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Home My WebLink AboutPRC 10-01-2026 Written Communications (Updated 10-08-2026)PRC 10-01-2026 Oral Communications Written Communications From:Gopal Kumarappan To:Rachelle Sander; Carolyn McDowell Cc:Jessica Suntay; Tina Kapoor Subject:Fw: Festivals at Memorial Park causing severe inconvenience to residents Date:Tuesday, September 29, 2026 10:13:20 AM Good morning, Rachel and Jessica. I met with Rajkumar and several residents yesterday and had a good discussion about their concerns regarding large events at Memorial Park, particularly noise, access, parking, and event frequency. I am forwarding their note below and would appreciate staff reviewing their concerns and considering what reasonable steps can be taken, including any measures that may be possible before the upcoming Diwali Festival. I would also like to request that this correspondence be included under Written Communications so that it is shared with all Parks and Recreation Commissioners and becomes part of our Commission communication. My hope is that we can find a practical balance that supports our community events while also being responsive to the quality-of-life concerns of residents living immediately adjacent to the park. Thank you for looking into this. -Gopal Cupertino logo EST. 1955 Gopal Kumarappan Parks and Recreation Commission Chair GKumarappan@cupertino.gov From: Rajkumar Samuel <rajkumar.samuel@gmail.com> Sent: Monday, September 28, 2026 10:19:06 PM To: Gopal Kumarappan <gkumarappan@cupertino.gov> Cc: Aarthi <aarthi.t@gmail.com>; Nori N <noriko.y@sbcglobal.net> Subject: Festivals at Memorial Park causing severe inconvenience to residents 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. To: Chair Parks and Recreation Commission Cupertino Dear Mr Kumarappan, Thank you for speaking with me about the concerns I raised regarding events at Memorial Park. As requested, I am putting them in writing. I am making this complaint on behalf of myself and many residents of the Memorial park neighborhood, who have shared the same concerns and issues with me. I would like the City to address two recurring issues affecting residents of Commons: residential access during park events and excessive event noise. 1. Residential access During events at Memorial Park, traffic controls on Alves Drive and Anton Way have made it difficult for residents, guests, and service providers to access the Commons. Residents have experienced Amazon deliveries being turned away, rideshare vehicles unable to enter, guests being stopped, and children being dropped off at the road barrier rather than at home. There have also been instances of confusion over what documentation residents needed to enter. Residents have been stopped by officers and prevented from entering their own private homes in their own vehicles. Beyond an inconvenience this is a health and safety and accessibility concern. Denying access to food delivery, essential medical deliveries and health services to the residents is a serious issue. The key issue is not restricting event traffic, but preventing festival attendees from parking in the Commons or stopping on residential roads while preserving reasonable resident access. Event-related parking and traffic should be managed through enforcement rather than by limiting access to residents. I request that the City: Maintain reasonable resident access to the Commons throughout events. Reasonable access should include residents as well as guests and services to residences. Enforce restrictions against festival attendees parking in the Commons or obstructing residential roads. Clearly designate and enforce Resident Parking Only areas at Commons entrances during major events. Ensure event staff and law enforcement understand that residents, guests, caregivers, delivery personnel, and rideshare vehicles must be permitted reasonable access. Establish a consistent traffic-control and enforcement plan for recurring events. 2. Excessive noise The September 27 festival was particularly disruptive. The amplified event, especially the group drumming, was extremely loud inside nearby homes. For approximately an hour, the noise made normal activity inside the house effectively impossible; other residents reported that their homes appeared to shake. I called the weekend noise complaint line and received a callback from the Sheriff's Office. I was told there were no City personnel monitoring noise levels at the event and that they could come out to measure it if requested. My understanding is that the City's event requirements include limits of 70 dBA at residential properties during daytime hours, 60 dBA between 8 p.m. and 11 p.m., 55 dBA during other nighttime periods, and a 95 dBA limit for continuous or repeated peak noise exposure. Given the intensity of the noise, the City should determine whether these requirements were met. Beyond monitoring decibel levels, I believe there should be common-sense restrictions on the types of activities permitted on the large lawn, given its proximity to residences and the lack of meaningful sound barriers. In particular, amplified music and high-volume performances such as large group drumming should not be permitted in this location. I request that the City: Prohibit amplified music and other high-volume performances, including large-scale drumming, on the lawn adjacent to residences. Require objective noise monitoring for large or amplified events, including measurements at affected residential property lines. Require event organizers to designate someone responsible for monitoring and addressing excessive noise. Establish clear noise-control requirements as part of the event approval process, and communicate what exactly is allowed to sheriffs monitoring the event. Establish a reasonable cap on the frequency and total number of large events at Memorial Park. Consider a moratorium on approving additional large events at Memorial Park until appropriate noise and access controls are established. Consider using other City parks as venues for some festivals to distribute the impact rather than concentrating an increasing number of events at Memorial Park. Request for a consistent policy These concerns are becoming more significant as the number of large events at Memorial Park appears to be increasing. I would appreciate the Commission's help in establishing a consistent policy that addresses these issues proactively rather than relying on residents to complain after each event. In particular, I would appreciate clarification on: 1. How the City currently monitors and enforces event noise limits. 2. How the City prevents event attendees from obstructing residential access and parking in the Commons. 