Tessellations Project Description for Cupertino Planning Division Location: 1170 Yorkshire Drive Detailed description of operations Tessellations is a K-8 independent, progressive school tailored for gifted students. It was created in 2020 by a group of like-minded parents and educators dedicated to serving the needs of the whole child. Tessellations provides challenging experiential education that recognizes and nurtures the individual strengths of gifted learners, empowering them to confidently express who they are and pursue a meaningful life. We are a community of imaginative, empathetic, productive, and passionate lifelong learners who advance an equitable and sustainable world. In the 2023-2024 academic year, Tessellations expects to have approximately 200 students ages 5-13 (grades K-8). It is expected to have 64 full-time staff and 6 part-time staff for the 2023-2024 academic year. Classes offered include homeroom classes for grades K-8, mathematics, literacy, humanities, science, art, theater, music, physical education/movement, and electives. Tessellations is considering opening or subleasing (with CUSD’s permission) a Preschool, Transitional Kindergarten, or Day Care on the site. We understand that would require a different license, and we are looking into it presently. Tessellations is also considering subleasing (with CUSD’s permission) space to various after-school vendors or service providers. These would all be in keeping with our mission of serving the student population and would likely be relatively short-term as we grow to utilize the entire campus. Student enrollment for academic year 2023-2024 is expected to be: Age Expected Number 5 (kindergarten) 28 6 (1st grade) 18 7 (2nd grade) 22 8 (3rd grade) 23 9 (4th grade) 20 10 (5th grade) 25 11 (6th grade) 31
2 12 (7th grade) 14 13 (8th grade) 20 Hours of Operations From August through June, hours of operation are: Day of Week Student Drop Off School in Session Student Pick Up Aftercare Monday - Thursday 8:00-8:15am 8:00am-3:30pm 3:15-3:30pm 3:30-6:00pm Friday 8:00-8:15am 8:00am-12:30pm 12:15-12:30pm 12:30-6:00pm Future activities In June-July 2024, Tessellations will offer several weeks of summer camp for grades K-8, details yet to be determined. In August 2024, Tessellations will add a 9th grade, with the intention to add an additional year of high school each year for the following three years. The high school will be moved to another site after the first year.
3 Site plan and maps Aerial view of property (Google Maps)
4 Site Map provided by Cupertino Unified School District showing existing buildings.
5 Building Description of Usage Building A Auditorium, library, art classroom, maker space classroom, music classroom, and staff lounge Building Group B Classrooms, teaching spaces Building Group C Classrooms, teaching spaces Building Group D Classrooms, teaching spaces Building Group E Classrooms, teaching spaces Building Group F Classrooms, teaching spaces Building Group G Two kindergarten classrooms and a room currently labeled “Speech” that we will use as a meeting space Building H Main office with receptionist desk, meeting room, and infirmary Buildings C20-C29 Meeting spaces for staff and adults Buildings C30-C31 Previously leased to Far East, an after-school Chinese program. This is labeled on CUSD’s map as “Daycare” but is not a daycare program. Presently the space is used as storage, but may be assigned a different use in the future. Parking, Drop-off, and Pick-up Parking spaces are indicated on the map. During student drop-off and pick-up times, kindergarten families will park in the parking spaces and walk their students to the classroom. Other families will form a car line to drop off students at the front of the school on Yorkshire Drive in the yellow zone designated on the map.
RE: Application Incomplete Letter
1170 Yorkshire Drive
Conditional Use Permit, File # U-2023-002
Applicant Response # 1 (October 9, 2023)
The purpose of this document is to respond to the City of Cupertino’s Application Incomplete Letter for Conditional use Permit, File # U-2023-002. . All of the points of the letter are copied below, with responses following each point.
Additionally, we also wanted to take this opportunity to provide a more comprehensive overview of our school operations for the benefit of City staff.
Tessellations Overview
Our Population: We serve asynchronous learners, meaning children that are more advanced in one area than another. E.g., they may be several years ahead in mathematics, but at grade level when it comes to literacy, or vice versa. Or they may be exceptionally advanced in terms of conceptual thinking, but struggle with a social-emotional issue (perfectionism, risk-taking, etc.). Most of the children that attend our school do so because their families have decided that they benefit significantly from a different type of education, crafted especially for this type of learner. Thus, we are quite different from yet another achievement-oriented high-pressure Bay Area private school. In many ways, we are the opposite of those schools.
Most importantly, we are serving a segment of the population that is “left behind” both by the public schools, as well as the traditional private school network. This is not a criticism of either of those categories of institutions; unfortunately, however, neither is set up to adequately serve the needs of our population. This was the impetus for forming Tessellations in the first place.
Non-Profit: We are a not-for-profit corporation. Our goal is purely to serve our students; we are not financially driven.
Our Mission: Tessellations provides challenging experiential education that recognizes and nurtures the individual strengths of gifted learners, empowering them to confidently express who they are and pursue a meaningful life.
Scope of Use: We are applying as a PreK-9th school, including an after-school program and a summer camp program. For further details, see Item 6 below.
