Cupertino Matters
- Mayor Chao misbehavior and city updates
- RECAP- City Council, Tues., Mar. 4, 2025, 6:45 p.m.
- RECAP – Planning Commission, Tues., Mar. 11, 2025, 6:45 p.m.
March is Women’s History Month–an annual observance to highlight the contributions of women to events in history and contemporary society. In addition, International Women’s Day was celebrated on March 8, commemorating women’s fight for equality and liberation along with the women’s rights movement. International Women’s Day gives focus to issues such as gender equality, reproductive rights, and violence and abuse against women.
Council dysfunction and the mayor’s disregard for her colleagues and the public was quite obvious for the last two items on the March 4 agenda. At the February 4 meeting, without advance posting to the public or council, Mayor Chao verbally presented her version of modifications to the City Council Procedures Manual (Agenda Item No. 9), then cut off full discussion. This item was continued to the Mach 4 meeting, and just before council meeting, she again made changes in conjunction with the new interim city attorney, then didn’t allow point-by-point discussion. Councilmember Mohan had provided extensive written feedback for discussion which was ignored by the Mayor in ramrodding her version through the council majority. Councilmember Fruen was cut short in his discussion, unlike the practice of previous mayors. Vice Mayor Moore also commented that she was being asked to “rubber-stamp” the mayor’s changes. San Jose Spotlight highlighted just a handful of them: Cupertino officials vote to let mayors serve longer
The mayor’s unprofessional behavior was also evident with the study session for the Policies and Procedures for the Sister Cities (Agenda 10) which wasn’t considered until approximately 11 p.m. The four sister cities organizations were NOT present at the meeting; the committee has yet to meet this year. Again, Mayor Chao verbally presented her changes in the council meeting, rather than providing them in advance to allow transparent discussion by the public, affected stakeholders, and the rest of council. The changes were clearly a vendetta against the city manager. Public comment by a former mayor framed the underlying issues. This was followed by a confusing discussion, and dissatisfaction from the other council members. Strangely, the new interim city attorney had to prompt the mayor on conducting the meeting and adjournment, after she herself was confused about procedures earlier in the meeting. Cupertino lost its city attorney, at least partially due to conflict with the current mayor–is this another step back to the turmoil of 2021 – 2022 with six city managers?
Cupertino is becoming more bike-friendly, with approval for safety improvements on very busy Stevens Creek Boulevard, as highlighted in the San Jose Spotlight: Cupertino to protect cyclists on Stevens Creek Boulevard. Walk-Bike Cupertino provides a more detailed explanation of the reasons for investing in infrastructure to reduce injuries and deaths.
There was an update this week from The Rise (aka Vallco) regarding infrastructure work. The Santa Clara County Department of Environmental Health (SCCDEH) has approved the proposed grading soil as clean and appropriate to be used in conjunction with existing soil on site for the project, including residential use, which allows grading operations, one step closer to the construction of future roadways, utilities, and landscapes. Additional work is underway: (1) Horizontal Infrastructure Work, (2) Utility Verification Night Work, (3) Limited Tree Removals., and (4) Perimeter Wall Upgrades.
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.
RECAP – Planning Commission, Tues., Mar. 11, 2025; 6:45 p.m., Regular Meeting
YouTube: 1 hr. 10 min.
Item No. 2: Hillside Exception to consider the construction of a new single-family residence on a vacant hillside property with cumulative disturbance exceeding 500 square feet on slopes greater than or equal to 30%. (Application No(s).: EXC-2023-001; Applicant(s): Zhaoguang Lei and Weiju Zhang; Location: 22346 Regnart Road Cupertino has limitations on development on the hillsides so Planning Commission approval of a Hillside Exception is required to build in these areas. The application is for a 6,436 sq. ft. home on a vacant 3.04 acre lot. The project is compliant, including visibility, with the exception of grading on a 30% slope Other homes in the area are comparable in size, but grandfathered prior to current regulations. As staff recommended, the Commission approved 4-0-1 with Lindskog absent.
Item No. 3: Use Permit Modification, Architectural and Site Approval, and Tree Removal Permit for the construction of a 275-crypt garden Mausoleum and removal and replacement of 5 development trees. (Application No.: M-2024-002, ASA-2024-002, & TR-2024-023; Applicant: Gates of Heaven Cemetery; Location: 22557 Cristo Rey Drive; APN: 342-63-002). The 1962 Santa Clara County use permit is quite restrictive, though additional buildings and facilities have been added over the years. The Diocese is proposing a house-sized 3,400 square-foot, 275 crypt garden mausoleum adjacent to the existing 37,000 square foot mausoleum and chapel. This will require removal and replacement of 5 development trees on the site. No additional traffic or noise will be generated. The additional mausoleum will not be visible from the road or nearby residences. As staff recommended, the Commission approved 4-0-1 with Lindskog absent.
RECAP – CITY COUNCIL, Tues., Mar. 4, 6:45 p.m., Regular meeting
YouTube: Part 1 2 hr. 22 min; Part 2 2hr. 20 min.
Item No. 7: Baker Tilly Budget Format Review and Performance Measures Updates. The outside consultant, Baker Tilly US, LLP, gave an extensive presentation on their recommendations for a significant overhaul of the current budget reporting. Council reviewed and requested minor revisions. Implementation is dependent on concurrent ERP implementation. The council had to approve the changes at this meeting for Finance to utilize the new format for the upcoming budget cycle. Council unanimously approved the staff recommendation with minor amendments to priority levels.
Item No. 8: Accept the City Manager’s Mid-Year Financial Report for Fiscal Year 2024-25; Budget Modification No. 2425-383, increasing appropriations by $4,161,892 and revenues by $4,115,183. Council spent an hour discussing this important mid-year report, though they had been briefed separately prior to the meeting. In a dramatic turnaround resulting from significant departmental cost reductions over the last two years and changes in revenues, the 10-Year financial forecast is structurally sound. Council approved 4-1 with Wang voting nay for no stated reason.
Item No. 9: Amendments to the Cupertino City Council Procedures Manual (Continued from February 19, 2025 City Council Meeting). Due to poor time management, this item was not considered until 10 p.m. As mentioned above, communications for this item were not satisfactory for the public or council members. A redlined version is to be provided at the next council meeting. After cutting debate short, council approved 3-2 with Mohan and Fruen voting nay.
Item No.10: Study Session on updates to the Policies and Guidelines on Sister Cities, Friendship Cities, and International Delegations pertaining to international travel. This item was not considered until 11 p.m. and required extending the meeting. As mentioned above, the proposed changes were presented verbally by the mayor so council decided to continue the agenda item for a month on a 4-1 vote, with Fruen voting nay.
CUPERTINO COURIER: March 7, 2025
The front page picture and article on page 5 is entitled Preparing for evacuations: Mountain residents take matters into their own hands as local officials lag. The community brief is Picturing wildlife, regarding awards to Cupertino photographer, Jean Zuo. Page 7 is a previously published Mercury News article entitled Mayor Chao discusses housing and budget challenges. There are no legal notices.
Warm regards,
Jean Bedord
Cupertino Matters
Publisher and Editor
