At the press conference by City of Cupertino

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A Press Conference was held on Monday September 24, 2018 to support Cupertino City Council’s decision on the Vallco Specific Plan, calling Cupertino residents to work collaboratively in designing a project at Vallco that is beneficial for all. “Cupertino needs to come together for the sake of our next generations, not to fall into costly referendum and lawsuits, which will deplete city resources and waste tax payers’ money,” said Savita Vaidyanathan, council member. “We need to work collaboratively to build a Vallco that Cupertino can be proud of.  We are calling for NO referendum, NO lawsuit!”

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The City of Cupertino has sent a letter informing Sand Hill Property Company that its application under SB 35 has been approved.

“While the SB 35 application has been approved, the City continues to move forward with the Vallco Special Area Specific Plan, which was approved by the City Council,” said Interim City Manager Amy Chan. “The Specific Plan has been the City’s preferred path from the beginning. Unlike SB 35, that traditional planning process has allowed for community dialogue, discussion of priorities, critique of plans, and negotiation of community benefits.”

On March 27, 2018 Sand Hill Property Company filed a project application under SB 35, which allows for a streamlined, ministerial review for qualifying affordable housing projects. The project application covers the 50-plus acre former Vallco shopping center site and proposes 2,402 residential units (50% affordable to very low and low income households), 1.8 million square feet of office space, and 400,000 square feet of retail. The project proposes 50% of the total units as affordable, which qualifies it for a 35% density bonus and three concessions under the State of California’s Density Bonus Law. While the City’s General Plan would allow a “base” density of 1,779 units, the 35% density bonus results in 623 additional units.

On June 22, 2018 the City sent a letter informing Sand Hill that the application met the qualifying requirements under SB 35 and requested additional clarification information to assist the City in its continued review of the application. Since then, the City has been reviewing plans and supporting materials submitted for the proposed project.

Sand Hill Property Company may now proceed with making applications to obtain building and other permits required to construct the SB 35 project. For additional information, visit www.cupertino.org/vallcosb35. To stay up-to-date on the Vallco Special Area Specific Plan project, visit www.cupertino.org/vallco.