City Council set to donate $250,000 to housing fund

Discusses first step in the Garden Gate annexation, OK's special November election

By KEVIN FAYLE

The Cupertino City Council voted unanimously to donate $250,000 out of the city's affordable housing fund to the Housing Trust of Santa Clara County.

"I am wildly enthusiastic about this idea," said Vice Mayor Richard Lowenthal.

At its Feb. 13 meeting, the council heard a request from Chris Block, executive director of the Housing Trust of Santa Clara County, for a $250,000 donation towards the trust's goal of $20 million. This figure constitutes the amount of money the council plans to gather before distributing the money to affordable housing projects throughout the county. The trust currently has $18 million and, according to Block, the push for the final $2 million represents "a critical juncture in our fundraising efforts."

City staff pointed out to the council that the Cupertino Community Services affordable housing project, at Vista Drive and Stevens Creek Boulevard, will most likely experience about an $800,000 shortfall. They predicted the nonprofit might ask the city for an additional loan to cover the amount.

The city gave CCS a $1.6 million loan last year for the project. If CCS does request the money from the city, it would come from the affordable housing fund--the same fund that would supply the money for the trust donation. The city currently has approximately $800,000 in that fund. Staff recommended that the city donate the $250,000 to the trust, and also have CCS request additional funding from the trust.

To queries by Lowenthal about how the trust would distribute its money, and if the CCS project might receive funding, Block answered that a community bank would distribute money, according to parameters set by the board of directors of the trust. While he advised the council that he could not say anything for certain, he did mention that "I think [the CCS project] is exactly the kind of project that the fund would support."

The council also discussed the first step in the proposed Garden Gate annexation. City staff requested a mandate from the council to initiate a pre-zoning of the neighborhood. According to information distributed by the city, pre-zoning determines how the city will zone the area if annexation goes through.

Both the city and the county favor annexation, saying they believe it will bring greater civic benefits to the neighborhood than it receives under the county's supervision. The county has moved away from the practice of overseeing urban pockets, and actively encourages annexation for unincorporated neighborhoods.

Colin Jung, a senior planner for the city, showed the council the results of a postcard survey staff initiated to gauge the opinions of neighborhood residents. The responses gathered show a roughly five to four bias in favor of annexation among residents. The council saw this as enough reason to order the pre-zoning, and they asked staff to start the process.

City council also decided to hold a special election in November, to fill the vacant seat left by retired member John Statton.

The council had more or less already made its decision on Feb. 5, when they agreed that filling the seat for the remainder of the term would not serve the public interest. They voted to postpone a decision on the matter until the next meeting, an action that, in effect, set the election for November. A decision on Feb. 13 would not allow enough time for an election in June.

The resolution the council passed also called for the regular elections in November, removing the need for an additional resolution later. In addition to the empty seat, the regular election will decide the fate of Mayor Sandra James' seat, as well as that of Councilman Don Burnett, who has reached his term limit.

The empty seat would have required an election even if Statton had remained with the council. While the resolution calls for a special election along with the regular election, the ballots will appear just as if Statton had not resigned.

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