During their May 19 meeting, members of the city council unanimously approved a use permit for the Forum to construct a 21,000-square-foot expansion of the existing skilled-nursing facility and a 3,500-square-foot separate facility.

According to senior planner Aarti Shrivastava, the original Forum senior living facility at 23500 Cristo Rey Drive consists of 60 villas, 275 group living units and an 82-bed medical facility.

The project includes the addition of a 24-unit facility for Alzheimer's patients, connected to the existing health-care center and a 3,500-square-foot, free-standing fitness/wellness center.

The city council quickly and unanimously approved the project.

In echoing her colleagues' views, Vice Mayor Sandra James said, "This is a wonderful project. In Cupertino, there are not enough facilities for people to treat their loved ones, and I think this expansion is greatly needed. I think this is a project we will be very proud of."

As part of the project, a traffic report was prepared on April 8. It shows that the proposed project is expected to generate four trips during the peak morning hour and nine trips during the peak afternoon hour.

Traffic engineers say that, based on Santa Clara Valley Transportation Authority guidelines, these additional trips will not significantly impact the traffic in any of the nearby intersections.

The parking analysis concluded that the Alzheimer's patient units would need about 14 parking spaces and the fitness center would require about 15 parking spaces, for a total of 29 spaces. The project proposes 30 additional parking spaces.

To discuss the project with neighbors and learn their concerns, the applicants held two neighborhood meetings on March 16 and 19. A total of eight families from nearby areas attended the meetings and toured the facility. There were no significant objections to the proposals, and most neighbors, including the Catholic Diocese of San Jose, have indicated approval of the project.