Cupertino, in collaboration with VTA and Caltrans, can move forward with the Interstate 280 and Wolfe Road interchange improvement project thanks to a roughly $4 million donation from Apple to bridge the remaining funding gap. The $124-million project was nearly canceled this month due to a funding shortfall. The city and transit agency had exhausted state and federal grant opportunities. But with Apple’s contribution, Cupertino can save the project and mitigate traffic gridlock as hundreds of homes come online.

The interchange lies between Apple’s headquarters and The Rise, a housing development designed for 2,669 apartments at the former Vallco Mall site.

The project is primarily funded by VTA’s Measure B, a 30-year, half-cent sales tax increase voters passed in 2016. Planned improvements to the interchange include a new structure that carries Wolfe Road over Interstate 280, on and off ramps, sound and retaining walls and upgraded bicycle lanes and pedestrian walkways at existing street intersections. Construction is anticipated to begin in 2026 and is slated to finish by 2029.

Kristina Raspe, Apple vice president of global real estate and facilities, said the company is happy to back the project’s plans for an interchange adjacent to its headquarters. Some of the Apple money was originally intended for other projects, including the McClellan Road protected bikeway improvements, but the tech titan reallocated it to fund the interchange after the city deemed the previous projects no longer feasible.

“We are proud to call Cupertino home, and to support projects that strengthen this community and make it a great place to live and work,” Raspe told San José Spotlight.

The project began nearly 10 years ago. The interchange is at the end of its useful life as a product of the 1960s, according to city reports. It’s often congested with significant delays. City officials expect it will worsen as more people move into Cupertino to live in housing developments like The Rise. Developer Sand Hill Property Company has supported the interchange project since it’s been in the works.

Councilmember Sheila Mohan has been stuck in the gridlock at the interchange many times. She said the interchange improvements will help anyone who travels Cupertino’s streets.

“It’s a really win-win, not just for Apple, but for the entire community,” Mohan told San José Spotlight. “It’s, in my opinion, the best example of public, private partnership.”

VTA was unavailable for comment.

The transit agency is also working on traffic improvements to other West Valley roadways including Highway 17 near Los Gatos.

Seema Lindskog, board chair of pedestrian and bicycle safety group Walk-Bike Cupertino, is looking forward to the project because of how dangerous the existing intersections are. She often advises high schoolers walking or biking to school to avoid Wolfe Road, but said she doesn’t want that to be the case.

“It’s been kind of on the shelf for a long time, so the fact that we’re now finally able to move forward with it is really great,” Lindskog told San José Spotlight.

Contact Annalise Freimarck at annalise@sanjosespotlight.com or follow @annalise_ellen on X.

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The Silicon Valley Taxpayers Association, along with Campbell resident David Wolen, is suing Campbell over Measure K, a half-cent sales tax hike. The measure raises the sales tax to 9.875%, after more than 70% of voters approved it last November. But with the lawsuit ongoing, the city can’t access the roughly $7 million the tax is slated to bring in annually.

It’s unclear when the lawsuit will be resolve — forcing the city to leave roughly $8.7 million the measure has already collected in escrow and saddling it with future fiscal year deficit projections ranging from $2.3 million to $3.8 million.

The lawsuit, filed in the Santa Clara County Superior Court last January, claims Measure K is invalid because it’s based on Assembly Bill 3259. The lawsuit alleges AB 3259 violates California’s constitutional code that calls for uniform policies. Campbell broke that code by raising its sales tax above the county’s previous cap at 9.375%, even though the bill granted it that power. It also claims materials sent out about the measure misled voters, and more. The suit asks the courts to invalidate Measure K and refund taxpayers appropriately. The city has challenged the suit, with its next hearing scheduled for Aug. 1.

Jason Bezis, an attorney representing the taxpayers association and Wolen, said there wasn’t enough time given for opponents to file an informed rebuttal for voters to read. He said Campbell should look to other jurisdictions to see how they addressed their fiscal uncertainty rather than making its sales tax the highest in the county.

“Others are able to make it work without the special (tax and law),” Bezis told San José Spotlight. “So the question is, you know, what’s so unique about Campbell?”

