CC 08-22-61
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10321 so, SAP~TOGA-SUNNYVALE ROAD
C I T Y 0 F CUP E R TIN 0
CUPERTINO, CALIFORNIA
AL 2-4505
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MINUTES OF THE ADJOURNED REGULAR MEETING OF THE CITY COUNCIL -
August 22, 1961. (Adjourned from August 21, 1961.)
PLACE:
TIME:
10321 So. Saratoga-Sunnyvale Road
8: 00 P.M.
SALUTE TO THE FLAG
ROLL CALL: Councilmen Present:
Councilmen Absent:
Staff Present:
Benetti, Pelosi, Saich and Lazaneo
Jewett
City Manager, City Attorney, City
Clerk and Asst, to City Engineer,
I WIDENING O~ HIGHWAY 9:
The Mayor opened the meeting by describing the importance
of Highway 9 and the necessity for future plans for that road.
He said that the purpose of the meeting is to enable the City
Council to hear the views of all the property owners abutting
Highway 9 with particular reference to the position of the High-
way 9 Association. He thereupon called on Albert J. Ruffo to
make a statement on behalf of the Hig hway 9 Association.
Mr, Ruffo thanked the Council for the opportunlty and ac-
knowledged that it is not an easy task or problem to resolve,
that the issues are complicated even after several months of
discussion and study. He said, however, that he was sure a
dscision could be reached in the near future.
The Highway 9 Association, he said, met this afternoon
August 22, 1961, to talce a stand on the subject, He (Ruffo)
wrote to every owner of property on Highway 9 within the city
limits of Cupertino, and at the afternoon meeting of August 22,
about 65% of the property owners were represented, including
representation for 7,192 lineal feet of undedicated frontage.
Mr. Ruffo explained that many of the property owners, number-
ing some 60 or 70, did not know of recent developments, i,e., those
within the last few weeks. Part of the meeting time was spent
describing the latest events and the present situation, The
group did come to certain conclusions, as follows:
(1) The Highway 9 Association believes that a contract
should be executed with the County for the repayment of the right~
of-way within Cupertino by the City of Cupertino over a IS-year
period.
(2) Since the land costs are less today than they will be
at any time in the future, the Highway 9 group considers it feasible
to acquire the full 120' right of way now.
(3) The 80' width will work a hardship on property owners
with long frontage and shallow depth. In some cases, referring
to property with very shallow depth it could mean a "total take".
If severance is considered, it might mean a total take in a few
more cases.
(4) The City should insist that the State put in a full
cloverleaf and 6 lanes of moving traffic at the juncture of
Highway 9 and Junipero Serra FTeeway. He acknowledged that it lS
obvious that the City of Cupertino supports a full cloverleaf and
that it is doing all that it can to secure this type of inter-
change rather than a diamond exchange.
If the State is to approve 4 lanes ard 2 shoulders only and
if the Saratoga-Sunnyvale Road or Highway 9 is to be a 120' right-
of-way in the future, then the Highway 9 Association requests
privision for left-hand turns along Highway 9 at the intersections
with Homestead, Mariani, Rodrigues, McClellan, Bollinger and
Saich, with stop signals at appropriate points. They asked that
the initial engineering plans and design allow for these facilities.
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(5) The relocation of utilities snou11 be accomplished in
one move so that they ~11 be permanently situated in this next
construction phase. Mr, Ruffo went on to say that the afore-
mentioned recommendations are consistent with the views of
professional planners and studies, The above points are the basic
decisions of the property ow"ers. After listening to the varied
problems it is impossible to give the exact price of the land, he
said, The general feeling is that the price should be fixed at
"whatever is the market value", He suggested the employment of
experienced appraisers to study each property and with this
technical and expert advice a fair and equitable figure can be
reached. The group would like to come to some conclusion in the
next few days, They do now know how this can be done on some
other basis, especially without getting technical help such as
experienced appraisers.
