Monday, November 20, 2017

Liana - Request to Close Open-ended Aspects of the General Plan Before State Housing Laws Take Effect on 1/1/2018

From: Liana C
Date: Mon, Nov 20, 2017 at 7:13 PM

Recipient:
City Council

Planning Commission

Office of the City Clerk


TITLE: Request to Close Open-ended Aspects of the General Plan Before State Housing Laws Take Effect on 1/1/2018

Dear Cupertino City Council and Planning Commission:

Please include this letter as part of the public record regarding the topic of mending vulnerabilities in the General Plan affecting the Vallco Shopping District site (Vallco) prior to the 1/1/2018 effectivity date of pending state housing laws, especially SB 35, SB 167/AB 678, and AB 1515.

Now is the time to act! Spare the community from unmitigated environmental harm associated with excessive, unsupported development at Vallco. Now is the time to save Vallco as a shopping/dining/entertainment/recreation destination for the benefit of the whole community.

It is imperative that the City Council close up open-ended aspects of the General Plan affecting Vallco to ensure that the City, not the State nor the developer, controls land use and density at the site. Please support the following changes to the General Plan to be enacted no later than 12/31/2017:
  • remove the entire 2 MILLION square foot office allocation that was granted after the current property owner purchased the property
  • restore the maximum density specifications (1.5 feet of setback for every 1 foot of building height; 45 foot maximum building height or 60 foot maximum building height if the structure includes a retail component) to what they were at the time the current owner purchased the Vallco property
  • add language to the General Plan to confirm Vallco as a regional shopping/dining/entertainment/recreation destination by establishing that the retail component will be reset to no less than 50% of the total square footage of development on the site
  • add language to the General Plan to confirm that open space allocated at Vallco will be level (free of slope, lumps, hills, and suitable for pickup ball games, such as soccer) and located at ground level. No elevated rooftop or canopy parks.
Thank you for your consideration and action to retain some level of local control at Vallco by closing open-ended aspects of the General Plan by 12/31/2017 to ensure that the developer cannot exploit vulnerabilities in the General Plan to enhance its profits at the expense of the needs and interests of residents.

Sincerely,

Liana Crabtree
Cupertino resident

RESOURCES/REFERENCES
+ Meyers Nave, fact sheet for 2017 housing legislation:

+ Sierra Club California Legislative Priority List 2017:

+ Legislative Information, SB 35 (2017-2018):
http://leginfo.legislature.ca.gov/faces/billTextClient.xhtml?bill_id=201720180SB35

+ Legislative Information, SB 167 (2017-2018)/AB 678 (2017-2018), these bills are identical:
SB 167 - https://leginfo.legislature.ca.gov/faces/billNavClient.xhtml?bill_id=201720180SB167
AB 678 - https://leginfo.legislature.ca.gov/faces/billTextClient.xhtml?bill_id=201720180AB678

+ Legislative Information, AB 1515 (2017-2018):

+ City of Cupertino, General Plan, 2015-2040 (see “Chapter 3: Land Use and Community Character Element,” 'Table LU-1: Citywide Development Allocation Between 2014-2040,' p LU-13 [PDF p LU-13]; and ‘Figure LU-1 Community Form Diagram’ p LU-17 [PDF p LU-17]):
http://www.cupertino.org/our-city/departments/community-development/planning/general-plan/general-plan

+ City of Cupertino, General Plan, 2000-2020, last updated 6/1/2010 (see Community Form Map, p 2-5 [PDF p 19]; Maximum Building Heights Map p 2-11 [PDF p 25], Table 2-A Development Allocation, p 2-17, [PDF p 31]; and  Policy 2-30 ‘Vallco Park South’ p 2-25 to 2-27, [PDF pp 39-41]):
http://64.165.34.13/WebLink/0/doc/493595/Page1.aspx?searchid=6f3cd6f4-a3ea-42fd-b8f8-1772858ff7b6
Posted by at
Labels:

No comments:

Post a Comment

Subscribe to: Post Comments (Atom)