City Manager Brian Loventhal said to his knowledge, the city hasn’t seen a lawsuit like this before, and it’s already causing budget problems. The city faced a $3.75 million deficit in its $69 million budget for fiscal year 2025-26, largely caused by significant dips in sales tax revenue and rising costs. Officials balanced the budget by enacting a temporary hiring freeze and drawing from reserves, but Campbell wouldn’t have had a deficit with access to Measure K funds.

Loventhal said with Measure K money, the city would have surpluses ranging from $3.4 million to $12.2 million beginning in fiscal year 2026-27. He said the tax hike isn’t the silver bullet to Campbell’s budget issues, but the majority of voters supported it to help the city’s finances.

“That’s the frustrating part,” he told San José Spotlight. “The majority can speak, yet be held in abeyance because one person or a small group of people decide they don’t like those results.”

The business community, whose customers are affected by the tax increase, are divided on the issue.

Dan Orloff, past board president of the Campbell Chamber of Commerce, fully supports Measure K. He said it helps maintain the city’s quality of life and a safe business environment.

“Despite whatever good intentions the Silicon Valley Taxpayers Association has, it’s ill-placed,” Orloff told San José Spotlight. “Campbell has a reputation (for a) high quality of life as a safe and sane community, and that doesn’t happen by accident. It requires an investment.”

Amy Taylor, board president of the Downtown Campbell Business Association and owner of Cloud City Supply, didn’t support Measure K because of the effects it would have on small businesses like hers. Despite that, she said Campbell should be able to access Measure K’s funds because the majority of voters approved it. She wants the city to explore other options for revenue that don’t hike taxes.

“Even if they eventually get access to those funds, the city should still be held accountable (for) looking at new and progressive ways to fund the city,” Taylor told San José Spotlight. “I just don’t see that happening.”

Contact Annalise Freimarck at annalise@sanjosespotlight.com or follow @annalise_ellen on X.

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As soon as the playground’s gate opened on June 13, children, adults and older people rushed in to hop on the spherical spinner, scale the blue climbing tower and kick their feet on the swings. The playground is a first for Cupertino and was built for people of all ages and abilities — and is the newest addition in Santa Clara County’s quest to uplift accessibility for its more than 170,000 residents with disabilities, according to 2023 American Community Survey data.

“There are few places that everyone’s welcome, and this is one of them,” Schober told San José Spotlight.

The playground features four swing types, with some big enough for adults, wheelchair accessibility and a sign with pictures for nonverbal park-goers. It was built by MIG at a cost of $5.4 million, and is funded by roughly $1 million from the state and nearly $1.5 million from Santa Clara County, along with city funds and $25,000 from PG&E.

@sanjosespotlight

As soon as Cupertino’s new, all-inclusive playground at Jollyman Park opened on June 13, children, adults and older people rushed in to hop on the spherical spinner, scale the blue climbing tower and kick their feet on the swings. The Cupertino playground was built for people of all ages and abilities — and is the newest addition in Santa Clara County’s quest to uplift accessibility for its more than 170,000 residents with disabilities, according to 2023 American Community Survey data. The playground features four swing types, with some big enough for adults, wheelchair accessibility and a sign with pictures for nonverbal park-goers. Read more at SanJoseSpotlight.com. #inclusive #playground #disability #accessibility #inclusiveplayground #cupertino #siliconvalley

♬ original sound – San José Spotlight

Schober first envisioned the playground in 2016 as part of a community leadership initiative. All-inclusive playgrounds weren’t as widespread in the county then, and Schober’s idea caught the attention of former District 5 Supervisor Joe Simitian. He spearheaded the grant program for all-inclusive playgrounds in 2017, which has since allocated $20 million toward the effort countywide. The county now has 24 all-inclusive playgrounds at parks and schools in cities including San Jose, Palo Alto, Mountain View, Morgan Hill, Sunnyvale, Santa Clara and Campbell.

The playground at Jollyman Park in Cupertino adds one to the West Valley, which only has a few. That’s significant for Schober and her adult son Nathan, who was diagnosed with ADHD as a child and struggled with sensory processing issues.

“You can be a quiet citizen pushing for good,” Schober said. “As long as you’re persistent, you can make things happen. Each one of us has the opportunity to influence, to make big things happen.”

Nathan told San José Spotlight a playground like this would have given him another way to express himself. He’s proud of his mom and said it’s a win for the disabled community.

“This is exactly what they need and exactly what they deserve,” he told San José Spotlight.

