CUPERTINO CITIZENS’ SENSIBLE GROWTH INITIATIVE

 

A MEASURE AMENDING THE CUPERTINO GENERAL PLAN TO ENSURE BALANCED AND SENSIBLE GROWTH BY MAINTAINING CITYWIDE LIMITS ON THE INTENSITY OF NEW DEVELOPMENT, PRESERVING AND ENHANCING THE VALLCO SHOPPING DISTRICT FOR RETAIL, HOTEL, DINING AND ENTERTAINMENT COMMERCIAL USES ONLY AND REQUIRING A VOTE OF THE PEOPLE TO MODIFY THOSE LIMITS AND USES.

 

THE PEOPLE OF THE CITY OF CUPERTINO DO ORDAIN AS FOLLOWS:

 

PART I. TITLE

This measure shall be called the CUPERTINO CITIZENS’ SENSIBLE GROWTH INITIATIVE

 

PART II. FINDINGS

The people of Cupertino hereby find that:

 

A. The City of Cupertino needs binding standards to guide new development within the City.

 

B. Cupertino’s citizens wish to maintain control over the long-term direction of that development.

 

C. The City needs to develop in a moderate and controlled way that provides the housing, shopping, jobs, infrastructure, and amenities that will serve the best interests of City residents while avoiding overdevelopment and its associated traffic and other impacts.

 

D. The long-term direction provided by the City’s General Plan must be implemented through its specific plans and zoning ordinance without being subject to change due to pressure from the profit-driven proponents of specific projects.

 

E. The City must protect the development density and intensity standards set by the General Plan through limits on heights, setbacks and building planes to prevent distortion of the desirable characteristics of the City through the influence of developers and other outside interests.

 

F. The availability of sufficient retail commercial space is essential to the wellbeing of the City, its current and future residents, and its workers.

 

PART III. PURPOSE

This initiative measure (the “Initiative”) has three purposes. If approved by the voters of Cupertino and enacted, it will

 

(1) control the intensity of new development by setting general citywide limits on building heights, setbacks, building planes and lot coverage in Cupertino that will provide long-term direction,

 

(2) preserve and enhance the Vallco Shopping District for retail, hotel, dining and entertainment commercial uses and

 

(3) require that changes or exceptions to those limits and uses be presented to and approved by the voters of Cupertino.

 

Under this Initiative, the General Plan (Community Vision 2015-2040) – hereinafter referred to as “General Plan,” specific plans and conceptual plans, and zoning ordinance would be enforced and not amended on an ad hoc basis to suit individual development projects. The standards in this Initiative are intended to strengthen these plans to protect Cupertino’s vibrant mixed use atmosphere, schools, and streetscapes, to limit traffic and congestion, and to promote public safety.

 

PART IV. GENERAL PLAN

[... the rest of the text is available in Complete Text of the Cupertino Citizens’ Sensible Growth initiative]