Grade Bands: Tessellations uses a grade band system for homerooms. Kindergarten is it’s own grade band, as is 1st grade. 2nd and 3rd grades are together, as are 4th/5th and 6th/7th. 8th is by itself. This method is considered best practice for asynchronous learners due to the possibility of grouping kids together that may have a wide array of abilities.
Project-Based Learning: At Tessellations, each grade band will cover one or more Journeys every year. “Journeys” are what we call our Project-Based Learning curriculum, and they are a project-based, integrated approach to instruction in multiple subjects. English Language Arts, Social Studies, Science, History, and Art are woven into a meaningful and relevant storyline, instead of treating the subjects as discrete classes. Journeys are designed to strengthen conceptual understanding through critical examination, deep reflection, and meaningful connection to the real world in a collaborative learning experience. All Journeys include SEL (Social Emotional Learning) and DEIB (Diversity Equity Inclusion Belonging) components.
Social Emotional Learning: Social and Emotional Learning (SEL) is incorporated into school experiences in the form of daily opening and closing circles, dedicated SEL classes, and curriculum connections to every single Journey. The SEL curriculum supports student’s development of a deep sense of self, interpersonal relationships, community connections, as well as their personal agency, their potential to impact on the world around them, and the
pursuit of meaningful intellectual endeavors. Teachers work with students to build a toolbox for processing uncomfortable feelings, managing perfectionism, and working through conflicts with others. K-3 students are taught and encouraged to use the Zones of Regulation to help them understand and communicate their feelings. As students grow, they develop a deep sense of self, an understanding of community, and navigate the evolving relationships of childhood. They examine and discuss topics such as emotional intelligence, perspective taking, stress management, responsible decision-making, resilience, and the development of a growth mindset. Tessellations’ SEL curriculum is informed by a growing body of research that demonstrates its positive impact on a wide range of outcomes, including academic performance, metacognition, interpersonal relationships, and mental health. Tessellations considers SEL work and a focus on whole-child development to be of utmost importance.
Narrative Reporting: Tessellations does not use a standard grade-based reporting structure.
Instead, we utilize narrative-based reports to give students and their families comprehensive written feedback on the student's performance, strengths, and areas for improvement. This supports students in developing a growth mindset, taking educational risks, and working collaboratively with peers.
Outdoor Education Program: Once each week, each homeroom goes on a field trip to our Nature Campus for the better part of a full day. They travel to/from the Nature Campus by school vans, which leave around 10:30am and return around 3pm. We lease access to this space from AbilityPath/ViaWest, a non-profit organization whose mission is to serve individuals with disabilities. Connection with and respect for nature is one of our core values at Tessellations. We aim to inspire our students to be comfortable in nature and lifelong stewards of our planet. The beautiful natural space at the Tessellations Nature Campus is the perfect setting for outdoor education, which includes weekly hikes, classes conducted outdoors, science experiments and observation, free play and exploration in nature, and camping trips.
We want our students to develop a long-term relationship with a consistent natural setting, observing the plants and animals across all seasons. Our unique Outdoor Program provides lifelong memories of time spent in nature, such as reading next to a favorite tree or documenting changes in the environment. These experiences will guide our children’s choices long after graduation.
Tessellations Nature Campus is a 13-acre, completely fenced-in outdoor recreation and natural area in the Cupertino foothills. Amenities include: garden, greenhouse, hiking trails, creek, open woods where children can build play-forts with natural materials, cabins and tent camping areas, two swimming pools (one is 3ft for individuals with disabilities), outdoor amphitheater, BBQ pit, playground, and sport court.
Academic Calendar: Below is a graphic of our yearly calendar for the 2023-2024 school year.
Daily Schedule: Certain classes (Math, Literacy, and Journey - our Project-Based Learning curriculum), happen daily at Tessellations. Other classes, including explorations Below is a graphic of our generalized daily schedule:
Below are graphics of our K-3rd, 4th/5th, and 6th-8th schedules, respectively:
Geographic Demographics: Our community comes from a wide geographic area since our school provides a program that is unique in the Bay Area. The following map shows where our families live:
Items from the Application Incomplete Letter
PLEASE NOTE: CUSD informed Tessellations that any changes to the buildings and premises at 1170 Yorkshire Drive should be conducted under the approval of CUSD and DSA:
The Division of the State Architect (DSA) provides design and construction oversight for K–12 schools, community colleges, and various other state-owned and state-leased facilities to ensure that they comply with all structural, accessibility, and fire and life safety codes.
CUSD has further stated the following: “All facility and site improvement goes through the District and its approval processes.” They further clarified that this was true due to the ownership of the buildings rather than the use of the buildings.
We are hoping that the City and CUSD are in agreement on this point. Based on the direction from CUSD, Tessellations has been, as directed, strictly following the School District and DSA’s process to date. Please let us know if this is acceptable.
1. Mailing Address
Please confirm the mailing address for Tessellations.
Our mailing address is 1170 Yorkshire Dr, Cupertino, CA 95014.
2. Other Department Comments
Please review and address provided comments from Public Works Department, the Environmental Services Division, and the County Fire Department. Please note that additional comments from the City’s Building Division are pending and will be forwarded to the applicant upon receipt.
