Danessa - State of the City Address Should be Free and on a Weekday Evening

December 31, 2016

Dear Savita,

I hope that you are having a relaxing holiday and a Happy New Year. I wanted to share some ideas with you from a conversation that I had with some fellow residents, most of whom are from Better Cupertino, about how we can get citizens more involved in civic affairs, and also how we can build a better working/trust relationship between residents and our city government. 

One of the ideas that came up was the State of the City Address in March. We kind of polled around via email, and a majority of people said that they had never been able to attend because it was held during the day. Others felt that it was more of a Chamber of Commerce event and not so much for the benefit of the public. It would be nice if residents felt that this was truly for them, and not driven by the Chamber, or Rotary Club.   

The time of the address is another factor. I know that the event is usually a for-fee luncheon that may discourage some of the elderly who cannot afford it, and also the majority of our population who will be working. Shouldn’t it be more accessible to everyone? 

We did look up what other cities were doing and most have their’s on a weekday evening with free admission. Would it be possible to have ours on an evening with coffee and desserts at the end with some open socializing for residents to ask questions and get to know you all better? It could really be a lovely event. 

Please let me know what you think. Thank you so much for your consideration.

Best,

Danessa Techmanski and Members of Better Cupertino

Venkatesh - Request for a free evening State of the City address event

Anyone has the permission to use this email or any part of it.
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From: Venkatesh Nayak
Date: Fri, Dec 30, 2016 at 1:26 PM
Subject: Request for a free evening State of the City address event, 12/30/2016
To: svaidhyanathan@cupertino.org, dpaul@cupertino.org, bchang@cupertino.org, sscharf@cupertino.org, rsinks@cupertino.org
Cc: cityclerk@cupertino.org, manager@cupertino.org

Dear Mayor Vaidhyanathan, Vice Mayor Paul, and Council Members Chang, Scharf, and Sinks:

Please include my letter as part of the public record regarding the schedule and logistics for the 2017 State of the City address.

Please consider hosting the State of the City address in the evening as a free event (no meal) and in a public location. I am familiar that the majority of our neighboring cities do something similar.

Many Cupertinians have inflexible daytime schedules or limited discretionary funds that prevent them from attending a paid, civic function held during the day. Yet, these residents care deeply about their local government and would like to be able to participate events such as the State of the City address.

Thank you for your consideration of my request for the City to host the State of the City address in the evening and in a venue that will not require payment from attendees.

Sincerely,

Venkatesh Nayak

Resident of Cupertino

Phyllis - State of the City Address Should Not be Sponsored by Private Organizations

From: Phyllis Dickstein
To: citycouncil@cupertino.org
Sent: 12/30/2016 11:18:12 A.M. Pacific Standard Time
Subject: State of the City Address

Dear Mayor Vaidyanathan, Vice-Mayor Paul, Councillors Chang, Scharf, Sinks,

I would like to express my concurrence with Liana Crabtree's request below.

I would also like to add (also as part of the public record), that as a matter of principle, the State of the City Address should not be sponsored by private sector organizations such as the Chamber or Rotary, and thus appear to be mainly directed at the business community. Rather, it should be sponsored by the City Council itself, held in a public venue, directed at the citizenry at large (of which the  business community is, of course, a part).

Thank you,

Phyllis Dickstein

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Please include my letter as part of the public record regarding the schedule and logistics for the 2017 State of the City address.

Please consider hosting the State of the City address in the evening as a free event (no meal) and in a public location.

Many Cupertinians have inflexible daytime schedules or limited discretionary funds that prevent them from attending a paid, civic function held during the day. Yet, these residents care deeply about their local government and would like to be able to participate events such as the State of the City address.

Thank you for your consideration of my request for the City to host the State of the City address in the evening and in a venue that will not require payment from attendees.

