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CC 09-16-08CUPERTINO APPROVED MINUTES CUPERTINO CITY COUNCIL Regular Meeting Tuesday, September 16, 2008 PLEDGE OF ALLEGIANCE At 6:45 p.m. Mayor Dolly Sandoval called the regular meeting to order in the Council Chamber, 10350 Torre Avenue, Cupertino, California, and le<I the Pledge of Allegiance. ROLL CALL Present: Mayor Dolly Sandoval, Vice-Mayor Orrin Mahoney, and Council members Mark Santoro, Kris Wang and Gilbert Wong. Absent: none. CLOSED SESSION -None CEREMONIAL MATTERS -PRESENTATIONS 1. Proclamation honoring Cupertino High School's 50th anniversary. (No documentation in packet). Mayor Dolly Sandoval presented a proclamation to Principal Kami Tomberlain. The Principal introduced some dignitaries and students in the audience. POSTPONEMENTS WRITTEN COMMUNICATIONS Deputy City Clerk noted a communication not on the agenda regarding a Minute Order from the Planning Commission to set a study session on t}ie Heart of the City. Written communications submitted for items on the agenda are listed under -their specific item. ORAL COMMUNICATIONS Susie Blackman from the Cupertino Chamber of Commerce said that the 6`h annual Diwali Festival would be held at Memorial Park on Sept. 27 from 10-5. She also extended an invitation to the traditional Dandiya Night dance after the festival. Tickets to the dance are $15 adults, $1 O children 5-10 and free under age 5. Tickets are available from the Chamber of Commerce office on Silverado Ave. or from Cupertino Bakery on D<~Anza Blvd. September 16, 2008 Cupertino City Council Page 2 Gerald Hanson, President Emeritus of Bethel Lutheran Church, commented on the church's role in the community and noted that they have been working with other churches on various community events. He said that the church is installing its solar systems and wanted Council to be aware of the church's interest and concern in how non-profits work in developing the solar greening of Cupertino. Shiloh Ballard, Silicon Valley Leadership Group, noted that the Applied Materials Silicon Valley Turkey Trot walk or run would take place on Thanksgiving Day. She said the all-volunteer event last year raised more than $218,000 dollars for Chihdren's Health Initiative, Second Harvest Food Bank, and the Housing Trust of Santa Clara County. She said that this year the goal is to have 8500 participants donate more than $250,000. She :noted that a special race within the race would be the Akeena Solar Mayor's Cup Community Challenge. Every mayor, council member or staff person from each city will receive specified points and the city with the most points wins the cup. Go to www.svlg.net for more information. Mayor Sandoval noted she would like to close the meeting in honor of Margaret Limberados who passed away over the weekend. She was an active: member of the community, a Block Leader, CERT graduate, and Neighborhood Watch Captain in the Garden Gate Area. CONSENT CALENDAR Wong/Santoro moved and seconded to approve the items on the Consent Calendar as recommended, with the exception of Item Nos. 5 rind 9, which were pulled for discussion. Ayes: Mahoney, Sandoval, Santoro, Wang, and Wong. Noes: None. Abstain: None. 2. Approve the minutes from the September 2 City Council meeting. 3. Adopt resolutions accepting Accounts -Payable for August 29 and September 5, Resolution Nos. 08-122 and 08-123. 4. Adopt a resolution accepting Payroll for September 5, Resolution No. 08-124. 6. Approve an application for an Alcoholic Beverage License for Sitar (formerly Taco Del Mar), 21267 Stevens Creek Blvd., Ste. 323 (On-sale beer and wine for bona fide public eating place). 7. Adopt a resolution approving an improvement agreement, Marci Properties, LLC, 10056 Orange Avenue, APN 357-17-058, Resolution No. OS-126. Through an improvement agreement with the City for a single-family/commercial development building permit, the applicant will be obligated to bond and construct city- specified roadside improvements along the street frontage of their building site. 8. Adopt a resolution accepting a Quitclaim L)eed and Authorization for Underground Water Rights, Marci Properties, LLC, 10056 Orange Avenue, APN 357-17-058, Resolution No. 08-127. September 16, 2008 Cupertino City Council Page 3 The property owners of this residential/commercial development agree to grant to the City the right to extract water from the basin under the overlying property. ITEMS REMOVED FROM THE CONSENT CALENDAR (above) 5. Rescind Resolution No. 07-055 and adopt the amended Conflict of Interest Code of the City of Cupertino for officials and designated employees, Resolution 08-125. Santoro/along moved and seconded to adopt the resolutioh. The motion carried unanimously. 