The Cupertino Courier

Letters & Opinions

Measures D and E are good for the community

There's a certain irony in the "Don't turn Cupertino into Condotino" battle cry of those opposed to Measures D and E on the Nov. 7 ballot.

That's because a major argument in the campaign to prevent the city from rezoning two pieces of property from commercial to commercial/residential is that the addition of more condominiums would add hundreds of students to local school populations.

The reality is that high-density units traditionally attract singles, empty-nesters and young married couples without children. In fact, both developments would produce income for the schools without a major impact on student population.

From the claim of overcrowded schools to the outright untruth in the ballot arguments that Vallco owners have received city subsidies, the No on Measures D and E campaign have been rife with misinformation and half-truths.

We believe the city council made a wise decision when it approved rezoning to allow 137 condos in the parking lot of Vallco Shopping Center. Likewise, we think the council was right to rezone long-vacant commercial property to planned residential/commercial/public park zoning.

A number of local residents, alarmed that the city was changing the suburban character of the community by approving high-density housing, as well as by rezoning commercial to residential use, rallied like-minded residents to put Measures D and E on the ballot.

A no vote on Measure D would invalidate the city's approval of 137 condos at Vallco; a no vote on Measure E would cancel the city's approval of a housing, retail and public park project by Toll Brothers.

While Measure D and E opponents claim high-density projects destroy the suburban character of the city, what these high-density projects actually will do is help the city meet its mandated housing element without increasing density in traditional suburban-style neighborhoods.

In both the Vallco and Toll Brothers projects, the clustering of housing with retail will increase the viability of the retail and create desirable walking communities. The Toll Brothers development even adds a 3.5 acre public park as a community benefit.

It's the smart-growth aspect of both these projects that drew the support of both the Cupertino Chamber of Commerce and the Sierra Club.

The argument by the opposition that both projects replace valuable commercial space with residential makes little sense. They say the parking lot where the 137 units are planned would be more valuable left for the expansion of retail. Certainly, in all the years since it first opened, Vallco would have expanded if it made sense. Now it makes sense to develop housing that will better enable the developers to improve the existing center.

The commercial space the city approved for the Toll Brothers property is 115,600 square feet, almost 3 acres--bigger than The Oaks Shopping Center. This is not an insignificant amount of commercial space. The housing units will enhance the commercial, not detract from it.

Both Measure D and Measure E are smart, well-thought-out projects that will improve the city's financial health and increase the housing stock required by state mandate without negatively affecting local schools or dramatically decreasing the city's commercial areas.

We recommend a yes vote on both Measure D and E.