Growth and Urbanization in Cupertino

By Raj Vasant Abhyanker

Urgent Care in Cupertino, Longs Drugs at Marketplace, Sustainable and Commercial space in Cupertino

She said she wishes that the city organized a way for residents to know about where emergency services for things that are a bit more common than a disaster such as an earthquake are located. Many neighbors do not know where the closest hospital, fire station and police station is. I agree with this particular neighbor in her views on this. We need to make it easier for Cupertino residents to know where they can go to get help during emergencies that may not be as common as natural disasters (our city has a excellent disaster preparedness program thanks to a great group of Monta Vista kids, fellow Block Leaders, and the City Staff!).

In addition, this neighbor expressed concern that the Longs Drugs at the Marketplace is moving out (a new Japanese grocery store is scheduled to be moving in). This neighbor wants a vibrant Cupertino, in which there is exciting retail establishments and services for neighbors, particularly seniors and families who found it convenient to have a drug store in this area of Cupertino. I explained to her my view on development, particularly that we need to develop retail that will be more conducive to walking and fostering small businesses to thrive next to anchor tenants. We need to follow a clear plan to make sure that retail establishments are built with the big picture and character of our city in mind. Particularly, we need retail establishments which will directly benefit our citizens in a compelling way on a day to day level such as bookstores, restaurants, necessities, and grocery stores next to smaller boutiques. We need to decorate, build sidewalks, add benches, and art to new retail projects so that they become embraced by the community and residents they service.

We can only do this by planning in advance the kind of tenants our city needs, and working with business owners to buy-in and have a say in a proposed plan in advance of new construction being approved. In addition, I believe that we need to evaluate whether any new plan will create a long term, sustainable economic benefit for the City of Cupertino and to the residents who live nearby. For example, consider this - what are the things we all do everyday? We eat, we shop, and we buy necessities. We need to attract this type of retail to Cupertino rather than service businesses which are infrequently visited.

In other words, we need to plan exactly how an entire parcel will be developed. We should favor new construction rather than retrofits that may not deliver the kind of economic value and integration with surroundings that neighbors want. We need to understand how a better sense of community will be formed through the new retail, rather than looking at particular retail businesses in isolation to the rest of a prospective location. This neighbor had pictures of Paris in her living room - a beautiful city. We have an opportunity to build the kind of social infrastructure that will enable people to feel more connected, neighbors to feel more valued, and residents who benefit through careful thought into the kind of retail we approve.

Similarly, we need to build retail in Cupertino with the mind of sustainability and quality of life of residents. It is not good for our city to have new residential complexes if there are no good places for people to walk, shop and feel connected to the city they live in. This neighbor shared my views, and has agreed to support me in this campaign. I am grateful for her support, as I think meeting her door to door gave her a new impression of me. I learned a lot as well - we talked for nearly 3 hours. We are really fortunate to have such active and great neighbors in Cupertino as this particular one.