HomeMy WebLinkAboutSE-2026-002 - Response to Planning Comments
March 18, 2026
Caroline Gupta
1170 Yorkshire Drive
Cupertino, CA 95014
SUBJECT: SPECIAL EVENT PERMIT PLANNING COMMENT LETTER #1 – Application SE-2026-002
(Tessellations Student Speech and Debate Event)
Thank you for your submittal of a Special Event Permit SE-2026-002 proposing to hold an indoor
student speech and debate event inviting students from both Tessellations and Cupertino High School
to participate. The event is currently proposed to take place on April 24, 2026, from 8:00 am to 6:00 pm.
The expected turnout is a maximum of 200 people. The event will utilize all available classrooms and
the multipurpose room at Tessellations School at 1170 Yorkshire Drive.
Staff has reviewed your Special Event Permit application and has found that additional
information/redline changes are required. This event is the 1st event of the 2026 year, of the 7 total
events allowed per year by Tessellations’ Use Permit, U-2023-002.
Please provide a written response clearly addressing each item and indicate where items are located on
the plan set. Re-submittal without a response letter will be considered incomplete
1. Revise Incorrect Event Date and Revise Event Description to Reflect this Date: Please revise your
event description to correct the date of the event as April 24th is a Friday, not a Saturday. Please
clarify if the event will take place on Friday, April 24th or Saturday, April 25th. Please send staff the
revised event description.
RESPONSE____________________________________________________________________
2. Please Clarify if Any Food Will be Served to Attendees: Your event description states that no
outdoor cooking will occur. However, please clarify if any food will be either sold or provided free
of charge to event attendees. If any food will be served at the event, Tessellations must first send an
email to tempevents@deh.sccgov.org and ask them if your event requires the submittal of a Santa
Clara County Health Department Temporary Food Event permit. Send this email as soon as
possible because the County Health Department has strict timelines for the submittal of Temporary
Event Food Facility permits. Please forward the County’s email response to me at
catherinet@cupertino.gov.
OFFICE OF COMMUNITY DEVELOPMENT
PLANNING DIVISION
CITY HALL
10300 TORRE AVENUE • CUPERTINO, CA 95014-3255
(408) 777-3308 • FAX (408) 777-3333 • planning@cupertino.org
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RESPONSE____________________________________________________________________
3. Prepare materials (Including Parking Map) to be Sent to All Registered Participants (and
Guardians of Participants): Since there will be attendees from other schools who are likely
unfamiliar with the parking locations for this property, please prepare materials to send to the
participants from outside of Tessellations (including a map indicating parking lot location) to be
sent to all registered participants (and guardians) of the event. The materials should provide arrival
procedures for participants and guardians, an event schedule and available parking and drop-off
locations and parking map (also indicating where parking is not allowed) for both participants and
guardians. Please include any other materials or information needed to ensure organized event
arrivals and exiting. Please send the draft to me first before sending it to Cupertino Highschool for
distribution to students and guardians who will be attending.
RESPONSE____________________________________________________________________
4. Mark Out Each Parking Space with Chalk or Spray Paint in the Blacktop Overflow Lot or
Provide Parking Attendants Who Will Remain at their Posts Before During and After the Event:
Per Comments from the Planning Manager, the issue with the overflow blacktop parking lot is that
it does not have marked parking spaces which creates a safety issue if parking attendants are not
directing traffic any time cars are arriving or exiting the overflow parking area before, during and
after the event.
Tessellations currently has parking attendants that direct traffic for approximately 20 minutes at the
beginning of the event and 20 minutes at the end. This is not sufficient if you don’t have marked
parking spaces in the overflow parking lot. You have two options to meet this requirement:
Option #1: Clearly mark out all proposed parking spaces with chalk or spray paint on the ground in
the overflow blacktop parking area. If you do this, the need for parking attendants is reduced
provided that the spaces are marked and easy to see.
If there are any existing parking spaces that are currently marked with lines in the blacktop
overflow lot, please indicate which these are on your parking map. On your parking map please
label or color code which parking spaces are the standard 20 blacktop spaces and which are the 50
blacktop overflow spaces and explain the difference between them. Please label which parking
spaces will need to be marked and how they will be marked.
Your parking map currently depicts that 104 spaces in the blacktop overflow lot will be used;
however, your event description says 20 standard blacktop spaces and 50 overflow blacktop spaces
will be used. Please number the spaces that you will be using, and marking the lines on the ground
for, so it is clear which 70 blacktop spaces will be in use (I’m attaching staff’s copy of the numbered
parking spaces for your convenience, if you would like to work off of this PowerPoint document,
so you don’t need to re-number the spaces).
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Option #2: Provide designated parking attendants that will remain at their posts at least 45 minutes
before the event, 45 after the start of the event to accommodate late arrivals, who will likely be
parking in the overflow blacktop area, and 45 minutes after the event (or longer). Providing
parking attendants for only 20 minutes before and after the event is too short, especially since late
arrivals will most likely be parking in the unmarked blacktop overflow lot.
If Tessellations’ event utilizes unmarked overflow blacktop parking spaces, you need to provide
managed parking with attendants that remain in-place to guide cars to the correct locations.
RESPONSE____________________________________________________________________
5. Provide a Draft Copy of Notice of Event: Per the requirement below in Condition of Approval
#9 in Tessellations' Use Permit U-2023-002, you will need to send out a letter notice to adjacent
properties via first class mail notifying them of the event and containing the information in the
description below. Please send staff a draft of this letter before you post it. The letter must be
emailed to your mail list of interested neighbors and posted on your website at least 7 days before
the event. Please also provide a link to the Tessellations webpage where the event will be posted
online.
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RESPONSE____________________________________________________________________
Please provide responses on each line and please send me these additional items via email
at catherinet@cupertino.gov.If you have any additional questions, you may reach me at (408) 777-3297.
Sincerely,
Catherine Tarone
Planning Permit Technician
(408) 777-3297
catherinet@cupertino.gov