To our knowledge, we are not aware of any outstanding comments referenced above. Please confirm that we are not missing anything and please forward them to us if they become available.
3. Environmental Review
Please note that results of the requested reports may necessitate the preparation of an Initial Study, an environmental document to assess the project’s impact under the California Environmental Quality Act. An additional deposit for environmental review may be required depending on the level of environmental review required. Deposit amount will be determined based on an initial estimate from the City’s environmental consultant following further project review.
It is our understanding that there are no action items based on the above at this time. Please let us know if this is incorrect.
4. Permit Requirements
Based on responses to the information requested below and the extent of site improvements proposed, an Architectural and Site Approval Permit may be required. This permit will be
processed concurrently with this Use Permit and will have an associated permit fee between $14,557 and $21,667.
Referencing the point raised at the beginning of this section, it is current understanding that all renovations, painting, and landscape modifications are required to go through CUSD’s approval process; CUSD has instructed Tessellations that building improvements to CUSD facilities are not governed by the City and must go through CUSD’s established process. Please let us know if this is acceptable.
5. Proposed Site Improvements
Described exterior improvements include re-painting, modification to landscaping, window and door repair/replacement, fence repair, sign replacement, and a new shade structure. These improvements may require Planning permits. Please provide additional details and plans for the proposed improvements. Please also note that pursuant to state law, in addition to Planning permits, the proposed improvements may require a Building Permit from the City of Cupertino. Please coordinate with our Building Division to determine permitting requirements.
They may be contacted at [email protected].
Referencing the point raised at the beginning of this section, it is current understanding that all renovations, painting, and landscape modifications are required to go through CUSD’s approval process; CUSD has instructed Tessellations that building improvements to CUSD facilities are not governed by the City and must go through CUSD’s established process. Please let us know if this is acceptable.
The one significant item we have planned is a new shade structure (40’ x 60’ x 10’), which has been approved by CUSD and DSA. The shade structure is in the back of the campus and not at all viewable from Yorkshire Drive. Please see the attached document ( S1-PLANSET Tessellations ).
6. Proposed Uses
The Use Permit application is for the use of the site for an independent, private K-8 school. The documents provided note that there are several activities and uses being “considered” for the future, including aftercare, a day care, transitional kindergarten, preschool, subletting to other vendors, summer camp, and a 9th grade expansion. These are currently not considered within the scope of the application, are not being reviewed and should not be assumed to be permitted activities on the site. If there is a desire to have uses beyond the independent, private K-8 school, please amend the Use Permit application to include the uses which will be conducted from the site and provide details of each proposed use, including the days and hours of operation, maximum number of students and staff, whether these operations will be open to the public or only existing enrolled students of the K-8 school, proposed programs, types of vendors and service providers being considered, and the location of proposed uses.
Please also identify the number and type of Special Events that are anticipated that the School will host for parents and for fund raising activities. These include events like Book Fairs, Spring
Socials, Back to School nights, Holiday events, music and theater events etc. Please identify the maximum anticipated attendees, vendors etc.
Scope of Use: We are applying as a PreK-9th school, with a maximum capacity of 300 students and 85 simultaneous staff. We are in the process of applying for a Preschool license, and we hope to open our preschool in January 2024. We are also planning on adding 9th grade in Fall 2024. Note, however, that high school will only be 9th grade on the current campus, and only for one year. In future years, we plan to move the high school to another site, so from then onward the current campus will be PK-8th. We also have an after-school program that runs from the end of class until 6pm on Mon-Thu and 5pm on Fri. This program is only open to our students. We also plan to have summer camp during the summer, which will be open to both our students and the general public.
Outside of regular school hours, we expect no more than 7 larger school-sanctioned events per year on either evenings or weekends. These include: Welcome Picnic (weekend), Back-to-School Night (evening), Winter Festival (evening), Fundraising Gala (evening), Middle School Dance (weekday evening), and Graduation (Friday during the day). These special events would be attended by up to 500 people and would not go past 9:00 pm.
Additionally, there would be numerous smaller events (less than 60 people) that happen throughout the year, including an open house for the neighborhood (weekend 10am-12pm), open houses/workgroups/tours for applying families (9am-10:15am for K-3rd, 10:45am-12pm for 4th-8th, 7pm-8:45pm for 9th), Celebrations of Learning for each homeroom (during the normal school day), musical/theater performances (usually 4pm-5pm on a weekday), parent/guardian conferences (throughout the day spanning specific dates twice/year, plus additional ad hoc as requested by our family population), parent education sessions (usually in the evening from 7pm-8:30pm), and board game days (weekend 1pm-3pm). These special events would not go past 9:00 pm.
We understand that the field is maintained by the City and our lease contemplates our use of the field during school hours (until 4pm), with the ability to rent it out for later afternoons when necessary. We use the field for typical school uses, including recess, PE, games, and sports.
We recently learned that the City would prefer that we rent the field for all times that we would like to use it, so we will work with both the City and CUSD on making that transition.
