linda Vista Drive that
directly serves the corridor south of Hyannisport Drive.
III. A Defined Baseline is Required for Cumulative Corridor Evaluation
Cumulative emergency access and evacuation feasibility cannot be evaluated without a clearly
defined corridor baseline condition. At the time of the City’s 2024 rezoning, the residential
baseline consisted of approximately 75 existing homes. That condition is no longer fixed.
The Vista Heights proposal, currently pending and subject to litigation, would add 35 residential
units to the same constrained access corridor. As proposed, it represents a reasonably
foreseeable change to corridor load that must be considered in cumulative evaluation.
The Evulich project proposes to add 51 additional units within this evolving context. The record
does not identify the baseline condition against which evacuation and access feasibility are
being evaluated. It is unclear whether analysis assumes historic pre Vista conditions, anticipated
buildout conditions, or some intermediate scenario.
Absent a clearly articulated and consistently applied cumulative baseline, it is not possible to
determine whether additional residential density is consistent with safe evacuation under the
updated Fire Hazard Severity Zone designation.
While individual developments may be reviewed independently for purposes of code compliance
and site specific fire safety standards, evacuation feasibility is inherently corridor wide.
Emergency egress depends on shared roadway capacity and cumulative vehicle load rather
than parcel boundaries. Accordingly, cumulative corridor conditions must inform evaluation of
incremental residential intensification.
Clear articulation of cumulative evacuation assumptions will strengthen the defensibility of any
ultimate approval.
IV. March 2025 CAL FIRE FHSZ Reclassification
Between February 10 and March 24, 2025, the California State Fire Marshal released updated
Fire Hazard Severity Zone (FHSZ) classifications for Local Responsibility Areas (LRA). These
maps identify the Linda Vista corridor and immediately adjacent hillside areas as falling within
Moderate, High, and Very High fire hazard severity zones.
This is a material change from the 2007 FHSZ maps that were in effect when the City of
Cupertino rezoned the Evulich Court parcel to R3/TH in July 2024. Under Government Code
51179, the City is required to adopt the updated State findings. The implications for this project
are direct:
1. The 2024 rezoning density was approved under a hazard baseline that has been
superseded by State action.
2. The updated FHSZ classification may implicate stricter fire-safety requirements under
the California Building Code and California Fire Code that were not contemplated during
the original project review.
3. The Evulich Court parcel sits at the interface between developed residential area and
wildland vegetation (Stevens Creek corridor and Linda Vista Park), placing it squarely
within the Wildland-Urban Interface zone under the updated classification.
The City’s July 2024 rezoning of this parcel relied on the 2007 Fire Hazard Severity Zone
classification that was in effect at that time. The State’s March 2025 update materially alters the
hazard baseline applicable to this corridor.
V. Evacuation Capacity Concern
The core safety question is whether Linda Vista Drive can support the emergency evacuation of
over 160 residential units (75 existing + 51 Evulich + 35 Vista Heights) consistent with
applicable fire safety and emergency access standards, given its physical constraints and the
updated fire hazard classification.
A preliminary evacuation throughput estimate based on conservative flow assumptions is below.
We are not presenting this as a substitute for Fire review. Instead, we are presenting it to
illustrate why such a review is warranted. Further, the purpose of this estimate is not to
dispute existing fire code compliance, but to illustrate why corridor level evacuation assumptions
warrant transparent documentation.
Metric Current (R1) With Projects Change
Housing Units ~75 ~160 +113%
Estimated Vehicles ~120 ~260 +117%
Road Clearance Time 12–18 min 35–50 min +183%
Total Order-to-Safety 30–45 min 60–90 min +100%
Table assumptions: 1.6 vehicles per household (emergency consolidation); single-lane flow rate of 600–800 veh/hr
on winding residential road. Mobilization time includes human-factor delays (securing pets, loading vehicles).
We note that standard fire code review evaluates parcel level features such as sprinkler
systems, noncombustible materials, hydrant spacing, and access road dimensions. These are
important but address onsite fire resistance, not corridor-wide evacuation capacity under
cumulative load. A project may fully comply with Fire Code requirements and still contribute to
an evacuation condition that exceeds the corridor's throughput capacity.
