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CC 02-11-03CITY OF CUPER TINO APPROVED MINUTES CUPERTINO CITY COUNCIL Special Meeting Monday, February 11, 2003 PLEDGE OF ALLEGIANCE At 5:15 p.m. Mayor Chang called the meeting to order in the Council Chambers, 10300 Torre Avenue, Cupertino, California, and led the Pledge of Allegiance. ROLL CALL City Council members present: Mayor Michael Chang, Vice-Mayor Sandra James, and Council members Patrick Kwok, Dolly Sandoval and Richard Lowenthal. Council members absent: none. Planning Commission members present: Chairperson Angela Chen and Planning Commissioners Charles Corr, Taghi Saadati, and Gilbert Wong. Staff present: City Manager David Knapp, Administrative Services Director Carol Atwood (6:40 p.m.), City Attorney Charles Kilian, Community Development Director Steve Piasecki, City Planner Cynthia Wordell, Senior Planner Vera Gil, Associate Planner Peter Gilli, Public Works Director Ralph Qualls, and City Clerk Kimberly Smith. ORAL COMMUNICATIONS Mr. Robert Levy said that the General Plan should address a walkable community with tree-lined streets. In the past, trees have been planted in narrow parking strips, and they have broken the sidewalks as they grew. He suggested larger planting areas in the future. CONSENT CALENDAR Adopt a resolution authorizing the City Manager to execute a Right of Entry Agreement between the City and Mr. Michael Gilley, 10440 Serra St., Resolution No. 03-020. Lowenthal/Kwok moved and seconded to approve the item on the Consent Calendar as recommended. Vote: Ayes: Chang, James, Kwok, Lowenthal, Sandoval. Noes: None. Absent: None. STUDY SESSION February 11, 2003 Cupertino City Council Page 2 Joint study session of City Council and Planning Commission to discuss the administrative draft of the General Plan. Staff gave a PowerPoint presentation summarizing the major changes to the General Plan, referred to the bound copy of the Administrative Draft of the Cupertino General Plan, and the staff report dated February 11, 2003, which included the Briefing Book. Community Development Director Steve Piasecki reviewed the results of past community surveys, town hall meeting and focus groups regarding walkability, traffic density, and building heights. He said the primary objective of this study 'session was to develop the parameters for the Draft Plan to frame subsequent public discussion. The main points of the discussion were Community Form, Housing Opportunities, Share the Road, and Sustainable Community. The change areas include the Heart of the City specific plan area (along Stevens Creek Boulevard), Vallco Park, and the area at north DeAnza and Homestead. Facilitators Carolyn Verheyen and Lou Hexter led the discussion, and Council gave the following direction: Community Form -More information is needed for the Growth Parameters Chart, particularly to identify discretionary and nondiscretionary items, to identify the specific terms of development agreements, to compare with neighboring cities in meeting housing requirements, and to find out if mixed-use housing units can be used to satisfy ABAG housing requirements. Corporate headquarters - The plan should generally allocate growth to existing companies, especially those with sales offices. There should be flexibility to transfer some of the square footages to allow for new companies. Street frame and building heights - The street frame issue is not directly related to walkability. The emphasis should be on practical walkability, and a better rationale is needed for the street frame concept. Building heights greater than 3 stories will require further education and simulation. Building heights - Provide further description and rationale, especially for the Stevens Creek Boulevard and DeAnza area. Clarify that the concept of street framing is to bring new development to the street to support expansion of existing businesses. Some visuals are needed illustrate the concepts. Economic development - Concentrate economic development at Vallco Park and City Center Crossroads. Mixed-use opportunities at Vallco are especially important. Continue to nurture existing neighborhood centers and provide a holistic view of the commercial area. February 11, 2003 Cupertino City Council Page 3 External activities -- The City has little influence over DeAnza College. Supporting the vitality and walkability in the community must be done in a quality way, and help the community to visualize this while understanding the impacts. Housing opportunities - The question was too simply stated about the need for a better jobs/housing balance. Appropriate housing is the issue, use the formulas as guidelines to test new development proposals. Promote diversity of housing types. Job growth should be somehow