While Nathan likely won’t use the playground much as an adult, other families with adult children in the community will.

Cupertino resident Minna Xu said the playground is vital for her adult son, who is on the autism spectrum. He can use the adult-sized slides and swings to help with his sensory needs. Xu said he can get easily overstimulated without that outlet, adding it’s important for the community to know there are adults who need this. Nearly 70,000 residents in the county have a cognitive disability like Xu’s son, according to 2023 data.

“(People) didn’t tend to realize there’s such community needs,” Xu told San José Spotlight. “But this playground raised the awareness, and after that, our city decided to bring more all-inclusive elements to other parks.”

Mayor Liang Chao said the playground sends an important message: Cupertino welcomes everyone.

“We (wanted) to create something where you come and you feel you belong, not only in this playground, but also the city,” she told San José Spotlight.

Other recently finished all-inclusive projects include the playgrounds at Emma Prusch Farm Park in San Jose and Central Park in Santa Clara, which opened this spring.

Simitian said this is one of the few times he had an idea that worked out as intended during his time as supervisor. He termed out in 2024. He wants inclusivity to be a countywide movement spurred on by local nonprofits, including Magical Bridge Foundation, which specializes in creating all-inclusive playgrounds and parks.

“Each and every one of these playgrounds can be a model that communities look to and say, ‘You know, yes, we want to do that,'” Simitian told San José Spotlight.
Olenka Villarreal, Magical Bridge Foundation founder, said that message is important to keep the momentum going for residents who need accessible spaces. The nonprofit has playgrounds opening at Foothill College, Ravenswood Middle School in East Palo Alto and the Morgan Autism Center in San Jose.

“Chances are each of us knows somebody that benefits from thoughtful design, and so when we talk about creating public spaces as important as a public playground, that sort of sets the tone how your family is welcomed into this community,” Villarreal told San José Spotlight. “For us, of course, it is all about the equity.”

Contact Annalise Freimarck at annalise@sanjosespotlight.com or follow @annalise_ellen on X.

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The VTA board of directors has allocated $11.3 million for the State Route 17 Corridor Congestion Relief Project as part of its budgets for fiscal year 2025-26 and 2026-27. The project aims to solve one of Los Gatos’ biggest challenges plaguing the town for decades — beach traffic jamming streets to escape the Highway 17 bottleneck between Lark Avenue and the Highway 9 interchange at Saratoga–Los Gatos Road.

The plan would add a third lane in both directions between Lark Avenue and the interchange, extend merging lanes, reconstruct on and off ramps and construct safer sidewalks and bike lanes along Saratoga-Los Gatos Road.

The project has nearly $14.7 million in total, with funding primarily from the town and a half-cent sales tax from Measure B. It’s expected to cost between $138 million and $166 million, with construction expected to be finished by 2030 in collaboration with Caltrans.

A VTA representative said the transit agency will apply for state and federal grants on top of using Measure B money to make up for the funding gap. Potential funding could come from Senate Bill 1, 2017 legislation that allocated $5.4 billion to support transit statewide.

Vice Mayor Rob Moore, who also serves as vice chair of VTA’s Capital Program Committee, has dealt with the wall-to-wall traffic in town and on Highway 17 ever since he got his license about 11 years ago. He advocated for the project to receive funding despite the transit agency’s $868,000 deficit for fiscal year 2025-26.

Moore said this project would be transformative for traffic in Los Gatos and residents’ trust in VTA. The transit agency found that during peak weekend commute hours, about 24% of cars driving on Highway 17 cut through the town, according to 2022 data.

The transit agency previously cut down weekend service on the few Los Gatos bus lines it operated because of traffic levels being so poor. VTA studies gave it a failing grade.

“I do think that this project would be a really good step in the right direction for improving the relationship (between residents and VTA),” Moore told San José Spotlight.

A VTA spokesperson said the project’s planned reduction of congestion and cut-through traffic on Los Gatos streets “could yield quality of life improvements for residents.”

VTA began working on the project in 2020 after Los Gatos’ unsuccessful attempts to solve the problem, including implementing one-way traffic on North Santa Cruz Avenue and asking navigation apps to stop rerouting drivers into town.

Los Gatos still plans to explore solutions it can implement alongside VTA’s project.

