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Home My WebLink About05 - May 29, 2026 - Mayor and Commission Chairs Meeting on May 20, 2026 CITY MANAGER’S OFFICE CITY HALL 10300 TORRE AVENUE • CUPERTINO, CA 95014-3255 TELEPHONE: (408) 777-3223 • CUPERTINO.GOV CITY COUNCIL INFORMATIONAL MEMORANDUM Date: May 29, 2026 To: Cupertino City Council From: Kirsten Squarcia, Deputy City Manager Re: Mayor and Commission Chairs Meeting on May 20, 2026 Background On May 20, 2026, Mayor Kitty Moore convened the Mayor and Commission Chairs Meeting at the Quinlan Community Center. The meeting followed the standard format of mayoral updates, commission updates, and closing remarks, while also adjusting the order of commission reports to accommodate scheduling needs. The meeting provided an opportunity for commission leadership to share recent activities, discuss citywide priorities, and identify areas for future coordination. Mayor Moore opened the meeting by providing updates on several City topics, including Parks and Recreation facility usage and cost recovery, recent community meetings, updates on the ongoing Sheriff’s contract negotiations, transportation improvements, e- scooter and e-bike safety, emergency preparedness, and upcoming events. Commission representation included Audit Committee Chair Eno Schmidt; Arts and Culture Commission Chair David Wang; Bicycle Pedestrian Commission Chair Gerhard Eschelbeck; Economic Development Committee Chair Jane Lin; Housing Commission Chair Usha Narayan; Library Commission Chair Minna Xu; Parks and Recreation Commission Chair Gopal Kumarappan; Planning Commission Chair Tracy Kosolcharoen; Public Safety Commission Chair Sidharth Rajaram; Sustainability Commission Vice Chair Jack Carter; and Technology, Information, and Communications Commission (TICC) Chair Prabir Mohanty. Teen Commission Chair Anushree Misra was absent. The following updates were shared: Audit Committee work related to investment policy and financial oversight. Arts and Culture Commission updates regarding public art, art inventory, and concerns about objects placed on City property. Bicycle Pedestrian Commission updates related to active transportation planning, Safe Routes to School, and bike rack locations. Economic Development Committee updates regarding work plan items, business engagement, and public-private partnership opportunities. Housing Commission updates included continued work on Housing Element implementation, tenant protection, anti-displacement, homelessness-related programs, and further review of the Below Market Rate Housing Program. Library Commission updates included library programming, the StoryWalk Project, and children’s programming. Planning Commission updates included the formation of a subcommittee to review development project noticing practices and recent development project recommendations. Public Safety Commission updates highlighted continued promotion of AlertSCC and Genasys Protect to support emergency preparedness and evacuation communication. The Commission also discussed online scams and fraud prevention, as well as the May 30 CARES/CERT/MRC mock search and rescue exercise. Sustainability Commission updates focused on electrification challenges, resident concerns regarding changing incentives and gas appliance transitions, and waste diversion education. Technology, Information, and Communications Commission updates included engagement with AI and robotics startups, planning for the October 1, 2026 cybersecurity event, and continued exploration of technology tools such as Microsoft Copilot to support City operations and staff efficiency. Mayor Moore also highlighted upcoming events, including a wildfire preparedness workshop on July 15, and encouraged continued outreach related to emergency alert signups. She also noted Cupertino’s recent recognition as one of the best places to live in California. The meeting concluded at approximately 6:28 p.m. Details of each Commission’s summary bullet points and meeting attendance are attached for reference. Sustainability Impact No sustainability impact. Fiscal Impact No fiscal impact. California Environmental Quality Act No California Environmental Quality Act impact. _____________________________________ Prepared by: Serena Tu, Executive Assistant to the City Manager/Council Reviewed by: