CARe - Articles

Election 2006: Condo measures rejected

Fri, 10 Nov 2006 17:39:56 -0500

Hundreds, if not thousands, of e-mails and old-fashioned ink signatures on paper helped defeat measures D and E in Cupertino, measures that would have allowed the construction of two multiuse developments combining retail and high-density housing such as condominiums.

More students for Cupertino schools

Thu, 26 Oct 2006 16:54:19 -0400

Cupertino's well-regarded schools once again prove alluring to residential developers on the periphery of the city.

Silverstone Communities, a Redwood City developer, is the latest builder to announce a new project that capitalizes in part on Cupertino's school districts.

"Cupertino's schools and the proximity to jobs are two things that made this site attractive," said Silverstone spokeswoman Linda Bagneschi Dorrance.

Toll Brothers losing interest in NorCal but not in Cupertino tract

Wed, 13 Sep 2006 00:44:55 -0400

Pennsylvania home builder Toll Brothers Inc., an active player across the Bay Area, will push ahead with a contentious and uncertain Cupertino condominium project even as it foregoes other proposed California developments in recognition of a slowing national housing market.

Toll Brothers alerted Wall Street analysts Aug. 22 that it would take a $21.1 million write-off in its third quarter to account for its decision not to move forward on buying an unspecified number of lots that it had previously optioned. Based on industry business practices, $20 million is enough to leverage the acquisition of roughly $400 million worth of land.

Grassroots group tries to stall new development

Wed, 26 Jul 2006 21:49:32 -0400

Judge rules in favor of taking the issue to the voters

Two referendums drafted by a group of Cupertino residents and designed to stop two areas of redevelopment will remain on the November ballot, a Santa Clara County judge ruled July 14.

Cupertino resident Dorothy Stow wanted the referendums disqualified for legal technicalities, but Superior Court Judge William Elfving denied the request.

Housing Projects Divide Cupertino; Opponents Return to Ballot Box.

Sun, 23 Jul 2006 20:39:46 -0400

At a Cupertino City Council meeting in April, Apple Computer guru Steve Jobs announced that the technology giant plans to build a 50-acre campus to complement its existing headquarters across town. As many as 3,500 people would work at the campus at Wolfe Road and the 280 freeway.

CUPERTINO RESIDENTS WIN REFERENDUM CASE !!!

Sun, 16 Jul 2006 18:21:06 -0400

Press Release on behalf of (Ms.) Helam Luk and Patty Chi

A legal challenge to stop two rezoning ordinances in Cupertino being put before voters in a referendum was rejected last Friday. Absent further challenges, the ordinances will be put on the ballot for decision by Cupertino voters come November.

Santa Clara Superior Court judge William J. Elfving issued an order Friday after hearing extensive argument from attorneys for proponents and opponents of the proposed referendum petitions. The order denies a request by Cupertino resident Dorothy Stow to have the petitions deleted from the November ballot for alleged failure to follow legal format requirements. [Copy of the court's order.]

More Fun in Condoland

Sun, 18 Jun 2006 18:34:26 -0400

Jack Kerouac once wrote, "You can't fight City Hall. It keeps changing its name." And how true that seems in Cupertino right now, as there seems to be no stopping the city's condo fever. Local resident Patty Chi tried to at least keep it in check by spearheading a petition drive to get two referenda on the local ballot to overturn City Council votes to rezone land and let developer Toll Brothers and Vallco Fashion Park start building condos along Stevens Creek Boulevard.

Emotion's power pilots referendums

Sun, 18 Jun 2006 18:32:27 -0400

You know people are ticked off when they force city government to hold a referendum. They're really mad when they force another one six months later.

``East Cupertino should secede,'' grumbled resident John Callahan. ``Take Highway 85 as the boundary. All you parasites take the other side.''

Welcome to Cupertino civic involvement -- circa 2006.

On Tuesday night, Cupertino's City Council faces a long night and lots of emotion over rezoning commercial land to residential use. Confronted with a 5,000-signature petition gathered in a mere month, the council must decide when to put the issue on the ballot.

Welcome to Condotino

Sun, 18 Jun 2006 17:31:43 -0400

Locals are finding plenty of pitfalls in condo conversion. So why is it the hottest housing trend in Silicon Valley?

THE LANDSCAPE of the Santa Clara Valley has kept an eerie sort of consistency for well over 100 years. New homes were built on top of the orchards along the same basic grid so that, from the air, the houses look like little more than our most recent big crop. And now this crop has changed again, with condos beginning to overtake the suburbs and urban peripheries.

