Thread by @yimbyaction

Just getting started in Cupertino to hear about the SB35-potential project, turning an abandoned old mall into almost 3,000 units of housing!

Watch on YouTube, and we'll be tweeting here...

Public Comment will be 3 minutes each.

"Never before has density and the type of development been so relevant to elections."

Speaker advocates to not make a decision until after November 6th. Good reminder to vote for pro-housing candidates!
yimbyaction.org/endorsements

It's going to be a long night, so pack a snack and please head down to join Cupertino YIMBYs to fight for a welcoming Bay Area.

Folks are listing obscure reasons why they believe we shouldn't even be hearing about this today. Woman shouts at the council, demanding that they not fall asleep and listen to her.

They're now debating if they're gonna cut it off at 11pm. They've gone until 1am previously.

This sure is an efficient and sane way to make decisions!

They've been talking about years of community engagement, the minutia of process on process on process... and it's tragic.

We force developers to spend so much time/money playing russian roulette to try to get permits, and then complain when only "luxury" housing pencils.

Also, another great meme, for those of you listening to this guy talk on and on about how cute everything is gonna be, trying to make people not hate housing and the idea of new neighbors. (nextslide)

We're now hearing about an EIR, "the most complex document" from the Planning Staff.

EIRs are meant to help us promote environmentally friendly development. This is an unrelenting source of irony.

But at least we're switching to Vehicle Miles Traveled, and HOUSING RICH is best!

"Nearly a year long community engagement process, where residents shared what they liked and didn't like about ideas for revitalization at the dead mall."

Three years ago they unveiled "The Hills of Vallco" and there was a "sense of opportunity in the air."

"Do we potentially let another golden opportunity slip through our fingers."
"$700k a day" in costs for delay. That's "$250million dollars a year" in costs.

JFC.

There's a lot of talk about the crazy "community benefits" that current residents might get, including a $14.25 MIL CASH GIFT to the school district.

Wish we can get folks to hear that housing itself is a community benefit.

Benefits are contingent on there not being delay, on their not being litigation.

😲

First question from council member is about the "viewshed."

Because we should focus on what's *really* important: the views of nearby homeowners.

Never change, Cupertino.

"Ultimately parking was also an issue."

"What's the angle at which I would first encounter something in my eye?"

The inevitable pivot from views to pretending this is about getting the maximum number of low income units.

It's a beautiful Bay Area tradition to layer concerns about views into a fauxgressive sandwich.

Wonder if they're mobilizing support of Props 1 & 2 to get stable funding sources for Affordable Housing.

Or voting for by right permitting of Affordable Housing, supportive housing, shelters.

Or perhaps not KILLING THE HOUSING GOOSE IN THE NAME OF AFFORDABILITY.

Talk about committing to clean energy.

Green cities need bring more people in, not just because it reduces sprawl, traffic and carbon emissions, but also because more people should benefit from green policies!

Things they specifically want to see to ensure there is literally something for everyone:
- teacher housing
- senior housing
- student space
- housing for the disabled
- incubator space
etc etc etc

VTA (local transit) has said previously that it won't run various bus lines because Cupertino isn't dense enough.

With this develoment, VTA has said they'll step up!

Turns out density can help current residents get better services!

Break.

There's still time to find a babysitter and get to Cupertino for these easily accessible, numerous hearings that definitely represent an equitable access to the levers of power.

Because the city budget is so dependent on corporate taxes, with Prop 13 keeping us from taxing extremely high land value, Cupertino talks about how they wanted to permit a lot more office space in order to diversity their tax base, making them less dependent on Apple.

Just got a little feisty! "Is there a question...?" Boos! Gavel! Order order!

Lots of discussion about hypothetical projects that the developer isn't interested in building.

Struggling to figure out what the point of this is. It's hard to imagine that Cupertino is going to do the right thing tonight...

Did you know: the League of Cities is assuring city council members that they can still base fees on the "Level of Service" rather than the more environmental measure "Vehicle Miles Traveled."

This is what climate change denial looks like y'all.

There's a poison pill: if Better Cupertino or anyone else sues, there will be a 50% reduction in community benefits.

Makes sense when you look at the cost of delay.

There are more than 90 comment cards.

First speaker from @Evan_Low's office begs the City Council to just make a decision for something viable because this has gone on waaaay too long, and the community "needs housing, especially Affordable Housing."

