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December 10, 2024 Newsletter

by | Dec 10, 2024 | Council Agenda, Council Recap, Newsletter, Planning agenda | 0 comments

Cupertino Matters

Council reorganization occurs on Thurs., Dec. 12, with the swearing-in of newly elected council members, Kitty Moore and Ray Wang, and recognition of outgoing council member Hung Wei. The newly installed council will then choose the mayor and vice-mayor for the next year. The public is invited to attend the ceremony and comment.

Join the County League of Women Voters for an information session on The Civil Grand Jury Explained: The Purpose, Power, and Selection of the Civil Grand Jury in Santa Clara County, on  Dec.11, 2024. 7-8 p.m. Register on Zoom  Readers may recall a Civil Grand Jury report A HOUSE DIVIDED: CUPERTINO CITY COUNCIL AND CITY STAFF, published December 19, 2022, citing two of the council members, Liang Chao and Kitty Moore, for councilmanic interference. Will this become an issue again with this new council?

The city is recruiting for commissions which serve as advisory bodies to the City Council by considering public input and providing recommendations to the Council. Appointments to all commissions will occur in January 2025. These include: Arts and Culture Commission, Audit Committee, Bicycle Pedestrian Commission, Housing Commission, Library Commission, Parks and Recreation Commission, Planning Commission, Public Safety Commission and Sustainability Commission. The application deadline is 4:00 p.m. on Friday, January 3, 2025. Council will interview and make appointments in late January. Applications can be submitted online at cupertino.org/vacancies via the new commission-specific application links.

On Nov. 16, the city of Cupertino honored the outstanding contributions of city commission and committee members and volunteers of the community with the 2024 Cupertino Community Service Awards Ceremony. This year’s CREST (Cupertino Recognizes Extra Steps Taken)  well deserved recognition awards went to  Dolly Sandoval (Lifetime Achievement); Becky Smith (Volunteer of the Year); Sudisha Kumar (Rising Star); Cupertino Toyokawa Sister Cities, Inc. (Organization of the Year).

For research, past issues back to January 2020 of Cupertino Matters are posted on the website. Encourage your friends who would like to become better informed about our community to subscribe to our email newsletter at CupertinoMatters.org.

UPCOMING – CITY COUNCIL – Thurs., Dec. 12 , 2024, 6:00 p.m.,, Televised Special Meeting (Election Results and Swearing-in Ceremony)Agenda and Presentations

Item #1 Statement of results of the General Municipal Election held on November 5, 2024 and declaration of candidates who received the most votes and were elected for the position of City of Cupertino Council Member

Item #2 Recognize outgoing Councilmember Hung Wei

Item #3 Oath of Office of Recently Elected Councilmembers

Item #4 a. Councilmembers elect Mayor b. Councilmembers elect Vice Mayor c. Mayor and Vice Mayor Oath of Office

UPCOMING – PLANNING COMMISSION, Tues., Dec. 10, 2024, 6:45 p.m., Regular Meeting

Agenda and Presentations

In addition to approving minutes of the Oct. 8, 2024 meeting, the sole action item is Item No. 2:  Zoning Map Amendment for Priority Housing Site No. 24 in the 6th Cycle Housing Element (Application No.(s): Z-2024-001, EA-2024-001; Applicant: City of Cupertino; APN: 359 13 019; Location: 20865 McClellan Road). There was a typo in the Housing Element designation for this site. The site was supposed to have been designated R-3/TH instead of just R-3 to facilitate townhome style development as discussed with the Planning Department since 2021. A formal application was submitted in October for 27 townhomes on almost an acre of land near De Anza College. The action item is to approve this correction. The rezoning has no direct effect on the existing development application.

RECAP – CITY COUNCIL,  Tues., Dec. 3 , 2024, 6:45 p.m., Regular Meeting; 6:15 Closed Session

YouTube: 3 hr. 26 min.

Agenda and Presentations

Closed Session:
Item No. 1:  Conference with legal counsel – existing litigation pursuant to Government Code § 54956.9 and initiation of litigation pursuant to Government Code § 54956.9(c) (Ali et al. v. City of Cupertino et al., Santa Clara County Superior Court Case No. 24CV439697), regarding property damage. City Attorney was authorized to file a cross-complaint by a 4-0-1 vote with Wei absent.

Regular Meeting:
Item No. 11: City Manager’s First Quarter Financial Report for Fiscal Year (FY) 2024-25 (Continued from November 19, 2024). After the staff presentation, this item was approved 4-0-1 with Wei absent.

Item No. 12:  Capital Improvement Program Photovoltaic Systems Design and Installation Project. The staff report was extensive on this project, detailing the cost/benefit of each of the five locations originally proposed. The project will result in millions in electricity savings in large part from taking advantage of expiring regulated electricity rates. The highest, most actionable benefit is for three sites: Quinlan Center, the Sports Center, and Community Hall. Public comment centered around design issues related to the Sports Center, which would be a later phase. Time is of the essence to complete the project to provide electricity under more favorable financial terms. Council approved 4-0-1 with Wei absent.

Item No. 13: Approve the third amendment to the City Attorney’s employment contract and revise the Appointed Employees’ Compensation Program. This should have been a straightforward approval of a contract amendment which was previously negotiated by a council subcommittee authorized by a 5-0 vote of the city council in closed session. Mohan and Chao were appointed to the subcommittee to negotiate the agreement. The amendment provided a well-deserved increase in compensation, as well as adding a clause to provide equity in COLA increases afforded to other city employees, including the City Manager, and increasing the severance package to be commensurate with other cities. After public comment, Chao then violated basic governance principles by voting against the contract she voted to authorize and which she had negotiated. The amendment was then approved 3-1-1 with Chao voting nay and Wei absent.

Consent Item No. 9: Approval of a contract with Alta Planning + Design, Inc. for the Development of an Active Transportation Plan (ATP) in the amount of $300,000. (PW – David Stillman) was pulled by Chao and considered after the Action Calendar. This item was included in the City Work Plan by a 4-1 vote, yet Chao questioned the need and claimed, erroneously, that the money from the grant could be used on something other than an Active Transportation Plan described in the awarded grant application. After an overlong discussion, this contract award was approved 4-0-1 with Wei absent.

CUPERTINO COURIER: December 6, 2024

The front page story and article on page 5 is entitled ‘Looking for a unicorn’:  Menlo Park couple trades up from ‘starter home’, moves to Cupertino. ‘I don’t know how we got so lucky’; Former Menlo Park couple overcomes frustrations to land an idyllic spot for their family in woodsy Cupertino area. Community briefs are (1) ‘Christmas’ fun at the library and  (2) Advising an authority. Page 8 is a previously published Mercury News article entitled School district adopts new rules for teaching gender, sexuality:  Teachers now required to address all sides of this controversial topic. There are no legal notices.

Warm regards,
Jean Bedord
Cupertino Matters
Publisher and Editor