Approximately 30 residents attended a public meeting on Jan. 15 to offer their input on the project. While they generally showed support for the concept of building a shopping district in Cupertino, neighbors discussed their concerns about the proposed location as well as building heights.

According to Steve Piasecki, the city's director of community development, the Crossroads plan, which targets the section of Stevens Creek Boulevard between Stelling Road and De Anza Boulevard, started after the city council expressed an interest in creating a more visible shopping district in Cupertino.

After communicating with the residents through several channels, including a community congress held on May 3, 2002, in which 81 percent of the participants favored an active retail or "downtown-like" area in Cupertino, city planners went to work.

Guided by three goals—building a community-gathering place, enhancing the local retail base at the Crossroads area, and enhancing walkability—project manager Aarti Shrivastava designed the project around four essential elements.

The elements include building a 20-foot-wide sidewalk along Steven Creek Boulevard as new developments are constructed or existing ones redeveloped, constructing new buildings closer to the street, having retail on the ground floor of buildings in the area, and increasing building heights to 55 feet for new properties along Stevens Creek Boulevard.

"The height increase is only for the buildings in the front on Stevens Creek Boulevard," Shrivastava explained. "For the rear buildings, we are proposing a height decrease from

three to two stories or about 28 feet to protect the adjacent neighborhood. The front buildings will still be three stories. The increase from 45 to 55 feet will be for buildings with a pitched roof."

Shrivastava did not arrive at this vision right off the bat. The planning staff has made several trips back to the drawing board after meeting with and gathering feedback from various parties, including the developers, the city council and the Chamber of Commerce.

One of the changes was abandoning the project's old name. The council dropped "Downtown Village Plan" because they believe many people associate "downtown" with high-rise structures.

At the public meeting, Piasecki further clarified the project's intent.

"This is not going to be a traditional downtown," he said. "It will take many years to see the changes. It's not a radical idea. The process will be driven by the private market place."

Piasecki identified about a dozen locations—such as the property southwest of Target (currently a gas station)—that may be developed according to the new concepts.

"We won't see massive street walls," he said.

Shrivastava emphasized that city planners are not proposing any changes in land use, increase in development intensity or decrease in the number of traffic lanes on Stevens Creek Boulevard.

However, some controversy remains.

Cupertino resident Bhoomaiah Alishetti does not support the building height increase.

"It's not good to increase the height and bring buildings closer to the street," he said. "I like to be able to see the beautiful mountains, not buildings."

Mark Peebles agreed, adding, "I like the 'downtown' idea. But I don't support three-story buildings on Stevens Creek Boulevard. They take away the view of the mountains."

Approximately 90 percent of those attending the meeting supported lower building heights.

Peebles suggested the side streets Saich Way and Bandley Drive as a better location for a "downtown village."

"They both have two lanes," he said. "It'd be a much better area for a downtown type of place."

Another resident, Laverne Parmley, said she could not picture a vibrant shopping district at the Crossroads area of Stevens Creek and De Anza.

"I am afraid that this area would look like a patchwork quilt," she explained. "With only a few developments built sporadically as they come in, this area would look disjointed and disconnected for a long time."

According to Piasecki, the planning commission public hearing is tentatively scheduled for Feb. 10 and the city council public hearing for March 3. Another public meeting will take place at 7 p.m. at the Cupertino Senior Center on Jan. 22.