Included in the maximum staff count of 85, we plan to have various vendors on site to provide services for our students, some as a one-time visit (e.g., a puppet show) and others on a regular basis, including a Social Emotional Learning team (2 people) visit us on Wednesdays for a few hours to work with our various classes and teachers and we have various vendors come in for after-school activities (dance instructor, math competitions coach, volleyball coach, chess coach, parents/guardians chaperoning Lego League, etc.).
7. Total Maximum Number of Students and Staff
Please clarify the maximum number of students that will be on site at one time for all uses
that are proposed. Please also provide the maximum number of staff, including administrative, janitorial, traffic control etc., that will be on site at one time for all uses that are proposed.
Our maximum student body will be 300 (it is less than 200 at present). The current estimate of the maximum number of students by age is as follows:
● 2023-2024: K-8th: 200, with 18-24 additional preschool joining in January ● 2024-2025: PK: 30; K-8th: 230; 9th: 40
● 2025-2026 onward: PK: 30; K-8th: 270
The maximum number of kids in our after-school program is currently 70. For purposes of this application we would like to consider a number of 125.
The maximum number of kids in our Summer Camp program would be 200.
Maximum number of staff, including teachers, administrative, janitorial, and traffic control is currently 70. With expansion over the next few years that number will increase to 85.
8. Hours of Operation
Please provide the proposed dates and hours of operation for each proposed use including staff arrival times and campus closure times. Please provide specifics regarding events that will take place before or after the proposed hours of operation (i.e.,8:00 a.m. to 6:00 p.m.) or on weekends. Additionally, please indicate how the proposed hours of operation, including school drop off and pick up, have been coordinated with Cupertino Union School District and Fremont Union High School District and any restrictions outlined in your lease agreement.
Hours of Operation: Our normal hours of operation are Monday through Friday from 6:30am to 8pm, with typical school operations occurring between 7:30am and 6:30pm. Classes begin at 8am and end at 3:15pm. See the schedule presented earlier in this document for additional details.
Drop-Off and Pick-Up: Drop-off occurs between 8am and 8:15am on Mon - Fri. Pick-up occurs between 3:15pm and 3:30pm on Mon - Thu and between 12:15pm and 12:30pm on Friday.
Pick-up at Base Camp (our after-school program) happens at various times (when various activities end) through 6pm Mon - Thu and 5pm on Fri. Drop-off and pick-up happen entirely on our premises; we do not utilize the loading zone in the street. Base Camp pick-up happens at the back gate on Yorkshire (see parking, Item #11 below, for more information about the back gate).
Tessellations’ school start / end time of 8:15am / 3:15pm (12:15pm on Fri) was established in collaboration with CUSD officials. CUSD both advised and approved our start/end times. While it is not feasible to have times that have zero conflict with all nearby schools, CUSD agrees that our current solution is appropriate and reasonable. For reference, the nearby schools considered most closely when choosing our times are:
● Kennedy Middle School (0.7 miles from Tessellations) has a start time of 8am (except for Wed when it is 9:32am) and ends at 3:05pm.
● Lincoln Elementary School (1.2 miles from Tessellations) has a start time of 8:10am and end time of 2:45pm (except on Tue when it is 1:40pm). ● Monta Vista High School (1.4 miles from Tessellations) has a start time of 8:30am and a end time of 3:50pm (except on Wed/Fri when it is 3:05pm).
Most importantly, we have instructed our families to drive in via Rainbow Dr. (as opposed to Bubb Rd.) and provided maps for assistance. Since the vast majority of our families arrive via freeway, this means that we have very little impact (if any) on the traffic flow to nearby schools. While the times chosen are obviously important, this traffic flow distinction has a significantly higher impact.
9. Transportation Study
A transportation study is required to determine if there are any potential transportation-related impacts resulting from the proposed project. The study shall be conducted in accordance with the City’s Transportation Study Guidelines. City staff will generally retain a transportation consultant, paid for by the applicant, to conduct the required transportation study and manage the consultant contract. The consultant contract is executed with the City to avoid any perceived conflicts of interest. Following confirmation of the scope of work outlined above, the City shall provide an estimate of costs for the study. Please note that an administrative fee of 15% of the contract amount applies to all third part contracts executed by the City.
Due to the significantly lower headcount compared to historical average, Tessellations does not expect transportation-related impacts resulting from school operations. However, if time permits, Tessellations is willing to produce the required traffic study to ensure compliance with City requirements.
As visual evidence, we captured THIS VIDEO on 10/6/23 of our drop-off procedure. As you can see (even by fast-forwarding through the video), there is never a time when the cars back up onto Yorkshire. Transparently, there are times when this happens, but it is infrequent now that we have our procedures worked out well.
