Debate begins on Vallco advisory panel
A lively discussion is already brewing around a city of Cupertino proposal that would form a committee tasked with studying what should be done with the Vallco Shopping Mall property.
A four-hour discussion on the matter dominated the April 4 city council meeting. Residents with varying opinions on what should or should not happen to the mostly empty mall voiced their concerns about or support for the proposed committee.
The defeat of Sand Hill Property’s The Hills at Vallco project in the November election has left the mall’s fate in limbo. Voters rejected Measure D, which would have paved the way for Sand Hill to convert the mall property into a mixeduse town center with office, residential, commercial and entertainment components. Much of the site would have been covered with a massive green roof with park trails and open space.
Plans for the committee are very much in the early stages, but Brian Babcock, city public information officer, told this newspaper that the committee “would be made up of residents from all sides of the issue.”
Residents are already looking to influence the formation of the committee and what it will study, or to kill the idea outright.
“You do not need to do a Vallco-specific citizens advisory committee, or any citizens advisory committee at all, because Sand Hill Properties presented Measure D, it failed, and now they need to come back with a plan that fits within our General Plan,” resident Caryl Gorska said at the meeting. “Why would we spend money to discuss what the developer is going to do? First of all it’s not fair to them, and second of all, it serves no purpose. They need to come back with a plan that the community can support. I think you guys really need to pay attention to what happened in the election. Measure D failed. The people have spoken.”
Some residents believe the committee can help jump-start a plan for the mall.
“I don’t think we can delay it any more. I don’t know if the CAC is the right way forward, but something needs to happen. We can’t stall, we can’t delay,” LeighAnne Gillis said of the mall’s status. “I want us to come together. I don’t want to see any more costly initiatives or litigation. I think it’s the right thing to do. I think everyone is in agreement that it should be an unbiased committee, something that’s going to heal our community and help us become the great Cupertino that we are.”
Danessa Techmanski suggested the council instead consider a city-wide advisory committee, stating it would be more productive to study development in the city as a whole, rather than just Vallco.
“Not considering the city as a whole means that we’re missing some pieces. I don’t feel like we have all the puzzle pieces quite together yet,” she said. “I think a citywide CAC might be better for calculating traffic flow and future transit solutions, and I also think doing something more city-wide would be less vulnerable to manipulation and might seem less objectionable to people that are concerned about Sand Hill. Also I think that a general CAC makes every neighborhood feel like part of the plan.”
Reed Moulds, managing director of Sand Hill Property Co., declined to comment on the formation of the committee.
Former mayor Richard Lowenthal said that regardless of what the city decides, hearing from the community is imperative.
“I think we need a process to hear from our community what they want to have not only at Vallco but other places. I think everybody agrees, actually, that we want retail and entertainment back at Vallco,” he told the council. “If we can find out what we want there and telegraph that to whatever developer might come forward, maybe we can avoid wasting some time. I urge you to have a process where we listen to our community and find out what we agree about, what we’d like to see at Vallco. I think we can’t guess anymore and we have to listen to our community.”
Vice Mayor Darcy Paul told his fellow council members he would only support forming a committee if four requirements were met: waiting until the new Apple Park campus is fully occupied so traffic can be studied, having an open evaluation process to choose a facilitator, having the process apply to all major projects in Cupertino and approving the budget shortly before the first committee meeting.