Maxwell, Andrew_RedactedFrom: Andrew Maxwell ]
Sent: Thursday, February 22, 2018 11:50 PM
To: City of Cupertino Planning Dept. <planning@cupertino.org<mailto:planning@cupertino.org»
Subject: Vallco EIR scoping meeting response
I live in Santa Clara and go to school in Cupertino, often bussing and biking right down Steven's Creek, so
I've followed the development of The Hills at Vallco with considerable interest. When it was first
announced, I was impressed by the design but more or less ambivalent - I'm not much of a shopper, and
I'd rather bike in the hills than on the roof of a mall, no matter how green. However, as the project
progressed I began to appreciate how it ties into a deeper conflict over what our community should
become.
Everyone wants this space, and the rest of Cupertino, to form the backdrop for their ideal life. One
vision has Cupertino as a quiet suburban town, with minimal traffic, good roads, and strong retail.
Another group wants to see trendy, dense mixed-use spaces where people can live, work, and play
without having to travel more than a few blocks. Some see cars as an essential part of their lifestyle,
others think cars are dinosaurs to be replaced by public transit, bikes, e -bikes, monorails, or self -flying
cars. (This is Silicon Valley.)
As a result, there's always going to be some contention over what Vallco should look like. However, the
foremost priority when deciding what to do with this space should be solving problems while not
creating new ones. First, this means living space, and lots of it. Home prices around the Bay Area are a
big problem. When even Apple and Google employees are having trouble affording housing, you know
there's a problem. At the EIR scoping meeting, I saw 2/3 housing, 1/3 other stuff listed as an option, and
that sounds like about the right balance. Second, in order to avoid creating (or, in the case of traffic,
exacerbating) existing problems, we need to make sure not to neglect infrastructure. One option I think
is underexplored is improving public transit. If Cupertino (and Silicon Valley in general) had a better bus
system, more people would use it - and I don't think it would need to be very much better to have lots
more people willing to use it.
Thanks, Andrew Maxwell