The city council's approval will allow Prometheus to demolish nine buildings—the 39-unit Saron Garden Apartments and one single-family house on an adjacent lot—and construct 55 single-family homes on the site. The project also includes the building of a public pedestrian pathway and a village green area in the center of the new community.

According to Assistant Planner Gary Chao, the city's housing mitigation procedural manual requires that in projects where housing units are being demolished, the net increase in units must be used to determine the number of below­market rate units to be constructed.

As this project results in a net increase of 15 units on the property, the developer is responsible for two below­market rate units (15 percent of 15 units). However, Chao said the developer has voluntarily agreed to construct three below­market rate units in an effort to offset the impact of demolishing Saron Garden Apartments, which are low-income housing units. This is 5 percent more than the developer is obligated to provide.

"This is a good project," said Councilman Richard Lowenthal. "We gain smaller homes but more housing. As Cupertino is nearly built out, this is a good way to get affordable housing. Also the property is outdated; it's going to need some work at some point. I support the project."

Besides expressing positive comments about the design of the project, council members commended Prometheus for working successfully with the community by listening to and addressing neighbors' concerns.

Vice Mayor Sandra James said, "The developer and the community have done a great job by working together on this. This should be a model for all future projects."

The project, which was unanimously approved by the Cupertino Planning Commission on May 27, has come a long way.

According to the developer's spokesperson, Jon Moss, Prometheus began notifying Saron Garden residents about the project 10 months ago. Since then, Prometheus has held six neighborhood meetings to learn residents' concerns, such as issues relating to relocation and the impact on students who move outside of their current school's attendance areas.

After learning neighbors' concerns, Moss said the developer made appropriate accommodations, which have helped to win over many residents who originally objected to the project.

"We have been proactive throughout the process," he said. "We've held many meetings with neighbors to hear their concerns. After those meetings, we've made appropriate changes to address those concerns. I think by the end of the process, the majority of the residents are neutral or supportive of the project."

One of the outcomes of the neighborhood meetings is a revised relocation assistance program for Saron Garden residents.

Among other things, the program will provide residents rental assistance in the amount of three times the existing Saron Gardens rent per unit. Based on the average rent of $1,500 per unit, Prometheus would pay a sum of $4,500 per unit, which is $1,300 more than the developer originally proposed.

Although residents are generally satisfied with the revised relocation assistance program, their request to keep their children attending their current schools in the event that they move outside of the school district boundaries was not granted.

According to Chao, in an effort to address residents' concerns relating to school impacts, the developer met with representatives of the Cupertino Union School District and the Fremont Union High School District on May 19.

The districts have agreed to allow Regnart Elementary School students and Monta Vista High School seniors finish the 2003­04 school year only if they resided in Saron Gardens until December 2003.

Students currently attending Kennedy Middle School, however, will not be able to go to the school if they move outside its boundaries, as Kennedy is already overcrowded.

On this issue, the developer has agreed to do everything possible to accommodate residents with children attending local public schools so that they can continue to live in the same school attendance area. However, the developer emphasized to the residents that all of the schools in the local districts are excellent schools.

Twenty residents from Saron Gardens Apartments currently attend local public schools; 13 are enrolled at Regnart, three at Kennedy, and four at Monta Vista.