VI. Site-Specific Risk Factors
Beyond the aggregate vehicle count, several physical characteristics of the Linda Vista corridor
compound evacuation risk:
• Limited egress geometry. Linda Vista Drive is the primary vehicular evacuation route
for the corridor dependent homes. Side streets such as Baxley Court, Rae Lane, Mount
Crest Dr, Linda Vista Court, as well as an 11 acre Park (Linda Vista Park) are dead-end
roads or cul-de-sacs that feed exclusively onto the Linda Vista spine with no
independent egress. While other streets such as Columbus Ave,Terrace Dr. and
Hyannisport Dr. provide alternative connections to Bubb Road, a wildfire evacuation is a
corridor wide event, not isolated to a single street. These routes would simultaneously
carry their own residential evacuation traffic to Bubb Road, which itself becomes the
shared collection point for the entire neighborhood. Available capacity on alternative
routes cannot be assumed when those routes are subject to the same concurrent
demand. The Evulich Court development accesses Linda Vista Drive via a single project
driveway, placing its full vehicle load directly onto the corridor regardless of conditions on
adjacent streets.
• Tree canopy and ember vulnerability. The road corridor has significant mature tree
overhang. In a wind-driven fire event, spotting (embers jumping ahead of the fire front)
can ignite canopy over the roadway, potentially blocking the evacuation route entirely. A
single fallen tree across this two lane road could block evacuation for residents
dependent on this corridor.
• Wildland Urban Interface exposure. The west side of the corridor is directly adjacent to
Stevens Creek, Linda Vista Park, and the vegetated hillsides leading to McClellan Ranch
Preserve and Deep Cliff Golf Course. This continuous wildland fuel bed runs the full
length of the evacuation route.
• Concentrated access point for new density. The Evulich Court development alone
would add 51 units with a single driveway access directly onto Linda Vista Drive,
injecting approximately 85 additional vehicles into the mid-section of the evacuation
corridor during an emergency.
Typical, on-site fire hardening measures including sprinklers, fire rated cladding,ember resistant
vents, etc. improve structural survivability but do not reduce evacuation demand. Each occupied
unit generates the same vehicle load regardless of construction type.
VII. Limitations of the 2019 Cupertino Emergency Operations Plan
The City’s 2019 Emergency Operations Plan (“EOP”) establishes a framework for emergency
response coordination, incident command structure, and interagency communication. It outlines
how the City responds once an emergency has occurred. It is structured as a response
coordination framework rather than a corridor-level evacuation capacity analysis. The Plan is a
response document and does not provide corridor specific evacuation capacity modeling, nor
does it evaluate cumulative residential intensification within constrained hillside access routes.
The Plan does not identify maximum safe occupancy thresholds for single access corridors, nor
does it analyze vehicle throughput capacity under degraded wildfire conditions. It assumes
operational response under existing infrastructure conditions. Additionally, as noted, since
adoption of the 2019 EOP:
• The State has updated Fire Hazard Severity Zone classifications.
• Additional housing allocations have been approved.
• Climate driven wildfire intensity assumptions have evolved.
• The Plan does not appear to incorporate corridor level evacuation modeling for areas
now classified as High Fire Hazard Severity Zones.
• Accordingly, reliance on the 2019 EOP as a sufficient safeguard for additional residential
intensification on a single access hillside corridor warrants review.
VIII. Accountability for Pre Incident Mitigation
Broader wildfire mitigation and evacuation capacity planning transcend any single development.
Recent wildfire events in California have underscored the importance of clearly documented
evacuation planning prior to project approvals. We are not suggesting that any agency has
failed in its responsibilities here. We are asking, before additional development is approved on a
corridor now classified under a very high fire hazard severity zone, that the responsible agency
or official be clearly identified and that the analytical basis for determining evacuation feasibility
be documented. This is an opportunity to ensure that the record reflects a deliberate,
coordinated evaluation so that if the question is ever asked, there is an answer.
