Residents have turned up at planning commission meetings and council meetings to stop higher, denser developments; other residents organized a school board recall. One neighborhood fought to keep its local school's name; another neighborhood split apart in a bitter rezoning fight.

And underlying much of these battles is the city's biggest change, its demographics. In just over 10 years Cupertino has become almost 50 percent Asian. This change has created a tense, racially charged undercurrent in the community.

This year that undercurrent bubbled to the surface at a city council meeting over the naming of the new community building for an Asian American who had pledged $250,000 to help furnish the new library. When then-Councilwoman Sandra James objected to naming a building after a donor, there were cries of racism by the Asian community and cries from longtime residents that Mayor Michael Chang had pulled out the race card when he questioned James' motives.

A stream of angry letters poured into the Courier about Chang and James. But the racial undercurrent sparked over other events as well. Some believed canceling the Fourth of July fireworks meant the city was choosing ethnic celebrations over traditional American holidays. And when Alan Wong bought Vallco Fashion Park, some residents were concerned that the mall would become another Asian marketplace like Cupertino Village.

But this struggle with demographic changes was not ignored by the city. In fact, Cupertino had already been working to bring its ethnic groups together through the Citizens of Cupertino Cross-Cultural Committee and a Lunar Unity Parade and through previous community forums.

So when the Courier suggested a forum this summer for residents to speak openly about their changing population, the city quickly arranged for a time and place. Residents responded in large numbers for a successful event.

In an effort to keep this communication going, the city organized training sessions for residents to learn to lead smaller such forums in their neighborhoods.

And in an effort to mend the rift caused by the council's naming dispute, James said she apologized if her comments had offended some members of the community. She said, "It is time for the community to move on."

And move on it has. At the end of the year—after much speculation and rumor that James would not be named mayor because of her stand on the naming policy—Mayor Chang handed the mayor's gavel to James with the unanimous support of the council.

Of course, not all the stress has come from inside Cupertino. The city has also had to deal with the economic downturn, and the severe funding cuts handed down from the state have cut deeply into the city's finances. The war in Iraq has been an emotional backdrop that continues to play out daily.

It's been a busy, feisty year dealing with change. And with the General Plan review coming up and other projects such as the review of the controversial Stevens Creek Corridor plan, 2004 may prove to be just as busy.

As for the tension caused by demographic changes, Cupertino is leading the way in a country whose population is growing more and more diverse every day.

By I-chun Che and Allison Rost

January

After six years of brainstorming and planning, the much-anticipated $25 million library and civic plaza moved from the drawing board to groundbreaking on Jan. 8, with the demolition of the old library and civic park on Jan. 9.

In his state of the city address Jan. 29, Mayor Michael Chang announced a record state budget shortfall. Chang said the city reduced operating expenditures by $800,000 the previous year to offset revenue decreases. Anticipating revenue drops of $1 million and $3 million in the next two years, the city planned to continue to reduce expenditures as well as dip into the "economic uncertainty" reserve. Chang also urged residents to support the $1.2 million capital campaign to furnish the new library.

Students from five high schools of the Fremont Union High School District started a campaign to petition the state legislature to fight Gov. Davis' proposed budget cuts, which totaled $5 billion and would slash funding for schools statewide. They were among 14 Bay Area high schools that founded the California Student Coalition. The coalition aimed to get 10,000 signatures before the Legislature voted on Davis' budget proposal on Feb. 15.

De Anza College and San José State University developed a business "incubator" project to improve the viability of service businesses, especially companies that focus on the areas of child care, home health care and home maintenance.

In their first year of competition at the Northern California State Championships, the West Valley Gymnastics team won the level 5 championship.

February

The Crossroads Area Streetscape Plan ran into a wall of opposition at an informational meeting organized by a Cupertino resident on Feb. 4 at the Quinlan Community Center.

The Crossroads Plan, an effort by the city to create a more visible shopping district, called for a vibrant and pedestrian-friendly retail area on Stevens Creek Boulevard, between Stelling Road and De Anza Boulevard.

