Cupertino offers up its own plan for defunct Vallco Shopping Mall

The Cupertino Planning Commission has advanced a community plan that envisions three scenarios for transforming the almost vacant, 58- acre Vallco Shopping Mall into a development of retail, housing and office uses.

Called the Vallco Town Center Specific Plan, it is an alternative to the one proposed by Sand Hill Property Co. in March. It calls for less office space and more housing, though proportionately less affordable housing. This plan abandons Sand Hill’s proposal to create a park atop the sprawling development in favor of a street-level park and open space.

The most significant difference between Sand Hill’s plan and one scenario in the community-forged specific plan is the plethora of community benefits proposed by the latter — $270 million worth — that would include a major performing arts center at Vallco, a new City Hall and emergency response center and a multimillion-dollar gift to the city’s elementary and high school districts.

The community plan is scheduled to go before the City Council for review on Sept. 18. It was unveiled in late August after months of public brainstorming sessions led by Berkeley-based architecture and urban design firm Opticos.

But in an interesting reversal of roles, it will be Sand Hill, not the city of Cupertino, that can call the shots. That’s because a controversial new state law gives developers leverage to bypass common land-use rules and legal maneuvers to fast-track affordable housing projects. The legislation, Senate Bill 35, requires cities to approve certain residential and mixed-use projects that meet their zoning and planning regulations within 180 days. Finding no conflicts with those rules, Cupertino officials in June gave the project its first thumbs-up.

Cupertino now has until Sept. 24 to give Sand Hill’s project its blessing, though it’ll be restricted to scrutinizing small details such as where public art would go and how trash collection would bemanaged. Sand Hill can start

construction after that unless it opts to go with a version of the community plan.

At the planning commission Tuesday night, Sand Hill’s managing director, Reed Moulds, appeared supportive of the community plan, calling it a step in the right direction, but he emphasized that the company would continue to press forward with its proposal until the alternative plan clears the city’ permitting process.

“This Specific Plan is not a no- brainer for us,” he said. “Each scenario — whether the Specific Plan or SB 35 — has certain advantages. To be very candid, at the moment it’s a coin flip. After the plan is approved we will start the process of studying our options, but we do want you to know that, all things being equal, our strong preference is to pursue the plan that has the broadest community buy-in.”

Planning Commissioner Jerry Liu challenged elements of the community plan, contending that despite the financial windfall proposed for schools, it places an unfair burden on the Cupertino Union School District. He also identified the housing-to- office ratio in one version of the plan as problematic, saying it creates a bigger demand for housing than it actually solves. Liu is a candidate for the Cupertino Union School District Board of Education.