Cupertino Matters
- Election
- Housing Update
- City Legal Costs
- TONIGHT – Planning Commission, Tues., Oct. 28, 6:45 p.m.
- RECAP – City Council, Tues., Oct. 21, 6:45 p.m.
Only one more week to cast your ballot for the Nov. 4 election. Mailing in your ballot is an easy option, but readers can also utilize dropboxes located at City Hall, the Library, and Quinlan Community Center, in addition to DeAnza College at the RSS off Parking Lot 1A. Beginning November 1, there will be an in-person Vote Center at Seven Seven Springs Clubhouse. Other in-person vote center locations are listed in the County Voter Information Guide.
This special election is a vote on (1) County Assessor, (2) Measure A for county funding and (3) Proposition 50 for state redistricting. The League of Women Voters held a live Santa Clara County Assessor Candidate Forum for the four contenders which is viewable on YouTube. The Mercury News Editorial Board evaluated the candidates and made a straightforward endorsement: Neysa Fligor is best choice for Santa Clara County’s next assessor: Of the four candidates vying to replace Larry Stone, the Los Altos vice mayor and attorney is best qualified for the job. This office is responsible for determining the taxable value of more than 500,000 properties assessed at more than $750 billion, with a 250-person office for day-to-day operations.
Regarding the ballot measures, the League of Women Voters of Cupertino-Sunnyvale has a readable impartial analysis of both Measure A and Proposition 50. The League of Women Voters also gave live presentations of Pro and Cons for Measure A and Proposition 50, which are recorded and available on YouTube. In addition, the Mercury News published an editorial opposing Measure A.
Housing is again the hot topic in Cupertino. This is the latest news on progress at The Rise: Fall Construction Update dated October 24, 2025. Note that building and parkland will commence late 2026. Major developments require years to obtain financing and start construction. In the process, major changes can occur, as has happened with two sites. The site on south De Anza Boulevard and Prospect (Coach House) originally approved by council as a mixed use project couldn’t get financing, so the project is now 35 townhomes according to SFYIMBY: Preliminary Permits Change Plans for 1655 South De Anza Boulevard, Cupertino. The original Canyon Crossings (Foothill Market ) application approved by council as a mixed use project is now 29 townhomes and condominiums. A list of major residential projects can be found on the city website: https://www.cupertino.gov/Your-City/Departments/Community-Development/Planning/Major-Residential-Projects.
Are legal costs for the city of Cupertino excessive? Buried in the Accounts Payable registers, these are payments to the law firm Aleshire & Wynder for legal services provided by the contract city attorney, Floy Andrews and her associate Vrunda Shah. This outside law firm was hired after the resignation of the staff city attorney. The city also has a senior associate city attorney on staff.
* $ 22,858.50 February services paid in March – partial month after city attorney, Chris Jensen resigned
* $ 74,775.60 March services paid in April
* $150,495.50 April services paid in July
* $113,650.20 May services paid in July
* $134,907.65 June services paid September (this month’s payment register)
* ???? July services
* ???? August services
* ???? September services
This is $496,687.35 of known expenses for legal services slightly over 4 months of legal work by this law firm. The $20,000 for the private investigator hired to investigate the former city manager (insufficient evidence) is not included in this total. At this rate, this contract city attorney’s firm will bill over $1 million to the city of Cupertino for legal services. The city also engages other law firms for their specialized expertise, and has a senior associate city attorney on staff so the total for legal services is even higher.
Mayor Chao is responsible for signing off on these legal bills; she is also responsible for scheduling meetings that the interim city attorney attends on billable time. Here are some of the contributors to these excessive billings:
* Overly long council meetings
* Numerous closed sessions, even if the item is an just an update
* Special meetings, such as the Measure A endorsement letter
* Questionable legal advice, i.e. the jurisdictional authority over DeAnza College and its purchase of the McClellan Terrace Apartments, Cities Association jurisdiction, and Builder’s Remedy projects.
