CITY COUNCILMEMBER REPORT Meeting: Tuesday, May 6, 2025 Reporting Councilmember : Mayor Liang Chao Report Dates : 4/8/25 to 4/29/25 ● Last Activity Report in the April 15, 2025 Council Meeting Agenda. Section 1: Announcement - Message from the Mayor : ❖ Mayor’s Initiatives: ➢ Cupertino Stories : You are welcome to email entries to [email protected]. ■ Thank you to Cupertino Science Technology University (CSTU) for managing the project.
They
have
developed
tools
to
convert
audio/video
stories
to
text.
■ The website will be redesigned soon to accept story submissions. ➢ Booth at the Festivals : Thank you for volunteers helping to support the Mayor’s Initiatives Booth at
April
5 Earth
Day
Festival
and
April
26 &
April
27 Cherry
Blossom
Festival.
➢ Dance in the Plaza: The first Dance in the Plaza was held on Saturday April 12 from 2:30-5:30pm .
Thank
you
for
Amazing
Taiwan
for
sponsoring
the
event.
We
had
a
lot
of
fun.
The
second
Dance
in
the
Plaza
will
be
held
in
June.
Date
to
be
announced
later.
➢ Volunteer Appreciation : The Mayor hosted an Appreciation Dinner for CERT, CARE, ARM volunteers
and
block
leaders
on
April
17 after
a
proclamation
was
presented
to
them
at
the
April
15 Council
Meeting.
About
50 people
attended.
Many
have
served
over
10,
20 years
and
some
even
served
30 years.
Thank
you
to
AlphaX
for
sponsoring
the
dinner.
➢ Hand Puppet Show: May 4, 2025 2:30-5pm Cupertino Community Hall ■ Watch the legendary hand puppet show from Taiwan. Bring 600cc soda bottles to make your own hand puppet. More details. ➢ Community Multicultural Juried Art Show at the AAPI Multicultural Festival : The Cupertino Art
Show
will
be
held
on
Saturday
May
24,
from
12pm
to
4pm
in
collaboration
with
the
APPI
Multicultural
Festival.
Submit
your
entries
by
May
18 at
https://aapicommunityjuriedartshow.artcall.org/
1 ❖ Monthly Chat with Mayor Community Meetings: These meetings will be generally held on the second
Monday
at
5pm
each
month,
but
it
might
be
moved
to
other
Mondays
if
needed.
The
location
will
rotate
so
that
we
cover
different
businesses
each
month.
➢ The last Mayor’s Chat was held at the Jade Tea Garden on April 15. Thank you to Captain Neil Valenzuela
for
sending
Lieutenant
Shawn
Flores
to
represent
him
and
answer
questions.
➢ The next Monthly Chat with Mayor will be held on Monday May 12th at 5pm. The location is Lee’s Sandwiches
(20363
Stevens
Creek
Blvd.,
Cupertino,
CA
95014)
at
St.
Joseph’s
Plaza.
2 ❖ FY 2025-27 Work Program Prioritization : The staff has proposed a new process for Work Program Prioritization in an info memo. Check the Work Program page for updates. ➢ At the March 18 Council Meeting, the Council adopted a list of Work Program items for consideration for the FY 25-26 budget. ➢ The final decision will likely be made in April/May before the Council adopts the FY 25-26 budget in
June
2025.
❖ Process to Request Certificate of Recognition or Commendation: ➢ To ensure such requests are handled as smoothly and efficiently as possible, the City Manager’s Office
has
implemented
a
dedicated
process.
➢ We kindly ask that you complete the following form, which will allow Mayor Chao to present a certificate of recognition: https://cupertino.gov/councilmeetingrequest ❖ Proclamations at Council meetings : This year, I plan to follow a tradition upheld by some former Cupertino
mayors
and
other
mayors
in
recognizing
organizations
or
individuals
with
proclamations
during
Council
meetings.
My
goal
is
to
honor
those
who
have
made
consistent
and/or
significant
contributions
to
Cupertino,
with
an
emphasis
on
those
who
are
less
well-known.
If
you
have
any
suggestions,
please
feel
free
to
me
at
Proclamations for contributions will generally be presented at the second Council meeting of each month, while
the
first
meeting
will
continue
to
recognize
special
observances
(e.g.,
awareness
months
or
weeks)
as
before.