Silicon Valley Leadership Group speaks about the need for all kinds of housing, talks about how the crisis is having devastating consequences.

Also plugs Prop 1! #YesOn1
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"We have regional traffic issues, we have a regional housing shortage."

LPT: allow more housing near jobs.

"Please don't feel that this is your *sole* responsibility.

...No snowflake in the avalanche ever feels responsible.

..let's do this together, with all of our communities.

"We love our children... But we don't love them so much we want them to live in our home forever."

Local "longtime resident" is mad that SB35 offers a less ideal project in her mind than the Specific Plan.

Conveniently forgets that without SB35 this Hail Mary Pass by Cupertino would not even be on the table. The Vallco Mall would remain a dead mall.

School district talking about the benefits they're getting, mention "sometimes we get nothing at all, other than develoment fees." 😂

"We fight, we work for more funding for our schools."

::COUGH:: Prop 13 and exclusionary zoning keep California schools segregated. ::COUGH::

"I'm kinda a Zillow-watcher, because new property taxes help our school district."

"And they've gone up?"

(Giggles)

"Yes, they've gone up."

Talk about how great the Cupertino schools are and how "mitigation fees" will help them deal with things.

When every district manages their own public schools and their own housing regulations, exclusionary suburbs maintain invisible barriers to opportunity.

Discussion about how people report that they want to leave, but population doesn't go down.

That's what happens when you attract people with jobs and amenities and then make them miserable with artificially high housing costs.

"..So many of us moved here for the excellent public schools, and frankly many of us are homeowners..."

Councilmember makes (somewhat circuitous) point that astronomical housing costs make it hard for teachers and workers to live in the city, reducing everyone's quality of life.

So many people are here to fight for their piece of the community benefits. But it feeds a nasty cycle that housing is a negative that needs to be "offset."

This kind of process is not going to get us the housing we need.

"I hope that we're at the beginning of the end or the end of the beginning..."
- @MattRegan10 of @BayAreaCouncil

Talks about the cost of develoment weighed against the cost of NOT developing, that cost of displacement, the cost of people commuting in from Manteca.

City Councilmember who isn't proposing upzoning Cupertino for housing asks folks to comment on jobs/housing balance of the project.

Seems not to recognize his direct oversight of the current disaster is maybe a factor...

"We're pretty balanced now."

Cupertino has an average home value of more than $2.2 Million.

"Market conditions changed, permitting took too long, or municipalities moved the goalposts and now they don't pencil. So many of those projects will remain in the 'pipeline' and never get built."

This is how housing dies.

Cupertino is ahead of the pack when it comes to making their housing goal RHNA numbers. But also everyone sucks.

Every snowflake in the avalanche points at the snowflake behind them and says, "Well, they're worse than me!"

Guy talks about how Better Cupertino has been fighting to try to bring back the shopping mall.

He is hilarious. "Just Google dead mall."

Guy brings up his poll about what current residents want.

"Where are the poll results?"
"They're dynamic and ever-changing."

Methinks this poll is less than scientific...

Woman is upset that "nonresidents" came to meetings.

One might even call them "outside agitators."

"As you consider the community benefits package, consider our affordable housing crisis."

Woman points out that they maybe could get 30% BMR units if they cut some of the other community benefits.

This might not be the best way to dole out public benefits...

Public comment has entirely been comment and then a bunch if questions. There is no way they're getting through public comment before 11pm.

"You can't have all your housing be 50% Affordable, unless they're all SB35 projects..."

"They're all too dense."

Man who started his testimony by saying "we all know there's a housing crisis and we should all do our part," ends by calling for heights to come down for a "human scale" project.

"I have two children, UC graduates, great jobs, and they're struggling to find housing too.

...so, we're gonna have to go vertical at some point."

"I need a shopping mall! We don't have a Sears! We don't have a Penny's! ...I would like to have them back. I would like to have a shopping mall destination in my neighborhood.

...I have to drive great distances to have stores that have products."

"Retail is not dead. Retail is killed by corporates in other states. Let's bring retail back!"

"Please do not ignore the traffic impact."

Woman advocates for a "less dense" project with more housing and less office.

Sounds almost good, but what she's actually asking for is to "go back to the drawing board" so that nothing happens for the foreseeable future.

Woman has lots of complaints about the EIR. If you actually care about the environment, please join YIMBY Action and help us fight for genuine environmental policies that get more people out of their cars.

