Stevens Creek Corridor Steering Committee Meeting Minutes (DRAFT) June 23, 2023, 3:00 PM
Hybrid Meeting
San José City Hall City Manager’s Conference Room (17 th Floor) and Virtually
Steering Committee Members Present
Vice Mayor Rosemary Kamei, City of San José (Chair)
Mayor Hung Wei, City of Cupertino
Mayor Lisa Gillmor, City of Santa Clara
Council Member Anthony Becker, City of Santa Clara
Supervisor Cindy Chavez, County of Santa Clara
Speakers Present:
Omar Din - City of San José, Council Assistant to Vice Mayor Rosemary Kamei - District 1 David Gomez - City of San José, Chief of Staff to Vice Mayor Rosemary Kamei - District 1 Ramses Madou - City of San José, Division Manager of Planning, Policy, and Sustainability for the Department of Transportation
Sean Daly, Consultant Team, Project Manager, Iteris
Corinne Winter, Consultant Team, Deputy Project Manager, Winter Consulting Christian Ollano, Consultant Team, Engagement Lead, Winter Consulting
Members of the Public Present:
Seth Barberea (in-person)
Wes Lee (in-person)
Royce Li (in-person)
Chris Giangreco (in-person)
Andar (online)
Arun (online)
Hope Cahan (online)
Janice Orellano (online)
Monica Mallon (online)
Harun Neil (online)
Ivan (online)
Jen Shearin (online)
Suyash (online)
Calley Wang (online)
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SANJOSE Stevens Creek Corridor Steering Committee
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Pat Wilfren (online)
Maria Ynes Ortega (online)
*Note that there were also several members of the public present online without a name.
1. Welcome & Introductions
Vice Mayor Rosemary Kamei of San José welcomed attendees and led introductions of participating agencies.
2. Steering Committee Administration
Vice Mayor Rosemary Kamei led discussion on Committee bylaws, including identification of voting members.
● For discussion and action: Committee bylaws
○ Bylaw modifications:
■ Add language to Preamble to emphasize the purpose of the committee: “The Committee will improve transportation options along the corridor and increase the collaboration between the cities and agencies represented to bring our residents a more traversable and interconnected future.”
■ Modifications to Section 103: The committee shall consist of 9 members: 5 primaries and 4 alternates (VTA will only have 1 representative). Alternates must be elected officials, omitting the ability to elect high-level staff members of respective jurisdictions’ administrations.
● Therefore, a quorum will be 3.
■ Modifications to Section 205: Reflect the change of introducing a Vice Chair (replacing a Chair Pro Tempore).
■ Modifications to Section 402, Special Meeting: Replace “city policy” with “the represented jurisdictions policy” (i.e., Item A, C) ■ Modifications to Section 600, Provision of Amending Bylaws:
Replace “city” with “represented jurisdictions”
■ Embed in bylaws that updates, agenda, and any necessary meeting materials are to be sent out to the public at least a week in advance.
● Public Comment
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Members of the public that provided public comment on this item mentioned that current bylaws leave limited opportunities for public input and recommended there be more opportunities for members of the public to have a more active role.
○ No members of the public online or via phone provided input re: this agenda item.
○ Chris Giangreco (in-person): Concerned that bylaws do not make room for public input at the table. There is only an opportunity to make comments to the committee. Members of the public should be able to have an active role in this committee.
● Councilmember Andrew Becker: Motions for approval of bylaw modifications. ○ Supervisor Cindy Chavez: Seconds motion, commenting that community engagement comments be revisited during agenda item 4 on the community engagement plan.
○ Motion carries to accept bylaw modifications unanimously.
3. Study Update
Consultant Sean Daly of Iteris to lead an informational presentation with an overview of the study updates, including information on corridor, study goals, and agreements made.
Key highlights include:
● Geographic Scope: Stevens Creek Boulevard starting at Foothill Blvd in Cupertino and heading West toward Downtown San José, Cupertino to West of Downtown San José at Obama Avenue.
● Purpose of Study: To create a shared vision roadmap for the transportation investment in the corridor that will bring value to the surrounding communities and balance diverse mobility needs and opportunities.
● Study Outcomes:
○ Development of a shared vision statement that will include measurable components
○ Development of a vision implementation plan
● Project Management:
○ Consultant Team of Winter Consulting and Iteris facilitates bi-weekly Working Group meetings for project coordination.
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SANJOSE Stevens Creek Corridor Steering Committee
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○ The Working Group is composed of transportation staff from the Cities of San José, Santa Clara, Cupertino, County of Santa Clara, and VTA. ○ Steering Committee of elected officials, which will meet four (4) occurrences throughout the Study to receive study updates and approve major study deliverables.
○ Winter Consulting will carry out activities indicated in the final approved engagement plan.
○ Outreach is meant to inform and guide the technical planning of the project.
4. Engagement Plan
Christian Ollano of Winter Consulting provided an overview of the community engagement plan. The plan was informed by previous meetings with Steering Committee members and 1-1s with some key community and neighborhood groups situated along the corridor.
