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City delays parking zone decision for time being
Council will set time limits as soon as school begins
By GEORGE MOORE
The Cupertino City Council decided to postpone on voting on parking zones in school areas until a time element for the zones can be decided upon.
The council unanimously agreed to post signs telling people that the parking area at Blackberry Farms is an option, and staff members will evaluate that parking situation 60 days after implementation.
The start of a new school year marks the beginning of congestion on residential streets in some areas of Cupertino. Thus, residents in the affected areas of Orange Avenue and McClellan Road voiced their opinions to city council members at the Aug. 20 meeting.
Establishing 15-minute limited parking zones in these areas so parents can drop off and pick up their children is an urgent issue because schools are due to open at the end of this week.
Residents opposing the parking zones said, unless there is strict enforcement, the zones are not going to help with the congestion. They would like the city council to look into utilizing more streets as options for parents to help cut down on the traffic. Another idea was to change the times from 7 a.m.-4 p.m. to 10 a.m.-2 p.m., so Monte Vista students would not have the option to use the spaces.
Some parents said 15 minutes is not always enough time to pick up their toddlers and would like to establish 30-minute parking zones.
During the meeting, Mayor Sandra James said the council needs to bring everybody involved together to have a dialogue and come up with more creative ideas. She said she likes the idea of changing the hours and said the city has committed to putting up the signs as soon as a time element is agreed upon.
James said she thinks 30 minutes makes the most sense but would like to have a public hearing once the school year begins.
At the meeting, city council unanimously approved the rezoning and plans for the new Summerhill Homes.
A public hearing was held at the meeting for the redevelopment of a light industrial zone at 10120 Imperial Ave. to become a planned residential area. The plan is for a 56-unit townhouse development that will include some live/work units--a first for Cupertino. Vice Mayor Richard Lowenthal expressed some concerns about how the businesses will be restricted so they are compatible. Each live/work unit will be required to have a use permit, and neighbors will be notified.
One longtime resident was concerned about traffic from the businesses and the new homes and thought the cost per unit was high. The asking price will be between $650,000 and $700,000, and only six will be offered as low-income housing.
Lowenthal said he likes the project as a whole: "We are either going to redevelop what we already have or sprawl," Lowenthal said. "And we are not going to sprawl. We want to leave our hillsides alone."
Lowenthal said the six low-income houses are six more that we don't already have.
Councilman Michael Chang said he likes the project but agreed with some residents that the extra children could be a problem in Cupertino's already overcrowded schools. He said developers should consult with the school district when more than 50 units are proposed.
The council also dealt with new business, which included a new neighborhood entry and driveway design for South Portal Avenue at the Marketplace Shopping Center. Staff has recommended that the city council allow the applicant to proceed with construction.
The neighborhood entry plans include chokers, which are designed to give definition to an entry point and slow traffic. Residents' only concerns were with the maintenance of the chokers, because they say others in the area appear rundown.
Chang said a workable maintenance scheme needs to be implemented, and both Lowenthal and James said residents should get a chance to decide on the design of the chokers.
The other issue was a new driveway design at the shopping center for delivery trucks. Lowenthal said the improvement of the shopping center has to move forward--the first step being the approval of the driveway design. Both issues were approved by the city council.
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Cupertino, California Since 1947
