The Cupertino Courier

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City council may impose a $500 fee to residents for questioning its decisions

By HUGH BIGGAR

Freedom of speech could come with a price in Cupertino.

The city is considering imposing a $500 recovery fee for residents who petition to have city council actions reconsidered. Under city code, residents have up to 10 days after a council decision to file a petition. Previously, the process was free.

"The cost of a reconsideration is estimated to be around $5,000, so we don't want to have people file petitions that don't have merit," said Mayor Richard Lowenthal in an email. "[The petitions} cost taxpayers a lot."

According to city code, petitions must meet certain criteria, including:

* new relevant evidence

* any evidence improperly excluded from the council hearing

* proof the city council failed to provide a fair hearing.

Even so, Lowernthal said, not all petitions met these standards. "Frankly, some of the ones we've seen don't begin to address the issues of law involved in reconsideration," he said.

To mitigate against this, the city initially considered levying a fee of up to $1,000 before settling on the $500 figure as a compromise.

According to City Manager Dave Knapp, the costs include staff time and preparing the documents involved in reconsidering a decision.

Resident Keith Murphy, who would like the council to reconsider its approval of a Toll Brothers retail and residential project on what is now vacant Hewlett-Packard property, is upset by the new charge.

"It is onerous and feels like a punitive measure," he said, adding that not everyone may be able to afford the $500. Instead, Murphy says, the fee favors those with deep pockets, such as housing developers. Murphy is asking the city council to reconsider the $500 charge before it becomes official July 1.

Lowenthal suggested one solution might be to waive fees for residents' petitions that have the support of a council member.

For now, Knapp suggests an alternate solution for those who do not want to foot the $500 bill.

"Those who don't want to pay the fee can always [voice their concerns] at the oral communications part of the city council meeting," he said.