Govind - Proposal: General Plan Advisory Committee

---------- Forwarded message ----------
From: Govind Tatachari
Date: Tue, Dec 20, 2016 at 5:55 PM
Subject: Proposal: General Plan Advisory Committee
To: citycouncil <citycouncil@cupertino.org>, cityclerk <cityclerk@cupertino.org>, City Attorney's Office <CityAttorney@cupertino.org>

Dear Cupertino council members,

I wish to take this opportunity to congratulate the newly elected council members Rod Sinks and Steven Scharf and the newly elected Mayor Savita Vaidyanathan and Vice-Mayor Darcy Paul.

I wish the new council success in handling of all the upcoming and ongoing governance and planning issues with due diligence and utmost care, foresight and a sense of fair play respecting the concerns of all parties concerned.

The 2016 November election has been historic in many ways at many levels of government. For Cupertino, the election had two Measures on the ballot related to the issues of sensible and sustainable growth and the Vallco Town Center proposal respectively. The Voters rejected both these measures. This in spite of millions of dollars of marketing expense incurred by the Vallco developer and related groups.

These measures represent just two of the many measures which might follow. Both these measures were related to the important issue of General plan and specific land-use decisions.

In view of this, it behoves the new council to attend to the issues of the General plan and land-use choices that Cupertino City is facing. I propose that the new council constitute a General plan advisory committee with a charter to evaluate and advise the council on the goals, projections and allocations related to the 25-year (long-term) General plan, related land-use choices and project proposals.

I believe this will help the City council keep the Citizenry engaged in the Cupertino planning and development activities. It is best that the City advertises this effort and invites a representative percentage (one in thousand) of Cupertino population in this exercise. It is also imperative that most of this committee is made up of ordinary residents. Formation of such a committee of Cupertino residents will also help avoid or reduce the chance of costly initiatives and referendums in the future.

I am unable to attend today's council meeting in person and talk about this proposal as part of the Oral communications. However I request that this email be entered as part of the public input.

Thanking you,

With good wishes and Sincerely,

Govind Tatachari
Cupertino Resident

Danessa - Barry Chang's Campaign Contribution from Sand Hill and Other Developers

From Danessa Techmanski
To: CityCouncil@cupertino.org

Dear Cupertino City Council Members,

As you know, I have spoken up at previous City Council Meetings regarding my concern over Barry Chang’s impartiality regarding upcoming Cupertino developments, especially Vallco, that are for consideration. Please understand that I have nothing personal against Barry Chang as a person, but his campaign contributions, his attempts at obscuring the actual identities of donors, and the gross amounts from persons with interests in those projects seems completely unethical (if not illegal in some cases). Barry should recuse himself from voting on these projects in good faith and conscience as an elected representative of the will of the citizens of Cupertino, and not as of Sand Hill Properties.

The FPPC is currently looking into Chang, and I feel that his participation in any decisions regarding The Hills at Vallco remain questionable, and I fear that they will reflect poorly on our City as a whole. It makes me incredibly sad as I was a previous supporter of Mayor Chang.

In particular, concerning the Vallco project, if Mayor Chang plans to vote on, or give permits to any of these developments he is also acting in violation of Government Code 84308, Sec. 6b that states:

No officer of an agency shall accept, solicit, or direct a contribution of more than two hundred fifty dollars ($250) from any party, his agent, or participant, while a proceeding involving a license, permit, or other entitlement for use is pending, or for three months following that decision if the officer has any reason to know that the participant has a financial interest.

A partial list, to the best of my knowledge, of Vallco’s subcontractor’s with a vested financial interest are listed below. Please be aware that this list is only partial because out of the roughly $320,000. given to Chang by contractors, it is hard to assign their affiliation to each upcoming project in Cupertino until their contracts, or involvement are made public as those developments commence.

The Hills at Vallco —Total $75,600

REDWOOD ELECTRIC GROUP- Did Main Street Cupertino with Peter Pau

SANTA CLARA, CA 95054

$8,400

M-E ENGINEERS, INC President Martin E. Ragain

WHEAT RIDGE, CO 80033

$8,400

SOUTH BAY CONSTRUCTION (They worked on Netflix and Homestead Square at Homestead and De Anza)—These guys are huge and all over the Bay.