9. Receive the Annual Report from the City Manager. Mahoney/along moved and seconded to receive the report. The motion carried unanimously. PUBLIC HEARINGS 10. Consider a new public nark design reviewe:d and recommended by the City of Cupertino Parks and Recreation Commission, Application Nos. ASA-2008-01 and M-2008-04, a modification of the Architecture and Site Approval (ASA-2007-03) to amend the fees required by the conditions of approval, ~lilla Serra Apartments, Jonathan Moss/Mike Ducote, 20800 Homestead Rd. APN 326-09-029. (Continued from Aug. 19). Written communications included the follo~.ving: Minute Order from the Planning Commission noting they did not make a recommendation Parks and Recreation minutes from June 5, 2008 Mr. Lettieri from Guzzardo Partnership ov~~rviewed the play and exercise equipment, site furnishings, fences, and trees. He noted that public restroom facilities were not discussed since the park is small. He also noted that there was no proposed lighting for the site, but that Council could add that. John Moss from Prometheus said that hi:; understanding is that the park requirements from the City for parkland is either land dedication or park fee, but not both, nor the additional requirement of the park improvement. At 8:19 p.m. Mayor Sandoval opened the public hearing. Keith Murphy said that it was important to provide infrastructure for the community and even if there is an in-lieu fee the City must decide where to put the park. He noted it would be best to have the park on the site of the development if at all possible. Darrel Lum said he had no objection to th~~ park but noted that the project was approved with conditions including the applicant being required to dedicate the land, pay the park acquisition fees, and pay for the park improvements. He noted that at the Planning September 16, 2008 Cupertino City Council Page 4 Commission meeting on September 9, Prometheus stated objections to the park conditions, but cited emails that were dated before the Council approval in July. He said that if the improvements to the park exceed $640,000 that the City should help pay for the improvements. Jennifer Griffin said she hopes for a successful resolution and to have a new park on Homestead Road. She noted that she is glad the City would maintain ownership of the park. At 8:27 p.m. Mayor Sandoval closed the public hearing. Wong/Mahoney moved and seconded to approve all applications with the following conditions: Leave all parking stalls in place No restrooms needed Add pathway lighting Park will be public City will maintain park Approve Option "A" to include additional picnic areas and benches added from option "B" Reduce the park in-lieu payment obligation from $400,000 to zero Wang added a friendly amendment to make the park in lieu payment obligation condition be a separate motion. Wong accepted the friendly amendment. The motion carried unanimously. Sandoval added a friendly amendment to have the pathway lighting be solar. Wong accepted the friendly amendment. The motion carried unanimously. Wong/Mahoney moved and seconded to reduce the park in-lieu fees payment obligation from $400,000 to zero and to approve a budget adjustment of $400,000 in the current year Park Dedication Fund estimated revenue, a reduction in transfers to/from the Park Dedication Fund/ Lawrence Mitty Park Capital Improvement Project (CIP) Fund in FY 09/1 O and a reduction of the CIP fund expenditures of $400,000 in 09/1 O. Santoro added a friendly amendment to reduce the park in-lieu fee to $200,000. Wong accepted the friendly amendment. The motion failed with Sandoval, Mahoney, and Wong voting no and Santoro and Wang voting ye:;. The original motion carried with Sandoval, Mahoney, and Wong voting yes and Santoro and Wang voting no. At 9:08 p.m. Council recessed until 9:15 p.:m. 11. Consider aCity-initiated Master Plan for the South Vallco Area, Application Nos. CP- 2008-02 SEA-2008-04), City of Cupertino, Citywide. Continued from Aug. 19). September 16, 2008 Cupertino City Council Page 5 Written communications included the following: ^ Email from Keith Murphy dated Sef~tember 16, 2008 ^ Version of draft South Vallco Master Plan incorporating all changes ^ Handout from Darrel Lum Kevin Dare, Project Manager with Sandhill, distributed a finalized version of the draft South Vallco Master Plan incorporating the changes made last time and went through PowerPoint slides highlighting the changes to the plan. 9:52 p.m. Mayor Sandoval opened the public hearing. Suzi Blackman, Executive Director of the Chamber of Commerce, said that Sandhill had made satisfactory changes to the plan anti encouraged Council to approve the Master Plan. Mike Foulkes from Apple