Below is historical population data for the Regnart Elementary site (source: CUSD):
Regnart Student and Staff Headcounts
Year Students Staff FTEs
2000-01 615 55 37.477
2001-02 605 59 38.726
2002-03 581 53 34.563
2003-04 589 57 36.689
2004-05 632 54 37.814
2005-06 620 52 35.438
2006-07 605 54 34.376
2007-08 636 58 36.127
2008-09 652 52 40.877
2009-10 608 57 40.877
2010-11 619 50 40.691
2011-12 559 48 37.878
2012-13 547 42 34.064
2013-14 563 48 34.128
2014-15 537 42 34.315
2015-16 531 42 35.189
2016-17 475 49 36.002
2017-18 481 51 36.627
2018-19 452 51 35.852
2019-20 421 50 34.877
2020-21 357 42 31.377
2021-22 309 40 31.377
10. Drop Off and Pick Up Areas
a. Please clarify the linear feet of off- and on-street loading zones.
Our off-street loading zone is 235 linear feet. We do not use public streets for loading.
QUESTION: Is it acceptable for us to also use the yellow bus loading zone for carpool drop-off and pick-up? This provides faster throughput & reduced traffic on Yorkshire Drive for cars that are carrying 3 or more children.
b. Provide documentation of coordination with the Cupertino Union School District for location of the drop off and pick up areas in the right of way.
We are not utilizing any areas in the right of way for drop-off and pick-up.
See question above (10.a).
c. Describe morning drop off operations and activities, including to the extent applicable:
number and age of students dropped off by time window (e.g., 8:00-8:15 a.m.), persons available to assist with drop-off (e.g., staff, parents, students), staff available to manage on-street crossings and traffic in the drop-off zone, and any associated school-operated vehicles (e.g., vans, buses)
We have 10 stations for cars to stop during drop-off and pick-up, with two extra overflow stations at the front of the line.
For drop-off, cars simply pull in and go forward to the furthest available station. The vast majority of our students (K-8th) arrive this way, although there are some that bike to school, as well as some older children that walk in from various bus or car drop-off points. 5 staff are on hand to supervise children exiting their vehicles and traffic flow issues. We also have a crossing guard at Yorkshire and Folkstone, ensuring that pedestrians and bicyclists are safe, and also facilitating the smooth flow of traffic. We prioritize neighborhood traffic. I.e., we motion neighborhood cars and bikes through that intersection before allowing cars to leave our premises.
For the future, we plan for preschool students and 9th graders to arrive later, so we can repeat the process at that time. The numbers involved (see expected student headcount, Item #7) are significantly lower for this sub-populations, so we do not anticipate any issues. d. Describe afternoon pick up operations and activities, including to the extent applicable:
number and age of students picked up by time window (e.g., 3:00-3:15 p.m.), persons available to assist with pick-up (e.g., staff, parents, students), and any associated school-operated vehicles (e.g., vans, buses).
For pick-up, we utilize multiple systems in order to increase efficiency:
● We utilize an App for parents/guardians called DashPass. DashPass notifies the school when a specific parent/guardian car enters a specific geo-fence location. At this point, the teacher is notified to release the student and they proceed to the pick-up area.
There are also exceptions and processes for allowing one-time pick-up of friends in a given family’s car. We have trained our parent/guardian community to use this app successfully and it provides us with real-time data that is very helpful. We modify the geo-fence and the timing of releases accordingly as we learn our community’s pattern.
Having spoken with the DashPass team, we understand that our operation is in the top 1% efficiency of schools using their system.
● Each parent/guardian car has a placard (or placards) showing the children that are to be picked up in that car.
● We have a traffic monitor watching the cars as they come in. That monitor checks each child off in our internal system (which we developed internally using AirTable) and assigns them a pick-up station. We hold cars in batches of 10 so that they can all pull in at the same time. If there are a couple of cars that are still waiting for children (who may not all come out of class at the same speed) and thus holding up the next batch, then we move them to one of our “overflow” spaces at the front of the line and then move the next full batch in for pick-up.
● We have 7 staff helping with pick-up and traffic flow.
As happens every year, this process gets much more efficient as everybody gets used to it. On our first day of pick-up the process took 27min. Currently, we have the process down to more like 13min, not including late arrivals.
For the future, we plan for preschool students to leave earlier and our 9th graders to leave later, so we can repeat the process at that time. The numbers involved (see expected student headcount, Item #7) are significantly lower for this sub-populations, so we do not anticipate any issues.
e. What other transportation-related measures would the school or childcare facility take for efficient and safe travel for children, families, and staff during drop off and pick up? Examples include Notification to Parents of School Drop-Off & Pick-Up Management, most efficient routes to enter and exit the neighborhood, Crossing guards (Describe locations), Enforcement Program by School or Childcare staff of School or Childcare Drop-Off & Pick-Up Management, Identification of Responsible Person who maintains Inventory Log of Transportation-Related Complaints, Distribution of Monitoring Reports of the School Drop-Off & Pick-Up Management, Distribution of Multimodal Access Guide to the School, Distribution of Travel Safety Fact Sheets, Transportation Education Workshops. Describe below (e.g., bicycle safety, step up Muni Program, etc.), Coordinated Walking or Biking Program (e.g., Walking School Bus Program), Volunteer Carpooling Program, Shared Parking Agreements with Nearby Parking Facilities, Commuter Benefit Program for Staff.