3. What changes can be implemented before the next major event, including the upcoming Diwali Festival. 4. Whether the City can establish consistent access, parking, noise, and event-frequency requirements for future large events at Memorial Park. I appreciate the City's support for community events, and my goal is to find a practical balance that allows these events while protecting the quality of life and reasonable access of the residents living immediately adjacent to the park. Thank you again for discussing this with me. I would be happy to participate in a meeting with City staff, the Parks and Recreation Commission, and other residents to work through these issues. Regards, Rajkumar Samuel 21135 Freedom Drive, Cupertino, CA - 95014 I am a Commissioner of the Parks and Recreation Commission of the City of Cupertino. The Parks and Recreation Commission is an advisory body to the City Council of the City. I am not an authorized agent of the City, nor do I have authority to represent the City or the City Council. From:Caryl Gorska To:Gopal Kumarappan; Sheela Sreekanth; Carol Stanek; bono@cupertino.gov; Seema Swamy Cc:City Clerk Subject:Memorial Park Festival traffic restrictions are too onerous Date:Thursday, October 1, 2026 1:32:57 PM Dear Parks and Recreation Commission; Hello, I am Caryl Gorska, and I live at The Commons, directly across Alves from Memorial Park and Quinlan Center. I and many other homeowners and residents who live in The Commons get very frustrated every time there is a festival in Memorial Park and traffic is one-way and restricted. Many of us are working full time and raising kids, and weekends are when we run errands, have friends over, or have an Uber pick us up before going out to dinner where we might drink wine. All of this becomes difficult or impossible because of the restrictions placed on the access to and from our homes. Sometimes we are given a hard time and treated like criminal trespassers when trying to return home by the police. It’s often not easy to get around their vehicles, so as you enter from Stevens Creek, you have to stop to maneuver and risk being rear-ended. Our mail has gone undelivered. Delivery trucks are prohibited from entering and we don’t get our packages. Uber drivers are denied access. As are friends who want to visit us on festival days. We just can’t entertain on festival days. When our daughter was getting married October 12, 2019 at the Saratoga Country Club, the groom forgot something important, so a cousin volunteered to retrieve it from our house. Fifteen minutes later we got a panicked call from him saying he was on the corner but the police wouldn’t let him enter. The father of the bride had to come with his ID. I believe this all began because Commons residents didn’t want festival goers parking in the spaces reserved for Commons guests. Personally, I’d much rather deal with that problem than with what we have to deal with now. Every few years a group of us residents make an appointment with Parks & Recreation to discuss our issues with the festivals. It gets better for a short while, then reverts and we have to do it again. We’re tired of that and feel the City is our enemy. We proposed an alternate traffic solution which the City tried one time only, then reverted to this ridiculously complicated solution. Commons residents liked the solution. When I asked why they quit, I was told that the City had determined that it was a “safety” issue. Whose safety are we talking about? Is it safe to block a lane of traffic on Stevens Creek Boulevard at the intersection with Anton Way? We ask for a saner and more considerate solution. Please help us if you can. Caryl Gorska 10103 Senate Way 409-910-6545 gorska@gorska.com From:Brijesh Khanna To:Gopal Kumarappan; Sheela Sreekanth; Carol Stanek; bono@cupertino.gov; Seema Swamy Cc:City Clerk Subject:Memorial Park Festival traffic restrictions creating problems Date:Wednesday, October 7, 2026 8:04:29 AM 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 Parks & Recreation Commission; My name is Brijesh Khanna, I am a resident of The Commons, more specifically 10103 Senate Way, Cupertino. I happen to be the President of the HoA, but today I am writing in individual capacity, however many residents of The Commons have urged me to write to you. I will also be speaking today at the Parks & Recreation meeting at Quinlan Center. · My objective today is to present the hardship and inconveniences being faced by the residents of Commons, their guests, vendors and service providers due to festivals at the memorial park, traffic restrictions during festivals and the Noise levels. · Let me be clear, we support the usage of Memorial Park for festivals. We are not attempting to stop the festivals. However, the traffic restrictions are causing problems. Here are some examples: o Homeowners, their guests, vendors and service providers cannot enter The Commons unless they have a pass or plead to the police controlling the traffic. It is not possible for them to have a pass every time and for outsiders needing access. o Amazon and other delivery services have not been allowed to enter and deliver goods. Medicine deliveries have been delayed o Uber is unable to come in and pick us up. I had to go to the airport and had to lug my luggage to Stevens creek, two block away while holding the Uber driver there over phone. o Our guests have been turned away. o Loud noise occasionally is an issue. Once the festival organizers used to monitor the decibel levels, that has stopped. o One way traffic, restricting free flow of entrances to our homes, is BIG issue. · What are we looking for: o Free flow of UNRESTRICTED traffic to Commons to its residents, vendors, guests and service providers. o UNRESTRICTED Entry into The Commons both from Alves and Anton Way sides. No “one way” business. o The Pass system needs to go. We do not want to show a pass just to enter our homes o NOISE Levels need to be monitored. · Suggested Solutions: o The problem has been that we have overcomplicated the solution where SIMPLE solutions can work. o Simple Solution: o Place signs at the entrance of Anton & Alves saying: § ENTRY RESTRICTED ONLY TO THE RESIDENTS, GUESTS AND VENDORS OF THE COMMONS OF CUPERTINO o Place signs along Alves and Anton saying: § NO PARKING OR STOPPING o Place signs at the two entrances of The Commons (already being done) § NO FESTIVAL PARKING Let the police be there, so that no one stops or parks on both these streets. However free flow of traffic for whoever wants to enter The Commons. Believe me simple solutions do work. Try them out! THANK YOU Brijesh Khanna brijesh@brijesh.net 408 390 7638