said that this wa.s a planning and not a prescriptive document. He asked Council to look at the plan as a good blueprint for South Vallco and to leave in flexibility in order to develop a great retail center and not hurt key employment centers like Hewlett Packard <HP) and Apple. He noted that they Apple would be flexible on parking on Vallco Parkway and that office ;allocation would need to be dealt with at some point. Bill Roberts from HP encouraged flexibility on sustainable design measures, supported the retail language, and encouraged Council to deal with office allocation when discussing the Housing Element. Darrel Lum distributed a handout. He said, that the draft master plan has been redrafted significantly since the August 19 Council meeting, especially regarding Calabasas Creek, and is no longer consistent with the General Plan, the Heart of the City Specific Plan, or the North Vallco Plan. He detailed some of the language that was changed and asked Council to approve the South Vallco Master Plan as presented on Aug. 19 with only changes to the introduction. Keith Murphy said he agrees with Mr. Lure and asked that Council approve the plan from the Aug. 19 meeting without the changes made by HP and Apple. He showed pictures of the access road to Calabasas Creek. Tom Hugunin showed a map from the community workshop design. He talked about Policy 6.4 and said that putting General Plan amendments into the plan is a bad idea but liked the idea of striving for LEED silver. He encouraged Council to adopt the Aug. 19 plan with minor modifications. Ned Britt said he is the current president of the Concerned Citizens of Cupertino (CCC) and his group is listed as one of the comrriunity contributors. He noted that the language of General Plan policy 6.4 raises red flags and implies an intent to modify, amend, or subvert the General Plan with unspecified amendments. He noted concern over the wording regarding increasing the density of office development in addition to supporting September 16, 2008 Cupertino City Council Page 6 retail and residential uses because any intent to increase density is a cause for concern. He asked Council to remove Policy 6.4 from the master plan. Jennifer Griffin commented that parking ors Vallco and Stevens Creek Blvd. isn't a good idea because it would slow traffic. She asked Council to make sure the Calabasas Creek trail is something that future generations could put in and use; protect the ash trees; respect the 35-foot public right-of--way; remove 6.4 from the plan; don't have any General Plan amendments and allow no exceptions to the General Plan in the master plan document. Al Di Fransesco said that this was a planning document and thanked Apple and HP for their input. He noted that Calabasas Ci•eek should be available for some sort of development in the future. He said he vvas concerned about the office development section of 6.4 because it was outside the scope of the plan and should be developed separately. 10:21 p.m. Mayor Sandoval closed the public hearing. Beau Goldie, Deputy Operating Officer for the Santa Clara Valley Water District, responded to questions from Council rn<:mbers and said that the District's primary mission, besides water supply, is flood protection and providing for habitat restoration in the area. He noted that the District encourages trails and provides funding throughout the county, partnering with cities to construct them, and they hope to achieve 70 miles of trails throughout the County. He added that no trail should impede the flow of water and the environment should be protected while the trail is put into place, encouraging green design. Santoro/Wong moved and seconded to ap~~rove the South Vallco Master Plan from the August 19 meeting with the following amendments: Add the words, "a Conceptual Guideline" to the title page On page 2 under Acknowledgments;, add the Santa Clara Valley Water District as one of the South Valley Property Owners On page 4 under Executive Summary, the second sentence should read, "The City Council defined this plan as a blueprint or "focused" Master Plan ("Plan") to provide guidelines and a framework primarily dealing with the coordination and interface of the properties in the area commonly referred to as South Vallco ("plan area") (see Figure L 1)." On page 5 under Relationship to the City's General Plan, the first paragraph should read, "The City of Cupertino General Plan includes a requirement that a Master Plan be created for the Soutli Vallco area. While this document fulfills that requirement, the plan is intended to provide a framework for discussion and may evolve over time." On page 6 under Master Plan Area Property Owners, add the Santa Clara Valley Water