Letter to Editor: Cupertino Citizens Submits Growth Petition

News release submitted from Committee supporting Cupertino Citizens’ Sensible Growth Initiative:

The Committee supporting Cupertino Citizens’ Sensible Growth Initiative announces the delivery of over 4,000 signatures gathered from Cupertino voters to the Office of the City Clerk of Cupertino on Tuesday, Feb. 2, 2016.

The Committee is deeply gratified by the tremendous reception the Initiative has received from Cupertino voters. The Committee recognizes our determined community members who made it possible to collect the signatures required to qualify the Initiative for the ballot in 2016. More than 4,000 signatures were collected in just five weeks—four months ahead of the 180-day petition-circulation deadline. This rapid pace of signature collection is a testament to community support for the Initiative. The Committee offers appreciation and thanks to everyone who volunteered time, donated money, or shared encouraging words with our petition circulators.

The Initiative’s proponents and supporters recognize that Cupertino and nearby neighborhoods are under tremendous pressure to build very large projects that are not suitable to the suburban character of the region. The developers of these over-sized projects are not responsible for funding the infrastructure improvements that will be required to maintain the favorable quality of life the residents in the region value today. These essential improvements include water supplies and infrastructure, sewer infrastructure, closed-path transit (including BART), a sufficient number of affordable housing units, and school facilities.

The passage of the Cupertino Citizens’ Sensible Growth Initiative is one way to ensure that projects built in Cupertino will meet the needs and requirements of a majority of voters in Cupertino. When adopted, the Initiative will change the way the developers plan for projects they will bring to Cupertino and the standards the City will apply uniformly to those projects.

The Initiative promotes development projects that are suitable to the characteristics of the City and discourages projects that do not fit within the guidelines of the General Plan.

Major Provisions of Cupertino Citizens’ Sensible Growth Initiative include:

• Control the density of new development to ensure that projects fit with the City’s infrastructure by maintaining limits on building heights, setbacks, lot coverage and building planes.
  
• Affirm that the land within the Vallco Shopping District will be used for major retail, entertainment, dining, and hotels.
  
• Require that proposed changes or exceptions to the building limits and land uses described in the Initiative will not be enacted unless first approved by Cupertino voters.

Visit www.CCSensibleGrowth.org to learn more about the Initiative, find out about future events, and donate to support the passage of the Initiative in 2016.