The Complete Streets and Transportation Commission unanimously recommended June 12 the Town Council review its beach traffic ad hoc committee report detailing potential solutions to the problem.

Solutions up for consideration include charging drivers using Highway 17 during peak weekend traffic hours, also known as congestion pricing; transforming University Boulevard into a corridor only for buses, cyclists and pedestrians; creating a permanent pedestrian mall on North Santa Cruz Avenue; working with VTA to create a Los Gatos light rail line; installing cameras to catch drivers blocking intersections due to gridlock; and promoting a bike sharing program. The town council will review the ideas at a later date.

Jeff Suzuki, speaking as a resident and not as the commission’s chair, said the best way to prevent cut-through traffic is to start congestion pricing. He worked on the report for about a year as part of the ad hoc committee and also wants public transportation improved in a town.

“It is also important to note there is a cost of inaction — time can work against Los Gatos if it does not pursue longer-term policies. As the population of the greater Bay Area grows with time, our current transportation infrastructure will need to accommodate larger volumes of people,” Suzuki told San José Spotlight.

Residents are uncertain VTA’s plans to mitigate what Los Gatos can’t on its own will work.

Carl Lumma, who’s lived in town for a decade, can’t leave or return to his home near the Highway 9 interchange on prime beach days because of traffic. He’s not sure VTA’s project will help, but agrees charging beach-goers using Highway 17 during peak weekend hours could prevent cut-through traffic.

“The real problem is there’s just too many people coming all at the same time on 17,” Lumma told San José Spotlight.

Moore said Highway 17 will always have traffic because it’s the main route from the valley to the coast. But he said the efforts could ease the bottleneck.

“This project really uniquely addresses the needs of Los Gatos, where we’re not trying to rid Highway 17 of traffic, which I think is a fool’s errand,” he said.

Contact Annalise Freimarck at annalise@sanjosespotlight.com or follow @annalise_ellen on X.

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The Los Gatos Town Council unanimously approved a fiscally sound budget for fiscal year 2025-26 June 3 after facing a $2 million budget deficit largely caused by expenses outpacing cash flow. Town officials balanced the roughly $60 million budget by pulling about $900,000 from its general fund reserve, along with roughly $1.1 million in cuts and savings. The town is still projecting revenues won’t keep up with expenses in the coming years, with a potential five-year structural deficit ranging from $5 million to $6.5 million.

Cuts for this fiscal year include $104,350 in library services, $138,000 in outside legal fees, $100,000 in tree pruning, $67,650 in decorative tree lighting and $8,700 in resources for homeless residents. Los Gatos also managed to save more than $423,000 in costs from its internal service operational funds and employee pension benefits.

Mayor Matthew Hudes is glad the town, which primarily relies on sales and property tax for revenue, will enter the fiscal year with a balanced budget. He said while future fiscal uncertainty is concerning, Los Gatos will work diligently to address impending shortfalls. Town officials are working to determine the accuracy of the five-year projections.

Hudes said the town has significantly improved its financial management over the past two years.

“The budget is tight, and therefore we have to watch things more closely, but at this point no significant cuts,” he told San José Spotlight.

The town’s financial management didn’t prevent cuts this year, including to the hotel program for homeless residents. The council reduced the program’s annual budget to $20,000. It allows unhoused people to stay the night in local hotels during cold or wet weather and bad air quality.

Los Gatos officials said the program’s funding will be enough to cover it through the winter unless the town experiences exceptional circumstances.

Tim O’Rorke, supporter of the hotel program and Vincentian at St. Vincent de Paul at St. Mary of the Immaculate Conception, said he’s worried about where the program will get extra money if it runs out of funding throughout the year. Santa Clara County has given the town thousands of dollars to supplement the program, but is facing its own multimillion-dollar shortfall.

Despite that, O’Rorke’s optimistic because the program will continue helping people for the third year in a row. He trusts town staff to allocate funding appropriately.

“We certainly don’t want to set our expectations so high that the programs aren’t in effect,” O’Rorke told San José Spotlight. “If they are in effect, that means a lot to me.”

Los Gatos was also considering cutting $500,000 from the $1 million previously allocated for hiring an emergency manager. The council chose not to cut that funding in the high fire risk town, allocating about $80,000 of that money toward removing five fire-prone eucalyptus trees near homes on Hilow Road.
Ed Lozowicki, who’s lived in the Hilow neighborhood for 42 years, said the trees have been a concern for years. PG&E is removing 15 trees there now that interfere with their power lines, but Lozowicki and his neighbors needed the town to step up for the five remaining. He’s glad the town is removing them because of how dangerous they are during fire season.