District, and be sure the narries listed under Community Groups match those names listed on page 2 under Community and Neighborhood Groups. September 16, 2008 Cupertino City Council Page 7 On page 8 of the Aug. 19 document (page 1 1 of the Sept. 16 document) under Vallco Parkway, the reference to :~ four-lane roadway in the first and the last sentence of that paragraph should be: changed to a six-lane roadway. On page 9 of the Aug. 19 document (page 11 of the Sept. 16 document) under Perimeter Road, the last sentence should read," Perimeter Road is grade separated at Wolfe Road with no direct access between the two roadways at that location." On page 9 of the Aug. 19 document (page 12 of the Sept. 16 document) under Existing Pedestrian Circulation, the second-to-last sentence of the third paragraph should read, "No sidewalks exist along Vallco Parkway east of the park-and-ride lot or along Tantau Avenue between Stevens Creek Boulevard and the Highway 280 overpass." On page 12 of the Aug. 19 document (page 15 of the Sept. 16 document) under Improve circulation and connections, Objective (E) Pedestrian Connection, the second sentence in that section should read, "Fostering safe pedestrian walkways and convenient on-street parking along Vallco Parkway are critical to making the area welcoming and supporting retail viability." On page 12 of the Aug. 19 document (page 15 of the Sept. 16 document) under Promote compatibility with existing developments, Objective (H) Development Compatibility, the second sentence in that section should read, "Proposed projects should be compatible with uses as described in the General Plan and it would be preferred that buildings in the plan ~irea engage the street." On page 18 of the Sept. 16 document, strike the additional paragraph language added just before Chapter 5 Circulation that began with, "The design features" and ended with "such design features." On page 16 of the Aug. 19 document (page 20 of the Sept. 16 document) under Future Pedestrian Circulation, add. two additional paragraphs after the second paragraph. The first additional paragraph should read, "Bike paths that connect South Vallco to neighboring districts, in particular the major employment centers, will greatly aid in reducing vehicle: trips and serve to enliven South Vallco with greater pedestrian activity." The sec;ond additional paragraph should read, "There are opportunities to develop bike paths within the plan area and they may be studied including contacting the fianta Clara Valley Water District to discuss potential opportunities." On page 16 of the Aug. 19 document (page 20 of the Sept. 16 document) the last paragraph before Future Vehicular Circulation should read, "Calabazas Creek is an important element to the plan area in identity and connectivity. There may be opportunities within the plan for new developments to connect to and support the implementation of pedestrian and bicycle connections along Calabazas Creek trail. Subject to input from various community stakeholders and surrounding landowners, and evaluating flood protection, security, and liability issues, the trail implementation may provide access from Vallco Parkway, Highway 280 underpass, and Tantau Avenue." On page 17 of the Aug. 19 document (page 21 of the Sept. 16 document) under Future Vehicular Circulation, in the paragraph after Policy 5.5, strike the fourth sentence, "Similarly proposed parking along Stevens Creek is intended to increase accessibility to existing and future retail stores along the street." September 16, 2008 Cupertino City Council Page 8 ^ On page 22 of the Sept. 16 document, do not add the additional paragraph just before the last paragraph that begar~ with, "The existing tertiary" and ended with "future development." ^ On page 19 of the Aug. 19 document (page 22 of the Sept. 16 document) under Chapter 6 Land Use, add a new Policy 6.3 before the existing policy 6.3, "Explore methods to ensure new buildings on. the South side of Vallco Parkway that do not propose retail shall demonstrate that those building's frontages along Vallco Parkway can be converted to accommodate future ground floor retail (e.g. adequate ceiling heights, access, etc.). In the event that there is significant redevelopment and use conversion to retail of the existing office developments located on the North side of Vall~:.o Parkway, South Vallco parkway property owners shall either implement the conversion or provide City Council the status of the market feasibility." ^ On page 22 of the Sept. 16 document, do not add a new Policy 6.4 that began with, "Consider General Plan amendments" and ended with "associated with higher densities." ^ On page 19 of the Aug. 19 document (page 24 of the