We utilize all of the following:
● Regular communications and reminders are sent to parent/guardians about following our protocol for drop-off and pick-up, for both efficiency and safety reasons. ● We employ proper staffing during drop-off and pick-up (see above). ● We teach our students about safety protocols during drop-off and pick-up. ● We highly encourage carpooling in our community, and many families are doing this.
Though this changes from day to day, we currently estimate that approximately 50% of our children arrive and leave in a car with more than one child in it. This number is far above Bay Area and national averages (e.g., in San Francisco the number less than 5%). ● We have instructed our families to drive in via Rainbow Dr. (as opposed to Bubb Rd.) and provided maps for assistance. Since the vast majority of our families arrive via freeway, this means that we have very little impact (if any) on the traffic flow to nearby schools. While the times chosen are obviously important, this traffic flow distinction has a significantly higher impact.
● We have a late check-in and early check-out log for all students that need to leave at irregular times.
● Any complaints from our community or the neighborhood are logged by our Director of Operations (Caroline Gupta) and discussed with our Head of School (Grace Stanat). ● We immediately speak with the drivers of any vehicles that are operating in an unsafe manner, either on our premises or along Yorkshire/Folkstone.
● For staff, we have the ability to shuttle employees from a nearby parking lot where we have permission to park a large number of vehicles (see Item #11 below).
We are also open to further suggestions on this topic since the safety of our community and the neighborhood is a top priority.
f. Please also clarify how drop off and pick up will be monitored to ensure that the neighboring local streets are not impacted by these activities. The current proposal includes a Drop Off and Pick up area along Yorkshire Dr. north of Folkestone Drive. While there are multiple issues that need to be clarified surrounding the proposal as identified above, staff recommends that the applicant contact private schools in neighboring jurisdictions, with successful traffic management plans in considering its own traffic management plan. These include Stratford School, Challenger School, Harker School, Saint Andrews Episcopal School. Please note that while, depending upon the results of the requested transportation study, the proposed to have the drop off in the right-of-way (Yorkshire Drive) may be conditionally permitted, staff strongly encourages a design/proposal where all school drop off/pick up is located on site. Should a drop off/pick up area continue to be proposed in the right-of-way, the project will be conditioned to ensure that, should the drop off/pick up operation pose a traffic or public safety threat, become a public nuisance or otherwise be operating out of compliance, the City, at the recommendation of the Public Works Department, would reserve the right to require the drop off to be relocated on site.
All drop-off and pick-up is now happening onsite. We have studied and observed other schools’ traffic management plans and operations and believe that the processes that we currently follow - as highlighted in the video link - are highly efficient and effective. g. Additionally, the provided project description document indicates that there will be reserved parking spaces for the drivers of kindergarten students to drop off and walk students on to the campus. Please clearly show on plans which spaces will be reserved for this drop off.
We would ideally like to use the spaces along Yorkshire road for this purpose. Please let us know if this is acceptable. Many of our kindergarten students, however, simply utilize the normal drop-off.
11. On-Site Parking
Per Municipal Code Section 19.124.040 R, schools and school offices in the BA zoning district are required to provide parking at a rate of 1 space per employee + 1 space per 56 sq. ft. multipurpose room + 8 visitor spaces + 1 space for every 3 students at senior H.S. or college level. Parking space size can be determined through Table 19.124.040 (B). Please see Municipal Code Section 19.124.040 for additional parking design standards. Please note that parking must be on site. Please clearly indicate where the required parking spaces will be accommodated on site. Please provide a revised site plan that clearly indicates the number of existing and proposed parking spaces. Please label each space and only include those spaces which are of a usable size and not otherwise obstructed or reserved. It appears that some
spaces are not available due to the placement of a large trash receptacle located within the parking lot and the long term ongoing parking of school shuttle buses on the site. Dependent upon plans for expansion of parking, a street cross section and traffic analysis to assess the potential traffic and parking impacts of the proposed use may be required.
We currently have 70 simultaneous employees and we are applying for the ability to have up to
85. Our multi-purpose room is 3,072 square feet, so by the above requirements, we currently would need 133 parking spaces (70+8+55). When we grow to 85 simultaneous employees, we would need 148 parking spaces (85+8+55). Unfortunately, when we took over at the site there were only 47 parking spaces (of which 4 are ADA), so even if we had zero employees, we are quite short.
After an initial period of using the neighborhood for overflow staff parking, we are now employing all of the following methods in order to fit all staff parking onsite:
● We strongly encourage our staff to carpool. We have published a helpful click-able map that allows them to work together to find carpooling solutions. Currently, 19 of our staff are carpooling (in 7 vehicles).
● Some of our staff (12) are now biking or walking to work (whether from home, a nearby bus stop, or a sanctioned parking lot where they are able to park during the day without issue).
● We have converted the area near the back gate to additional parking. We plan to park 9 (of our 14) school vans there (the rest will be parked off site) and provide an additional 8 spaces for employee vehicles.
● If necessary, we have planned for and will offer a shuttle service from New Life Church, where we still have a lease and parking availability. This facility is 5min away and is our back-up plan for accommodating additional employees in the future if necessary.
As such, our staff parking has zero impact on neighborhood parking.
