Voters to weigh Vallco future with measures C and D
CUPERTINO — For nearly two decades, Cupertino residents and city officials have wondered when, if ever, there would come a day when Vallco Shopping Mall would regain its longlost status as a major retail draw in the West Valley.
Often dubbed an outdated “ghost mall” by residents in the region, the shopping center’s steady decline and low occupancy compared to Stanford Shopping Center and San Jose’s Westfield Valley Fair mall has been a source of frustration for city officials and shoppers. The mall’s lower floor was shuttered and walled off a decade ago, and over the past two years, all three anchor tenants — Sears, Macy’s and JCPenney — have closed.
On Nov. 8, voters will have the opportunity to consider two measures with competing visions that seek to dictate the future of a shopping center property located down the street from Apple’s “spaceship” campus, which is under construction.
On one side is Measure D, Sand Hill Property Co.’s plan to turn the mall into The Hills at Vallco: a $3 billion mixed-use project with retail, office, housing and entertainment topped by a 30-acre green roof with trails.
On the other side is Measure C, a citizens’ initiative developed in response to the ambitious project that, among other things, would retain the Vallco site’s zoning as just retail.
Backers of Measure D tout The Hills plan as a “revitalization” of Vallco that would turn it into a destination downtown for the city. Measure C proponents see the project as the loss of a 1.2-million-square-foot retail center and one that could drastically change the character of the city and bring future traffic and crowding headaches.
Sand Hill’s plan would bring 2 million square feet of office space, about 640,000 square feet of retail, 389 to 800 residential units, a 339-room hotel and a green roof to the site. Sand Hill is touting the green roof as the largest in the world.
Sand Hill unveiled the plan in August last year, less than a year after purchasing all portions of the mall property. The company submitted formal plans to the city the following month.
A group of concerned residents responded by banding together and launching an initiative campaign in November to thwart the project. The group, which called itself the Cupertino Residents for Sensible Zoning Action Committee, collected and submitted more than 3,700 valid signatures to the city clerk in early February. Measure C was born out of that process.
Sand Hill responded in March with its own initiative process and launched the “Vallco Town Center Specific Plan” to bypass typical city and council approval and to lock into place The Hills project through voter approval. The Vallco initiative was filed by Judy Wilson, a 30-year resident, and Vicky Tsai, a 31-year resident. It received its Measure D designation in August.
According to the Cupertino city attorney’s impartial analysis of Measure D, in addition to approving the project itself, the measure spells out and requires Sand Hill’s pledge to provide “community benefits” and “environmental design features.” These include: $40 million total for the city’s two school districts, $30 million for improvements to the Interstate 280/Wolfe Road interchange, $6 million for a bicycle and pedestrian trail along I-280, a “portion of funding” for a community shuttle, the green roof, at least 80 senior housing units and a community event hall, amphitheater and playground located within the project.
Measure D would also allow building height maximums on the property to range anywhere from 30 to 95 feet.
If Measure C is approved, it would only allow retail, hotel, dining and entertainment uses at the 58-acre Vallco area, and would remove any residential and office development allowance. In addition, the measure maintains the existing 1.2 million square feet of commercial and retail space at Vallco and doesn’t allow for any more or any less retail. The measure sets maximum building heights for new Vallco development at 45 feet.
According to the city attorney’s impartial analysis of Measure C, if approved, the measure would also set maximum building heights and standards throughout the city. In other areas of the city, the measure would amend the General Plan to increase building heights in approximately one-fourth of the city’s neighborhoods from 30 feet to 45 feet. The other three-fourths of neighborhoods are still kept at a maximum of 30 feet because of other city zoning requirements.
Measure C proponents contend the neighborhood building height increase was inadvertent. The battle over the height issue was waged in court over the summer.
Other changes to the General Plan upon passage of Measure C would include new policies regarding development and building standards, prohibiting increases in maximum building heights, densities and lot coverages and prohibiting decreases in minimum setback requirements for new development. Only voters would be able to change the General Plan amendments adopted by Measure C.
Both measures require more than 50 percent of voter approval to pass. If both measures pass, then the measure with the highest number of votes supersedes the other if there is a conflict.