Sept. 16 document) under Future Land Uses and Services, the first sentence in the fourth paragraph, should read, "Retail uses along Vallco Part:way, from Wolfe Road to Tantau Avenue, are encouraged in future significant redevelopments." ^ On page 19 of the Aug. 19 document (page 25 of the Sept. 16 document), Policy 6.3 should be changed to "Policy X5.4" and should read, "Implement sustainable and energy efficient measures witlhin individual developments and address the level of green building certification goals." ^ On page 19 of the Aug. 19 (page 2:5 of the Sept. 16 document), Policy 6.4 should be changed to "Policy 6.5." Council also gave direction for staff to distribute the finalized South Vallco Master Plan with the weekly Items of Interest. The motion carried unanimously. Council recessed from 1 1:33 p.m. to 11 :42 p.m. The mayor reordered the agenda to take up Item N~~.13 next. NEW BUSINESS 13. Receive a presentation by the Santa Clara Valley Water District regarding the Permanente Creek Flood Protection Project. Council concurred to schedule a study session on this item for Sept. 30 at a time certain of 6:45 p.m. Item No. 12 was heard next. September 16, 2008 Cupertino City Council Page 9 12. Consider an appeal of the Planning Commission's decision to approve a Residential Design Review for a new 4,491 square foot, two-story, single-family residence with a basement and a Minor Residential Permit .for a side facing, second-story balcony on the new residence, Application Nos: R-2008-1~~, RM-2008-16, Chia-Ching Lin, 21947 Lindy Lane, (Krishnapura 8c Minasandram residence), APN 356-25-029. The appellant is Seema Mittal 8z Sarvesh Mahesh. Written communications included the following: An email from Seema Mittal dated September 15, 2008 An email from Seema Mittal dated September 16, 2008 An email from Jeffrey Hare dated September 15, 2008 An email from Edward Chan dated :ieptember 14, 2008 A hard copy of the applicant's presentation Council member Mark Santoro recused himself from this item and left the dais. The appellant Seema Mittal said that her two concerns for the proposed project are the massive, incompatible upper story and the severe geo-technical risks. She said this area is a lifestyle neighborhood with premium vie.n, properties ranging from .5-acre to 2.5-acres; 3 of the 15 homes are new and all have the wedding cake design. She noted that over a period of 2.5 years, 3 different zonings have been applicable in this area and that she designed her house and projected what might be built on the neighbor's property based on a certain zoning assumption. She showed diagrams reviewing the upper floor ratio and mass of the project as compared with thc; rest of the neighborhood and said that the current applicant's home doesn't have the same restriction on the upper story and that the project is incompatible with the rest of the neighborhood under the R1 design guidelines. She talked about her house losing 60% of its shading coefficient because of the huge upper story of the proposed project and aaso discussed geo-technical issues. She asked Council to reduce the upper story size to b~~ compatible with the rest of the homes in the neighborhood, especially the adjoining honZes, and asked for a condition of approval for the shoring plans to be done by a structural engineer and reviewed by the City, and asked the City for indemnification to mitigate her risk. The applicant Sheshaprasad Krishnapura distributed a hard copy of his PowerPoint presentation. He highlighted his key messa€;e points: 1) the design meets the requirements of Ordinance No. 07-2011 completely with no exceptions; 2) a comprehensive geo- technical review of the lot finds proposed design and building construction suitable; 3) the mass and bulk of the design is the lowest compared to the east and west side neighbors (72% and 79%); 4) the building location is at the lowest slope portion of the lot limiting the cut and fill; 5) the applicants diligently worked with City senior planners since Nov. '07 to design the house; 6) all recommendations/comments from the Planning staff, covering public feedback are addressed by fully adhering to the ordinance; 7) the detailed landscape plan addresses all neigl':bors' privacy; 8) there is no impact to active solar for any neighbors. At 12:32 a.m. on Wed., Sept. 17 Mayor Saridoval opened public hearing. September 16, 2008 Cupertino City Council Page 10 Bill Guengerich said that he is a neighbor rind supports the appeal because the placement of the proposed house takes the heart out of~ the view of the appellant's house. Smita Dubey said that the City should require a green review for any new construction. She noted that the Mittal home was built ais a