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Rancho annexation complete By MICHELLE KU
A process that has taken two years and an election ended on March 1 when the City Council approved the annexation of Rancho Rinconada.
The Rancho Rinconada neighborhood is a 317-acre area between Stevens Creek Boulevard, Lawrence Expressway, Bollinger Road and Miller Avenue, composed of about 4,200 residents and 1,500 homes.
Although residents have had Cupertino addresses, Rancho Rinconada was an unincorporated county pocket that was governed by Santa Clara County and the Board of Supervisors.
"Yippee!" said Marc Auerbach, chair of the Rancho Pocket Annexation Committee. "We'll be able to vote in the next election for local representation."
The City Council unanimously ordered the annexation following a public hearing to gauge the support of the community. At the end of the hearing, the city had received a total of nine protests to the annexation.
It would have taken roughly 500 protests to force a special annexation election and 1,050 protests for the council to terminate the proceedings, said Bob Cowan, director of community development.
The annexation won't become official until the county's Local Agency Formation Commission issues a certification of completion, around March 15.
To welcome Cupertino's newest residents, the city will host an informational fair and party from 10 a.m. to noon on April 17 at Sedgwick Elementary School.
"The annexation committee's worked very, very hard for this and this is just our way of congratulating them in all their hard work," said Donna Krey, city spokesperson.
Mayor Wally Dean will present a proclamation to the Rancho Pocket Annexation Committee, and each city department will have tables set up. Rancho residents can pick up brochures and pamphlets and other information relating to city services and programs.
The county sheriff's and fire departments will be represented along with some of the service vehicles the new residents will be seeing on their streets, Krey said.
Residents asked to become a part of Cupertino two years ago so that they could gain some control over housing development, better protection for the neighborhood trees and use the sheriff's office to enforce traffic laws.
"Cupertino has already come through and marked our sidewalks to estimate the amount of repair on the sidewalks," Auerbach said. "That's something the county never did."
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Cupertino, California Since 1947
