Lily & Peter Wilson_UnredactedSent via email Monday 3/12/2018 4:10 p.m. Lily and Peter Wilson
Dear City of Cupertino Planning Department,
My husband and I have been Cupertino residents for over 15 years, first as renters and
now as home owners. We are both employed within the City of Cupertino, and we hope
to be able to retire here.
For these reasons we support the right for Cupertino to limit its growth and remain a
haven from big city urbanization and crowded living. However, a Vallco plan with a
balance of office, residential, retail space as well as public amenities - like a non -
chlorinated indoor swimming pool to augment the bowling alley and ice rink - is also
very reasonable and should be approved as swiftly as possible.
http://www.poolsupplyworld. com/blog/five-chlorine-alternatives-pool-owners/
Major housing and office developments should be built near mass transportation hubs,
not everywhere. Bigger cities like San Jose, and those closer to mass transportation like
Mountain View and Sunnyvale, should be the ones building housing and office space at
a larger scale. But the Bay Area should also accommodate and allow smaller towns to
remain small. We shouldn't all be forced to live in heavily populated cities, nor should
the American dream of owning a house with a yard be terminated for all. Cupertino
should be allowed to maintain its small village -like parameters, but it needs to better
develop its pedestrian and bicycle infrastructure.
We don't have enough sidewalks! Better sidewalks and street lights should be built on
Beardon Dr. in order to connect the residential areas to the shopping areas, which
includes Target and Whole Foods. Specifically for Vallco, the area coming from N.
Wolfe Rd across 280 should be improved for pedestrians and cyclists, and an opening
along the wall on Amherst Dr. for pedestrian and bicycle traffic should be added. These
are a few examples, but the whole City really needs to be better connected for
pedestrians and cyclists.
Cupertino must correct these fundamental infrastructure problems before dealing with
any others. Without sidewalks, or a safe passage across 280 and with a wall
surrounding Vallco on one side, you discourage community living and instead
encourage car traffic and the problems of congestion, pollution and safety that then
arise. This is why after Vallco is approved, no new major developments that increase
population or traffic should be supported.
The best way Cupertino can be a good neighbor is for it to become a fully walkable city:
trails, open spaces, parks, safe sidewalks and bridges for pedestrians crossing heavily
trafficked roads should be built before any more growth. By becoming a pedestrian and
bicycle friendly city, Cupertino can help reduce car pollution, car traffic and car
accidents, thereby contributing positively to the Bay Area landscape.
The more accessible to pedestrian and bike traffic that work and shopping become, the
more part of the community we all will become. Having safe pedestrian and bicycle
access from all directions will allow retail centers and office parks to be natural
destinations for people in nearby neighborhoods, thereby encouraging more people to
live and work in the same community.
The main value of keeping Cupertino small is to create a truly walkable city. It's
halfway there, but it can't get there by allowing massive growth, and it won't get there
by segregating the retail and office areas from pedestrians and cyclists coming from the
residential areas.
A well integrated, multi -use, mix -use Vallco that is easily accessible to pedestrians and
cyclists, with attractions for Cupertino residents like an indoor swimming pool, will be
a great asset to Cupertino.
Sincerely,
Lily and Peter Wilson
Cupertino, CA