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Recommendations from Better Cupertino* for the
November 2016 General Election
 

  • Vote YES on Measure C, the Citizens-sponsored Initiative.
     

  • Vote NO on Measure D, the Developer-sponsored Initiative.
     

  • Vote YES for Steven Scharf, the pro-resident, pro-transparency-in-government candidate for the Cupertino City Council. (Scharf4Cupertino.com)

    Better Cupertino STRONGLY OPPOSES pro-developer candidates Rod Sinks, David Fung, and Parth Bharwad. NO Sinks, NO Fung, NO Bharwad.
     

  • Vote YES for Liang Chao, the pro-student, pro-educational-excellence, pro-transparency-in-government candidate for the Cupertino Union School Board. (Liang4CUSD.com)

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*Better Cupertino is the parent organization behind Measure C for Citizens, the Cupertino Citizens' Sensible Growth Initiative. Better Cupertino is a community advocacy group founded in November 2014 by concerned West Valley residents. Go to BetterCupertino.org to learn about concerns related to development and educational excellence in the West Valley.

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Won't Measure C for Citizens Raise Building Heights
in My Neighborhood to 45 Feet?

 

ADDED10/5/2016--Those of us who stand behind Measure C for Citizens, its intent, and its content believe the Cupertino City Council overstepped its authority when it amended the ballot label (ballot question) for Measure C on March 31, 2016 and April 5, 2016 to insert statements that are flatly contrary to the expressed intent of Measure C. Despite the Superior Court’s decision not to remove the opinion statement, we continue to believe that the ballot question is neither accurate nor fair.

 

Consider two essential points when deciding to vote IN FAVOR OF Measure C for Citizens and AGAINST Measure D for Developer:

 

  • Prior to October 2015, there was no building height limit stated explicitly in the General Plan and affecting the 12 Cupertino neighborhoods. And yet, for 60 years with no maximum height limit in the General Plan, Cupertino escaped the construction of 45-foot or 4-story (or taller!) homes in its neighborhoods.
     

  • No matter what anyone may believe about whether or not 12 neighborhoods can be represented as part of a neighborhoods special area on a city diagram or not, there is no content in Measure C for Citizens that references raising building heights anywhere in Cupertino.

    The text from Measure C for Citizens contested by the opposition says "building heights may not exceed 45 feet". Nowhere can it be argued that "may not exceed" means the same thing as "must be raised to".

 

Supporters who stand behind Measure C for Citizens believe the opinion statement about building heights inserted in the ballot question for Measure C represents the propaganda handwork of expensive law firms working on behalf of the opposing initiative, Measure D for Developer.

 

Measure C is 16 pages long, including tables and figures. We encourage you to read the initiative and decide what you think (Measure C for Citizens). If you support the idea that the residents must have a voice in how their City will grow and change, vote YES on Measure C for Citizens and NO on Measure D for Developer.

 

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If the Ballot Question for Measure C for Citizens
Includes Language that Is False and Misleading, What Would a True and Accurate Ballot Question for the Measure Look Like?

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"Shall an initiative ordinance be adopted amending Cupertino’s General Plan to facilitate revitalization of the Vallco Shopping District, limit building heights along major mixed-use corridors, maintain the current maximum building height limits in the special areas, including the Neighborhoods, limit lot coverages for large projects, establish new setbacks and building planes on major thoroughfares, and require voter approval for any changes to these provisions?"

 

ADDED 10/5/2016--Supporters who stand behind Measure C for Citizens urge you to vote YES on Measure C, the citizens-sponsored initiative and to vote NO on Measure D, the developer-sponsored initiative that intends to transform what was the last retail-only shopping venue into a massive office complex.

 

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Why  Support Measure C for Citizens?

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UPDATED 10/5/2016--Measure C for Citizens is the only Cupertino measure that DOES:

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  • advocate in favor of sustainable development projects and encourages developers to propose projects that comply with Cupertino's General Plan
     

  • re-empower Cupertino voters to control the intensity of development in our citylimit the maximum building height for new construction at the Vallco Shopping District site to 45 feet.
     

  • intend to revitalize Vallco as a regional shopping and community center hub

 

Do your part to preserve the quality of life you have come to appreciate in Cupertino and give a generous donation to support the Measure C for Citizens. Donate online.

 

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Measure C for Citizens Must Receive More Total YES Votes than Measure D for Developer in Order to Pass in November

UPDATED 10/5/2016--The Committee supporting Cupertino Citizens’ Sensible Growth Initiative does NOT endorse or support ANY developer-sponsored measures or initiatives in Cupertino, including:

 

  • Measure D, the developer-sponsored measure that intends to transform the Vallco Shopping District site to a massive office complex.

