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HomeMy WebLinkAboutPC 01-15-76CITY OF CUPERTINO, STATE OF CALIFORNIA 'PC -214 10300 Torre Avenue, Cupertino, California 95014 !Page 1 Telephone: 252-4505 MINUTES OF ADJOURNED REGULAR MEETING OF THE PLANNING COMMISSION HELD ON JANUARY 15, 1976, IN THE COUNCIL CHAMBER, CITY HALL CUPERTINO, CALIFORNIA SALUTE TO THE FLAG " Chairman Gatto called the meeting to order at 7:35 p.m. with the Salute to the Flag. ROLL CALL Comm. present: Adams, Cooper, O'Keefe (8:23), Woodward Chairman Gatto Comm. absent: None Staff present: Director of Planning and Development Sisk Director of Public Works Viskovich Assistant Planning Director Cowan PUBLIC HEARING Chairman Gatto announced this was a continuation of the Stevens Creek Blvd. Plan Line Study and Land Use Goals of Old Monta Vista., That portion of Stevens Creek Blvd. from Freeway #85 to the west City Limits will be discussed as to location of the road and road width. This is to insure that as development occurs the plan line will be protected. The economics will be discussed at a later date. The Assistant Planning Director reviewed the Schematic Diagram of the SCB planning process. Goals include land use and road design. The next step would be to study alter- native land uses and road designs. Then would come the technical evaluation, including environmental, social and economic impacts. Last would be the implementation of the plan. Traffic assumptions are based upon 1995 traffic. As land develops adjacent to this street the developer will be required to make dedications and improvements, as they would anywhere else in town. The Director of Public Works summarized the traffic projections and how they were arrived at. He next reviewed the January 15, 1976 Appendix A Stevens Creek Blvd. Plan Line Study and Street Design Primer, including the Glossary of Terms. PC -214 MINUTES OF JANUARY 15, 1976, PLANNING COMMISSION MEETING Page 2 The Director of Public Works next summarized his January 15, 1976, paper entitled "Stevens Creek Boulevard Plan Lines", with answers to the following three questions: 1) Why the four -lane requirement? 2) Will the Stevens Creek Blvd. widening serve as a shortcut to bypass freeway congestion? and 3) Can Stevens Creek Blvd. remain four lanes at the major intersections and be reduced to two lanes at mid-blockZ He stated that traffic counts are being taken at this time, results of which should be ready in two weeks. He did not believe at this time that Stevens Creek Blvd. can be narrowed down through Monta Vista. Chairman Gatto announced that this was basically a workshop session and no decisions were anticipated at this time. Certain basic data is needed, as well as citizen input. Mr. Louis B. Stocklmeir, Stevens Creek Blvd., gave his observations of the traffic pattern in this study area. He is concerned about the commuters using the secondary as well as the primary roads. He would like to keep the through traffic off the residential streets. There should be some control of the speeding cars and he also felt there should be a traffic signal at Phar Lap Drive, which will give a gap in the traffic to allow the cars to get out onto Stevens Creek Blvd. from Carmen Road. There should not be too much traffic built up from Byrne Avenue to Stevens Canyon Road. The Director of Public Works said the City ,is working with the State at the present time to provide douT5t_ right turns onto Bubb Road, double left turns onto Bubb Road, and double left turns onto Freeway #85. He then explained the use of the Caltrans computer model. He answered Chairman Gatto that one of the assumptions is that Freeway #85 will continue to De Anza Blvd. It is scheduled to commence in 1883 to the extent of purchasing the right-of-way. It is estimated this stretch would cost $6 million at freeway standards or $4 million at expressway standards. The Director of Public Works cautioned that once you start constructing traffic signals you decrease flow of traffic and decrease the level of service. Since there were no more comments from the audience at this point, Chairman -i Gatto turned the discussion to the land use goals for Monta Vista: and street design._goal-directiorthe- aud-ienee. The Assistant Planning Director briefly described the Old Monta Vista land use pattern west of Byrne Avenue, which is pretty much residential. One argument against the feasibility of commercial development in Old Monta Vista is that The Oaks Shopping Center has been built for 1.5 years and only 3 shops are occupied. One reason may be because the owner is very "picky". MINUTES OF JANUARY 15, 1976 PLANNING COMMISSION MEETING PC -214 ;Page 3 Mr. William Cox, of Cox and Dumont Commercial Builders, said it is his contention that an expanded commercial development in downtown Monta Vista can serve the area to Freeway 280 on the north, Stelling or #85 on the east and Columbus Avenue to the south. There are 5300 people in this area. He suggested a grocery store, liquor store, drug store, dry cleaners, etc., for 3 or 3.5 acres on the south side of the street from Granada to Byrne. It was Comm. O'Keefe's contention that we would have to allow the "little man" to remain little. Chairman Gatto said he would like to know what kind of commercial; the residents in the area would like to have; what kind of streetscape; e.g., parking in front of the buildings. What about small, independent buildings versus large, combined businesses. Should there be some type of mass redevelopment here or should wei let it gradually change. Mr, Stocklmeir wanted to. include Monta Vista's historical positio in these studies. He said that prior to 1880, this was a part of the original Cupertino. Monta Vista is only a subdivision. Chairman Gatto called a recess at 9:05 p.m. The meeting reconvened at 9:25 p.m. Mr. Wayne Swanfeld, 10120 Phar Lap Drive, wanted to speak to the nature of the road and the traffic study. He and the people in his neighborhood that he has spoken with are against changing the, character of the area. They want to keep the right-of-way as narrow as possible and do not encourage high speed design of the road. The social effect of impacting Freeway 280 would be less than impacting the residential neighborhood. He sees no incon- venience in travelling to Foothill Plaza to shop. He felt the type of shopping center Mr. Cox referred to would change the character of the area. He would like to see some encouragement of redevelopment to clean up some of the blighted areas. He asked if there is some reason why truck traffic cannot be restricted. The Director of Public Works said that stretch is not a truck route now, but