But whether Regis Homes is a knight or a monster doesn't seem important anymore. Its planned project to turn the 35-year-old shopping center into a mixed-used area with Mediterranean townhouses and retail businesses died at the Dec. 15 city council meeting by a 2-2 vote.

Vice Mayor Patrick Kwok and newly elected city Councilwoman Kris Wang voted against the project, while Council members Dolly Sandoval and Richard Lowenthal voted for it. Mayor Sandra James abstained to avoid the perception of a conflict of interest since she has had a long-term personal relationship with one of the tenants.

The decision won cheers from the more than 100 residents who attended the meeting to oppose the project, which called for demolishing the Oaks Theater and Tsunami Sushi and building 49 three-story condominiums on the west side of the shopping center.

Since the project had its first public hearing at the planning commission on Aug. 25, hundreds of residents have followed its development closely. About 350 residents around the shopping center signed a petition against the project. Many of them spoke against it at three planning commission meetings and at the Dec. 15 city council meeting. They even made and wore T-shirts with red letters spelling out "SAVE OUR CITY."

The residents' concerns ranged from traffic impact and overpopulation of schools to making exceptions to the Heart of the City Plan. Some simply expressed the desire to keep the status quo because they have fond memories of the shopping center.

Their opposition was the major reason the project was stalled in the planning commission for months.

The decision also heavily weighed on Vice Mayor Kwok's decision to vote against it.

"More than 70 percent of the General Plan task force think the area should remain as retail," Kwok said. "The Oaks center is a jewel of the city. I think we can revitalize it."

These residents regard the aborting of the project as a victory. But some retail-business owners at the Oaks are beginning to think the opponents of the project are a noisy minority, according to Teo King, co-owner of the Coffee Society.

Many of the Oaks' tenants were at first against the project but gradually accepted Regis Homes, which proposed rejuvenating the shopping center by improving the landscape along Stevens Creek Boulevard, installing new signage and building crosswalks on Mary Avenue to the Glenbrook Apartments and the Cupertino Senior Center. It also promised to beautify the Stevens Creek Boulevard overpass at Highway 85. The owner pledged the tenants to put lighting on the trees and install a fire pit to make the shopping center a more evening-friendly place.

In the end, 10 out of 14 tenants wrote letters to the city council in favor of the project.

"I was against it in the beginning, but it makes sense to me in the long run," said Teo King, co-owner of Coffee Society, one of the few retail businesses that has remained popular over the years. "The fact that the theater and the restaurant have stayed empty gives people the feeling that the shopping center is dying. By reducing the retail-business portion, the concentration will make the remaining center look bigger."

"Mixed use is a huge trend in the United States. And it's a good one. Santana Row is a good example," King added.

Catherine Cavagnaro, who has owned Celtic Shoppe for almost 20 years, said she has mixed feelings about the project's demise.

"We don't know whether the project will work to our advantage or to our disadvantage. We finally supported it because we figured what do we really have to lose," Cavagnaro said. "Our business has had many ups and downs. This year, we have more lows than ups. A lot of that has to do with the economy."

"People say they have great memories of the Oaks, but you cannot live on memories," Cavagnaro said. "We definitely need more foot traffic here, but who is going to accomplish that?"

The tenants' overwhelming support was why Councilman Lowenthal voted for the project.

"I love the Oaks. It is my neighborhood shopping center. I don't want to see it turn into housing," Lowenthal said. "But the essence of the Oaks is about people who serve us coffee, coffee cakes and Jamba Juice there. They know their business better than most of us. I am not going to vote against these people."

But Lowenthal's argument failed to convince his colleagues.

Representatives from Regis Homes said they are still evaluating other alternatives but it is unlikely that they will come back with the same plan.

It is unknown whether the project's failure will deter other developers who are interested in improving the Oaks.