Without public notice, the Oaks Theater, a popular movie venue in Cupertino for 25 years, quietly closed down on Feb. 27. The owners of the Oaks Center and the theater operator amicably agreed that the relationship was no longer economically viable.

Sheriff's deputies found Monica Bhasin and her two children, 12-year-old Pamela and 6-year-old Alec, dead in their apartment on Orange Avenue on Feb. 13. Autopsies suggested that all three died from carbon monoxide poisoning from the heating system in their home. About 300 people attended a candlelight vigil organized by friends and neighbors on Feb. 15.

Vallco Fashion Park was sold during a public auction on Feb. 13 when Teachers Insurance and Annuity Association, Vallco's lender, became the mall's official owner with a bid of $55 million.

March

A group of parents began a petition drive as a first step toward recalling two Cupertino School District board members—Pearl Cheng and Gary McCue. The two board members seemed less a target than a means for a faction of the community to get to the real target of their frustration—Dr. William Bragg, the district's superintendent.

Locals filled council chambers on March 3 to voice concerns once again about the building height, guidelines and density level of the Crossroads Area Streetscape Plan. Although city planners had scaled down the project to address residents' concerns, in the end, city council members voted that evening to delay the project until the city completes its General Plan update in four to six months.

Cupertino City Council at its March 17 meeting rejected plans to build a hotel at the Santa Barbara Grill site. The city council delivered its 3-2 vote against the project after staff from an existing hotel—the Cupertino Inn—pleaded with them to reject the proposals, arguing that a new hotel would hurt other hotel businesses in the city, given the state of the economy.

Cupertino held its first Unity Parade. Children from some 24 schools marched in Cupertino's first Lunar Unity Parade. There were marching bands, dancers, sheriffs on horses, police in kilts playing bagpipes, and delegates from Cupertino's sister city, Hsinchu, Taiwan. At Memorial Park, crowds watched exotic dances from countries like Turkey and Tahiti as well as a martial arts demonstration. There was food from Thailand, Persia, India, Mexico, Turkey and China and booths with colorful displays from places like Russia, Switzerland, Great Britain, Peru, China and more.

April

The design kit for Stevens Creek Corridor, between Blackberry Farm and McClellan Ranch Park, sparked national interest. These kits—which included three sprawling maps of the property, a large aerial photograph of the parkland, instructional DVDs and a thick packet of additional background information about the corridor—were so comprehensive that they have become models for other planning professionals, even in other countries. About 320 kits were sent to interested individuals and groups during a kickoff meeting in March. Participants had 30 days to generate their proposals.

Vista Village, a below-market-rate-housing complex behind the Cupertino Fire Department on Vista Drive, held its grand opening on April 29. Vista is the first housing project developed, owned and operated by Cupertino Community Services. At 22,000 square feet, the $7.2 million apartment complex features 12 one-bedroom and 12 two-bedroom apartment units encircling two courtyards. The apartments are available only to those who qualified as very-low-income families. More than 370 people applied for the apartments, but only 24 people will be able to move in.

Superintendent Dr. William Bragg's contract was renewed April 29 in a 3-2 vote. The board also approved his pay raise to $198,423 a year. Board members Pearl Cheng, Gary McCue and Josephine Lucey supported the ratification of the superintendent's contract with modifications through June 30, 2005. The tough economy and funding cuts prompted board President Ben Liao to cast a dissenting vote. He explained that he does not support Bragg's proposal for an increase in his total annual compensation. According to Liao, Bragg is one of the highest-paid superintendents in Santa Clara County.

Cupertino City Council spent hours of its April 7 meeting in a heated discussion sparked by the naming of the community hall building after an Asian donor who agreed to give $250,000 to the $25 million library and civic plaza project. The council had previously approved this naming policy, but Vice Mayor Sandra James said she believed when they put the community hall on the list, donor plaques would only apply to interior rooms, not the whole building.

At the end of the discussion, the council agreed that Mayor Chang and Vice Mayor James would work with city staff to devise a policy on naming future city facilities.

