From: Liang-Fang Chao
Date: Wed, Sep 19, 2018 at 1:14 PM
Subject: PAUSE: Investigate former City Manager, Compliance of SB 35. Citywide Survey for Vallco with specific numbers
To: City Council <citycouncil@cupertino.org>, City Attorney's Office <CityAttorney@cupertino.org>, manager@cupertino.org
Subject: PAUSE: Investigate former City Manager, Compliance of SB 35. Citywide Survey for Vallco with specific numbers
To: City Council <citycouncil@cupertino.org>, City Attorney's Office <CityAttorney@cupertino.org>, manager@cupertino.org
Dear Mayor Paul and Councilmembers.
Both Tier 1 and Tier 2 are office-heavy projects. There was NOT one public comments supporting any office-heavy projects. Many public comments appear to support a housing-only project, which is neither Tier 1 nor Tier 2. So, the comments simply asking to resolve housing shortage should not be counted towards any support for Tier 1 or Tier 2.
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REFERENCE:
The annual office growth for Cupertino in the projection done by ABAG in 2010 is 805,428 square feet of office by the year 2035. That's about 40,000 sqft per year for 20 years. Main Street already added almost 260,000 sqft office space + 35,000 sqft incubator space. Apple Park added 750,000 sqft on top of the HP allocation. Together they are 26 years of office growth since 2015.
Tier 1 (750,000 sqft) will add 18.75 years worth of office growth. Tier 2 will double that amount to add 37.5 years worth of office growth.
The City Manager is responsible on determining the ministerial approval of a SB 35 application. But you, the City Council, is ultimately responsible for the conduct of your employee, the City Manager. If the City Manager approved the Vallco SB 35 application without following the General Plan, it is your responsibility to look into the conduct of the City Manager.
I hereby formally request an investigation into David Brandt's handling of Vallco SB 35 application. He has put the City at risk of lawsuit by allowing a humongous project with only 5% square footage for BMR to mascaraed as an affordable housing project when it's not.
The total square footage of all 1200 BMR units add up to 0.5 million square feet and they are all studio and one-bedrooms, according to the Vallco SB 35 plan. The total square footage of the entire project is 10 million square feet. Therefore, only 5% of the entire project is dedicated to BMR units. 5%!
As an affordable housing advocate pointed out, in order to qualify for any state or federal funding, the project must have units of mixed sizes, which the Vallco SB 35 project doesn't have. Therefore, the Vallco SB 35 project will likely NOT ever quality for ANY state or federal funding for BMR. Likely, none of the BMR units will ever get built since Sand Hill won't fund the BMR units from the profits they made from the office and market-rate houaing portions.
Therefore, the Vallco SB 35 is a bluff. However, if you feel that you are forced to approve a Vallco Specific Plan almost as dense as the Vallco SB 35 threat, you should ask yourself. Why you could be threatened in the first place? You did not approve the official and residential allocation in Dec. 2014 at all since no Vallco Specific Plan exists then. So, Vallco SB 35 plan does not comply with the General Plan you approved.
Please do not take any action on Vallco Specific Plan until the following happens:
1. Look into the handling of the former City Manager on the Vallco SB 35 application. You are responsible for the conduct of your own employee.
2. Look into the compliance issue of SB 35 for our General Plan and Housing Affordability Act and SB 35. The City Council should not take any action under threat, especially false threat.
3. Please do a citywide survey on Vallco project with specific numbers proposed in Tier 1 and 2. You have done surveys for head tax and other issues. Why not do a survey or multiple surveys to find out what your residents want? (But please include a question on whether the survey taker is a Cupertino resident or live within 1 mile of Cupertino.)
You can still take control of the situation.
Many Cupertino residents simply do not even know about the scale of the Vallco project you are considering. Please do not let the multitude of nonprofits hijack our City when they are only advocating for one tiny piece of the project, which the Developer may or may not deliver.
Sand Hill promised to build senior housing at Main Street originally. They converted them to market-rate units because they cannot find financial backers. The same thing could happen for those BMR units they have included since Sand Hill is NOT going to fund these BMR units themselves.
Some of the public comments are simply asking for BMR units or units for people with disabilities, but they do not even support or seem to understand Tier 2 at all. They should not be counted towards any support for Tier 2.
Apple Park (on top of HP allocation) and Main Street would have added 26 years of office growth since 2015. Tier 1 (750,000 sqft) will add 18.75 years worth of office growth. Tier 2 will double that amount to add 37.5 years worth of office growth.
Both Tier 1 and Tier 2 are office-heavy projects. There was NOT one public comments supporting any office-heavy projects. Many public comments appear to support a housing-only project, which is neither Tier 1 nor Tier 2. So, the comments simply asking to resolve housing shortage should not be counted towards any support for Tier 1 or Tier 2.
If every City Council uses office space to trade for token benefits, we will sink deeper and deeper into housing shortage since every project digs us into a deeper hole.
Please do not approve any office-heavy project for token benefits, which might never be delivered or might cost millions more later.
First "do no harm." The project should "stand on its own", not rely on sugar coating.
Please think back. How many Cupertino residents come forward to support the project itself, instead of token benefits? How many Cupertino residents oppose the project itself, despite the benefits?
Please PAUSE.
Please do not take any action on Vallco Specific Plan until the following happens:
1. Look into the handling of the former City Manager on the Vallco SB 35 application. You are responsible for the conduct of your own employee.
2. Look into the compliance issue of SB 35 for our General Plan and Housing Affordability Act and SB 35. The City Council should not take any action under threat, especially false threat.
3. Please do a citywide survey on Vallco project with specific numbers proposed in Tier 1 and 2. You have done surveys for head tax and other issues. Why not do a survey or multiple surveys to find out what your residents want? (But please include a question on whether the survey taker is a Cupertino resident or live within 1 mile of Cupertino.)
Liang Chao
Cupertino Resident
REFERENCE:
The annual office growth for Cupertino in the projection done by ABAG in 2010 is 805,428 square feet of office by the year 2035. That's about 40,000 sqft per year for 20 years. Main Street already added almost 260,000 sqft office space + 35,000 sqft incubator space. Apple Park added 750,000 sqft on top of the HP allocation. Together they are 26 years of office growth since 2015.
Tier 1 (750,000 sqft) will add 18.75 years worth of office growth. Tier 2 will double that amount to add 37.5 years worth of office growth.
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