We have a total of 64 available spaces (47 in our front lot and an additional 17 via our back gate).
● 47 in our front lot (4 of which are ADA spaces)
● 17 inside our back gate (9 for vans and 8 for employees) Thus we have 61 non-ADA spaces.
Below is a rundown of the spaces utilized by our current maximum of 70 simultaneous employees and our school-owned vehicles:
● 37 spaces used by employees that need their own parking space, either because they arrive/leave at odd times or are transporting a child.
● 7 spaces used by 19 employees that carpool.
● 0 (non-ADA) spaces used by 1 employee who utilizes an ADA space.
● 0 spaces utilized by 12 employees who bike or walk to work. ● 9 spaces utilized by our school vans (5 more will be kept off site).
The above accounts for 53 spaces of our available 61 non-ADA spaces. This leaves a buffer of 8 for visitor parking.
Based on the above, our current employee, van, and visitor parking is handled entirely onsite.
As we grow, we will make sure that stays true, and utilize a shuttle service if/when that becomes necessary.
We would like to ask for an exemption for the requirement of having 55 additional parking spaces for our multi-purpose room. Fortunately, we rarely have large events (see Item #6 above) so we do not need regular parking for those. When we do have them, we will utilize not only the space near the back gate, but we can also convert a larger section of our black top to temporary parking with parking lot ushers. This would not be a good solution for times when children are utilizing that area, but for some of our special events, it will work well.
In the longer term, we would like to create an additional parking lot in frontage area along Yorkshire (currently grass), but obviously this will require multiple levels of approval (TBD: the City, CUSD, DSA). The additional parking will accommodate the future growth of the school and provide plenty of buffer for the above solutions. Until that is approved, we will accommodate any overflow by utilizing our proposed shuttle solution.
QUESTIONS:
● Is it acceptable for us to also use the yellow bus loading zone for carpool drop-off and pick-up? This section is currently not utilized at all. This provides faster throughput & reduced traffic on Yorkshire Drive for cars that are carrying 3 or more children. ● Is it acceptable for us to use the parking along the Yorkshire Drive frontage for visitor parking (deliveries, maintenance vehicles, special vendors, etc)? Having this section of Yorkshire available for visitor parking would be very helpful. At the very least, would it be possible to make the frontage parking NOT subject to local neighborhood permit parking?
12. Parking Improvements
Please coordinate with our Building Division to determine the requirements for improvements per ADA standards within the parking lot.
Currently, we have 47 parking spots in our front lot, 4 of which are ADA. It is our understanding that this ratio is acceptable, but please advise if this is incorrect.
13. Bicycle Parking
Per Municipal Code Section 19.124.040 R, schools and school offices in the BA zoning district are required to provide Class II bicycle parking at a rate of 1 space per 5 students.
The school site has an existing fenced bicycle parking area which has Class II bicycle parking for an estimated 70 bicycles, which satisfies the 1:5 space to student ratio.
14. Building Square Footages
Please clearly indicate the square footages of each building group shown on the table on page 5 of the project description document. Additionally, please clearly indicate the total amount of multi-purpose space on site.
The graphic below shows the square footage of all buildings/rooms. The multi-purpose room is listed at 3,072 square feet.
15. Outdoor Projection
Please provide a description of any noise projection devices that may be used at the site and indicate if these are existing or proposed features.
There are no noise projection devices on the site. We use walkie-talkies for this purpose and their volume is very low. Staff hear it on their walkie-talkies and inform the students.
Project Plan Comments
16. Development Plan Contents
Please provide a plan which indicates the following:
a. The location of buildings improvements;
The building improvements have been cosmetic. We have performed internal and external painting in all the buildings and repaired numerous broken items (hinges, etc.). We have installed whiteboards and projectors in many of the rooms. We replaced aging kitchen equipment in the staff lounge. This was all with CUSD’s knowledge and approval. b. The location of new, replaced, or existing landscape; We have replaced dead grass in numerous areas, specifically the courtyards between the buildings. We have planted small plants along the edges of some of the courtyards. We have replanted much of the existing landscaping with drought tolerant plants (much of it was dead or dying).
The one significant item we have planned is a new shade structure, which has been approved by CUSD and DSA. Please see the attached document ( S1-PLANSET Tessellations ). c. Parking and loading plans (see comment above for more information); See Item #11 for details.
d. North arrow and scale
See the drawing below and the attached document ( S1-PLANSET Tessellations ) for details. e. Complete and labeled existing property lines
The property lines are unchanged from when CUSD occupied the site. If applicable, we can request the most recent site survey from CUSD.
f. Paved areas on site, such as roadways, driveways, and walkways See the drawing below and the attached document ( S1-PLANSET Tessellations ) for details. g. Location of roads, streets, alleys and access points See the drawing below and the attached document ( S1-PLANSET Tessellations ) for details.
h. Location of proposed signage with proper references to the Plan and Renderings set Our signage is in exactly the same place as the previous CUSD signage, and is also exactly the same size. CUSD has approved our signage. We hope this is sufficient for the purposes of this application.
i. Location and proposed layout of all new equipment
There is no new equipment aside from things like computers, printers, and art devices (paper cutters, etc.).
j. Driveway aisle dimensions
Driveway aisle dimensions are unchanged from when CUSD occupied the site. k. Existing & proposed trees with species and diameter at breast height (DBH) labeled Our application does not contemplate removing any existing or protected trees at the site. We would need some time to provide a full list of existing trees with species, diameter, and breast height. We’re hoping, given the fact that we are not removing any trees and that we are complying with CUSD’s approvals that we may be exempt from this requirement. l. Location, material, and height of existing or proposed fences We have repaired numerous decaying fences on the property and also removed one fence, all through CUSD’s approval process. See the drawing below for more details.
