106-E. PC Report Nov. 9, 2010.pdfATTACHMENT E
Agenda Item No.
OFFICE OF COMMUNITY DEVELOPMENT
CITY HALL
10300 TORRE AVENUE - CUPERTINO, CA 95014-3255
(408) 777-3308 - FAX (408) 777-3333 - planning@cupertino.orR
Agenda Date: November 9, 2010
Application: M-2010-06
Applicant: Alanna Schroeder/Four Corners Properties (Rocktino Fee, LLC)
Location: 10100 N. Tantau Avenue (APN: 316-19-061)
APPLICATION SUMMARY
Modification to a previously approved Use Permit (U-2007-03), Architectural and Site
Approval (ASA-2007-05), Exception to the Heart of the City Specific Plan (EXC-2007-08),
Tentative Map (TM-2007-08) and Tree Removal (TR-2007-03) for the purpose of extending
the expiration date of the approvals for five years.
RECOMMENDATION
Staff recommends that the Planning Commission recommend that the City Council
approve the modification application of the following approvals to grant an extension to
the expiration date to August 21, 2015, based on the attached Model Resolution (See
Attachment 1):
1. Use Permit (U-2007-03)
2. Architectural and Site Approval (ASA-2007-05)
3. Exception to the Heart of the City Specific Plan (EXC-2007-08)
4. Tentative Map (TM-2007-08)
5. Tree Removal (TR-2007-03)
BACKGROUND
On August 21, 2007, the City Council approved a Use Permit, Architectural and Site
Approval, Exception to the Heart of the City Specific Plan, Tentative Map and Tree
Removal (See Attachment 2, City Council Action Letter) to allow the development of a
one-story 10,582 square foot retail commercial building and a one -level parking garage in
an existing office complex located on the north east corner of Stevens Creek Boulevard
and N. Tantau Avenue. The retail building was approved to be constructed on the corner
of Stevens Creek Boulevard and N. Tantau Avenue in front of the existing two-story
office building that is currently occupied by Verigy. The parking garage was approved to
be constructed at the rear of the site adjacent to Interstate 280. The exception to the Heart
M-2010-06 10100 N. Tantau Avenue November 9, 2010
Page 2
of the City Specific Plan allowed for a minimum 32 foot, 2-inch front yard setback for
portions of the building due to the undulating design of the building frontage which had
an average front yard setback of 46 feet. The approval also included a tentative map to
subdivide the retail commercial building site from the remaining office complex
property, and approval to remove 54 trees to accommodate the development.
On June 16, 2009, the City Council granted a one-year extension of the Use Permit,
Architectural and Site Approval, Exception to the Heart of the City Specific Plan and Tree
Removal to August 21, 2010 (See Attachment 3, Council Action Letter). The applicant
requested the extension due to the current economic conditions. This request did not
include the extension of the tentative map, since the tentative map approval was still
valid with an expiration date of August 21, 2010, matching the requested extended
expiration date.
On August 20, 2010, the applicant filed a modification application requesting approval to
extend the expiration date of the above -referenced approvals for five years (See
Attachment 4, Applicant's Request Letter). The applicant indicated the request for the
extension is due to the current economic conditions which still do not make it financially
viable to construct the project at this time. The applicant requested to be placed on this
meeting date, rather than an earlier meeting date due to conflicts with the applicant's
schedule and previous planning commission meeting dates.
DISCUSSION
This is the second request by the applicant to extend the expiration date of these
approvals. The first extension was granted by the City Council in June of 2009 for a one-
year period without a public hearing in accordance with the Cupertino Municipal Code.
However, subsequent extensions require a modification to the approvals which requires a
public hearing.
Public Benefit
Routinely, the City grants one-year extensions to planning permits, but in the past the
City has granted longer permit approvals for larger or complex projects that provide a
substantial public benefit. The applicant was granted a one-year extension last year;
however, due to the current economic conditions, the applicant is requesting to extend
this extension for an additional five years. Examples of recent projects with extended
permit dates include Results Way, Main Street, and Civic Park (Town Center). Each
provided amenities ranging from parks with public access to funds for intersection
improvements.
As a benefit to the City, the applicant is offering to increase the monetary contribution to
public improvements by an additional $25,000 with a total contribution not exceeding
$75,000. However, the applicant is requesting that the public improvement requirement
from the original Council approval be modified to include a broader scope of intersection
M-2010-06 10100 N. Tantau Avenue November 9, 2010
enhancements beyond the original pedestrian walkways. (See second condition at bottom
of first page of Council Action Letter dated August 23, 2007, Attachment 2)
Tentative Map
Since the original approval of the tentative map, the State of California passed Assembly
Bill 333 in 2009 that extends the expiration date of tentative maps that were set to expire
before January 1, 2010 for an additional two years. This would bring the new expiration
date of the tentative map to August 21, 2012.
The applicant is requesting that the tentative map expiration date be extended an
additional three years to August 21, 2015 to match the expiration date requested for the
other approvals. This is permissible by the Subdivision Map Act if approved by the City
Council.
Staff Recommendation
Staff is supportive of the applicant's request to extend the expiration date of the previous
approvals to August 21, 2015 based upon the current economic conditions and the
additional public benefit contribution for future public improvements. Staff is also
supportive of the applicant's request to modify the original Council condition to allow
these funds to be applied to a broader scope of public enhancements as described in the
previous section of the staff report.
Next Steps
Following the Planning Commissions recommendation, this item will be scheduled for a
public hearing to be considered and reviewed by the City Council.
Prepared by Aki Honda Snelling, AICP, Senior Planner
Reviewed by:
Approved by:
a
J" Gary ChadW Aarti Shriv stava
1�a City Planner 11, Community Development Director
ATTACHMENTS
Attachment 1 Model Resolution
Attachment 2 August 23, 2007 City Council Action Letter of original approval
Attachment 3 June 17, 2009 City Council Action Letter of one-year extension
Attachment 4 Applicant's Request Letter
Attachment 5 Approved Plans for reference
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