Kirsten Squarcia, Deputy City Manager Approved for Submission by: Tina Kapoor, City Manager Attachments: A – May 20, 2026 – Mayor and Commission Chairs Meeting Summary Bullet Points ATTACHMENT A 2026 Mayor and Commission Chairs Meeting Quinlan Community Center, Social Room 10185 N Stelling Rd, Cupertino, CA 95014 MEETING AGENDA Wednesday, May 20, 2026 5:00 PM – 6:30 PM Moore 5:10 PM – 6:10 PM 6:10 PM – 6:30 PM Moore ATTACHMENT A AGENDA ITEMS Please use this space to include up to three summary bullets highlighting key activities from each commission. AUDIT COMMITTEE Chair: Eno Schmidt (ESchmidt@cupertino.gov) Vice Chair: Hanyan Wu (HWu@cupertino.gov) • City Cash & Investments – Total $317M: The Committee reviewed, approved, and forwarded the Treasurer’s Investment Report for March 31, 2026 to Council. Total City cash and investments were $317 million, an $8 million increase over the prior quarter, including $206 million managed by Chandler Asset Management and $74 million held in LAIF (Local Agency Investment Fund). • Investment Policy – Safety, Liquidity & Return: The Committee reviewed, approved, and forwarded the City’s Investment Policy to Council for adoption. The policy establishes the City’s investment objectives, ﬁduciary responsibilities, and compliance with state law, and provides guidance for managing the City’s temporary idle cash. Consistent with state law and prudent public fund management, the policy prioritizes safety of principal, liquidity, and market rate of return, in that order. • Audit Committee Scope Updates – Oversight & AI: Following prior Council direction, the Committee reviewed and unanimously recommended several updates to its scope of duties, including renaming the committee as the “Audit and Finance Committee,” clarifying its oversight of internal controls and audit reports, and adding review of artiﬁcial intelligence as it relates to ﬁnancial management, internal controls, risk, and compliance. ARTS AND CULTURE COMMISSION Chair: David Wang (dwang@cupertino.gov) Vice Chair: Gurmeet Lamba (glamba@cupertino.gov) ATTACHMENT A • Art Assets and Inventory, documenting 43 public art pieces (including photos for over half) and 10 art facilities and organizations within the community. On March 23, the Commission motioned for staﬀ to publish this art catalog onto the city website and update ARTour with latest public art. • Two Public Art pieces approved at May 18 meeting: Blossom, designed by Wowhaus (Valencia Townhomes), celebrates the rich agricultural history of Cupertino where cherry orchards once thrived; Arabesque Libre by local artist Amelia Tang (Bianchi Way) inspired by her background in dance. • Reviewed proposal by CalColor Academy for student-led utility box beautiﬁcation project in Cupertino, fully funded by CalColor. Commission recommended staﬀ to explore how we could execute this idea. BICYCLE PEDESTRIAN COMMISSION Chair: Gerhard Eschelbeck (GEschelbeck@cupertino.gov) Vice Chair: Munisekaran Madhdhipatla (MMadhdhipatla@cupertino.gov) • Received presentation and provided input on the development of the proposed Fiscal Year 2026 - 2027 Capital Improvement Programs and Five-year Plan as related to Bicycle, Pedestrian and Transportation projects • Discussed Cupertino Bicycle Pedestrian Commission involvement and coordination with respect to upcoming City bicycling events (Bike to Work and BikeFest) • Received Update on Recent Safe Routes to School-Related Activities • Reviewed and Provided Feedback on Prioritized Project List for Cupertino Active Transportation Plan • Receive Update and Provide Direction for Bicycle Facilities Improvements Work Plan Item (Proposed Bike Rack Locations) ECONOMIC DEVELOPMENT COMMITTEE Chair: Jane Lin (JLin@cupertino.gov) Vice Chair: Selina Kaing (SKaing@cupertino.gov) ATTACHMENT A • Held a special meeting in March and a regular meeting in April. At the April meeting, 11 work plan items for 2026 were approved, with additional items expected to be added at the special EDC meeting in June. • Establishing subcommittees for the following projects o Economic Development Incentives for Retail, Small Businesses, and Startups o City Event Sponsorships through Public-Private Partnerships o Business Engagement Event for Summer of Celebrations Shop Local Campaign o Broker & Realtor Luncheon o Public-Private Partnerships