You
are
also
welcome
to
submit
suggestions
for
these
recognitions.
Section 2: Committee Assignment 2024-04-09 Santa Clara Valley Water Commission meeting (Agenda, Video to be posted later) ● In order to support infrastructure projects to supply water to the region, the water rate is projected to increase
by
9.9%
from
FY
26 to
FY
34. Thus,
the
rate
will
double
in
10 years.
(Cupertino
belongs
to
North
3 County)
● Here are the infrastructure projects in each region:
2024-04-23 West Valley Mayors and Managers Monthly Meeting - at Gardenia, Los Gatos ● Each city shares updates and their effort on Emergency Preparedness. ● Los Gatos Mayor formed an advisory group of about 15 people, reporting to the Mayor, where there
are
representatives
from
the
Fire
Department
and
Red
Cross.
● Saratoga and Los Gatos had multiple study sessions on emergency preparedness and the high severity
fire
zones.
● Monte Sereno is looking into a simulation for evacuation and a radio station for communication during
emergency.
4 Section 3: Activities by Date (Date, Title, and Description): NOTE: ● This list does not include internal meetings with staff only, such as prep sessions or meetings with the City Manager. ● This list includes activities to “represent the community I am elected to serve”, “to respond to community needs and complaints,” and “to communicate policies and programs to residents,” among other responsibilities of a City Councilmember. ● Due to my work schedule, I have cut down on the event attendance for ceremonial purposes, especially those I have attended
almost
every
year
in
the
past.
Instead,
I
focus
more
of
my
time
on
constituent
services.
2024-04-09 Meeting on Wolfe Road Housing Project with Eden Housing and County representative
- They have done extensive outreach and taken community input to inform the design to reduce the impact to
neighborhoods.
- They are actively engaging with CalTran to pursue the alternate emergency exit. They have addressed the issues
CalTrain
raised
as
much
as
they
can,
but
it
is
still
unclear
whether
the
alternate
exit
is
feasible.
2025-04-09 Attended “October 8” film screening by Anti-Defamation League (ADL) Central Pacific ● The full name of the film is “October H8TE – The Fight for the Soul of America”. ● “The film covers the 2024 pro-Palestinian protests on university campuses after the October 7 Hamas-led attack
on
Israel.
It
describes
how
"anti-Israel
sentiment
came
to
a
fever
pitch
in
the
immediate
aftermath
of
the massacre" and argues such sentiment "morphed into antisemitism". (wikipedia) 2025-04-10 Meeting on the Westport Senior Living project - with Related and the Planning Commission Vice Chair Tracy Kosolcharoen - They presented their proposed modifications due to the reality of the economic situations. - Highlights from the Project Description: • Modify the approved senior assisted living dwelling unit count to 136 dwelling units • Eliminate the basement-level parking garage; • Reduce the ground floor retail in Building 1 to 4,000 square feet; and • Waive application of the Park Land Dedication Fee - They received strong community concerns on the parking issue and they are exploring options to add more parking
spaces.
The
community
also
is
not
happy
with
the
significant
reduction
in
retail
space.
- See the April 22 Planning Commission Agenda for more details and watch the video for the motion
approved
by
the
Planning
Commission
to
consider
the
option
to
provide
8,000
sqft
retail
with
an
incentive
for
parkland
fee
waiver.
2025-04-10 Meeting on the Stevens Creek Office Center (20807-20883 Stevens Creek Blvd) project (Offices behind Panera Bread) - with Harvest Properties, Inc. and the Planning Commission Chair Santosh Rao - They plan to develop townhomes on the side, which will replace the retail building, where Panera
Bread
is
located.
- “ Development of 122-units (66 small-lot single family and 56 townhomes), including 24 affordable units, to replace
three
office
buildings
and
one
retail
building
on
a
6.93-acre
site,
located
close
to
the
northwestern
corner of the intersection of Stevens Creek Blvd and Saich Way.” (City Westport page) - There will be some moderately sized townhomes and some smaller townhomes. - They received strong community sentiment to preserve the retail building with Panera Bread and Voyager Coffee.
They
are
seriously
considering
that
option.