green home and it wouldn't be as energy efficient with the new proposed home. Matagani Rajamani said that the appellant':; house already exists and that even though the applicant addressed all the concerns of stal-f, they aren't living next door. She noted that the City advocates being green and the Mittal home is a green home. She urged Council to uphold the appeal and protect the green homes. Edward Chan said he is the down-slope neighbor and is not opposed to the house but has concerns for privacy that weren't discussed at the Planning Commission. He said the second floor of the proposed home has a direct view into his backyard and bedroom window and that it would take a long tune for privacy screening to grow. He asked Council as a fair compromise to remove the stepped-out portion of the second floor or have it further away from his house. Nitu Kohli, a realtor and resident, said that the appellants had originally decided to pay more for their currerit lot because of the view, instead of the adjacent lot that the applicant currently owns, and because it had a naturally-existing building pad. She noted that the adjacent lot has no build-able pad and a very steep slope. She said that the City has a responsibility to enforce some rules to protect the rights of the existing homeowners. She urged council to use this case to mandate gill future applicants to be responsible and take into account the concerns of the existing families. Tej Kohli said it was wrong that 3 different zonings were applied on same property in 2.5 years for 15 properties, and zoning restrictions on hillsides should be tighter than those on flat areas. He urged Council to vote for adjudicated mediation between the appellant and applicant rather than voting for or against tyre appeal. Zuby said that the rights of those being aff<~cted by the project should also be considered. She urged Council to uphold the appeal. Mahoney/Sandoval moved and seconded t~~ deny the appeal and approve the application with a modification to remove the lower balcony completely. Wong added a friendly amendment to rriove the house forward by 6 feet. Mahoney accepted the friendly amendment. The amendment carried with Santoro absent. The original motion to deny the appeal and approve the application with a modification to remove the Lower balcony completely, along with the amendment to move the house forward by 6 feet, carried with Santoro absent. September 16, 2008 Cupertino City Council Page 1 1 UNFINISHED BUSINESS Mayor Sandoval reordered the agenda to take up item 15 next. Council member Santoro was not present. ORDINANCES Council member Santoro was still absent. 15. Conduct the second reading of Ordinance No. 08-2030: "An Ordinance of the City of Cupertino Amending Sections 17.08.010 rind 17.32.090 Relating to Temporary Special Event Banners, Promotional Devices, and Portable Signs and Displays." Mahoney/along moved and seconded to read the ordinance by title only and that the City Clerk's reading would constitute the second reading thereof. Ayes: Sandoval, Mahoney, Wang, and Wong. Noes: None. Absent: Sairtoro. Mahoney/along moved and seconded to erract Ordinance No. 08-2030. Ayes: Sandoval, Mahoney, Wang, and Wong. Noes: None. Absent: Santoro. Item number 14 was taken up next. 14. Consider Annlication Nos. ASA-2008-05, (EA-2008-06), M-2008-01, and TR-2008-06, Tim Kelly (Embarcadero Capital Partners), 1 Results Way, APN Nos. 357-20-041 and 357-20-046. Written communications included the following: An email from Suzi Blackman dated September 16, 2008 An email from Judy Wilson dated September 16, 2008 An email from Virginia Tamblyn d<<ted September 14, 2008 A letter from Dennis Whittaker dated September 16, 2008 An email from Darrel Lum dated September 17, 2008 A corrected Mitigated Negative Declaration Council concurred to continue this item to Wed., Sept. 17 at 4:00 p.m. STAFF REPORTS COUNCIL REPORTS Council members highlighted the activities of their committees and various community events. ADJOURNMENT At 1: 25 a.m., on Wed., Sept. 17, the meeting w<rs adjourned to Wed. Sept. 17 at 4:00 p.m. to hear Item No. 14. September 16, 2008 Cupertino City Council Page 12 ~-- ~~, Grace Schmidt, Beputy City Clerk Staff reports, backup materials, and items distributed at the meeting are available for review at the City Clerk's Office, 777-3223, and also on the Internet at www.cupertino.or~. Click on Agendas 8t Minutes/City Council/ Packets. Most Council meetings are shown live on Cable Channel 26, and are available at your convenience on the web site: Visit www.cupertino.ore and click on View Meetings Online. Videotapes are available at the Cupertino Library, or may be purchased from the Cupertino City Channel, 777-2364.