CC Resolution No. 98-126RESOLUTION NO. 98-126
A RESOLUTION OF THE CITY COUNCIL OF THE CITY OF CUPERTINO
APPROVING RULES OF PROCEDURE FOR A DESIGN REVIEW
SUBCOMMITTEE OF THE PLANNING COMMISSION AS DESCRIBED
IN EXHIBIT A-1
RESOLVED by the City Council of the City of Cupertino, California that as provided by
the City Municipal Code Section 2.32.090, the Council has reviewed at a public hearing and
approved such rules of procedure for a design review subcommittee of the Planning Commission
as described in attached Exhibit A-1.
PASSED AND ADOPTED at a regular meeting of the City Council of the City of
Cupertino this 15~ day of June 1998 by the following vote:
Vote
Members of the City Council
AYES: BURNETT, DEAN, JAMES, STATTON, CHANG
NOES: NONE
ABSENT: NONE
ABSTAIN: NONE
ATTEST:
A ROVED:
Mayor, City of Cupertino ff~)
Res. No. 98-126
Exhibit A-I
City of Cupertino Planning Commission
Rules of Procedure for
Design Review Subcommittee
Purpose:
Cupertino Municipal Code Sections 2.32.070 and 2.32.090 enable the Commission to establish
as needed a Subcommittee of its members and adopt rules of procedure for the purposes of
conducting design review of projects that may properly come before the Commission and make
recommendations to the aforesaid Commission and approve design items as may be referred to
the Subcommittee for its review and approval. The Subcommittee shall endeavor to reduce the
Commission's workload by simplifying its design review responsibilities, and incorporate
professional architectural advice where it adds value to the design review process. Subcommittee
design review shall include all aspects of site and architectural design, including:
1. the relationship of the building to its surrounding land uses and the street;
2. compliance with adopted height limits, setbacks, architectural and landscape design
guidelines;
3. protection of surrounding land uses and the subject uses from intrusive impacts, such as,
noise, glare, dust, chemicals, smells and visual disturbances.
4. providing adequate parking and circulation for vehicles and pedestrians;
5. the overall quality and compatibility of the building materials and architecture with the
surroundings.
Definitions:
Applications, Minor - a category of development applications that includes: fence exceptions,
sign exceptions, architectural and site approvals, Community Development Director's
administrative applications referred to the Planning Commission or any combination of minor
applications.
Applications, Major - all other development applications that are reviewed and approved by the
Planning Commission and/or the City Council. Combined applications composed of concurrent
minor and major applications are treated as a single, major application for design review
purposes.
Director - is the same as the Director of the Community Development Department.
Subcommittee - means the Design Review Subcommittee of the Planning Commission.
Res. No. 98-126
Subcommittee Composition and Term of Appointment:
The Design Review Subcommittee shall be composed of two Planning Commissioners
nominated by a majority of the Commission members and appointed by the City Council
appointed by a majority of the Commisdon members. A majority of the Commission
members may also nominate and the Council appoint an alternate member who shall serve on
the Subcommittee in the absence of one of the regular appointees.
Subcommittee member terms of appointment shall be for one year. eatablished by a majority
of tho Commission and individual appointments shall by reviewed annually. Subcommittee
members are eligible for reappointment.
Architectural Advisor:
An ad hoc committee of Plannin~ Commission and City Council members and staff The
D:.reetgr shall select an architectural advisor(s), who is a licensed architect, to serve the City
interest by providing professional design advice to the Subcommittee on projects selected by the
Director. The architectural advisor shall be fully compensated by the project applicant. One or
more architectural advisors may be selected to serve the Subcomt~ittee, depending on the type of
development and particular expertise of the design professional. The architectural advisor(s) is
responsible for becoming familiar with City land use and development policies, development
standards and adopted design guidelines and offering opinions on design issues at the
Subcommittee meeting or to the Director. The architectural advisor(s) will be required to devise
solutions to particular_design problems, and work with applicants, other design professionals,
staff and the general public at these meetings. The architectural advisor(s) must be sensitive to
and capable of balancing quality and cost considerations in reviewing projects.
