The General Plan has as its foundation the Community Vision 2040 which is a guiding set of documents intended to assure that the General Plan remains balanced and contains the various key elements of this Vision.  Two of the elements most important to the future growth of our city are:

• Chapter 5: Mobility Element
• Chapter 6: Environmental Resources and Sustainability Element
• Attachment C: Air Quality

According the General Plan: “The Heart of the City Specific Plan provides specific development guidance for one of the most important commercial corridors in the City of Cupertino, for the purpose of creating a greater sense of place and community identity in Cupertino. The plan contains streetscape design, development standards and design guidelines for multi-unit residential and commercial/office projects.”  “The Monta Vista Design Guidelines implement the policies of the General Plan by outlining building design details, landscaping treatment, signage and public improvement details for the Monta Vista Commercial Area.”

The General Plan is All about the development of Commercial and Housing elements to encourage further growth in our city.  What is not covered at all by the current General Plan is how people are going to commute to and from these Commercial and Housing elements as the population of residents and commuting commercial business employees and visitors get to these Commercial and Housing establishments.  It also does not adequately addresses how to reduce greenhouse gas emissions or making growth sustainable.  The assumed de facto mode of transportation is by car which causes traffic congestion so is not sustainable and produces greenhouse gases.

It is clear from the Community Vision 2040 that Mobility is a key consideration for sustainable growth as Commercial or Housing people need to get to these places.  Yet Mobility is strangely missing from our General Plan.  So how does the city plan to deal with such Growth if it is not part of the City’s General Plan?  Deal with it peace-meal as traffic becomes progressively congested?  What is the city’s plan for reducing traffic congestion when the new Apple campus, Main Street project, and Valco renovation are completed all within one mile of one another?  Wait until the streets and highway exit on Wolf Road become plugged with traffic?

It is clear that the majority of our City Government has not given this serious consideration or that it was not important enough for consideration of adding to the General Plan.  Where is the wisdom of ignoring traffic as outlined in Chapter 5: Mobility Element of the Community Vision 2040?  Am I the only one who is alarmed that mitigating traffic is an egregious oversight that needs immediate attention and Must be made part of the General Plan Amendment?  Cupertino needs to reduce traffic and traffic congestion, not increase it.