there is no way the City can prevent truck delivery to residential and commercial in that area. "Betty Boop" Hansen, Alcazar, Monta Vista, said she works at a local restaurant. She hopes the senior citizens living in the area will be considered. She believes any developer who wants to come into the area should take into account the feelings of the people already living there. Instead of widening the road, she suggested saving that money toward public transportation. PC -214 MINUTES OF JANUARY 15, 1976 PLANNING COMMISSION MEETING Page 4 Mrs. Tomasello stated she bought property in this area 14 years ago, which they rent out to college students. Their repair bills have been astronomical and taxes have gone up. She said her new renters always say how lovely the area is and then they misuse the place. She has residential use on commercial property and with the uncertainty, their hands are tied. A show of hands indicated 20-25 people in the audience either rented or owned their residences in Monta Vista. Comm. Woodward explained the City wants to find out what is economically viable for this area. What should the character of that particular commercial be? Another show of hands indicated about 20 people in the audience have commercial interests in Mor1ta Vista. Mr. Dennis Fau, Alcazar Avenue, Monta Vista, said making Stevens .Creek Blvd. attractive to through traffic would be compounding their present problems. He believes the emphasis should be on preservation. Mr. Salvadore Tomasello stated he lives somewhere else but owns commercial property in Monta Vista. He thinks the commercial area should be developed because there are senior citizens in town and this would make shopping easier for them. Chairman Gatto was assured by those present that they would like some plan line established for Stevens Creek Blvd. so they can proceed with making plans. Private development appeared to be more attractive to the members of the audience than a redevelopment situation. Forced redevelopment was not well received. It did not appear to be important to the residents to preserve the existing commercial buildings. They felt the Rifredi—type business should be encouraged. Mr. Martin Hall suggested formation of a committee composed of the people in the area to decide what they want and then come to the Planning Commission with their ideas. Mr, George Mangano`s interest is in the commercial corner east of the railroad tracks. His hands are tied until this is resolved. He said a food service business in here would be walking distance to several hundred peoples. This is right across the street from Bubb Road. He said he would like to encourage restoring existing commercial. Chairman Gatto said the incentive is there to upgrade the property if a person lives on his own property or if there were some economic gain. MINUTES OF JANUARY 15, 1976 PLANNING COMMISSION MEETING PC -214 Page 5 Comm. O Keefe said he believes the homes have deteriorated by necessity, not by choice. It is because of the uncertainty. Once the plan line is established and zoning is established, he believes the area will be upgraded. Mr. Martin Hall said Stevens Creek Blvd. is a very important cog in the development of Monta Vista. The property owners should get together and have some kind of architectural control. He would like to be one member of a committee to explore what the people in Monta Vista want, commercially. Residentially, it will happen by itself . Comm. Woodward said deadend streets discourage through traffic. This is what has preserved the small town atmosphere. If this commercial gateway to the City is upgraded, then he feels the residential will also become upgraded. Mr. Hall asked if the City is planning to upgrade the water lines The Director of Public Works said there will be some revision of water lines to upgrade the water system. Mr. Marvin Quirt said he was curious about the rundown commercial! at Mann Drive and Stevens Creek Blvd. His wife has a successful beauty shop there, but the remainder is not successful. He suspects that shopping center was once a lot like the one Mr. Cox! was describing. Mr. Hall said it is on septic tank and the Count won't allow a restaurant there. He added that 1500 families have moved into the area since that grocery store went out of business Comm. Cooper wanted to know if redevelopment and a unified plan_ -t was what the people want. One question was how wide a range of commercial the people would like. Comm. Adams summarized that at this point we are not changing the plan line very much in the present commercial area. Chairman Gatto asked whether it is more important to have a road for relatively good traffic flow and safety than a roadway that is less wide but takes less property. Mr. Ponseggi, resident in the area, said a 74" street with 2 travel lanes on either side of a 10' median should be adequate. They all seemed to want to discourage commute traffic. Only 4 people in the audience were in favor of a traffic light at Phar Lap Drive. About half the people were in favor of leaving the middle stretch of Stevens Creek Blvd. in two lanes. PC -214 Page 6 MINUTES OF JANUARY 15, 1976 PLANNING COMMISSION MEETING Chairman Gatto said we must now determine the impacts of 4 lanes narrowing down to 2 lanes and then back up to 4 lanes again. The Assistant Planning Director asked if the Commission was satisfied with the number of alternatives so the staff can go to the consultants and have them begin the more technical work. An added alternative was signals at Phar Lap Drive. The full and half loop schemes were considered. Comm. Adams saw some advantage to the proposals. Moved by Comm. O'Keefe to not investigate any further the full and half loops because, of' the cost involved. -'Motion failed for lack of a second. After -further discussion it was the concensus of the Planning Commission to direct the staff to not investigate any further the full and half loops. It was decided the next meeting on. this subject would be March 11, 1976. The Director of Public Works said it will be very important to decide on the amenities wanted, such as medians, bike lanes, on -street or off-street parking. One question raised from the floor was how the school children would be able to cross 4 lanes of Stevens Creek Blvd. to Monta Vista High School. A gentleman in the audience said he was on a committee for San Jose that investigated the cost of water damage to the streets from the watering of the landscaped medians. ADJOURNMENT Chairman Gatto adjourned this meeting at 11:02 p.m. to 7:30 p.m., March- 11, 1976. ATTEST: /s/ Wm. E. Ryder City Clerk APPROVED: /s/ John M. Gatto Chairman