Liang - Provisions in the General Plan to Prevent Abuse

From: Liang C.
Date: Fri, Nov 17, 2017 at 11:21 PM
Subject: Provisions in the General Plan to Prevent Abuse
To: City Council <citycouncil@cupertino.org>, David Brandt <davidb@cupertino.org>, "City of Cupertino Planning Dept." <planning@cupertino.org>

Dear City Council Members and Planning Staff,

At the time the City Council amended the General Plan in December 2014, the City Council left it fussy at Vallco Shopping Center site to allow the developer Sand Hill to come up with a project proposal. As a result, the current General Plan contains a massive 2 million square feet of office allocation and there is no height limit at Vallco Shopping Center site. Even a skyscraper would still comply to the current General Plan and that's worrisome.

From my preliminary understanding of the new housing bills, the General Plan will be the last and only line of defense against poorly designed projects that might create significant negative impacts on Cupertino and the environments. It is essential that the General Plan gives clear and precise development standards so that there is no confusion whether a project complies with the General Plan or not to avoid potential lawsuits. It is essential that the General Plan gives sufficient limits to development standards so that projects built to the maximum of the standards would fit the characteristics of Cupertino. This is because under certain conditions, the city council will no longer have the final decision power on a streamlined project as long as it complies with the General Plan.

Please examine the General Plan for the Vallco Shopping Center site and beyond. Have we clearly defined design standards in the General Plan? Should some provisions in the Municipal Code be moved to the General Plan so that streamlined projects are still subject to those provisions.

Please assume the worst case, since the worst case might happen.

What if Vallco Shopping Mall is sold again to another developer? What if Vallco Shopping Mall is sold to multiple developers? (Vallco has 11 parcels, I believe) Are provisions in the General Plan sufficient to set design standards for such cases?

Thank you for your consideration.

Regards,

Liang C.

Cupertino resident