GP Should Set a Limit on Building Density for Mixed Use Zoning, by BC

From: Better Cupertino
Date: Tue, Sep 22, 2015 at 10:38 AM
Subject: Missing General Plan Policies to Set a Limit on Building Density for Mixed Use Zoning
To: City Council <citycouncil@cupertino.org>, planning@cupertino.org

Dear Mayor, Councilmembers and Planning Commissioners,

Mixed use projects are a popping up in Cupertino in recent years and more of them to come. However, neither the new General Plan nor the previous one have specific policies that set a density limit on mixed use projects. Other cities have used FAR (Floor Area Ratio) to set a limit on the amount of building mass that can be piled up in mixed use zone. Or some cities set a percentage of open space at the ground level. But not Cupertino.

On Dec. 4, 2014, the Council have adopted a new way to calculation housing unit density as the number of units on an entire lot, regardless of whether or not a large portion of the lot has been occupied by other uses.

For example, on a 4 acre lot with 25 units/acre, the developer is allowed 100 units/acre. However, the developer could put any amount of office or retail on 3 of the acres and put housing on one acre only and reach 100 units/acre. There is really no limit on building density under the new definition in mixed use projects.

It is important to set specific policies that govern mixed use projects. If we give the developers any leeway, they will take it and build to the max. Then, the residents and the Council are at the mercy of the developers. The developer will be able to submit a project that meets all zoning requirements, but it's simply too dense.

The 2040 General Plan needs to have proper policies in place to govern mixed use projects.

Building density limit, like FAR or percentage of open space, is just one of them. Other cities have more policies that govern mixed use projects. It's a vacuum in Cupertino's General Plan.

We urge the Council and the Planning Commission to look at the need of Cupertino in the next 25 years from the point of view of the residential community.

Sincerely,

BetterCupertino