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City revises the housing element for General Plan
Council accepts feasibility plan for 9-mile 'rail trail'
By George Moore
An amendment to the General Plan revising the housing element and a trail-feasibility study were the two central issues the Cupertino City Council addressed at its Oct. 15 meeting.
A presentation of the housing element's needs and goals for the next five years focused on the need for allocation of regional housing and a change in the Below Market Rate (BMR) Program from 10 to 15 percent of new developments. Councilman Don Burnett said subsidized housing would always fall short of its needs, and the council needs a better definition of how housing will be built.
Burnett repeated what he said at a previous council meeting, saying some current zoning laws in Cupertino allow residence, retail and office to be developed in the same space. He said zoning laws need to be more stringent, and should be implemented into the new General Plan to provide what is best for the community.
Vice Mayor Richard Lowenthal said the recent community congress at the Quinlan Center revealed that "affordable housing" might mean something different to other cities. Lowenthal said many teachers working in the district are commuting from towns like Santa Cruz. He said the BMR should be aimed at people who are already working here, such as teachers, district employees and sheriff's deputies, but the proposed 15 percent BMR is not aimed at that group. He said the BMR point system needs to be redefined for all school district employees, and rental housing--not just ownership--should be aimed at local workers.
Lowenthal said that in order to reduce the demand for housing, the city must contain office development and set up some rules to maintain its established unwritten rule of a 2-1 balance--two housing units per square foot of office space.
Councilman Michael Chang said he agrees with the rezoning possibility and less office development and wants to continue to refine BMR policies.
Mayor Sandra James said a more in-depth look at "for sale" attached housing needs to be done, but does not want to make it too difficult for developers to build housing. James said she got the same message as Lowenthal at the community congress, which is people are not necessarily looking for lowest level needs found at the county level, but for people who are working here.
In new business, a presentation of a trail-feasibility study report on the "rail trail," an 8.7-mile paved pathway that would run parallel to the Union Pacific Railroad tracks from Los Gatos Creek Trail to San Antonio County Park. The proposed five-phased construction of the trail would cost over $11 million to build--not including land costs--and $50,000 a year to maintain.
An angry resident said he thought the current plan was a waste of money, partly because of all the pedestrian bridges that would have to be built. The resident said the cement plant should be closed in 12 to 15 years, along with the need for the train tracks. At that point, a trail could replace the rail and the current overpasses could be used.
But James said she believes mining rights will reach far beyond 12 to 15 years, along with the use of the train tracks.
Another resident said the city should capture the land now to rule out other development, and the trail would be a huge asset for the value of homes as well as transportation. A third resident said rail banking was made possible in 1993, which is sort of an early warning system that notifies the city and should prevent the area from development of anything but recreation.
Chang said the city does not have much money to spend on the project right now, but the study is a step in the right direction to stay engaged in the process. James agreed there was no money available at this point, but said the best thing to do is accept the report and send a message to various committees to keep working and not give up hope. The report was voted on and unanimously accepted by the council.
Before the council meeting, 34 student applicants for the new Teen Commission presented themselves before council members and 12 were chosen to fill the seats.
"It was a tough decision," James said. "They were a bright, energetic, enthusiastic and diverse group, but we're excited about who we selected."
Lowenthal said all the students they talked to were qualified, future and current leaders. He urged the students who were not chosen to stay involved and join other groups.
The students chosen were seventh-grader Patty Fang; eighth-grader Emily Lu; ninth-graders Jacki Colloton and Kevin Busch; tenth-graders Erin Gatley and Angelica Zen; eleventh-graders Kenny Lin, Zoravko "Zack" Kolev, Akshita Deora and Aimee Jin Thayer; and twelfth-graders Drew Golkar and Maurice Noone.
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Cupertino, California Since 1947
