Cupertino Matters
- Former Mayor Hung Wei dies
- Cupertino in the News
- UPCOMING – City Council, Wed., Sept. 3, 2025, 6:45 p.m.; Closed Session, 6:00 p.m.
City council returns from recess this week, so Cupertino Matters now resumes publication. The fall begins with the tragic loss of Hung Wei, our former Mayor and City Councilmember who passed away from lung cancer on August 28. Wei was a truly outstanding community leader who touched innumerable lives in her journey, which included service on the city council–to which she was elected with the highest ever vote total by far in 2020–on the governing board of trustees of the Fremont Union High District, as Rotary Past President and District Governor, as YMCA Board Chair and Member, as a board member of the Fremont Union High Schools Foundation, and on the boards or as a member of countless other community-based organizations. She was extraordinarily generous with her time, her energy, her love, and her compassion. She will be sorely missed. Instead of flowers, the family requests that your generosity be directed toward the charities she cared so deeply about: Cupertino Rotary Endowment Foundation and Fremont Union HIgh Schools Foundation..
As we now move into September, the month promises to be very busy. State Assemblymember Patrick Ahrens is holding a community coffee alongside Mayor Liang Chao on Sept. 6, 9:30 – 11 a.m. at the Quinlan Center. An RSVP is appreciated in order to supply sufficient coffee and pastries. The annual Silicon Valley Fall Festival will be held on Saturday, September 13, at Memorial Park–a true community event for all ages.
Over the summer break, Cupertino once again made negative headlines over its lawsuits involving two Builder’s Remedy projects, which were not approved by the city. A front page local Mercury News article is entitled Cupertino is violating state housing law, California’s top housing agency says:The city was previously sued by pro-housing groups over the issue in April. Cupertino Today covered the matter similarly in State agency finds Cupertino is again in violation of housing law; City ‘disagrees’ The city defends its legal position in the following Press Release: Cupertino Maintains Compliance with State Housing Law So who will prevail in this dispute over housing project approvals – the state Housing and Community Development (HCD) or the city of Cupertino? As the matter progresses, the California Attorney General could also weigh in. In the meantime, the city’s legal bills are mounting.
More housing development projects are in the pipeline. As reported by San Jose Spotlight in Cupertino housing development could replace business center, Summerhill Homes is proposing a 27-townhome project on 1.55 acres at 10268 Bandley Drive to replace a dated single story office complex. Plans for the three-story development includes five moderately-affordable homes and 59 parking spaces, primarily in each home’s two-car garage.
The housing situation is complex. While long overdue new housing is in the pipeline, the still city faces other aspects of the housing crisis. Campbell is taking the lead by spearheading West Valley homeless study to guide future solutions (reported by the San Jose Spotlight). This study includes Cupertino. Another aspect is the increase in “mobile housing”, with residents living in RVs and trailers, which the city is likely to restrict with Agenda Item #17 described below. The city, however, has done no outreach to understand the core issues and the impact of such restrictions. Do these residents work in Cupertino? Are these families with children? Are these seniors who can’t afford apartments on a fixed income?
In the meantime, one resident offers an additional approach that could have a significant effect: Cupertino Activist Claudio Bono Proposes Bold $25B Loyalty-Point Strategy and Nonprofit Resource Sharing to End US Homelessness, Calls for Federal Review by leveraging hospitality resources
Rent increases also have an impact on our residents as a Cupertino Housing Commissioner had to resign when a rent increase forced her to move to another city. The story likewise received coverage in the San Jose Spotlight: West Valley rents displace young adults in local government service.
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, Wed., Sept. 3, 2025, 6:45 p.m. , Regular; 6:00 Closed Session
Closed Session: 6:00 p.m. (Items 1 and 3 of earlier agenda removed)
Item No. 2: Conference with Labor Negotiators; California Government Code Section 54957.6 (Kristina Alfaro and Christopher Boucher).
Open Session; 6:45 p.m.
Closed Session Report
Ceremonial Items are (1) Recognize September as Childhood Cancer Awareness Month and (2) Recognize September as National Preparedness Month, followed by a Presentation on Copertino Sister City student delegation activities. There is one postponement of a business fee determination for Lee’s Sandwiches to the Nov. 18 council meeting.
Oral Communications from the public on non-agenda items precede the Consent Calendar, which contains eight routine items.
Item No. 16: Introduce amendments to Municipal Code Chapters 19.08 (Definitions), and 19.112 (Accessory Dwelling Units) and Associated Environmental Review. (Application No. MCA-2025-001; Applicant: City of Cupertino; Location: City-wide). Council adopted the most recent iteration of Cupertino’s ADU ordinance on Feb. 23, 2024. Its provisions were included in the city’s certified Housing Element. Nonetheless, state law requires cities to submit ADU ordinances to the California Department of Housing and Community Development (HCD) for review. In HCD’s April 24, 2025 review letter, HCD identified areas that needed to be updated based on laws that became effective on January 1, 2025, well after the passage of the last city update. The changes largely impact how ADUs can be developed on multifamily properties. This item updates the City code to remain compliant with updated state law and to maintain consistency with the city’s General Plan. The matter was considered by the Planning Commission at their July 8, 2025 meeting, and approved on a 4-0-1 vote (Fung absent). The current version has minor modifications that improve the ordinance’s organization and clarity in addition to keeping the ordinance consistent with the city’s Housing Element. As such, the item should be non-controversial. Staff have previously expressed a commitment to HCD to completing required updates this month.