IX. Formal Requests
In light of the March 2025 FHSZ reclassification and the evacuation constraints described
above, we respectfully request the following:
A. Written Fire Safety Determination. A formal written determination from the Fire
Marshal on whether a 51-unit development at this location is consistent with safe
emergency evacuation under the 2025 FHSZ classification. Specifically: can the Linda
Vista corridor support the emergency evacuation of approximately 160 residential units
consistent with applicable fire safety and emergency access standards?
B. Evacuation Capacity Review. A professional assessment of the cumulative evacuation
impact of both Evulich Court (51 units) and Vista Heights (35 units) on the Linda Vista
Drive corridor. The two projects should be evaluated together, as they share the same
constrained evacuation route.
C. FHSZ Consistency Analysis. Confirmation of whether the project’s approved unit count
and site configuration have been evaluated for consistency with fire-safety standards
associated with the State’s updated 2025 Fire Hazard Severity Zone designation for this
area. If the updated hazard classification implicates additional safety considerations or
mitigation measures, please identify those measures and the unit-count assumptions
underlying the review.
D. Existing Fire Review Documentation. If corridor level evacuation capacity has already
been evaluated under the 2025 FHSZ designation, we respectfully request a summary of
the assumptions, methodology, and corridor conditions underlying that determination.
Given the material change in hazard classification and the need for coordinated cumulative
evaluation, a brief continuance would allow clarification under current standards. If the
Department determines that additional mitigation measures are required under the updated
FHSZ classification, please identify those measures.
X. Closing
Given the overlapping jurisdiction between Planning approvals, Fire code review, and Council
level policy determinations, we respectfully request confirmation that Planning, Fire, and Council
have coordinated review of cumulative corridor level risk under the updated Fire Hazard
Severity Zone classification.
We request that the Fire Department confirm whether the project, as currently approved at its
proposed unit count and site configuration, has been evaluated under the State’s March 2025
High Fire Hazard Severity Zone designation and whether it complies with all applicable safety
standards under that updated classification. If so, we respectfully request a written
determination to that effect.
We previously shared corridor-level evacuation concerns and a preliminary throughput estimate
with City Planner Emi Sugiyama and the City Council on January 16 and January 29, 2026. We
are submitting this letter directly to the Fire Department because the updated FHSZ designation
materially alters the hazard baseline applicable to this corridor and warrants confirmation of
review under current standards.
We are available to meet with your office at any time and will provide any additional information
that would assist in your evaluation. We respectfully request a written response within 30 days
and in any case, prior to any approvals.
From:Jennifer Griffin
To:City Council; City Clerk
Cc:grenna5000@yahoo.com
Subject:Retail Tenants Being Displaced from Super Kyo-Po Shopping Center in Santa Clara
Date:Wednesday, February 25, 2026 8:12:56 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.
Dear City Council:
(Please consider the following as public comment for the March 3, 2026 Cupertino City Council
Meeting.)
I attended the Community Meeting for the Super Kyo-Po Shopping Center at Homestead and
Lawrence Expressway in Santa Clara tonight (Feb. 25) in the shopping center. There is a plan
To convert this shopping center to retail. They are losing 67,000 square feet of active retail
with ten small businesses. This is primarily an Asian Shopping Center.
It sounds like most of the mom and pop business owners don't know what is going on and they are
being given very little notice of the upcoming end of their shops and the retail. They are essentially
having no place to have their shops. The shopping center will be bulldozed.
This is a SB 330 Housing Element site for Santa Clara. We in Cupertino have lost so much retail to
Our own seven SB 330s. Can we find vacant retail spaces in Cupertino to help these poor displaced
Super Kyo-Po retail tenants? It sounds like they would be a good fit for Cupertino. It sounds like
They have no place to go and we have vacant retail.
Please reach out to these small mom and pop stores losing their locations and see if Cupertino can
give them a retail home. I think it would be a good fit for our city and help replace some of the
vital retail we have lost and will lose in the future in Cupertino.
Thank you very much for helping to protect retail.