tied to housing. Consider impacts on community services infrastructure such as schools, parks, etc. Mixed use can help meet the goals of affordability and walkability with minimal impact on the infrastructure, but should be located with sensitivity to traffic impacts. Insure a variety of affordable housing types -usually smaller units are preferred. Increase density bonuses, and promote affordable housing for people working and studying in the community. Leslie Burnell, a Cupertino residem, said that Council should approach this from a practical, system-engineering standpoint, not an emotional one. For example, as long as Stevens Creek Boulevard is a main thoroughfare, it won't be walkable. E.J. Conens, a Cupertino resident, was not in favor of the plans for Stevens Creek Boulevard and Highway 9. There is too much building going on while many places are empty, and the quality of life is deteriorating. He asked if the City has asked ABAG for reconsideration regarding the required number of housing units, and said the citizens should be driving the General Plan, not the staff. Robert Levy, 10802 Wilkinson Avenue, said that there are a lot of special centers that are not fully addressed in the General Plan. He agreed that as long as Stevens Creek Boulevard is a thoroughfare it would not be walkable. Penny Whitaker, 202622 Cheryl Drive, said the Planning Commission voted to send the Crossroads Plan to the City Council, and this seems to be the last chance to discuss it. The General Plan is due to be adopted in 4 months, which is too short a time period to get the community involved. She said that the City had promised that the Seven Springs development would not affect the schools because the houses would be too expensive for young families, but that turned out not to be the case, and the community needs further input into the Crossroads Project. Dennis Whitaker, 202622 Cheryl Drive, said the Council's decision would affect the community over the long term. He urged them to plan out as far as they can see, including their goals for the Kaiser Permanente property. He said the community does not want high growth or high density. February 11, 2003 Cupertino City Council Page 4 Shishir Mukherjee, 1174 Scotland Drive, said Cupertino could never have a downtown, like communities such as Palo Alto have, because their histories are different. He said there could be a better design at the Crossroads Center but the traffic pattern must change. He said there is a need for more beautiful community buildings, such as the Quinlan Community Center, as well as a theater, movies, and affordable housing. Joanne Tong, 2239 McClellan Road, referred to a neighborhood meeting held the previous evening, and said that no one liked the Crossroads Plan. They are not in favor of high density or high-rise buildings. She did not think that Stevens Creek Boulevard was attractive or safe, and was concerned about the proposed height of future buildings. Council gave the following direction to staff: Chang asked staffto count which other criteria are affected with the new General Plan before deciding to delay or move forward the Crossroads Streetscape plan. · Wong asked staff to provide community input regarding the Draft General Plan in the packet for the next study session. Cynthia Wordell noted that a list of all the public meetings that have been held is printed in the back of the Briefing Book. · Chang asked how the development in the school districts factor into things. Community Development Director Steve Piasecki said staff could give the Council estimate based on what they have heard in the past. Staff explained that the next steps in the process would be: March 4 - study session April 16 - Community meeting at the Quinlan Community Center · April - release of draft General Plan and Environmental Impact Report · May/June - Planning Commission hearings · July - City Council heatings The Briefing Book used at this meeting to summarize the General Plan is available on- line, and the General Plan can be obtained at the library and at City Hall. Facilitator Carolyn Verheyen proposed Council continue discussions about setting outside growth parameters, street frames, and building heights at the March 4 study session. February 1 I, 2003 Cupertino City Council Page 5 ADJOURNMENT At 8:20 p.m. the meeting was adjourned. For more information: Staff reports, backup materials, and items distributed at the meeting are available for review at the City Clerk's Office, 777-3223. Televised Council meetings may be viewed live on Cable Channel 26, and may also be viewed live or on demand at wx~'.cupertino.org. Videotapes of the televised meetings are available at the Cupertino Library, or may be purchased from the Cupertino City Channel, 777-2364.