Item No. 17: Introduce Municipal Code amendments to Cupertino Municipal Code, Title 11, Vehicles and Traffic, Section 11.24.130, Section 11.27.050, Section 11.28.010, and Section 11.28.020, pertaining to the overnight parking of oversized vehicles on public streets. This item was the subject of a council study session on July 15, and had been considered by the Planning Commission in two other sessions. Oversized vehicle parking is more complicated than a simple revision of parking regulations originally envisioned by Mayor Chao when the item first came to council. The ordinance drafted by the interim city attorney allows oversized vehicle parking using a permit-based system, but requires vehicles to move 1500 feet, and not return for 72 hours, as well as signs to provide sufficient notice at city entrances and impacted streets. The ordinance still includes the requirement for permits for residents with the same restrictions.
There has been no outreach to affected vehicles to determine impact. How many of these mobile residents are “working poor” staffing minimum wage jobs in our community? Why do they choose to park in Cupertino? What alternatives do they have if Cupertino severely restricts RV parking in public right of way? Shouldn’t the city be addressing the core issues?
Item No. 18: Acceptance of the Stevens Creek Boulevard Corridor Vision Study (Continued from July 15, 2025). Though time-critical, council failed to consider this item previously, leading to a month and a half delay. The Stevens Creek Boulevard Corridor Vision Study is a multi-agency planning study between the Cities of Cupertino, San Jose, and Santa Clara, as well as the County of Santa Clara, and the Santa Clara Valley Transportation Authority (VTA). This Study outlines a vision for the future of the nine-mile Stevens Creek Boulevard/West San Carlos Street Corridor, emphasizing the need for coordinated planning and transportation improvements across the participating jurisdictions.
The recommended action is to adopt this study including the additional qualifications recommended by the Cupertino Bicycle Pedestrian Commission and Planning Commission, and directing City staff to work through the multijurisdictional working Agroup and Steering Committee to further assess the Study’s recommendations and opportunities for implementation.
Item No. 19: Options on Commission Oversight of Transportation Matters. Traditionally, the city of Cupertino has relied on the Bicycle Pedestrian Commission (BPC) aggregate public feedback and provide input on transportation matters. The Planning Commission has authority over land use. This practice mirrors that in surrounding cities and is a commonplace arrangement throughout the state. Recently, the chair of the Planning Commission, Santosh Rao, has agitated to bring transportation under the purview of the Planning Commission. Changing the structure would require modifications to the City Municipal Code. Options include: (1) splitting responsibilities between Planning and BPC, which introduces overlap between the two commissions, (2) expanding the role for Planning Commission to include a focus on major infrastructure changes (an effort primarily aimed at giving the Planning Commission greater say over lane changes to favor cars), (3) continuing with BPC oversight, renaming it the “Transportation and Mobility Commission”, and (4) transitioning all transportation matters to the Planning Commission, eliminating the BPC. Only Option 3 avoids impacting staffing resources and the budget. The other options would increase staffing costs.
Item No. 20: City Manager Report, (now submitted in written form).
Item No. 21: Council Reports, (now submitted in written form) are provided by Vice-Mayor Moore and Councilmember Fruen. There were no reports from Mayor Chao, Councilmember Mohan, and Councilmember Wang.
Item No. 22: Future Agenda Items
Item No. 23: Adjournment in honor of former Mayor and Councilmember Hung Wei
CUPERTINO COURIER: August 29, 2025
The front page and photo on page 5 is entitled Symbol of unity: Peace Pole Dedication Ceremony held at De Anza College. Step up to the plate: Cupertino Senior Center hosts open house. Additional community briefs include (1) Get out the voters, (2) Bell ringing for Peace, and (3) Cadres of volunteers. The sole legal notices are for Public hearings for Municipal Code Amendments for required public art work in Public and Private
Development, scheduled for the Sept. 23 Planning Commission meeting and Oct. 21 for City Council consideration.
CUPERTINO COURIER: August 22, 2025
The front page and community brief on page 5 is entitled Step up to the plate: Cupertino Senior Center hosts open house. Additional community briefs are Cool hikes led by Bay Area Older Adults. Page 8 is a previously published article from the Mercury News entitled State: City violating housing law: Groups also filed a pair of lawsuits this year over 2 proposed projects that were denied. Legal notices include (1) Public hearing for Municipal Code Amendments for ADUs (Accessory Dwelling Units) to comply with state law scheduled for the city council meeting on Sept. 3 at 6:45 p.m., and (20 Public hearing for FY2024025 Community Development Block Grant Consolidated Annual Performance and Evaluation Report.scheduled for the Housing Commission on Thurs., Sept. 25 at 5:30 p.m.
CUPERTINO COURIER: August 15, 2025
The front page and article on page 5 is entitled East Bay Theatre’s Opening Delayed Amid Apple Lawsuit. Community briefs are (1) Bobateeno, (2) AACI honors Ahrens and (3) Meet your representative. The legal notice is a public hearing for Municipal Code Amendments to various chapters scheduled for the Tues. ,Sept. 9, 2025 Planning Commission meeting, which is tentatively scheduled for City Council review on Tuesday, Oct. 7, 2025 at 6:45 p.m.
CUPERTINO COURIER: August 8, 2025
The front page and article on page 5 is entitled ‘Cultures that shape’: Art installation at the San Jose Jazz Summerfest is no small feat. Community briefs include (1) Bike skills workshop, (2) Crest nominations open and (3) Civic survey. There were no legal notices.
CUPERTINO COURIER: August 1, 2025
The front page and community brief on page 2 is entitled Bells ring for peace: Ceremony marks 80th anniversary of bombing of sister city. An additional community brief is Peaceful pickleball. Page 3 is a previously published article from the Mercury News entitled City pays for probe of ex-city manager: Firm gets more than $20,000 to investigate Pamela Wu, who vacated her position in June. There were no legal notices.
Warm regards,
Jean Bedord
Cupertino Matters
Publisher and Editor