There's a legitimate problem facing those who want to live here: Suburban housing prices and job creation rates are still rising more than a half decade after the dotcom bust, while average incomes are considerably lower than at any time in the late 1990s. What that means is more and more people moving to an area where fewer and fewer can actually afford to live.

San Jose needs to preserve industrial jobs within city limits

Thu, 15 Jun 2006 21:48:05 -0400

San Jose needs to preserve industrial jobs within city limits So much for all the talk about San Jose needing more industry and the good jobs it provides. Tuesday night, the council approved a church next to Mass Precision Sheet Metal, a 24-hour, seven-day-a-week heavy-industrial operation on Oakland Road north of Brokaw. The owner brought documents showing how his insurance and other costs would be affected if a church moved in next door. He says he'll be moving the company to Santa Clara when the lease is up. So long, 400 jobs. So long, diversified economy: Nobody's building new heavy-manufacturing facilities here anymore.

How Much Is Too Much Development?

Thu, 15 Jun 2006 20:36:12 -0400

How Much Is Too Much Development? Tempers Flare At Cupertino Council Meeting June 14 2006 - KGO - It's a debate that is being repeated in communities across the Bay Area. Just where should a city draw the line on development? Homeowners feel their entitled to a say, but increasingly buying into a city doesn't mean buying a voice. At the Cupertino City Council Meeting in March, tempers flared over the construction of hundreds of condos and townhomes in and around the Vallco Fashion Park Shopping Center. Shipla Joshi, Cupertino resident: "Our city manager, he encourages us to come together and organize -- we are doing that.

North Vallco is now topic of renewed city debate

Wed, 14 Jun 2006 18:30:35 -0400

A final decision could mean link to coming Apple campus

A Cupertino Planning Commission study session on the future of the North Vallco area generated more questions than answers May 9.

Property owners and the Cupertino Chamber of Commerce listed several topics for the planning commission to consider as it moves forward on developing a master plan for an area bordered by Highway 280, Wolfe Road, Pruneridge Road and North Tantau Road.

"It will not be your father's office park," said Steve Piasecki, Cupertino's director of community development.

Council splits vote on referendum election

Wed, 14 Jun 2006 18:28:53 -0400

A Cupertino City Council discussion on two referendums May 16 included testimony from Vallco Fashion Park and Toll Brothers' officials, several comments from the public, a protracted discussion on the cost of elections and ultimately a split decision.

With Councilman Orrin Mahoney absent, the council voted 2-2 on whether to hold an election on the two referendums in 2006 or 2007. The referendums seek to overturn two city council decisions approving mixed-use projects at Vallco and at vacant land along Stevens Creek Boulevard at Finch Avenue.

The council declined to repeal its decision on those projects and instead moved ahead with setting an election--a process that proved contentious.

After much discussion about cost, council members Richard Lowenthal and Dolly Sandoval voted for a November 2006 election and council members Patrick Kwok and Kris Wang voted to hold the election in 2007. The city clerk's office had said 2006 would be the cheapest date for the election. With the split vote, the matter returns to the council at its next regular meeting June.

Referendums could face lawsuits

Wed, 14 Jun 2006 18:26:49 -0400

Referendums could face lawsuits By HUGH BIGGAR Cupertino Courier 5/10/2006 The city of Cupertino and backers of two referendums on growth could face legal action over those documents. At a closed session meeting on May 2, Cupertino's city council discussed the possibility of lawsuits on the referendums. According to city documents, Cupertino faces "significant exposure to litigation ... potential litigation of Toll Brothers vs. the City of Cupertino, and Vallco vs. the City of Cupertino regarding the referenda process." Residents drafted two referendums this spring hoping to overturn two city council decisions approving mixed-use development.

Control Issues

Wed, 14 Jun 2006 18:24:05 -0400

Cupertino business owners and residents are steamed at development being orchestrated by San Jose, outside of local jurisdiction

THE BORDER between Cupertino and San Jose zigzags back and fourth along the length of De Anza Boulevard so erratically that even people who have lived here for 20 or 30 years are rarely sure which city controls what. For simplicity's sake, most residents look at everything squished between Sunnyvale and Saratoga as part of their city, unaware that their street might be the domain of a different city hall 20 miles away—one in which they have no representation or political sway.