Randy - Stevens Creek Urban Village Plan "Hacks" Will Affect Cupertino

rom: Randy S
Date: Fri, Aug 25, 2017 at 2:52 PM
Subject: Stevens Creek Urban Village Plan "hacks"
To: svaidhyanathan@cupertino.org, Darcy Paul <dpaul@cupertino.org>, bchang@cupertino.org, rsinks@cupertino.org, sscharf@cupertino.org
Cc: David Brandt <Davidb@cupertino.org>, City Attorney's Office <CityAttorney@cupertino.org>, City Clerk <cityclerk@cupertino.org>, Aarti Shrivastava <AartiS@cupertino.org>, piug@cupertino.org

Dear Cupertino Mayor and Council,

San Jose likes to characterize its Stevens Creek Urban Village Plan (SCUVP) as some sort of "overarching" development plan for San Jose's portion of Stevens Creek Boulevard, but I have a different view.  The planned hotel at the corner of Stern and Stevens Creek at the San Jose City Limits is an example of how the SCUVP is more of a vehicle for enabling building than it is a tool for planning development.

San Diego's Oliver Family purchased the proposed "Stern Hotel" site in February 2017.  Within a month of the purchase, the site's land use in the draft SCUVP was changed from Neighborhood/Community Commercial to Urban Village Commercial.   The maximum floor area ration (FAR) for Neighborhood/Community Commercial is 3.5.  The maximum FAR for Urban Village Commercial is 7.  The change allowed the maximum FAR at the hotel site to go from 3.5 to 7.  That effectively enables the building of the 6 story hotel being proposed.

Here are land use maps from 1/19/17 and 3/9/17.  Note the color change at the corner of Stern and Stevens Creek.

https://drive.google.com/open?id=0B-t-isgqFFeObW1mZWY0eUNfSnc

http://www.sanjoseca.gov/DocumentCenter/View/67619

​After the draft SCUVP was submitted to the San Jose Planning Commission, City Staff recommended 4 additional last minute amendments to the plan.  This is a link to the Staff recommended amendments.

​

http://sanjose.granicus.com/MetaViewer.php?view_id=&event_id=2696&meta_id=646521

​3 out of 4 of the Staff recommended amendments were specifically to enable the approval of the "Stern Hotel."

• The definition of "Commercial Use" was amended to specifically include "hotel."
• Setback Standard #3 was changed from a "standard" to a "guideline."  A "guideline" is something that doesn't have to be followed.  That means that there is effectively no Setback & Stepbacks Standard #3.
• Architectural projections and roof top equipment are now allowed to extend up to 10 feet above the maximum height limit.  The height limit on the corner of Stern and Stevens Creek is 85'.  The proposed "Stern Hotel" is 90' with its "architectural projections." 

​Without the Stevens Creek Urban Village Plan, the approval of the hotel proposed at the corner of Stern and Stevens Creek would have faced obstacles.  With the plan, the hotel approval is virtually guaranteed.  ​This didn't go unnoticed.  In the comment letter from the City of Santa Clara's attorney to San Jose, Ms. Tina Thomas wrote about the unintended consequences of Planning Staff's expediency:

Moreover, the Urban Village Plans further refine the types of uses that are allowed and

anticipated within the Plan areas. For example, within the Stevens Creek Urban Village, the City

of San Jose proposes to define “commercial uses” to include hotels. Virtually every land use

category within the Stevens Creek Urban Village authorizes “commercial uses.” Thus, the City

of San Jose appears to be authorizing hotels to be constructed anywhere within the Stevens

Creek Urban Village. While Envision San Jose 2040 contemplated hotels as an allowed use

within the Urban Village Commercial designation, it did not contemplate hotels within other land

use designations included within the Stevens Creek Urban Village Plan area. 

https://drive.google.com/file/d/0B1koFObMmxp-ZFdLakg2N0NHY0U/view

​I hope that you take the time to consider how bad the SCUVP will be for Cupertino and the area bordering San Jose along Stevens Creek.

Thank you,

Randy S

San Jose resident