5 2025-04-11 Meeting with CUSD to consider the potential for the Finch Property - The CUSD Board President has given oral confirmation in March and then written confirmation on April 7 that
CUSD
is
interested
in
selling
the
Finch
Property,
whose
proceeds
will
be
invested
by
CUSD
in
a
revenue-generating
option.
- We communicated that we hope to place the item on the agenda for the Council to consider and Chris Jew, CUSD
CFO,
will
send
over
documents
to
help
our
staff
prepare
agenda
materials.
2025-04-11 Meeting with Claudio Bono, the manager of Cupertino Inn - Mr. Bono proposed the possibility of providing the Cupertino Inn as an extended stay hotel for De Anza students.
For
double
occupancy,
the
rent
will
likely
be
$1000-1500,
including
weekly
cleaning
and
daily
breakfast.
- This is might be an affordable option for student housing for De Anza College and he has proposed the idea
to
the
Foothill-De
Anza
College
Board
2025-04-12 Dance in the Plaza (Mayor’s Initiative) at the Civic Plaza, in collaboration with Amazing Taiwan
- Multiple dance groups performed and led dances for attendees to follow. - A group from CSTU led a few Indian dances - Art Commissioner Archana Panda led an impromptu Bollywood dance. 2025-04-13 Attended the Cupertino Holi Festival in Memorial Park - organized by Cupertino Chamber of
Commerce
- Many families attended. Children were having fun coloring each other with the colored power. 2025-04-14 Monthly Chat with Mayor at the Jade Tea Garden - Special Guest from the Sheriff’s Office - Captain Neil Valenzuela sent Lieutenant Shawn Flores to represent him and answer questions. - Residents asked about the Crime reports, which are in fact included with the City Manager’s biweekly newsletter Cupertino Connect. - The weekly crime reports are also available at the Cupertino’s Crime Summary page. - Also check out the Cupertino Crime Dashboard - Lieutenant Shawn Flores confirmed that Cupertino Sheriff does help patrol De Anza College at night through
a
mutual
aid
program.
A
resident
asked
whether
the
college
compensates
Cupertino
for
the
cost.
2025-04-17 Meeting with Stanley Yang, Local 21, and staff representative for the employee union 2025-04-17 Volunteer Appreciation Dinner with CERT, CARE, ARM volunteers and block leaders - A proclamation was presented to them at the April 15 Council Meeting for the Volunteer Week. - About 50 people attended the dinner. Many have served over 10, 20 years and some even served 30 years. - Special thanks to AlphaX for sponsoring the dinner, which I was initially going to cover with Mayor’s Fund.
2025-04-18 Visited the office of AlphaX RE Capital with Planning Commission Vice Chair Tracy Kosolcharoen - AlphaX just moved their headquarters from San Jose to Cupertino. They are proud to be a women-funded, women-led
company.
- They focus on small scale developments. They are also forming 20-30 entities to provide specialized services,
from
building
ADU,
to
interior
design,
for
homeowners
or
small
developers.
- As a newcomer to Cupertino, they are eager to get involved with the Cupertino Community and support community
events.
6 2025-04-18 Attended the Unity Dinner, organized by the Indo-American Community Federation (IACF-USA) in collaboration with India Community Center (ICC) - I was one of the panelists for the panel on AI in Government with former Fremont Mayor Lily May and 4 other
industry
experts.
- Thanks to Terry, the CTO of Cupertino, for bringing me up to date with the use of AI and AI policy in Cupertino.
2025-04-19 TV studio interview with the Cupertino TV Productions (CTVP) team at KMTV studio - CTVP is an all-volunteer team who produce TV award winning TV programs, broadcasted in the Cupertino TV channel - “Cupertino TV Productions (CTVP) is a 50+ club of active individuals sponsored by the City of Cupertino.
We
produce
half
hour
TV
interview
shows
which
are
taped
at
the
public
access
station,
KMVT15
Community
Media,
in
Mountain
View,
CA.
Since
1983,
we
have
produced
more
than
1,200
programs
covering
a
wide
variety
of
topics
of
interest
to
the
community.
Our shows are cablecast on 6 public access TV stations in some 13 communities, and can also be seen on YouTube by at least 32,300 subscribers and more.” (CTVP About page) - This year they are producing a series of programs on the TV government. 2025-04-20 Attended “Mimouna” in the backyard of a resident - The Mimouna is a joyful Moroccan Jewish tradition marking the end of the Passover holiday. The festival is filled
with
homemade
Moroccan
sweets
and
dancing
to
Arabic/middle
eastern
music.