Yimbyaction.org/join

Woman is concerned that more students would be bad for the school district, more residents would be bad for traffic, and also there were two robberies at the mall before.

"For safety, for school district, for traffic, I must oppose this."

"Housing problem is not created by Cupertino. My grown children are not going to be able to afford a home here. But that is no reason to destroy a community."

We need "sensible growth."

Strangely, we've never seen these folks pushing a pro-housing midrise housing plan...

Supporter: "I'm sorry, it's been a long day.

..I've got a 20 year old autistic daughter, and one day she would like to have her own place...As everyone has said it is extremely hard for young people to get by here in this area.

...she's going to need support from us nearby."

With the average home value over $2.2 million, "who can afford it? Only the fortunate few."

Cupertino Chamber of Commerce here in support.

They're taking a 5 min break now at 11pm.

This is totally sane. Nothing cray happening here at all y'all!

"Um, can I get Google chrome on here?"

Young person procedes to argue that any develoment will negatively effect Cupertino in a fashion that makes us question if this is a spoof.

Reason number one: schools are negatively affected by having more students.

Reason number two: "The idea of Cupertino is that is would have a very well educated population." Very opposed to letting the poors in.

Reason number three: Public transit will never be good here. We should do nothing until it is good.

Reason four: I'm totally serious.

On the other hand:
"Affordable Housing is the most valuable community benefit."

And then YIMBY Richard Mehlinger fucking crushes it.

Labor out in support.

"Do not become the city of no.

...We are those people. Don't shut us out."

Woman complains that after years of debate, the project still sucks.

I mean, she's not wrong.

Maybe, just maybe, we should pass rules we like then have by-right permitting.

But she would not like that either. Because what does she want?

Chair of the Planning Commission commends everyone for participating in the process.

"Let's not fear height.
..Let's not fear housing.
..Let's not fear traffic."

Alright, Planning Commission Chair is pretty ok.

"I love Cupertino, and I want us not to be afraid of our future."

Speaker talks about how homeowners are protected by Prop 13 and tenants are not. Tenants are suffering. Wants more housing!

Pssst...

If you are having a good time, you should make a donation to YIMBY Action!
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"We're actually closer to 'good morning'"

(It's unlikely they'll vote tonight by the way.)

Guy is mad that a previously entitled project didn't get built.

Fails to see irony in his years of opposition to the Vallco Mall project.

"We can't solve the housing problem in this one project.

..I heard so many people speaking about the need for housing. Do it! Outside of this project, do it!"

So, not in his.. back... yard?

"Will it be Affordable? Or will it be even more Affordable because no one wants to live here?!?"

Badass calls out that Councilmember Scarf with Better Cupertino has been an endless source of bad faith obstructionism. Asks Scarf to pledge not to sue.

Scarf says he doesn't control Better Cupertino, so can't help.

"What if your great grandfather had come here and said there should only be 2 houses? Then I wouldn't be here."

Talks about how he wants his kids to have a future in Cupertino.

Another speaker says that she was behind Councilmember Scarf at different hearing and everytime someone spoke about how unaffordable housing was he said "Leave. Why don't they just leave?"

Preach!

"I chose Cupertino because of the good school district...

I came to this country for a government that listens to the people. You should listen to the people of Cupertino.

..The people say no."

"There are lawsuits that can bog things down if we don't get what we want. There are recalls that can be done."

Better Cupertino threatens Sandhill and the city councilmembers.

"You're really in a bind now, because of SB 35."

We need to elect the right people, to change the laws, so we don't have to be here anymore.

YIMBY supported these fine folks:
modernluxury.com/san-francisco/…

"The more office you put [in order to pay for all the community benefits] the worse it gets."

Former city council member says that he would lose some of the office, losing some of the community benefits for the city. Thinks that's a reasonable trade-off.

"It the devil promised you eternity, would you trade your soul?

...I'm selfish. Right now sometimes I wait an hour to dine out at a restaurant with families. And I do not want to wait two hours in the future."

The last public comment is a back-and-forth with Councilmember Scarf saying that millennials want the same single family homes sprawling suburbs that his generation wanted, and that families don't want condos.

Adjourned to make decisions tomorrow.

Reminder:

"Better Cupertino" is right about one thing: ELECTIONS MATTER.

Vote. Donate. Canvass.

Put endorsements in the hands of your friends. Friends don't let friends enable NIMBYism.
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