Cupertino held its first community forum with its young people on April 30 at Quinlan Community Center. Creating a genuine community dialogue with youngsters to identify and resolve issues were goals of the Cupertino Community Forum on Teen Issues. The dialogue explored how the community is responding to teens' needs and identified specific action plans for improvement.

Commercial property developers Emily Chen, John Nguyen and Alan Wong entered into a contract to purchase Vallco Fashion Park for $80 million from Vallco's current owner—the New York­based Teachers Insurance and Annuity Association. This intended purchase sparked concern by some longtime residents who argued that a rumored corridor of Asian stores and Asian signs on the lower floor of Vallco would make them feel like outsiders in their own town.

The disagreement between council members over where to place plaques in recognition of donors who contribute to the $25 million library and civic plaza project brought the fundraising campaign to a halt. Some believe the real issue was a racial one because the disagreement between council members didn't raise its head until the prospective naming of a building included an Asian name. Others say the issue was not about racism but a misunderstanding when the list of objects to be offered up for naming was created.

Fred Chan, who had agreed to contribute $250,000 to the fundraising campaign, withdrew his donation following the council's flap.

May

The city council unanimously approved the Teacher's Assistance Program on May 5. The program offered affordable housing to Cupertino teachers with a maximum loan amount of $50,000 as down payment assistance. The loans are deferred for 30 years, until a change of title or when the property owner refinances. But the program at the time could only offer help to four teachers.

After having handed out some 320 design kits to residents in an effort to create a master plan for the Stevens Creek Corridor, the city received 107 proposals back from community groups, student teams and individuals.

The city council unanimously approved at its May 19 meeting a use permit for the Forum at Rancho San Antonio—a senior living facility—to construct a 21,000-square-foot expansion of the existing skilled-nursing facility and a 3,500-square-foot separate facility. The original Forum senior living facility at 23500 Cristo Rey Drive would add 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 Cupertino Co-op Nursery School, which offers an educational program for 3- to 5-year olds, celebrated its 50th anniversary on May 10.

Evie Schmeer, 16 and a sophomore at Monta Vista High School, finished first on the balance beam at the Level 9 Western Nationals held at Cal State Fullerton. Her 9.55 on the beam was tops in the field of top class gymnasts representing the western states.

June

Three schools in the Fremont Union High School District—Homestead, Lynbrook and Monta Vista—were selected as 2003 California Distinguished Schools.

The controversy surrounding the naming of the Cupertino community center returned to the spotlight after the San Jose Mercury News published an editorial criticizing Vice Mayor Sandra James as a racist for taking what the Mercury called an "us and them" approach to the issue of naming the library.

Following the publication of the editorial, outraged residents flooded the city council chambers during the June 2 council meeting to express differing views in the heated debate.

Regis Homes, a real estate developer from San Mateo hoping to redevelop The Oaks shopping center, offered up a plan to demolish the Oaks Theater as well as other businesses in the western section of the center in order to construct residential units.

The developer planned to enhance the economic viability of the center with improved signage, circulation and pedestrian amenities.

Students from De Anza College ended a protest against recent staff and faculty layoffs in the community college district by barging into the district's board meeting on June 16 and handing out pink slips to the board members.

Despite the limited resources, the city projected it would cover its expenses as well as continue funding some major capital improvement projects such as the library and civic center plaza by dipping into the city's economic uncertainty reserves and implementing budget cuts. Besides a selective hiring freeze, the city was forced to cut back on some of the services it has been offering to the community, such as selected library operating hours.

A group of investors, led by Alan Wong, a Cupertino business developer, purchased the 1.1 million-square-foot Vallco Fashion Park mall from New York­based Teachers Insurance and Annuity Association for about $67 million, significantly less than the $80 million originally listed by the seller.

July

The council's decision to cancel the Fourth of July firework display at De Anza College and to use the money to keep the library open four hours on Sundays infuriated residents. Some residents accused the council of being unpatriotic and suspected the city of using the saved money to support certain ethnic celebrations that some felt were not as important as Independence Day, "a 100 percent American holiday."