He said it is difficult to get unanimity on such a subject
but the conclusions just presented are the concensus of opinion
and the best result they could get. He concluded by saying the
group as a whole has decided on the aforementioned position but
that anyone else is welcome to add anything or present a different
standpoint as an individual.
Paul Mariani said that a number of non-zoned property owners
have some observations. He said that he endorses all of the points
made by Mr, Ruffo; speaking fOr himself and a group of non-zoned
owners, he added the following statements:
1,200 to 1,300 feet of commercial depth should be placed into
a downtown business area and this downtown zone might even extend
north of Homestead Road, Further delays, he said, are inconsistent,
inasmuch as recent zonings have been granted without benefit of a
general plan or a City Planner. He added that continued inaction
might prejudice land owners against dedication. He said that the
future of Cupertino depends on quick and decisive action in seCUr-
ing a regional business and commercial area which will return sub-
stantial sales tax to the City of Cupertino and enable the City to
prosper. He urged the City Government not to refuse to act on
behalf of the future solvency of the community,
He said the subject of a regional shopping center has been
duly discussed by the Planning Commission and the Chamber of
Commerce and presented to the City Council. The only valid ob-
jections, he maintained, could come from surrounding cities who
wish to get the potential Cupertino sales tax money. Preventing
the means and talent from attracting the regional shopping center
will divert the potential sales tax from the City of Cupertino to
the immediately adjoining cities, He went on to say that the City
needs courage to act quiclcly in order to assure a good future, etc.
He noted that this recommendation is not made for trading purposes.
Failure to act now, he said, may cause owners to sellout for
residential purposes thus losing all the value business-wise and tax-
wise of a regional shopping center. Procrastination will result in
loss. Any disposition to philanthropy will disappear, he said, lf
the City Council does not talce immediate action, lncluding inten-
tions to dedicate for the good of the City.
He said he is not suggesting that the City trade bad zoning
for the rlght-of-way, He said furthermore that he will attempt to
persuade Oì~ers to dedicate property, that is, those not requiring
relocation. In conclusion, he thanked the City Council for the
many hours of deliberation and said that he and others of his group
would lìlce to work together with the City Council.
The Mayor asked for any other comments.
Otis Forge said there are three groups of people involved in
Highway 9; those with a lot of zoning who do not wish the second
group, those without zoning, to acquire same, and the small home-
owners comprising the third group. He said this last group are
the ones most likely to get wiped out. He concluded by saying that
a lot of zoning will lower the value of commercial property.
John Rodrigues, Jr" as1ced to speak on the subject, and went
to the blaclcboard to malce his point. He sketched out a 120'
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right-o~-way divided into four 301 sections, 601 comprising the
existing Highway 9, and 30' on each side, making a total of 120'.
He said he is talking about undeveloped property for the most part,
Everyone should know about the 120' right-or-way established on
Highway 9. If a man has 5 acres of property adjoining Highway 9,
the property line extends into the 120' right~of-way, Therefore,
his 5 acres is not reallY 5 acres of useab1e property. Knowing
this, the buyer and the seller as well realize that the price is
for L~ acres, not 5, If the value of a piece 0" property totaling
5 acres including 1 acre of roadway were set at ::;100,000, the price
per acre would be $25,000 not $20,000. It would be understood that
30' could never be used and consequently has no value,
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Mr. Rodrigues favored having the State improve the highway
and gave an estimate as to what the value of these improvements
would be, using 6o¢ per sq. ft. and $1.50 and $2,00 per sq. ft.
on the east side of the highway where the terrain is difficult,
He could not see how it is such a difficult thing for an owner to
get rld of 10 feet and allow the State to improve it. He does see
why 120' right~of-way might be difficult to acqulre but not an
additional 10 feet on each side to make an 80' road,
Mr, TIuffo as!œd to discuss this same pOlnt. He said Mr.