“The way they’re positioned on Hilow Road, they could easily spread embers to all of the houses in the neighborhood and block emergency vehicles from coming in,” Lozowicki told San José Spotlight.

Contact Annalise Freimarck at annalise@sanjosespotlight.com or follow @annalise_ellen on X.

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The Cupertino City Council voted 4-1 in closed session June 3 to settle with City Manager Pamela Wu, who was placed on paid leave last month. Vice Mayor Kitty Moore voted no. Wu stepped down as part of the settlement and will walk away with $311,098.53 in severance pay with some benefits, according to an agreement between Wu and the city. The agreement does not disclose the reason for Wu’s settlement, but said Cupertino must discontinue investigations into her conduct and destroy all associated documents.

Wu said her partnership with city colleagues was a cornerstone of her nearly three-year tenure.

“This has not been an easy choice, but it is the right time to start a new chapter,” she told San José Spotlight. “Serving this community has been a great honor in my professional career and I am proud of the accomplishment, from strengthening city services to guiding the council through numerous challenges.”

Councilmembers appointed Wu in 2022. She is the third permanent city manager to take the role since 2018, with three temporary managers in between, according to Transparent California. Wu previously worked as San Bruno’s community and economic development director and a senior planner for Gilroy and Santa Clara County.

Former Deputy City Manager Tina Kapoor will serve as acting city manager until councilmembers appoint someone to the position permanently. It’s unclear when that will be.

Mayor Liang Chao said she’s glad the city can move forward in its renewed commitment to serving residents.

“Leadership transitions are never easy — but at times, they are necessary to ensure that city operations remain stable, transparent and responsive to the needs of our community,” she told San José Spotlight. “I have full confidence in Acting City Manager Tina Kapoor and our dedicated staff as we continue working together to advance the city’s goals.”

Residents are split on the end of Wu’s time with the city.

Rhoda Fry, who’s lived in Cupertino for more than 40 years, supports the council’s decision. She said Wu’s job performance was troublesome.

“The public record (shows) that the city manager was careless with our city’s finances and confidential information,” Fry told San José Spotlight.
But other residents disagree with the call.

Jean Bedord, who’s lived in the city for more than 30 years, said the repeated shuffle of city managers is concerning. She liked Wu because of her work on the city’s housing plan and Memorial Park master plan.

“We need as many competent people as we can have, and this is going to be disruptive to the city,” Bedord told San José Spotlight.

Contact Annalise Freimarck at annalise@sanjosespotlight.com or follow @annalise_ellen on X.

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The Los Gatos Thrives Foundation, a nonprofit focused on helping older adults, recently unveiled conceptual designs of a potential new community center. The designs signal the start of plans to build a multigenerational community center in a town that’s been without one for years.

It’s something Los Gatos residents overwhelmingly want, especially because the town’s two small recreation centers for youths and adults have limited capacity for events. Approximately 76% of residents said the town needs a new community center, according to data from a Los Gatos Thrives Foundation survey of more than 1,800 people. They want a range of amenities too, including outdoor patio seating, a large community room, a performance space, small meeting and event rooms, fitness class rooms, a teen center room, a full-service kitchen and outdoor sports courts.

The nonprofit aims to find a site for the center by the year’s end, but it’s too early to know how much it will cost, how it’ll be funded or when it could be completed.

Ryan Rosenberg, chair of the nonprofit’s community center campaign, called the community center a longstanding need in Los Gatos. He said the town doesn’t have many meeting spaces and has to limit its recreational activities because of its small facilities. He’s leading the campaign to create a community hub for young people like his two sons.

“I want to do this for them, and it’s for the next generation beyond that,” Rosenberg told San José Spotlight.

Los Gatos once had a community center, which opened around 1966 at 123 E. Main St. before the site was transformed into the youth recreation center there now.

Town officials proposed a new 32,000-square-foot community center in the 2007 Civic Center Master Plan, alongside library renovations. Los Gatos completed the library in 2012, but the community center never got off the ground because funding ran dry.