○ Key highlights of the plan include:
■ Purpose: To gather authentic community input aimed at informing the creation of two (2) study outcomes: (1) A unified Vision statement and (2) Adoption of a Vision and Implementation Plan to be approved by the Steering Committee next year.
■ Engagement approach: Centers on creating accessible engagement experiences for people from all different types of lived experiences, cultures, languages, and backgrounds, with an emphasis on lifting up voices historically marginalized in the public participatory process and ensuring equitable representation from the various jurisdictions involved in the study.
■ Activities: The plan includes a robust set of activities, including, but not limited to, walk/bike/transit tours, focus groups, pop-up workshops, and online community workshops.
■ Digital engagement: The study includes a website (stevenscreekvision.com), stakeholder mailing list, and survey component.
■ Input collection: Input will be collected into one singular source to ensure no comment is lost and all comments are incorporated into the final study products. ○ Summary of outreach to date:
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■ The Consultant Team met with Steering Committee members and representatives of many key community organizations on the corridor.
■ Key insights and recommendations from the initial outreach:
● Issues: safety, corridor cohesion, connectivity, congestion mitigation ● include business communities in addition to community groups during outreach efforts
● Incorporate input from other relevant plans and studies that impact the corridor and communities along the corridor
● Consider ever-changing and future transportation technology ● Provide recommendations for short-term and long-term solutions ● General interest around a unified vision for the corridor ○ Questions and comments from Steering Committee:
The Steering Committee recommended adding a Community Working Group (CWG) to the community engagement plan and adjusting elements of the scope to accommodate the addition.
■ Up to four (4) meetings, one preceding each of the remaining Steering Committee meetings.
■ CWG meetings should be public and be set during times and days that are convenient for the public.
■ The aim is to receive information that the Steering Committee rec eives so that they can provide input in advance to the Committee meetings and allow the Committee to incorporate feedback from the CWG.
■ CWG should be able to look at the same information that is provided to the Committee.
■ Steering Committee Chair and Vice Chair should designate staff to attend CWG meetings.
■ Members should be representatives of the community along the corridor. ● CWG total members to be around 20 - 25 people, with approximately 5 representatives representing each jurisdiction in the Steering Committee. ● Consider the size of each jurisdiction equitably when determining the representative members of the Community Working Group (i.e., one jurisdiction might need more representation than the other in the Community Working Group).
● The Consultant Team will determine the initial list of CWG representatives and alternatives per jurisdiction for Steering Committee members to review, revise, and approve per their respective jurisdictions.
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SANJOSE Stevens Creek Corridor Steering Committee
CAP ITAL OF SILICON VALLEY
● The Committee Chair will determine if the final CWG list is comprehensive and adequately represents the jurisdictions involved; provide final approval of CWG membership.
Other Steering Committee comments:
● Incorporate discussion around land use/development and housing into the engagement and study.
● Ensure collection of community input on existing conditions and experiences to compare with anticipated changes as a result of the study.
● Public Comment
The following members of the public provided comments on the engagement plan with recommendations to provide engagement in Chinese; considerations for the Community Working Group; mention of current issues on the corridor, including congestion and safety for bicyclists and pedestrians, and recommendations to improve transit:
● Virtual
○ Maria Ines Ortega Barrera
○ Jen Shearin (Walk Bike Cupertino)
○ Harun Neil
○ Suyash
○ Calley Wang
● In-Person:
○ Seth Barbary
○ Chris Giangreco (Winchester Orchard Neighborhood Association) ○ Wes Lee
● Mayor Lisa Gillmor: Motioned to approve outreach and engagement plan with modifications and to be adopted by our Chair.
○ Councilmember Anthony Becker: Seconded the motion.
○ Motion carries with unanimous approval.
5. Next Steps
○ For discussion and action: Future Steering Committee Meeting Dates
■ Proposed dates
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SANJOSE Stevens Creek Corridor Steering Committee
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● Wednesday, November 15, 2023 - 10am to noon
● Wednesday, April 10, 2024 - 10am to noon
● Wednesday, August 28, 2024 - 10am to noon
■ Vice Mayor Rosemary Kamei has a conflict on the November date and recommended November 1st and 8th.
■ Supervisor Cindy Chavez recommended a Doodle poll to be sent to Committee members.
● Requests that Committee members are sent a formal request to elect their alternates for the Steering Committee to formally elect their alternates.
5. Public Comment
Members of the public that provided public comment on items within the subject matter jurisdiction of the Committee are listed below. Public comment included questions on study timeline and recommendations to ensure that meetings and community engagement are transparent and accessible to the general public.
● Andar (online)
● Chris Giangreco (in-person)
7. Adjournment
Meeting adjourned at 5:00pm
Please direct correspondence and questions to:
City of San José
District 1
18th Floor
200 East Santa Clara Street, San José, California 95113 Tel: (408) 535-4901
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SANJOSE Stevens Creek Corridor Steering Committee
CAP ITAL OF SILICON VALLEY