Rodrigues' example means that the dedication and improvement as
in the present case, is a request to increase the value of the road
by having the property owners dedicate. It amounts to a contribu-
tion of perhaps $10,000 in the example given, toward public uses.
He said that Mr, Rodrigues was basing his position on the assump-
tion that 1'1hen a plan l~ne is established, that it thereby amounts
to dedication. This is not the case, he said, even though you would
not get a building permit within the plan line. The owners would be
entitled to compensation, however, making it a different case from
a so-called setback line, used in other jurisdictions, and involv-
ing an immediaté taking. He said that some instances of this have
been found unconstitutional. A plan line is merely a notice to the
effect that the right-of-way will eventually be widened to a set
point, No matter how you measure it, the owner is contributing
property for public use, regardless of the fact that he may be
acquainted with the future widening plans. Therefore, he said,
the property owner should be paid for bis land and he should bear
a pro-rata share of the cost of improvement.
Mr. Rodrigues countered that as a member of the real estate
business, he is satisfied that nObody buys property that has to
be given away; the net area or the useable area i:3 the criteria
in establishing the price.
Mr. Ruffo maintained that whenever you give up 30' of property,
no matter how you figure the price or the value of the useable
area, it lS still contributing property for a public use,
Mr, Mardesich arose to say that more than 20,000 cars a day
use Highway 9 and they should bear the cost, not merely the people
who olm the adjoining property,
There being no other speakers, the Mayor reiterated that the
purpose of the meeting is to enlighten the people as to the con-
census of opinion and various vew points to\1ard Highway 9. The
job of the City Council is to listen to public opinion, deliberate
and decj.de whether or not to sign the contract for repayment of
the Highway 9 right-of-\'lay. \Vith reference to the cloverleaf
requested by the Highway 9 group, he emphasized that a cloverleaf
has been formally endorsed by resolution by the City and that it
is dOing all in its power to get a full clover-leaf instead of a
diamond type interchange. Plans have been made to visit Sacramento
on this matter. Also the City has explored means and method for
acquiring the full 120' but the state has indlcated positive
intention of improving to 80' only,
Mr. Huffo again said that the owners are In f~ll support of
the 120' right-of-way.
Dwight Durkee said that he owns a small piece of property on
North High\~ay 9, west side, and that "several of us" would lilœ to
see things as they are. He is not in favor of the present program,
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Highway 9, he 5a1d, is carrying 4 lanes of traffic ~uring the
rush hours as seen at the main int~rsections. The traffic lights
bacle up 2 lanes of north-bound traffic from Homestead Road to
Mariani A venue during the morning and evening peale hours, He pro-
posed that the City keep wo~eìng to get the new Stevens Creek Free·
way opened and improve such north-south streets as Blaney and
Stelling in the meantime. If the Highway 9 group and the City are
worried about commercial development we may be talking about some-
thing else, he said, but if we are talking about traffic, it is
another thing. He repeated that Highway 9 is already carrying 4
lanes of traffic at the main intersections and concluded that he
would 111ee to see things stay as they are although he acknowledged
that matters are in a state of flux and he does expect changes,
his wishes not'withstanding,
Mr, Ruffo arose to say that he did not contend that 100% of
the owners are in favor. He noted that he specifically gave the
attendance at the meeting as 63~ of the owners. Therefore, he
does not purport to represent anyone not at the meeting,
The Mayor thanked Mr. Ruffo and asked him to leave a written
copy of his statement at the City Office; he made the same request
of Mr. Mariani. Both men said they would furnish copies to the
City Hall.
The Mayor adjourned the meeting to a personnel session at
8:57 p,r1.
At the close of the personnel session, the r~yor adjoUrned
the meeting to August 29, 1961, at 8:00 P.M, He asleed that the
Planning Commission be notified. September 6, 1961 was also
scheduled as the date for meeting with the Board of Supervisors,
APPROVED:
's/ Nick J, Lazaneo
ayor, City of Cupertino
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