Mayor Matthew Hudes, speaking on behalf of himself and not the Town Council, said that history has left a gap in Los Gatos’ services.

“At one point, Los Gatos was a leader in doing things when we were smaller, but we’ve kind of lost that at this point,” Hudes told San José Spotlight. “We just haven’t kept up.”

Other surrounding West Valley municipalities have modern community centers for their residents.

Cupertino’s Quinlan Community Center opened in the 1990s and gets approximately 1,500 weekly visitors, according to city officials. The capacity of its largest room is 280 people, where it often hosts its state of the city event. In Campbell, the community center provides free and affordable lunches for older adults and teaches people to swim in its pool. It has a track and field, tennis courts and other recreational services.
Tanner Goulden, president of Los Gatos High School’s community center club, said a new facility could serve as a “third place” for students outside of home and school. He said it could create an equitable space for teens to hang out because of its free resources.

“When you look at young people and old people and anybody in between, I think that the opportunity for social connections in a community center is just really amazing and really exciting,” Goulden told San José Spotlight.

Rosenberg said Los Gatos is ready for a community center.

“The town has recognized for a long time that it needs this. It just hasn’t been able to make it happen,” he said. “Now’s the time.”

Contact Annalise Freimarck at annalise@sanjosespotlight.com or follow @annalise_ellen on X.

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The Los Gatos Town Council voted 3-2 May 27 to approve a 30-home, mixed-use development located at 143-151 E. Main St. across from Los Gatos High School. Mayor Matthew Hudes and Councilmember Mary Badame voted no. Plans from owner CSPN LLC include a 4-story project with six affordable homes and ground-floor retail on nearly half an acre. Plans are to demolish the existing buildings where Cafe Dio and A & G Construction are located on Church Street — a prime drop-off and pick-up location for the roughly 1,900 students attending the high school.

The development, which will provide between 37 and 49 parking spots, is the first builder’s remedy project reviewed by the council. The state law allows developers to bypass local zoning requirements when a town is late getting a state-certified housing plan, meaning there’s limited capacity to deny these types of proposals. It’s unclear when construction will start and if Cafe Dio will lease the 2,416 square feet of retail space.

Los Gatos High School Principal Dave Poetzinger is glad the council’s approval included requiring the development team to meet regularly with school staff until the project is completed, along with a restriction on construction vehicles entering or exiting the project during peak traffic times.

But Poetzinger worries about the safety of his students and staff because he’s already seen two students sent to the hospital this school year due to car collisions. Even if the project only adds an average of 17 new car trips and lessens trips during peak pick-up and drop-off times, according to the traffic study, Poetzinger said the streets are already congested.

“We want to take care of our people and make sure that they’re safe every day,” he told San José Spotlight.

Hudes agreed with Poetzinger and wanted to use the provision of builder’s remedy that allows jurisdictions to deny proposals that will harm the community’s well-being. Hudes said he’s observed the site for about six hours during peak times and seen how dangerous it is.

“The builders have a right to do what their rights are under state law, but they, as far as I can tell, don’t have the right to create health and safety issues,” Hudes told San José Spotlight.

CSPN LLC did not respond to requests for comment.

Kenneth Rodrigues, founder of KRP Architects, said his client wants to use the highest quality materials and make it a special project.

Councilmember Rob Rennie sided with the majority, saying future residents will likely use their cars less because the project is in the heart of town. The developer could also sue the town if it denied the project wrongfully under builder’s remedy.

“I think it would help the vitality of downtown by having more people that can easily get there without driving,” Rennie told San José Spotlight.
Los Gatos must accommodate building at least 1,993 new homes by 2031 to comply with state housing mandates. The development spike across town has stirred controversy among residents, including plans for more than 100 homes where Ace Hardware is located.

Poetzinger said the developer needs to understand the effect of additional traffic around the high school. He looks forward to working with them in the coming months.

“We have a big problem because we’re all a part of this community,” he told San José Spotlight “This traffic that (they’re) bringing into this spot is going to contribute to greater unsafe conditions.”

Contact Annalise Freimarck at annalise@sanjosespotlight.com or follow @annalise_ellen on X.

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The Campbell Planning Commission unanimously agreed Tuesday that more than $100 million in public projects aligns with the city’s goals for the next five years, including a $12 million proposal to redo the community center pool. Campbell can prioritize these projects during fiscal uncertainty because of its varied funding sources, even though the city faces a nearly $3.2 million budget deficit for fiscal year 2025-26.

