Cupertino Matters
- Candidate and Ballot Measure Forums
- UPCOMING – Council Meeting, Tues., Oct. 15, 6:45 p.m;
- RECAP – Planning Commission, Tues. Oct. 8
Election craziness is in full force. Readers have been bombarded with signs and flyers, as well as emails and wild Nextdoor postings. The latest craziness is a cease-and-desist letter by city council candidate and former Planning Commissioner Ray Wang, regarding a Nextdoor posting citing his removal for harassment as previously noted in numerous publications, see the San Jose Spotlight’s prior coverage in: Silicon Valley city tosses out controversial official. A press release regarding his accusation against your publisher, Jean Bedord, is available. His running mate, Kitty Moore, is known for her losing lawsuit against Vallco and Grand Jury findings of mistreatment of city staff. Do these candidates demonstrate the moral character to represent Cupertino residents?
San Jose Spotlight will also be holding its first in-person City Council Candidates Forum on Wed., Oct. 16, 7-8 at the Senior Center. It’s your opportunity to meet candidates face-to-face. Candidates are:
- Claudio Bono – Hotel manager
- Barry Chang – Former mayor
- Kitty Moore – Incumbent
- Rod Sinks – Former mayor
- Ray Wang – Technology conference speaker
- Hung Wei – Incumbent/Former mayor
- Gilbert Wong – Former mayor
San Jose Spotlight also provides an article Meet the candidates running for Cupertino City Council with a profile on each candidate as well as fund-raising coverage in: Money flows into Cupertino City Council race.
Confused by the ballot measures at the end of your ballot? The League of Women Voters will host a virtual Ballot Measure Pro & Cons on Wednesday, October 16, 2024, from 7:00 PM until 9:00 PM. Registration is required to get the Zoom link.
Be sure to check your registration and the candidates that you will be voting for at Vote411.org, a League of Women Voters site. This site is personalized to your address, so you may find district boundaries have changed your representative.
If you missed a League of Women Voters Forum, check the full calendar on the website, where recordings are posted after forums are over.
Do you have friends who would like to become better informed about our community? Please encourage them to subscribe to our email newsletter at CupertinoMatters.org. Past issues back to January 2020 are posted on the website for research.
UPCOMING – CITY COUNCIL – Tues., Oct. 15 , 2024, 6:45 p.m., Regular Meeting
There are no Ceremonial Items. There are two Presentations:
- Item No. 1: Annual Report of the Planning Commission
- Item No.4: Annual Report of the Sustainability Commission
The Consent Calendar contains three routine items. Members of the public may speak on any or all consent calendar items when the mayor asks for public comment on the Consent Calendar. If an item is pulled from the Consent Calendar, it will be addressed after all regularly scheduled action items. Members of the public may comment on that item when it is considered.
Item No. 6: Study Session on Unhoused Services and Programs. Homelessness is complex. Overall, the City of Cupertino has consistently had fewer homeless individuals than nearby cities. The semi-annual PIT (point-in-time) count highlights the city’s ongoing efforts, with a significant decrease from 159 individuals in 2019 to 48 in 2023. The cost of a single occupant encampment resolution is $4,549.76. Staff is presenting two options for council to consider: (1) Continue the current model based on the City’s Unhoused Task Force, Process for Assisting Unhoused Residents, and partnerships with the County of Santa Clara to measurably serve the City based on the relative needs of existing unhoused residents, including continuing to seek partnerships and possible grant opportunities; or (2) Direct the City Manager to propose an item for the Fiscal Year 2025-2027 City Work Program to develop an encampment management policy by evaluating examples from other jurisdictions in the Bay Area and incorporating best practices for review by the City Council.
Item No. 7: Amendments to Cupertino Municipal Code Chapter 2.32 (Planning Commission), Chapter 2.74 (Technology, Information, and Communications Commission), Chapter 2.86 (Housing Commission), Chapter 11.08 (Bicycles), and Chapter 13.04 (Parks), and repeal of Municipal Code Chapter 15.04 (Waterworks System – Rates and Charges). The Municipal Code needs to be reviewed on a periodic basis as state and federal laws change and as other parts of the Municipal Code are enacted or changed. These are generally minor, but the exception is changes to the TICC (Technology, Information, and Communications Commission) to allow non-voters as members as well as updated responsibilities to align with the actual jurisdiction of the Commission.
Item No. 8: Unassign funds from the Committed Sales Tax Repayment Reserve. In October 2023, to prepare for a potential adverse CDTFA decision and the uncertain
outcome of the anticipated legal challenge, City Council approved the establishment of a committed General Fund Sales Tax Repayment Reserve. On October 2, 2024, the City reached a settlement with CDTFA, rendering continuation of the Sales Tax Repayment Reserve unnecessary. As a result, staff is requesting the $74.5 million, approved by Council as part of the FY2023-24 Third Quarter Financial Report, be uncommitted. Staff will bring a proposed allocation plan for these one-time dollars to Council for review and approval as part of the FY 2024-25 First Quarter Financial Report in November.
Item No. 9: Council Reports, (now submitted in written form) are provided by Mayor Mohan, Vice-Mayor Fruen, Councilmember Chao, and Councilmember Moore.
RECAP – PLANNING COMMISSION – Tues., Oct. 8, 2024, 6:45 p.m., Regular Meeting
YouTube: 28 min.
This very short meeting considered Item No. 2, a Sign Exception Permit to consider a ground sign with LED lighting, and four wall signs where only one is allowed, at an existing service station and associated environmental review. (Application No(s): EXC-2024-002; Applicant(s): Ed Hadad; Location: 19990 Stevens Creek Boulevard; APN: 369 05 007). Other than not allowing the requested canopy signs to be lighted, the signs for this rebranded Arco (currently Alliance Gas) station, were approved on a 4-0-1 vote with Scharf absent.
CUPERTINO COURIER: October 11, 2024
The front page story and photo on page 5 is entitled Along for the ride: Local residents gather at Cupertino Civic Plaza for annual Bike Fest. Community briefs are (1) Candidate forums for the election, and (2) Make a video, win a prize. Page 5 is a previously published Mercury News article entitled Cupertino is spared from paying millions in sales tax covering the settlement between the City and the CDTFA. Legal notices include (1) Second readings of two preferential parking ordinances, (2) Notice of inviting bids LED Streetlight Installation Rebid, and (3) Second reading of repeal of energy codes.
Warm regards,
Jean Bedord
Cupertino Matters
Publisher and Editor