  • the Oaks is anything but a shopping center initiative (Citizens Initiative to Revitalize the Oaks Shopping Center)

  • the Goodyear Tire too tall hotel initiative (North De Anza Gateway Initiative)

 

Measure D for Developer, if it were to pass, would legalize the following changes to the Vallco Shopping District site:

 

  • 2,000,000 square feet of office

  • up to 800 for-rent apartments

  • removal of half the current retail and entertainment space

  • 16 buildings with a maximum structure height of 144 feet(!)

 

In order for Measure C for Citizens to win in 2016, it must receive 50%  plus 1 total YES votes AND more total YES votes than Measure D for Developer.

 

To pass Measure D for Developer is to open the floodgates to more developer-sponsored initiatives in the future. We encourage Cupertino voters to vote NO on Measure D for Developer.

 

We encourage Cupertino voters not to sign petitions for any developer-sponsored initiatives because developer-sponsored initiatives circumvent the processes that exist to protect the community from construction projects that will be harmful to the community in the long run.We encourage developers to follow the law and respect Cupertino’s General Plan when planning development projects for Cupertino.

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Upcoming Events

Information Meetings

ADDED 10/5/2016--Come learn about why the passage of Measure C for Citizens and the defeat of Measure D for Developer on November 8 are essential for maintaining a satisfying quality of life in the West Valley for years to come.

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Dates and Times:

Sunday, 10/16, 3-4 pm
Sunday, 10/30, 3-4 pm

Location:
Dilworth Elementary School
1101 Strayer Dr (at Tompkins Dr)
Room 22 (Waha Montessori School site)

San Jose, CA 95129

 

Room 22 is visible from Tompkins Drive. Room 22 is located to the right of the parking lot.

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Links to Our Latest Information, Including Video Clips

Cupertino City Council Approves the Addition of Deceptive Language in the Ballot Question for the CCSG Initiative, press release, 8 April 2016

 

Neighborhoods Are Special Areas According to the the Cupertino General Plan and Why It Matters, video: land use attorney Stu Flashman exercises his First Amendment right to express his opinion about building heights under Measure C to the Cupertino City Council, 5 April 2016

 

Remove Deceptive Language from the Ballot Question for the CCSG Initiative, video: Cupertino City Council candidate Steven Scharf exercises his First Amendment right to express his opinion about building heights under Measure C to the Cupertino City Council, 5 April 2016

 

Do NOT Sign Developer-sponsored Initiative Petitions Flyer, 26 March

 

IMPORTANT: Unless you are employed by the USPS to deliver mail, it is illegal to place anything in someone else's mailbox. If you print and share flyers with your neighbors, do not hand deliver flyers to anyone's mailbox. Thank you.

 

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Help Make a Difference

As supporters of the Cupertino Citizens’ Sensible Growth initiative, we are volunteers with demanding careers and active lives. If you support sensible growth in the community, we need your help. Consider how you can support the passage of the Cupertino Citizens’ Sensible Growth initiative.

 

Donate to help pay the legal fees and help reach out to more voters. 

Volunteer to help with a needed task.

Endorse the initiative by allowing us to display your name on our Endorsement page.

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Major provisions of the Cupertino Citizens’ Sensible Growth Initiative include:

 

  • Control the density of new development to ensure that projects fit with the city’s infrastructure by maintaining citywide 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.


The initiative is a follow­-the­-law initiative, or more specifically, a follow­-the­-General-Plan initiative.
Amendments to the General Plan are intended to be rare because the General Plan is the long­term guide for the City’s future. The initiative intends to change the way the developers plan for projects they will bring to Cupertino. 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.

 

I Signed a Petition for a Developer-sponsored Initiative by Mistake and Need to Withdraw My Support

UPDATED 10/5/2016--If you signed a petition to support developer-sponsored initiative, it is possible to withdraw your support, but you must act NOW. The CCSG Initiative volunteers collected all the signatures required to add the CCSG Initiative to the ballot in January 2016. If you signed a petition for a Cupertino development project after January 2016, you signed a developer-sponsored initiative petition. To withdraw support for a developer-sponsored initiative, print and complete the form available here: Revoke My Petition Signature.

 

Then, send the completed and signed form to the Office of the City Clerk  at this address:

 

Cupertino City Halll

10300 Torre Avenue

Cupertino, CA 95014-3202

ATTN: City Clerk, Initiative Signature Verification

 

For hand delivery, bring your completed form to the address to the left during these hours:

 

Monday - Thursday 7:30 am to 5:30 pm

Friday 7:30 am to 4:30 pm

 

Do not delay! The Office of the City Clerk must receive your request(s) to withdraw support before the proponents for the developer-sponsored initiative(s) submit their completed petitions processing. Reference only one developer-sponsored initiative per form, though you can send multiple completed forms in the same envelope.

 

Refuse to sign petitions for initiatives for over-sized, unapproved, development projects in Cupertino, including specific initiatives such as the Oaks initiative and the too tall hotel initiative at North De Anza Gateway.

Revoke Signature
Latest Information
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