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Welcome to
all our new subscribers. It is good to see that the word of mouth is
working and more and more people are signing up for BetterCupertino.org.
The more connected we are, the easier it is to communicate and make our
voice heard to the City Council. We continue to grow, but we need to
grow larger and faster.
Thanksgiving rapidly approaches. We want everyone to enjoy the holiday to the fullest. To all a happy holiday. Enjoy and celebrate to the fullest with friends and families.
BetterCupertino continues to focus on the upcoming Rally and City Council meeting. We wanted to share the press release we have sent out to the local media to try to gain a media presence on December 2. A massive turnout is required to make our voice heard. We have the opportunity to be heard across the whole bay area. Talk to your friends and neighbors, get them involved. Let's generate a turnout at these events beyond everyone's greatest expectations. It is time to send a very clear message to the City Council - This is our city. Do not write a blank check to developers. No rezoning without an approved, concrete plan.
Here is the press release:
Cupertino Residents to Confront City Council over General Plan Amendment during December 2, 2014 City Council Meeting
City Council remains firmly in support of developers in spite of residents constant request to control the development process
Cupertino, CA, November 24, 2014:
Cupertino, CA residents, with the support of BetterCupertino.org, are planning a mass rally at City Hall against the city council’s proposed General Plan Amendment (GPA) on December 2, 2014. Following the rally, residents plan on displaying their displeasure with the city council during the open session. Every resident is allowed 3 minutes to express their opinion on the topic. On November 10, 2014 when the GPA was last on the agenda, the council meeting lasted over 9 hours, lasting until nearly 5 am on November 11, with residents almost unanimously speaking against the council’s developer friendly proposal. The November 10 meeting ended with a straw man proposal to support the developers, despite the fact that the developers have submitted no plans for development. After the meeting the city attorney declared the November 10 session invalid, but has provided no explanation as to why.
At the heart of the discussion is a city council proposal to rezone Vallco Mall from commercial to mixed purpose use to enable the Sand Hill group to develop 700 housing units, 2 million square feet of office space, and a limited amount of retail space. This development will be added to two additional developments adjacent to the area, Main St, and Rose Bowl, creating a massive imbalance in the east side of the city, overcrowding schools, increasing traffic congestion, and changing the nature of the area to high density development. Sand Hill Group has already reneged on its commitment to developing senior housing in the Main St development project. Sand Hill is also responsible for the failure of the downtown Sunnyvale development, which Cupertino residents greatly fear will repeat itself as a blight on the east side of Cupertino.
Anticipating that the City Council will continue to support the developers, with complete disregard to the residents’ desires, BetterCupertino.org is starting to work on preparation of a referendum for the next local election to return the decision to the residents and out of the hands of the City Council. BetterCupertion.org is also evaluating the possibility of filing for a recall of some City Council members.
About BetterCupertino - We are a group of Cupertino residents that talk and act together for a more responsive, responsible Cupertino government. The group was formed in November 2014 when we learned about the potentially significant General Plan amendments (GPA) that the City Council was planning to adopt. Our discussions on school and neighborhood chat groups and email lists evolved into a group that is focused on engaging residents and city government to balance growth and quality of life.
Thanksgiving rapidly approaches. We want everyone to enjoy the holiday to the fullest. To all a happy holiday. Enjoy and celebrate to the fullest with friends and families.
BetterCupertino continues to focus on the upcoming Rally and City Council meeting. We wanted to share the press release we have sent out to the local media to try to gain a media presence on December 2. A massive turnout is required to make our voice heard. We have the opportunity to be heard across the whole bay area. Talk to your friends and neighbors, get them involved. Let's generate a turnout at these events beyond everyone's greatest expectations. It is time to send a very clear message to the City Council - This is our city. Do not write a blank check to developers. No rezoning without an approved, concrete plan.
Here is the press release:
Cupertino Residents to Confront City Council over General Plan Amendment during December 2, 2014 City Council Meeting
City Council remains firmly in support of developers in spite of residents constant request to control the development process
Cupertino, CA, November 24, 2014:
Cupertino, CA residents, with the support of BetterCupertino.org, are planning a mass rally at City Hall against the city council’s proposed General Plan Amendment (GPA) on December 2, 2014. Following the rally, residents plan on displaying their displeasure with the city council during the open session. Every resident is allowed 3 minutes to express their opinion on the topic. On November 10, 2014 when the GPA was last on the agenda, the council meeting lasted over 9 hours, lasting until nearly 5 am on November 11, with residents almost unanimously speaking against the council’s developer friendly proposal. The November 10 meeting ended with a straw man proposal to support the developers, despite the fact that the developers have submitted no plans for development. After the meeting the city attorney declared the November 10 session invalid, but has provided no explanation as to why.
At the heart of the discussion is a city council proposal to rezone Vallco Mall from commercial to mixed purpose use to enable the Sand Hill group to develop 700 housing units, 2 million square feet of office space, and a limited amount of retail space. This development will be added to two additional developments adjacent to the area, Main St, and Rose Bowl, creating a massive imbalance in the east side of the city, overcrowding schools, increasing traffic congestion, and changing the nature of the area to high density development. Sand Hill Group has already reneged on its commitment to developing senior housing in the Main St development project. Sand Hill is also responsible for the failure of the downtown Sunnyvale development, which Cupertino residents greatly fear will repeat itself as a blight on the east side of Cupertino.
Anticipating that the City Council will continue to support the developers, with complete disregard to the residents’ desires, BetterCupertino.org is starting to work on preparation of a referendum for the next local election to return the decision to the residents and out of the hands of the City Council. BetterCupertion.org is also evaluating the possibility of filing for a recall of some City Council members.
About BetterCupertino - We are a group of Cupertino residents that talk and act together for a more responsive, responsible Cupertino government. The group was formed in November 2014 when we learned about the potentially significant General Plan amendments (GPA) that the City Council was planning to adopt. Our discussions on school and neighborhood chat groups and email lists evolved into a group that is focused on engaging residents and city government to balance growth and quality of life.
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