The General Plan fulfills a state mandate requiring the city to have a blueprint for growth. The amendments—proposed by a city council-appointed task force—touched on subjects ranging from building height to land use.

While responding to these topics at the Nov. 15 meeting, residents also voiced concerns of their own including the lack of affordable housing, maintaining residential quality of life, improving the lives of children and seniors and how to handle growth.

This was the first of two meetings organized by the city's planning commission to solicit public input. The next meeting will be for Cupertino residents living on the east side of Highway 85.

"The question is: do we want growth?" Cupertino resident Eric Yegyayan asked at the start of the Nov. 15 meeting.

Samuel Feldman also spoke of the need to include Cupertino's growing Asian community in the discussions of growth. Although Asians make up almost 50 percent of the city's population, there were relatively few Asians at the meeting.

"The people showing up [at these meetings] are the old-timers," Feldman said. "The Chinese-American community is our future and an Asian flavor will be our vitality," he added, while noting the bustling Cupertino Village shopping center, home to numerous Asian businesses.

Homer Tong, a member of the Fremont Union High School District board, also encouraged the planning commission to consider the affects of growth on the schools. "We're dealing with very hefty issues," Tong said. "The schools are hurting and having infrastructure problems."

John Shea, a resident of Cupertino since 1977, brought up the need to make more room for young people. He said many children growing up in Cupertino, such as his sons, can't afford to live in the city as adults.

Some at the meeting raised the issue of Cupertino's aging population. The 2000 census by the U.S. Census Bureau shows roughly 10 percent of the city is age 65 or older. With the city originally designed as a suburb for young families with cars, how best to accommodate a senior population in a spread-out city remains an open question.

Several participants spoke out about the sprawl and the resulting traffic in the city.

Former Cupertino School District board member Barry Chang said, "As a trained engineer, my concern is on the impact of traffic on the city."

And Shea added that the lack of parking is a growing problem, particularly with new developments such as the Cali Mill Plaza.

And although the planning commission made no final decisions on changes to the General Plan, the commissioners said they were pleased with the feedback.

"This is democracy at work," said commissioner Marty Miller. "Hopefully, we can [eventually] come to a consensus we all feel good about."

The next step in that process is the second meeting for those living east of Highway 85 to be held Dec. 6. at 7 p.m. in Cupertino's new community hall, 10350 Torre Ave. The meeting will be followed by formal public hearings to be held in early 2005.

The proposed amendments by the General Plan Task Force can be viewed on the city's website at www.cupertino.org.