Subcommittee for Multi-Venue Sports Tourism "Stay & Play" o Shop Local: Restaurant Week, Small Business Saturday, Holiday Shop Local. o Small Business Council for Regulatory Relief o Inventory Database of Businesses / Real Estate • Received subcommittee progress updates on the following subcommittees with follow-up reports directed for future EDC meetings. o retail/small business/startup incentives o public-private event sponsorships o Summer of Celebrations shop local campaign HOUSING COMMISSION Chair: Usha Narayan (UNarayan@cupertino.gov) Vice Chair: Jasmin Jose (JJose@cupertino.gov ) • The Housing Commission elected new oﬃcers Usha Narayan and Jasmin Jose as Chair and Vice Chair, and adopted a workplan for FY25-26 that included staﬀ recommended items for regular meetings and proposed an additional special meeting to study the BMR Housing Mitigation Manual in relation to its fee structure. • Throughout the month of February 2026, the Housing Commission reviewed applications from non-proﬁt service providers and proposed aﬀordable housing projects for the Community Development Block Grant (CDBG) and Below ATTACHMENT A Market Rate Aﬀordable Housing Fund (BMR AHF) programs, and made recommendations for funding during the March 26 Regular Meeting to the City Council for approval. • During the March 26, 2026 regular meeting the Housing Commission received a presentation from staﬀ on the evaluation process for the Below Market Rate Administration Request for Proposals (RFP) and made recommendations to staﬀ to consider for ﬁnal negotiations with the apparent winner. The contract for BMR Administration will be taken to City Council to authorize the City Manager to execute the ﬁnal contract and appropriate neccesary funding. LIBRARY COMMISSION Chair: Minna Xu (mxu@cupertino.gov) Vice Chair: Chandra Sakthivel (csakthivel@cupertino.gov) • A StoryWalk Project subcommittee has been established to explore and evaluate potential park locations in Cupertino for future implementation of the initiative. • Presented detailed information regarding the newly renovated children’s area at the Cupertino Library, including updated features and community beneﬁts. • Provided updates on recent library events and programs, along with discussions on potential future projects and community programming opportunities. PARKS AND RECREATION COMMISSION Chair: Gopal Kumarappan (gkumarappan@cupertino.gov ) Vice Chair: Sheela Sreekanth (ssreekanth@cupertino.gov ) • Community Funding evaluation : FY2026-27 o The FY 2026-27 Community Funding Program received 22 applications requesting a combined total of $167,120 in grant funding. o The applicant pool includes 14 new applicants and 8 returning organizations/programs. Based on Staﬀ’s preliminary review and commission's review only 17 applications were found fully eligible. Requests span a wide range of community impact areas including youth ATTACHMENT A engagement, senior services, sustainability, food wastage reduction, arts, education, and wellness initiatives. o The Parks & Recreation Commissioners evaluated each of the organizations individually and scored each of them based on the criteria/policy deﬁned by the city and provided the funding recommendation to City Council as part of the FY 2026-27 budget adoption process towards the allocated amount of $32,500. • Intergenerational “Students Supporting Seniors” Proposal (Sub-Committee: Seema Swamy and Gopal Kumarappan) o A community-led proposal introduced the concept of a “Cupertino Intergenerational Bridge” program connecting high school students with isolated seniors for companionship, digital literacy, errands, walking assistance, and social engagement. The proposal highlighted that nearly 30% of Cupertino seniors face language barriers and many experience loneliness and mobility challenges. • The Rise (Former Vallco) Open Space Proposal o The Commission reviewed conceptual plans for approximately 7.94 acres of publicly accessible open space within The Rise mixed-use redevelopment project. Key proposed amenities include: o Two major town squares for civic events and gatherings A 2.62-acre Class I bike and pedestrian trail network, Children’s play areas and nature play concepts, Turfed playﬁelds and recreational parks, Urban gardens, culture gardens, and pedestrian paseos, Water play/splash pad features and