* Excessive redaction of PRAs (Public Record Action)
Furthermore, the contract city attorney will not disclose summary invoices for her work. A PRA submitted on Aug. 22 was not completed until Oct. 23, PRA 25-194, and was heavily redacted to obscure excessive billings. Is this the transparency promised by Mayor Chao and Vice-Mayor Moore? Failure to comply with PRA requirements can be very expensive as San Jose discovered in this San Jose Spotlight article entitled San Jose to pay six figures after losing public records lawsuit, with the city having to pay over $500,000 plus legal fees..
UPCOMING – Planning Commission, Tues., Oct. 28, 2025, 6:45 p.m., Regular meeting
The sole agenda is Item No. 2: Study Session: Objective Design Standards. Cupertino is preparing new residential design standards, known as objective design standards (ODS), to accommodate changes in state housing law. These standards are intended to be objective so as to be clear and enforceable under the Housing Accountability Act, though it is not clear how these standards could withstand waivers and concessions under the Density Bonus Law, which would apply to almost all new multifamily housing projects in Cupertino.
Staff and the project consultant, PlaceWorks, conducted a Planning Commission Study Session for the ODS project on May 13, 2025 and again on July 22, 2025 when the commission asked for locally adopted ODS in other cities for comparison purposes. The agenda item provides ODS from Sunnyvale, San Mateo, Palo Alto, Foster City, and Los Gatos. Staff is requesting feedback to staff to prepare a draft document for further consideration at the Commission near the end of the year. This is likely a lengthy technical discussion.
RECAP – CITY COUNCIL, Tues. Oct . 21, 2025, 6:45 p.m., Regular, 6:00 p.m., Closed Session
YouTube: 3 hr. 45 min. Councilmember Ray Wang absent.
Consent Calendar Item. No. 12, to approve the July 1, 2025, through June 30, 2028, Memorandum of Understanding setting the salary and terms and conditions of employment for the Cupertino City Employees’ Association (CEA)/IFPTE Local 21, was pulled by Mayor Chao, and considered immediately after the rest of the Consent Calendar. This is a negotiated contract whose provisions are dealt with in closed session as permitted under state law. As a result, open session consideration is typically a pro forma approval on the part of the council. In this case, plagued by questions from frequent council grandstanders, the mayor brought in the city’s labor negotiator to spend 20 minutes explaining the process to “the public.” Council approved 4-0-1 with Wang absent.
Item No. 13: Study Session Study session to review the Arts & Culture Commission’s recommendation to the Municipal Code standards for art in public and private development, including the standards in the Municipal Code and developing an Art-in-lieu fee policy. (Application No. MCA-2025-003; Applicant: City of Cupertino; Location: City-wide). The Arts and Culture Commission proposed a generally straightforward change to the municipal code to equalize the in-lieu art fee with the on-site fee of 1% of total construction costs. However, the council spent over two hours on a wide ranging discussion which included the broader issue of the role of the Commission. Cupertino has had relatively little construction until recently, so their role in art selection has been minor. Responsibility for liaising with this Commission has also shifted around the city organization, along with the turnover of city managers. Though the city council would like to have more say in the selection of art, realistically, art is only 1% of construction costs with development projects taking years to come to fruition, while commissioners and council members term out. Council decided on a further study session to answer various follow-on legal questions and to allow the full council (Wang was absent) to consider the matter more fully after the first of the year.
CUPERTINO COURIER: Oct. 24, 2025
The front page photo with additional photo and caption on page 5, is entitled Bird of Prey: Midpen announces winners of 15th annual photography contest. Additional community briefs include (1) Symphonic Band Concert, (2) Bike Lane Upgrade Delayed, and (3) Creek Cleanup and Bay Hike. Page 5 is a previously published Mercury News article entitled Cupertino’s homeless numbers soar since 2023. The sole legal notice is a hearing scheduled for city council on Nov. 4 to consider municipal code amendments to conform to 2025 state of California codes.
Warm regards,
Jean Bedord
Cupertino Matters
Publisher and Editor