Mayor Michael Chang said the council canceled the fireworks because of the Measure E construction at De Anza and the city's budget shortfall.

Cupertino's city council reached an agreement that would let city producers use the Mountain View public access studio, KMVT.

As Cupertino faced a budget cut of approximately $4 million, the city had to terminate its contract with De Anza, where it had been broadcasting since 1983. After looking for a less-expensive alternative, the city concluded that partnering with KMVT seemed to be the best option.

Cupertino Senior Day Services, which has provided day care for frail elders in Cupertino and Sunnyvale for 23 years, merged with Live Oak Adult Day Services, a similar nonprofit organization that operates in Los Gatos, Gilroy and San Jose. Consolidating with Live Oak was an endeavor to help the Cupertino agency continue to provide services during tough economic times.

Jason Y. Cai, a 44-year-old software engineer, was arrested June 26 after authorities found his wife, 30-year-old Ying Deng, floating in the couple's backyard swimming pool. Cai was held without bail in the mental health ward of the county jail.

Jeri Ng, owner of Only the Best stationary store, consolidated her Cupertino store with her store at the Cornerstone Shopping Center in Los Gatos because the landlord at the Oaks just doubled her rent.

August

With the passage of Measure E, De Anza received $130 million to renovate its aging campus. In progress were 25 major projects—including student parking lots A and B, the Stelling Road/Pepper Tree Lane campus entry, and the perimeter road between the south exit of parking lot C and the McClellan Road entrance. By the end of 2003, they projected that four major buildings would be under construction: a $20 million Science Center, a $15 million, multilevel parking structure, a $15 million Student & Community Services Center and an $11 million Kirsch Center for Environmental Studies.

Residents near The Oaks shopping center expressed strong opposition against developer Regis Homes' plan to transform the 35-year-old shopping center into a modern, mixed-used area of Mediterranean-style townhouses and retail businesses.

Regis Homes proposed demolishing The Oaks Theater and Tsunami Sushi to build 49 townhouse-style condominium units and two duet units on the west side of the property.

Cupertino's Blackberry Farm celebrated its 50th anniversary. The city wants Cupertino's portion of a multicity trail to run from McClellan Road to Stevens Creek Boulevard through the entire Blackberry Farm property but has faced strong opposition from residents.

September

The uproar about naming the city's community building after an Asian American donor ended with the city council unanimously adopting a new policy for naming city facilities and recognizing donors. The main guideline is that city facilities may be named by their geographic location or after retired elected officials or volunteers who have made extraordinary, nonmonetary contributions to the city, and the guidelines stipulated that no city buildings or facilities would be named as a result of financial donation or in-kind contribution.

Residents near Carol Murdock Elementary School were concerned that their school would lose its name when Portal Elementary School moved into the school site because Portal wanted to keep its name.

Residents near Carol Murdock school expressed their frustration at the Sept. 23 school board meeting. The board decided to postpone the hearing and get more input before making its final decision at its Oct. 14 meeting.

Cupertino pulled out of the Silicon Valley Animal Control Authority. Cupertino pulled out of the program because of the agency's uncertain financial projections and because recent amendments to the SVACA contract took away member cities' control over budget changes.

The city council, by a unanimous vote, marked Sept. 28 as Confucius Day.

Residents from Linwood Acres, which consists of only two streets and 68 homes, were in a bitter and divisive fight about rezoning the neighborhood to either R1 or A1.

Things became even more complicated as the planning commission at its Sept. 22 meeting came up with a third zoning plan for the neighborhood.

October

The city council unanimously approved a master plan for wireless facilities to be installed in residential neighborhoods. The plan is the best in the state and perhaps the best in the country. The plan provides guidelines for wireless service providers to build antennas throughout the city.

Before this, wireless facilities were prohibited in residential areas.