ﬁtness stations o The design strongly emphasizes walkability, sustainability, bike connectivity, stormwater integration, inclusive recreation, and ﬂexible programming aligned with Cupertino’s General Plan and Parks Master Plan goals. o Importantly, the parks/open spaces would remain privately owned and maintained by the developer, while still being publicly accessible and potentially programmable by the City through a future Park Use Agreement. ATTACHMENT A PLANNING COMMISSION Chair: Tracy Kosolcharoen (Tkosolcharoen@cupertino.gov) Vice Chair: Steven Scharf (SScharf@cupertino.gov) • On April 28th, the Community Noticing Subcommittee made recommendations to the Planning Commission as a whole. These recommendations included increasing the noticing radius for major project public hearings, projects in very high ﬁre hazard zones, housing element rezonings, and any major roadway changes. The commission also discussed new channels and technologies for outreach. • On May 12th, the Planning Commission voted 4-1 to recommend that the City Council approve a new 27-unit townhome development on 10268 Bandley Drive. The project will replace an area that is currently oﬃce space. • On March 24th, the Planning Commission voted 5-0 to recommend that the City Council approve a new 122-unit residential development (66 small-lot single family homes, 56 townhomes) on 20807, 20813, 20823 & 20883 Stevens Creek Blvd. Since the project will displace existing tenants at the site (Voyager Coﬀee and Panera Bread), commission voted to recommend that that the City provide signiﬁcant tangible ﬁnancial beneﬁts to the retail establishments that are getting dislocated, including fee expedited approvals, fee reductions, and anything else the city can provide through diﬀerent departments and Commissions. PUBLIC SAFETY COMMISSION Chair: Sidharth Rajaram (SRajaram@cupertino.gov) Vice Chair: Ravi Kiran Singh Sapaharam (RSapaharam@cupertino.gov ) • We received the AlertSCC/Genasys Protect outreach materials from Staﬀ and will be operationalizing the outreach push over the next few months. Passing along our oﬃcial recommendation to the City Council to help spread the word. • We received a presentation from the Sheriﬀ's Oﬃce on the rising issue of AI- based frauds and scams online. Passing along our oﬃcial recommendation to the City Council to commit resources to addressing this. ATTACHMENT A • May 30 - CARES/CERT/MRC will be conducting Mock Search and Rescue exercise. SUSTAINBILITY COMMISSION Chair: Alexander Fung (afung@cupertino.gov ) Vice Chair: Jack Carter (JCarter@cupertino.gov) Vice Chair Carter will represent the Sustainability Commission, as Chair Fung is unable to attend. • Last commission meeting: Thursday, 4/16 • Chair and Vice Chair Elections: Alexander Fung as Chair and Jack Carter as Vice Chair • Formed a Sustainability Subcommittee to support staﬀ’s waste diversion education training program • Supported staﬀ tabling at three events in April to educate about the Commission and our city’s climate eﬀorts: o Saturday, 4/4 - Earth and Arbor Day o Wednesday, 4/22 - Fremont USD Earth Day o Saturday, 4/29 - Cherry Blossom Festival TEEN COMMISSION Chair: Anushree Misra (AMisra@cupertino.gov) Vice Chair: Harly Liu • Received presentation on Budget and Bites and gave feedback on how to get teens involved in future budget processes. • Received a presentation from UnMuted Tabs, a youth led organization, that is trying to oﬀer a teen health podcast series. The commission did not grant a YLO Highlight spot to the organization because they did not meet the criteria, mainly the organization was new and had not yet shown that they had accomplished any of their goals. ATTACHMENT A • Received a presentation on summer jobs from Recreation Coordinator, Mariah Greene. TECHNOLOGY, INFORMATION, AND COMMUNICATIONS COMMISSION (TICC) Chair: Prabir Mohanty (pmohanty@cupertino.gov) Vice Chair: Sudeep Kumar (SudKumar@cupertino.gov) • TICC conducted AI Powered City Modernization meetings with following two AI StartUps who are focused on bringing AI Solutions to City Governments: • CitiCities • Ciphus • TICC is gearing up to hold the next Cybersecurity Event on Oct 1st 2026. • TICC is also planning meetings with Start-ups in the Robotics Space that can help bring greater eﬃciency and automation to our City Government operations.