Best regards,
Jennifer Griffin
From:Jennifer Griffin
To:City Clerk
Cc:grenna5000@yahoo.com; City Council
Subject:Fwd: Updated Meeting Location - Community Outreach Meeting - 3521 & 3591 Homestead Road
Date:Monday, February 23, 2026 3:28:41 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 Clerk:
Please consider the following and the forwarded message from Santa Clara as public input for the
March 3, 2026 Cupertino City Council meeting.
Thank you.
-------- Original Message --------
Subject: Fwd: Updated Meeting Location - Community Outreach Meeting - 3521 & 3591 Homestead Road
From: Jennifer Griffin <grenna5000@yahoo.com>
Sent: Monday, February 23, 2026, 3:24 PM
To: citycouncil@cupertino.org,cityclerk@cupertino.org
CC: grenna5000@yahoo.com
Dear Cupertino City Council:
(Please consider the following comments and forwarded document from Santa Clara as public input for
the March 3, 2026 Cupertino City Council meeting.)
I am forwarding this notification from the city of Santa Clara about a Community meeting (FYI) about the
Proposed SB 330 conversion of the very popular Super Kyo-Po Homestead Shopping Center at the Northeast corner of
the intersection of Lawrence Expressway and Homestead Road to housing with no retail.
Super Kyo-Po Shopping Center is a very popular Asian Market complex With many active Asian retail stores. This shopping
center is just west of the McDonalds and kitty corner across the intersection to Kaiser Hospital. This
Is a very congested area already with the hospital and traffic from Homestead/Lawrence and Apple and traffic
From Cupertino and Santa Clara and Sunnyvale and Lawrence Expressway.
I am deeply concerned SB 330 is mowing down retail in our city and in adjacent cities. No one is immune
From the ravages of this out-of-control bill that is wrecking retail havoc in every city in the state. It is
A misguided bill that is causing serious economic problems for everyone. Small merchants and mom and
Pop stores as well as valuable chain stores (Panera) are being displaced and becoming homeless.
Please attend this Community Meeting Santa Clara is holding and observe the problems being incurred by
Conversions such as these. What are other cities doing to deal with the fallout of squashed retail from
SB 330? We need to study these and reach out to our electeds at the state level and alert them to this
Burgeoning catastrophe.
Thank you. Please find attached the notification of the Santa Clara Community meeting on this shopping
Center. Merchants in the shopping center are highly concerned about losing their shops.
Best regards,
Jennifer Griffin
Cupertino Resident
-------- Original Message --------
Subject: Updated Meeting Location - Community Outreach Meeting - 3521 & 3591 Homestead Road
From: City of Santa Clara <news@info.santaclaraca.gov>
Sent: Monday, February 23, 2026, 2:17 PM
To: grenna5000@yahoo.com
CC:
The City of Santa Clara - Stay Connected
Updated Meeting Location - Community Outreach Meeting - 3521 & 3591 Homestead
Road
Date: 02/25/2026 6:00 PM - 7:00 PM
Location: 3565 Homestead Road
Santa Clara, California 95051
Meeting Details
PulteGroup invites you to an in-person community meeting regarding the proposed development located at
3521 and 3591 Homestead Road. The proposed development is comprised of a 4,991 square-foot commercial
building and 147-unit residential project. City Staff will be in attendance to accept feedback. Additional project
information can be found at the project webpage.
In person: 3565 Homestead Road, Santa Clara, CA 95051
Contact Us
Project Contact: Jim Sullivan, Consultant, jsullivansld@yahoo.com, 408-899-0308
City Contact: Meha Patel, Community Development/Planning Division, Associate Planner,
mpatel@santaclaraca.gov, 408-615-2454
Click here for more information
Stay Connected with City of Santa Clara:
This email was sent to grenna5000@yahoo.com using GovDelivery Communications Cloud on behalf of: City of Santa Clara · 1500 Warburton
Avenue · Santa Clara, CA 95050
SUBSCRIBER SERVICES:
Manage Subscriptions | Unsubscribe All | Help