- “Mimouna is a traditional Maghrebi Jewish celebration dinner that takes place in Morocco, Israel, France,
Canada,
and
other
places
around
the
world
where
Maghrebi
Jews
live.
It
is
held
the
day
after
Passover,
marking
the
return
to
eating
hametz
(leavened
bread),
which
is
forbidden
throughout the week of Passover.” (wikipedia) 2025-04-21 Meeting with a representative of the Braver Angel Silicon Valley Alliance - Discussed potential topics for a town hall or workshop as a Mayor’s Initiative - “Braver Angels is a nationwide bipartisan citizens’ movement started in 2016 by a small group of conservatives
and
liberals
who
were
alarmed
by
the
venom
and
rancor
they
were
seeing
in
the
political
public
space.
Braver
Angels
is
dedicated
to
bringing
red
and
blue
Americans
together
in
a
working
alliance
to depolarize America.” (Braver Angel’s site) 2025-04-23 Attended the Press Conference for the upcoming Taiwanese Folk Song Concert, hosted by Smiling
Raindrop
Foundation
and
Global
Federation
of
Chinese
Business
Association
- The musicians gave a demo with violin, cello and erhu, a Chinese instrument. - Iconic Taiwanese folk songs revived using classic Section 4: Information of Interest to My Constituents: (updated on 4/8) ● Builders’ Remedy (BR) Projects (Status of Projects) ★ BR Projects with incomplete application status ( pursuant to Government Code Section 65941.1.) ● 20739 Scofield (one block from Faria Elementary School, zoned R1-10): The project will replace one single-family home with 20-unit, 5 story, condominium
on
15,004
sqft
(0.34
acre)
lot
● Vista Heights (near entrance of Linda Vista Park) : The vacant site, zoned 7 RHS, will build 33 units (8 condominiums and 25 single family homes on vacant
hillside
property
of
86.1 acres.
● Upland Way (11841 Upland Way, zoned RHS-70) : 6 single family homes, including 2 affordable units, on vacant hillside property of 1.56 acres with average
slopes
greater
than
30%
★ Other active BR projects: ○ Dividend Homes (20085 & 20111 Stevens Creek Blvd) , to the east of the Fire Station, on 2.6 acres, zoned R4 and commercial mixed use. The project will replace two existing office buildings
with
57 for-sale
townhomes.,
including
12 affordable
units.
○ Dividend Homes (20045 & 20065 Stevens Creek Blvd), to the east of the Fire Station, on 1.77 acres, zoned commercial mixed use. The project will replace existing office buildings with
32 for-sale
townhomes.,
including
6 affordable
units.
★ Relevant News on the determination of incompleteness for BR projects: ○ “Los Gatos Files Declaratory Relief Action to Resolve Land Use Uncertainty” (Press Release from the City of Los Gatos) ■ “That section [Gov. Code 65941.1] provides that applicants for land use approvals have
90 days
after
an
initial
180-day
deadline
to
submit
any
missing
information
needed
to
complete
a
formal
application
for
a
so-called
“builder’s
remedy”
housing
project.
That
section
further
stipulates
that
if
the
missing
information
is
not
submitted
“within
the
90-day
period,
then
the
preliminary
application
shall
expire
and
have
no
further
force
or
effect.”
■ “In an apparently conflicting reading, in letters dated August 30, 2024 and February
12,
2025,
the
California
Department
of
Housing
and
Community
Development
(HCD)
stated
its
view
that
there
is
not
just
one
90-day
period
but
that
successive
90-day
periods
can
run
indefinitely
.
By
filing
this
lawsuit,
the
Town
is
acting
in
good
faith
so
that
it
will
know
how
to
comply
with
the
law
and
ensure
it
can
continue
to
serve
its
residents
and
property
owners,
while
lawfully
processing
land
use
applications.”