They are pairing with The Carlyle Group to build The Creekside in Campbell https://www.facebook.com/SouthBayConstruction/

CAMPBELL, CA 95008

$8,400

CAMERON PEACH (Partner South Bay Construction above)

LOS GATOS, CA 95030

INVESTOR/SELF

$8,400

JB CAHOON (Partner South Bay Construction above)

CAMPBELL, CA 95008

INVESTOR/SELF

$8,400

RICHARD FURTADO (CEO South Bay Construction above)

SAN JOSE, CA 95124

INVESTOR/SELF

$8,400

LARRY PATERSON (Top sales executive for South Bay Construction)

FREMONT, CA 94536

INVESTOR/SELF

$8,400

Devcon Construction:690 Gibraltar Drive, Milpitas, CA 95035 408-942-8200

Did Main Street Cupertino, Netflix, and other large buidlings with Sand Hill. 

May 29, 2016

$8,400

Filizetti, Gary J., Manager, Devcon Construction, Inc.

May 29, 2016

$8,400

I am so sorry about the stress that all of this has caused to any of you. Please know that you all have my full faith, best regards, and support as my elected representatives, and I only wish you the best.

Most sincerely,

Danessa Techmanski

Ignatius - Barry Chang Should Recuse Himself Due to Campaign Contributions from Developers

From: Ignatius Ding
Date: Thu, Jun 30, 2016 at 7:44 PM
Subject: [CCSGI-Core] Letter to Cupertino City Council -- Please include this letter as part of the public record
To: Cupertino City-Council <citycouncil@cupertino.org>
Cc: David Brandt <manager@cupertino.org>, "Grace Schmidt CMC (City Clerk)" <CityClerk@cupertino.org>

Dear Mayor Chang, Vice Mayor Vaidhyanathan, and Council Members Paul, Sinks, and Wong:

Please include this letter as part of the public record for the Vallco Town Center Specific Plan Initiative (a.k.a. “Vallco office park initiative” or “Initiative”).

On Tuesday, July 5, 2016, the City Council will consider issues of great importance to our community related to the Vallco office park initiative, including but not necessarily limited to:

• adopting the Initiative or adding the Initiative to the ballot for the November 8. 2016 General Election
• considering whether to direct the City elections official to transmit the Initiative to the city attorney for preparation of an impartial analysis per the draft resolution
•  considering whether to authorize City Council members, or the Council as a whole, to submit ballot arguments against the Initiative per the draft resolution
• considering the ballot label (ballot question) for the Initiative.

Through a sustained and thorough investigative effort attributed to a team of dedicated community members, we have an annotated body of evidence linking substantial campaign contributions to Mayor Barry Chang from employees or business associates of three (3) major developers with active or pending development projects in the City of Cupertino, including the developer behind the Vallco office park initiative, Sand Hill Property. In short, through May 2016, Mayor Barry Chang (Barry Chang for Assembly 2016) received approximately $75,600 from Sand Hill Property business partners, likely financial beneficiaries if the Vallco office park initiative is approved.

I have three (3) specific requests associated with the City Council’s actions related to the Vallco Office Park Initiative: 

As a result of the financial disclosures that associate Mayor Barry Chang with significant donations from business partners closely linked to the intended Vallco office park developer and pursuant to Government Code 84308, Section 6b, I hereby respectfully request that Mayor Barry Chang recuses himself from all deliberations and voting related to the Vallco office park initiative due to a real or 

1. perceived financial conflict of interest.
2. Because the outcome of the Vallco office park initiative has the potential to transform the quality and character of suburban, family-friendly Cupertino to an urban, corporate-centric Cupertino, I respectfully request that supporters of the grass roots citizen-sponsored Cupertino Citizens’ Sensible Growth Initiative be granted 15 minutes of continuous presentation time during the public comment window for Agenda item 11, discussion associated with decisions related to the Vallco Town Center Specific Plan Initiative.  Request that the 15-minute speaking block shall be reflected in the agenda and meeting minutes for the July 5, 2016 City Council meeting.
3. I respectfully request that City Council members reject any efforts from supporters of the Vallco office park initiative to adopt the Initiative “as is” or with concessions and instead add the initiative as a measure on the November 8, 2016 General Election.  Right or wrong, many, many of your constituents signed the petition for the Vallco office park initiative with an understanding that they would have an opportunity to vote on what will be built at Vallco; to approve the Initiative outright would be to misunderstand the intent and expectations of many petition signers.

