The plot thickens in Cupertino where a group of citizens is trying to block the development of the long-defunct Vallco shopping mall.

Even though plans to tear down the old mall and replace it with housing, office space, and retail has the blessing of the city council, a citizens group is hoping to take the matter to voters via referendum.

“This will be a new beginning, and we will determine our own future,” Better Cupertino member Ignatius Ding said.

Members of the group Better Cupertino have announced they have turned over to election officials more than enough signatures to ask voters to decide whether to overturn the city’s recent decision to approve a plan to redevelop the Vallco mall property. 

“It’s bogus to say that this decision was community driven because, in fact, we were never asked,” Ding said. “All of our input was rejected.”

Plans for the Vallco property call for affordable housing, the first to qualify for fast-track status under SB 35, along with office space and retail.

Better Cupertino says the last thing the community needs is more office space.

“Cupertino has no or very low unemployment, so any new office space is going to generate more inbound traffic,” Ding said.

Assuming the signature count on each of four petitions meets or exceeds 10 percent of the city’s population, the Cupertino could repeal its decision regarding the specific plan or call for a public vote.

Despite that, demolition of the old mall’s parking garage continues as developer Sand Hill Properties is moving ahead with the first phase of the project.

The registrar has 30 days to certify those petition.

Obviously, this won’t be on the ballot next week, so it could go before voters at the next regular election or the city could hold a special election.

Here is a statement from Sand Hill Properties:

Sand Hill Property Company (SHP) has put forth an effort to ensure Cupertino residents understood the risks of the Referenda being circulated to stop the City of Cupertino-approved Community Plan. The cost to the city is tremendous, both in terms of lost community benefit facilities and dollars, as well as the costs associated with continued delay as voters wait for an election in November 2020, providing the City holds one.

With today’s submittal of signatures, if they are certified as valid, we’ve officially reached the end of the line for the Community Plan. We will be solely focused on delivering our fully-approved project, called Vallco Town Center, made possible by the State’s new housing development streamlining law, SB 35.

Our conscience is clear because we’ve been very honest about our intent: we were willing to collaborate with the City of Cupertino on a mutually beneficial plan that the city and community could formulate together through a comprehensive planning process with full environmental review. But as we explained, postponing this vital project to accommodate the endless delays inflicted by a group who believes that status quo is the only acceptable outcome for Vallco cannot be justified. This latest obstruction, and the 2-year delay it causes, gives the Community Plan no chance to catch up to the already approved and under-way Vallco Town Center project. We consider ourselves patient people, but our patience has finally run out.

This was the precise purpose of SB 35: to allow affordable housing projects that comply with all planning rules to move ahead despite baseless NIMBY opposition. Today, the actions of this group in Cupertino have validated this new state law and underscored how necessary it was.
This said, we are saddened by this latest event. We know from the Community Plan’s supporters and the many conversations we have had with residents over the last 30 days (and the last 4 years) have clearly communicated to us that Cupertino thoroughly rejects the idea of endless delays in re-developing Vallco and that its residents support the smaller, shorter, better mitigated and community benefit rich Community Plan over SB 35.

That is why we fought to keep the option alive and to give it a chance against our approved SB 35 project. To those supporters, we are sorry for the outcome, but, if validated, our ability to advance the Community Plan has been taken away by these Referenda, courtesy of the group behind the candidacy of Liang Chao and Jon Willey.

We also would like to take the opportunity to address the rumor being spread in town that, if the City Council candidates that were against the Council-approved Specific Plan – Liang Chao, John Willey and Darcy Paul – are elected on November 6th, SHP will come back to ask the City for a new and different specific plan for Vallco with less housing. We would like to be very clear: this will not happen. We see no reason to support any further planning process as we already have a viable, fully approved project under SB 35 that we are proud to build. 

Accordingly, our sole focus moving forward will be to complete demolition and to construct Vallco Town Center pursuant to the SB 35 approval. We know that there may be some disappointment about this, but we also take heart in knowing that, once complete, Vallco Town Center will be a remarkable destination, fully embraced and utilized by Cupertino, even its detractors. 

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