A controversial nonprofit housing project in Cupertino that’s been under consideration for about 20 years has the green light to move forward.
After a three-hour marathon of presentations and public comment Tuesday last week, the City Council voted 3-1-1 to narrowly approve a first-of-its-kind housing mix with 40 affordable apartments. Of those, 19 will be set aside for adults and families with children who have intellectual and developmental disabilities. Councilmember R “Ray” Wang voted no and Vice Mayor Liang Chao abstained. Charities Housing is the nonprofit developer of the project.
The two-story project is slated for a narrow, 0.79-acre slice of city-owned property next to Highway 85. It will cut into parts of the street and eliminate 89 parking spaces to accommodate the complex.
Orrin Mahoney, former Cupertino mayor and a longtime organizer for Mary Avenue Villas through the Rotary Club of Cupertino, is pleased with the outcome.
“We got 95% of what we needed,” Mahoney told San José Spotlight. “It’s a very creative, amazing project that’s going to do so much good.”
Wang saw the project differently and sided with residents in the nearby Garden Gate neighborhood.
“We’re working against our residents and doing it with $9 million of taxpayer dollars,” Wang said at the meeting. “This is a rush job. We’re cutting corners. We’re making exceptions that we wouldn’t make for any other group so that this group can prepare for tax credits. It’s the cart before the horse.”
The Rotary Club and other nonprofit groups sought the council’s approval for Mary Avenue Villas now so as to not miss out on tax credits that expire in mid-March.
The proposal had heavy opposition from the nearby Garden Gate neighborhood, and it still faces at least one more hurdle — getting approval to buy the parcel for the token sum of $1.
Opponents of Mary Avenue Villas said the city isn’t following all the rules required to qualify the site as surplus land that can be sold to a private developer. The Garden Gate Coalition for Mary Avenue Safety, which hired an attorney to challenge the city’s legal reasoning, has vowed to fight on.
“The council’s vote was a triumph of political theater over legal reality, where the majority explicitly prioritized a ‘moral’ mission over their sworn duty to follow state environmental and administrative laws,” coalition spokeswoman Lina Lang told San José Spotlight. “The Garden Gate Coalition will now pursue all available legal remedies to ensure that the city follows the law … and protects the safety of the entire community.”
Opponents also contend the loss of parking spaces will increase congestion, especially when there are festivals that draw crowds to nearby Memorial Park. They said the city is failing to meet legal requirements for narrowing the street and the environmental review is inadequate.
Vice Mayor Chao, who abstained from voting, was torn over the decision.
“I really, really want to vote yes on the project because I’ve been expecting this since 2019 and I really think this is critically needed,” Chao said. “But, as the attorney (for the opponents) has pointed out, we don’t have the sufficient legal reasons today to claim this as surplus public land.”
The debate now goes to the Cupertino Planning Commission, which is expected to consider the issue of narrowing Mary Avenue at its next meeting on Feb. 10. The city council may also take further action to officially confirm the site is surplus land.
Mayor Kitty Moore, who voted for the project, praised the audience at the meeting for respecting each other even as they disagreed.
But Councilmember J.R. Fruen, who also voted for the project, voiced concerns.
“In many of those comments (by Mary Avenue Villas opponents), I’ve heard some things that deeply disturb me about the nature of who will be living there, whether people are worthy to live in Cupertino. Everybody’s worthy to live in Cupertino,” Fruen said at the meeting. “I would simply ask for the folks who have opposed this project so far, once it’s built, it will be populated with people who will be part of this community. Go and meet them. You might be finding that you’ve made your new best friend.”
Contact Mike Langberg at mike@langberg.com.
This story originally appeared in San José Spotlight.