★ Other docs: ○ The July 25, 2024 info memo, titled “Scofield Drive SB330 Preliminary Application pursuant to Builder’s Remedy”, has information about proposed BR projects and their review process. ● Other Residential Projects - complete applications submitted, not yet approved: ○ Pizza Hut/Staples/ Fontana's (20770, 20830, 20840, & 20850 Stevens Creek Blvd). adjacent to the Cupertino Crossroads Shopping Center): on 2.97 acres, zoned commercial mixed use. The project will
replace
existing
retail
stores
with
59 townhome
condominium
units
across
eight,
three-story
buildings
○ United Furniture (10065 & 10075 Stevens Creek Blvd, across from Vallco) , on 2.72 acres, zoned commercial mixed use. The project will replace existing retail stores with 55 townhome condominium
units,
with
10 ADUs,
three-story
buildings
○ Stevens Office Center (20813, 20823, 20883 and 20807 Stevens Creek Blvd) , on 6.93 acres, zoned commercial mixed use. The project will replace two office buildings and one retail building with 122
for-sale
units
(66
small-lot
single
family
and
56 townhomes),
including
24 affordable
units
○ 20865 McClellan Rd: on 0.99 acres, zoned R3TH. The project will replace one single-family home with 27 townhomes, including 4 affordable units, in three-story buildings ○ Evulich Court (10857, 10867, 10877 & 10887 Linda Vista Dr): on 2.53 acres, zoned R3TH. The project will replace 4 single-family homes with 51 townhomes, including 11 affordable units 8 ● Other Residential Projects - SB 330 preliminary application submitted, but not complete applications:
○ Wolfe Road Housing Project (10333 N. Wolfe Road) : 250-300 total units across the 5-acre property. It will be 100% rental apartments. The affordable housing will benefit those making 80% or
less
of
the
area
median
income
(AMI).
■ a full report on our Listening Phase at this link. ■ February 12 Community Co-Creation Event at Collins Elementary School ● Other Residential Projects - Revision of already approved projects: ○ Westport Senior Assisted Living Housing (revision submitted): The developer Related has submitted
a
revision
to
add
more
units,
reduce
retail
space,
remove
the
underground
garage
and
request
a
waiver
of
Parkland
dedication
Fee.
It
is
going
to
the
Planning
Commission
in
May
■ Previous approval in 2021 and 2024: Westport (21267 Stevens Creek Blvd) ○ Marina Plaza (10145 N. De Anza Blvd, 10118 Bandley Dr.), on 5.1 acres, zoned commercial and mixed use: The project will add more units, slightly reduce retail space, deliver over smaller for-sale
starter
homes
under
1500
sq.
ft.
and
an
outdoor
amphitheater.
■ Previous approval in 2022L Marina Plaza.
● License Plate Reader Camera - City-operated or personal ones ★ The Council has adopted the Automated License Plate Reader (ALPR) Camera program (Resolution 24-094) in order to alert the police when a license plate with previous record is detected. Some cameras are placed at major roads entering Cupertnio. ★ The residents or businesses can connect your home or business surveillance camera with the Santa Clara County Sheriff's Office. The registration form is at the bottom of this page. Section 5: Information Access Useful to My Constituents (not updated):
1. Information Memo posted on the City website: City Council Informational Memos are now available on the City website. The information can be accessed from the City website at cupertino.org/memos and the City Council page. You can also find the page by entering search terms “info memos” at the top of the website. ★ Anyone may use the eNotification signup to receive informational memo updates by email.
★ The info memos are now hosted in the digital archive as all other city records. ★ Click “+” to zoom in. ★ On a laptop: ○ To open the document as PDF, click on the Print icon and then click on “Download &
Print”.
The
downloaded
will
appear
in
a
new
tab
for
viewing.
○ This does not work on Safari browser on an iPhone. ★ To copy and paste text, you must open it as PDF and then copy & paste from there. New memos posted, since last report: ● No new info memos published since February 28 9 ● Recordings of Commission Meetings: Starting in June, commission meetings will be recorded for viewing later, although no teleconferencing
to
allow
remote
participation.
- Find the recordings here under each commission.
4. How to Search an agenda item: A community member showed me a way to search for items on the past city meetings: ● Go to this page: https://cupertino.legistar.com/Calendar.aspx ○ Make sure that “Calendar” is selected from the top row of tabs and the “List View” is
selected
from
the
bottom
row
of
tabs.
○ Enter the search term, such as “investment report”. Choose the year or select “All Years”
10