FAQs
Updated 10/26/2020 adding Vallco Legal Fees, Housing and Development, and Prop 15 FAQs
What is the Vallco Status?
The Vallco developer used a new state law, SB 35, introduced by Senator Scott Wiener December 5, 2016 (right after the Vallco Measure D, $7 Million developer ballot initiative campaign failed November, 2016) and signed into law September 29, 2017, to get by-right approval of the project with NO public hearings and NO environmental review. The project is larger than all of Apple HQ and on 1/3 the land. The developer has pulled various demolition permits for the site and the city is waiting for more information before they can commence excavation. The project is very costly for the developer and it would be excellent for the community if they chose to negotiate a better project, however, there will be very expensive to produce affordable units, many more than any other project.
Did I cost the City Vallco SB 35 Legal Fees? No.
The short answer is no, there was an indemnification clause in the 180-day approval. The long answer with reimbursement checks in here: https://kitty4cupertino.org/blog/vallcolegalfeemisinformationfix
Why did Kitty Moore join the Vallco SB 35 lawsuit?
No developer should be allowed to have by-right approval of such a huge project, period. Land use is a privilege, not a right. Kitty Moore was both a named petitioner and assisted the attorney on the lawsuit over two years. The project had to be challenged for multiple reasons including that the new law missed important definitions, such as the requirement that it be 2/3 residential. The developer counted residential parking garages, 1.4 Million square feet of them, and did not count 3.4 Million square feet of non-residential (office and retail) parking garages. During the 2-year process of the lawsuit, the law was amended. Because of this fault in the law, the project uses a housing law signed allegedly to help the housing crisis, and ends up with 1.81 Million square feet of office space leaving thousands of workers to find housing elsewhere and worsen commutes.
Am I against Development or Housing?
This one is the most ridiculous to me as a Civil Engineer with a background in land development. Civil Engineers design a great deal of our urban physical environment. That’s about as pro-development as one can get. However, I am pro-sensible development with an eye towards the impacts on residents. That means I will read the Environmental Impact Reports and be very concerned when there are significant unavoidable impacts to noise, air quality, and traffic which cannot be mitigated. We have a duty to protect the health, safety, and welfare of the residents and we must take that responsibility seriously, not just with pretty words, but with action.
What is Happening with Lehigh?
Lehigh is requesting a Reclamation Plan be approved and will have a Notice of Preparation in the coming months. They have requested to fill in one pit which will take 30 years, and have asked to expand mining into an area of 30 acres. They would also disrupt some of the ridge line and there are some areas where stability is a question which needs to be worked on. Ideally, the plant would consider moving to more environmentally friendly fuel and not rely on petroleum coke in their operations next to a residential area. Lehigh supplies about 80% of the area’s cement, which reduces shipping costs, however there has been an ongoing environmental cost.
Do you Support Prop 15?
While I support the square foot parcel tax for CUSD funding and really appreciate that FUHSD’s study supported the contention that it is the fairer property tax, I do not support Prop 15. I am concerned Prop 15 will harm small businesses who have triple net lease agreements and I believe that having people employed is far better than paying unemployment and having the negative impacts of job loss. There has been some mention that my family growing up did not have a lot of money, that is true, there were a few New England recessions we went through, and that left a big impression on me for the need to have jobs. Prop 15 is philosophically correct, however the movement to market rate on the commercial side does not seem equitable to me, and I would like to see a different approach to the problem of low and uneven assessed values on the commercial side.