Please refer to the graphic below so see where we have made repairs/improvements to the outside of the property. If more detail is required, Tessellations could work with the City to determine what information and format is acceptable.
17. Materials
Per City Code Section 19.12.080.B.4, indicate on plans the proposed colors and materials to be used on the exterior of the building, as well as on architectural features.
Referencing the point raised at the beginning of this section, it is current understanding that all renovations, painting, and landscape modifications are required to go through CUSD’s approval process; CUSD has instructed Tessellations that building improvements to CUSD facilities are not governed by the City and must go through CUSD’s established process. Please let us know if this is acceptable.
18. Plan Note
Please include the following note on project plans:
NOTE: ANY CHANGES TO THE APPROVED COLORS, MATERIALS, AND EXTERIOR FINISHES
SHALL BE REVIEWED AND APPROVED BY THE CITY OF CUPERTINO PLANNING DIVISION PRIOR TO INSTALLATION/APPLICATION.
Referencing the point raised at the beginning of this section, it is current understanding that all renovations, painting, and landscape modifications are required to go through CUSD’s approval process; CUSD has instructed Tessellations that building improvements to CUSD facilities are not governed by the City and must go through CUSD’s established process. Please let us know if this is acceptable.
Site Improvement Design Comments
19. Signage Requirements
Signage is not being considered as a part of this application. Please note that signage must be consistent with the requirements of Municipal Code Chapter 19.104.
Well noted.
20. Low Impact Development (LID) and Green Building Measures The incorporation of green building aspects to the maximum extent feasible is highly encouraged. Please indicate on plans where any green building features are being implemented and how project design addresses runoff from site.
The scope of this CUP application does not contemplate:
● Extensive renovations where green building features would be implemented ● Modification or addition of new hardscape where runoff from site would need to be addressed
21. Screening
Please note that screening to limit noise, visual impacts from newly installed rooftop HVAC equipment, to reduce glare of lights, and to prevent obnoxious emissions shall be provided when deemed appropriate by the Planning Commission.
Well noted.
22. Bird-Safe Design
This property is located in a bird sensitive area. Since window replacements are proposed as part of the project, please submit the following items for review and approval by the Planning Division to verify that construction activity complies with the development standards of Cupertino Municipal Code Section 19.102.030 Bird-Safe Development Requirements:
a. Elevation Drawings indicating the bird-safe treatment and how the proposed treatment meets the requirements of Cupertino Municipal Code Section 19.102.030(B) and (D); b. Cross Sections; and
c. Other exhibits (including, but not limited to, window schedule and manufacturing specifications) indicating consideration and incorporation of the regulations in Section
19.102(B), (C), and (D).
Prior to our possession of the property, there were some broken windows that CUSD replaced.
Going forward, we would only replace broken windows within existing window frames.
23. Dark Sky Lighting Compliance
Should the proposal include outdoor lighting improvements/replacement and/or new installation, please provide the following:
a. Site Plan indicating the location of all outdoor lighting fixtures. b. Description of each lighting fixture, that includes, but not limited to, manufacturer’s catalog cuts and drawings (including sections), lamp types, and lumen outputs. c. Project Lighting Plan shall indicate how lighting has been coordinated with any associated landscaping plan to prevent site planning conflicts.
d. Other: Additional documents or information may be requested upon submittal subject to the discretion of the Director of Community Development, or delegated staff, to ensure that the proposed lighting is in compliance with the provisions of Cupertino Municipal Code Chapter
19.102.
This proposal does not include outdoor lighting improvements
24. Existing Trees
Revise plans to include all existing trees on site and any street trees located adjacent to the site. Specify the species of tree (i.e., oak, deodar cedar, apple, orange, etc.) and the trunk diameter in inches, as measured at breast height (i.e., four and a half feet from natural grade).
Please indicate whether the trees will be removed or retained. Note: Removal of Protected Trees on site, as defined by City Code Section 14.18.040, on the subject property requires a Tree Removal Permit to be applied for and approved by the Planning Division. Street Tree removal is processed and managed by the Public Works Division.
Our application does not contemplate removing any existing or protected trees at the site.
25. Preliminary Landscape Plan
Provide a preliminary landscape plan which outlined the location and square footage of proposed landscape and hardscape required by City Code Section 19.12.080.B.3.
Please see the drawing at the end of Item #16 for details. For the shade structure plans, please see the attached document ( S1-PLANSET Tessellations ) for details.