Thank you for your consideration of these important matters related to the Vallco office park initiative.

Sincerely,

Ignatius Y. Ding

39-year Cupertino resident

REFERENCES 

•   Barry Chang’s Campaign Donations for Assembly in 2016 (Recall Barry Chang Web site).  http://recallbarrychang.blogspot.com/2016/06/barry-changs-campaign-donations-for.html

•   Alex Padilla, California Secretary of State, Searchable Database for Campaign Donations.  http://powersearch.sos.ca.gov/advanced.php

•  California Government Code 84308, Section 6b. http://www.leginfo.ca.gov/cgi-bin/displaycode?section=gov&group=84001-85000&file=84300-84310

Randy - Vallco Initiative and Community Facilities Districts

From: Randy Shingai
Date: Sun, May 29, 2016 at 9:32 AM
Subject: Vallco Initiative and Community Facilities Districts.
To: City Attorney's Office <CityAttorney@cupertino.org>, City Council <citycouncil@cupertino.org>, David Brandt <Davidb@cupertino.org>

Dear City Manager, City Attorney, and City Council.

Section 9.7 of the Vallco Initiative (on page C-207)  states that the developer will make use of one or more "Community Facilities Districts", or CFDs, to secure financing.  CFDs are made possible by the Mello-Roos Act, that was created to finance public works.  My understanding of the Initiative text is that the developer plans to use provisions of Mello-Roos to obtain tax-exempt financing for the "green roof" and more.  This seems to be a gross perversion of the intent of Mello-Roos, but I will leave that for another time.

I asking that the following be covered in the 9212 Report for the Vallco Initiative.

1. Is the City required to create one or more CFDs as specified by the Vallco Initiative if the initiative passes?

2. Who pays for the formation of these CFDs?

3, Once created, how much control will the City be able to exert over these CFDs?

4. How much control will the City be able to exert over the terms of financing that these CFDs utilize?

• What about recourse in the event of default.  What is the exposure to the City?
• A quick scan of the assessed values for parcels in the Vallco Plan Area have parcels with an assessed value of anywhere from $80 to $78 million.  Since special taxes levied by CFDs cannot be "ad valorem", there could easily be situations where the taxes levied on a parcel could exceed its market value.  I have read estimates that the "green roof" will cost as much as $300 million, so the special taxes levied will be significant.  How can this be mitigated?
• What about future parcelization that the Initiative says is likely (See C-199)?  How will affect the distribution of special taxes assigned to individual parcels.  If parcels are dedicated to the City, will that affect the distribution of special taxes levied to remaining privately owned parcels?

Thanks for your consideration,

Randy Shingai

From: Randy Shingai <randyshingai@gmail.com>
Date: Mon, May 30, 2016 at 1:04 PM
Subject: Re: Vallco Initiative and Community Facilities Districts.
To: City Attorney's Office <CityAttorney@cupertino.org>, City Council <citycouncil@cupertino.org>, David Brandt <Davidb@cupertino.org>

The State Treasurer keeps a list of troubled Mello-Roos Community Facilities Districts.  These include districts that have either defaulted or are nearing default.

http://www.treasurer.ca.gov/cdiac/default-draw/issuename.asp

I would like the 9212 Report to have an analysis on on the default risks and the alternatives for structuring debt and debt service to minimize that risk for the Vallco Initiative's plan for the use of Community Facilities District.

I would also like a characterization of the exposure to the City of Cupertino  for a default of the Community Facilities District(s) that the Vallco Initiative plans to use to finance Vallco.

Thank you,

Randy Shingai