ESS Technology Chairman Fred Chan—who was inadvertently caught in the middle of a flap this year over naming the city's community building—donated a 16-foot-wide, 6-foot-tall aquarium that would cost $325,000. Chan also pledged more than 100 tropical fish for the aquarium, and Vice Mayor Sandra James solicited interactive technology features for the front of the aquarium from Apple Computer. Chan said he would also pay for the annual $12,000 maintenance fee for the first five years and up to half of the maintenance expenses for an additional five years.

Residents near De Anza College were upset after the college cut down 111 trees for its Measure E construction.

School officials said removing the trees is one of the many necessary measures the school has to take to meet the rapid growth of its student body.

Although the school officials promised to replant the trees, residents were frustrated that the school failed to better inform its neighbors, and residents on Stelling Road started a campaign to press the school to stop tearing up the trees. They also wanted De Anza to reconsider relocating the three-level garage on parking lot C.

November

In the Nov. 4 election, Parks and Recreation Commissioner Kris Wang and incumbent Richard Lowenthal won the two seats on the city council. George Tyson and incumbent Josephine "Jo" Lucey defeated the other five candidates.

The battling Linwood Acres residents, who fought over how to zone their neighborhood, reached a compromise and accepted the city's offer of special zoning.

The Minolta Planetarium at De Anza began hosting its famed laser light shows again, this time with its own laser system.

The city council passed a resolution unanimously at its Nov. 3 meeting to make applicants' cultural background one of the criteria the city council considers in selecting commissioners and committee members. The city also made it a policy to strive for a workforce that can serve the diverse needs of the community.

City council voted to allow more temporary signs in the city. A maximum of six signs is allowed for an open house and unlimited signs are allowed for garage sales or community events. To evaluate the impact of the amended ordinance, the city council will review it one year from now, after the political-campaign period.

The Oaks Shopping Center project got through the planning commission, which rejected the mixed-use project twice but finally approved it 3-1 at its Nov. 10 meeting. Commissioner Gilbert Wong cast the only opposing vote. The project planned to demolish the Oaks Theater and the Tsunami Sushi restaurant to build 49 three-story condominiums on the west side of the shopping center. When the planning commission approved the project on Nov. 10, the audience booed the commissioners and criticized them for failing to represent the constituents.

The Monta Vista girls tennis team won the Central Coast Section championship with a 4-3 win over Menlo School.

The even better news is that the Matadors won the Northern California title. Monta Vista won its first-ever NorCal title in girls tennis with the 4-3 win over Menlo School—all this just a few days after winning the first CCS championship in school history with a matching 4-3 win over the girls from Atherton.

Al DeGuzman, 21—arrested in January 2001 when a photo clerk tipped the police that she had developed photos of him posing with firearms ranging from pipe bombs to guns and found guilty of 54 counts of possessing any explosive in a public location and 54 counts of possessing any explosive with intent to injure—must return to court for a resentencing that may keep him in jail for a lifetime.

December

Michael Chang, who in many ways symbolizes the growing political influence of Asian Americans, finished his term on the city council. Chang says he doesn't rule out the possibility of running for state or national office one day.

After much naming contention between two schools, the school board finally reached approval on the naming of Portal Elementary School that is moving into the Carol Murdock Elementary School site. The new name will be Murdock-Portal Elementary School. The Portal mascot will still be the penguin, the school color teal and the school song the same.

After rumors had spread that she might not be named mayor of Cupertino, Sandra "Sandy" James, who was in fact slated to be the next mayor, won the position with the unanimous support of the council.

After neighbors protested noise and light problems, the planning commission postponed a Northwest YMCA application to build a playground on the front of its property at 20803 Alves Drive and extend operating hours. The original plan was approved by the city council last December under the condition of a one-year review. The commission will wait until its Jan. 26 meeting to review the plan and decide if the YMCA can build its playground. The commission wants to allow time for discussion between the YMCA and nearby residents.

Regis Homes' project to turn the 35-year-old Oaks shopping center into a mixed-used area with Mediterranean townhouses and retail businesses died at the Dec. 15 city council meeting on 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 one of The Oaks' tenants was a longtime friend of hers. The decision won cheers from more than 100 residents who attended the meeting to oppose the project.