For major applications which are not reviewed by the Subcommittee, the architectural advisor(s)
will provide written or verbal advice to department staff who will transmit the information to the
Planning Commission.
Meetings:
The Subcommittee shall schedule one meeting per month which shall be located at City Hall,
10300 Torre Avenue, Cupertino, California. Dates and times will be arranged at the discretion of
the Director of Community Development upon consultation with Subcommittee members. A
second meeting per month may be scheduled as needed.
Res. No. 9g~ !26
The Subcommittee shall operate on a trial basis for one year and be reviewed bv the CRv
Council after the trial period.
Powers and Functions:
The powers and functions of the Design Review Subcommittee shall be as follows:
Review all architectural and site design aspects of minor applications that may come before
the Subcommittee in accordance with city adopted design policies, standards and good design
practices, and make recommendations on the same to the Commission.
The Director, in his discretion, may allow a minor application to forgo review by the
Subcommittee if in the Director's opinion the project is controversial or significant.
Similarly, the Director may divert a major application to the Subcommittee for review if he
considers the project not controversial or not significant.
Applicants of major projects may choose to submit their projects for Subcommittee
design review on a voluntary basis.
A. Minor applications receiving unanimous Subcommittee recommendation
for approval shall be placed on the Pla~'lng Commission's Consent
Calendar section of the meeting agenda for possible, immediate approval.
If a minor application does not receive unanimous subcommittee approval
recommendation, then the application will be scheduled for regular public
hearing.
2. Review and approve all design items referred by the Pla~ing Commission to the
Subcommittee for its review and approval.
3. Endeavor to promote public interest in, comment upon, understanding of the
regulation of design.
4. Consult and advise with public officials and agencies, public utility companies, civic,
educational, professional and other organizations and citizens concerning the design
of projects.
5. Perform other functions as authorized by the Planning Commission.
6. Consult regularly with the City Architectural Advisor(s) in order to hone design
review skills and improve design of projects citywide.
7. Keep an accurate record of its proceedings and transactions, and transmit
such reports to the Commission.
Res. No. 98-126
8. Endeavor to maintain existing development review timelines.
Public Meeting Noticing:
Mailed written notice of the Subcommittee hearing shall be given by the Director of Community
Development in the same manner as specified by the public noticing requirements of the
particular project application. For example, a use permit application requires mailed noticing of
all property owners within 300 feet. In this example, two 300-foot notices would be mailed: one
for the Subcommittee meeting and one for the Planning Commission hearing. Subcommittee
meeting agendas and dates will not be advertised in publications of local circulation, uuiike the
Planning Commission hearings._Compliance with the notice provisions shall constitute a good-
faith effort to provide notice, and failure to provide notice, and the failure of any person to
receive notice, shall not prevent the Subcommittee from proceeding to consider or to take action
with respect to an application. If the Director believes the project may have negative effects
beyond the range of the mailed notice, particularly negative effects on nearby residential areas,
the Director, in his discretion, may expand noticing beyond the stated adopted requirements.
Staff Responsibilities:
In order to ensure the satisfactory performance of the Subcommittee as an integral part of the
design review process, the Community Development Department shall provide staffing within
its resources to carry out the purposes of the Subcommittee. To this end the Department shall
support the Subcommittee with planners and admiuistrative personnel to:
l) prepare and mail public notices of Subcommitttee meetings,
2) prepare meeting agendas and minutes,
3) provide written project reports and analysis, and staffing at Subcommittee meetings,
4) select and brief an architectural advisor(s) who serves the Subcommittee & Director,
§) prepare summaries of Subcommittee findings and recommendations for the Commission, and
6) integrate the Subcommittee review ~rocess within existing development
processing schedules and timelines.