Cupertino is a part of Silicon Valley, one of the most incredible bastions of prosperity that the world has ever known. Yet, the valley's success is threatened by the high cost of doing business here. Housing is a key issue.

A 119-page report recently prepared for the city of San Jose identified the high cost of housing as the single greatest threat to the valley's competitiveness. If the cost of doing business continues to escalate, companies like Hewlett-Packard and Apple will eventually move to less costly areas. When that happens, our home prices are likely to decline.

Housing costs are high because the demand for housing far exceeds the supply of housing. There are many more jobs in the area than houses. Consequently, prices rise until only a wealthy few can afford to purchase here. Everyone else lives many miles away, clogging our highways as they commute to work. Commuting is another significant cost of doing business, in both time and money.

The answer is to build more housing.

In a recent Silicon Valley Manufacturing Group presentation, County Supervisor Jim Beall indicated that one key to solving the transportation problem is to put more affordable housing close to employment centers. Given an affordable choice, most employees will choose to shorten their commute time.

To meet state housing goals for the city, Cupertino has been approving condo and townhouse projects in commercial zones close to services and employment and away from established residential neighborhoods.

The Concerned Citizens of Cupertino ballot initiatives are specifically designed to restrict this type of housing development in Cupertino. As such, they will exacerbate the valley's competitiveness problem.

This valley has been gradually urbanizing ever since HP outgrew its Palo Alto garage. The price of economic success is inevitably some degree of urbanization. To meet the challenge, residents, local governments and industry must work together to manage growth and mitigate undesirable consequences. Highly restrictive ballot initiatives are the wrong approach.

Marty Miller

Cupertino Planning Commissioner