These initiatives limit setbacks, housing density, and height in Cupertino. They came about in large part because of negative reaction to the development at the corner of Stevens Creek and De Anza Boulevard.

If the initiatives are approved, property owners could no longer get a hearing if they wanted to build something within 30 feet of a street or over 36 feet tall or if they had a housing density of greater than 15 units to the acre. Instead the property owner would have to pay for an election and put their project on a ballot. The idea is that they would then campaign for their project and the voters would decide.

The problem with eliminating the right to a hearing is that using the election process for this is thoroughly impractical. For one thing, the property owner would have to cover election costs, which are often over $100,000. In addition they would either have to hold a special election, which nearly triples their cost, or wait for a regular election. Either way they would have to wait at least a year to find out if they could do their project.

The consequence of that is simply that these properties will not be renovated and new businesses won't come here. They will just go somewhere else.

The petition circulators are telling people that the initiatives would prevent having another building like the Verona apartments. Well, that is true, but they also would prevent us from having any shop within 30 feet of a street. We could never have the kind of shops you see in Los Gatos, Saratoga, Los Altos, Palo Alto, or Santana Row. Instead, these initiatives favor the strip-mall look that K-Marts and Wal-Marts have done so well in, with the sea of asphalt in front and a store in the distance.

The petitioners are also saying that they have made an exception for Vallco. But you need to look at the fine print. Their definition of Vallco goes from Wolfe Road to Tantau and excludes Macys, Sears, Todai, and all the other stores west of Wolfe.

I believe that modifying our General Plan to limit building height so that we don't do more buildings of the scale we see at De Anza and Stevens Creek boulevards is a worthy idea. I also believe limiting housing growth to 3 percent per year should be seriously considered. In my opinion, what we need the most is a significant improvement to our Noticing process so that when a project like Verona is considered; the council hears all points of view. If that was in place in 1999, the council would have heard just how much concern there was about the height and scale of that project, and it would have undoubtedly been scaled back.

But the initiatives will tie our hands too much. If we are to get theatres, bookstores, and affordable housing in Cupertino, we need some flexibility. Property owners and residents alike need to preserve their right to a hearing so that good projects will be brought forward. These initiatives eliminate the right of people to even get a hearing if they have a good idea for a new business, or a housing project that might help seniors or teachers find a decent place to live.

Please be an informed citizen when faced with the petitions—they unintentionally kill our chances for good improvements to our city.

Richard Lowenthal is a Cupertino City Councilman. More of Lowenthal's thoughts at www.lowenthal.com/gci.htm