The pool project, which staff say is long overdue, would largely be funded by park fees the city collects from developers. Other big ticket items, including the $27.3 million police headquarters and $13.6 million library, are funded by Measure O — a $50 million bond voters passed in 2018. Both bond projects have been underway for more than a year and should be fully built sometime between August and September.

The Campbell City Council will review the projects in June when it analyzes the deficit alongside the roughly $67.6 million budget. The shortfall is due to an anticipated loss of $650,000 in sales tax revenue, coupled with a $558,000 increase in employment costs such as retirement funds and a $455,800 hike in the city’s Santa Clara County Fire Department contract. City staff recommend implementing a temporary hiring freeze, limiting or not using temporary workers in the next fiscal year and deferring hiring and project requests to address the uncertainty. Campbell has already implemented a 1% reduction in operating costs for all departments.

City Manager Brian Loventhal said Campbell couldn’t work on as many public projects without funding through grants and state dollars. To enhance efforts, the city aims to attract businesses that generate sales tax revenue.

“Those funding sources allow us to do all those things that keep Campbell, Campbell: filling potholes, fixing streets, repairing the infrastructure,” he told San José Spotlight. “Those are all things that are critical and may get more expensive over time if you don’t maintain them.”

The new proposed projects also include about $3.6 million for annual street maintenance and $950,000 to expand VTA’s ability to speed up stoplight metering to help buses move quicker through traffic, along with the pool remodel. The pool, which was constructed in the 1950s, is the priciest proposal. Campbell conducted an audit on the pool in 2017, which found it needed to be completely revamped. It generates 1,100 visits each week during the school year and 2,200 each week during the summer, according to city data.

Resident Inga Buyse swims laps in the pool three days a week. She wants the locker rooms redone, but said she’s concerned about the effects of redoing the pool.

“I don’t want to see the price going up (to swim) because it’s fancy,” Buyse told San José Spotlight. “I don’t care about fancy, I care about the bottom line — that it’s accessible for everyone, affordable.”
Campbell has faced deficits before while managing work on community projects. Last year, the city balanced a roughly $5 million shortfall while the library and police building were under construction.

Planning Commission Chair Matt Kamkar said it would help if the city could use funds from Measure K, a half-cent sales tax 72% of voters approved last year. The measure is expected to bring in $7 million annually, but the city can’t access its funds because the Silicon Valley Taxpayers Association is challenging it in court.

“The job of the city is to serve its residents,” Kamkar told San José Spotlight. “You gotta be optimistic. Hopefully that challenge is overcome.”

Contact Annalise Freimarck at annalise@sanjosespotlight.com or follow @annalise_ellen on X.

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The Cupertino City Council voted 4-1 May 20 to approve modified plans for a 136-home, mixed-use assisted living facility for older adults along Stevens Creek Boulevard. Changes include eliminating 146 underground parking spaces and reducing ground floor retail from 17,600 square feet to 4,000 square feet — a key point of contention for residents. Councilmember Sheila Mohan voted no because she wanted more retail in the project.

Related California requested the changes due to difficulty financing the project. The developer was willing to increase space for shops and restaurants by 2,500 square feet, in exchange for a refund of more than $3 million for fees paid to the city’s parkland fund —  but councilmembers did not approve the refund. It’s unclear when construction will start. The development also includes memory care homes and 12,250 square feet of public park space.

Councilmember J. R. Fruen wanted more retail space, but voted for the project because he wants housing built there after years of it being an empty lot. The city has 221 assisted living homes and needs more options for older adults who have trouble living in single-family houses.

“Being able to be in a location like what Related seeks to build at the site is important to keep you in your community. It gives you broad access to various amenities,” Fruen told San José Spotlight. “So I think that it’s a very useful public good.”

Balint Simsik, senior vice president of development for Related California, said the developer wanted to get this project off the ground for the past three years, but couldn’t with unprecedented inflation. Related California is working with Oakmont Senior Living to run services such as memory care.

“We intend to be a long-term member of this community in Cupertino,” Simsik said at the meeting.

The project is part of the larger Westport development that includes 179 apartments for older adults and 88 townhomes and rowhouses. The Planning Commission unanimously recommended approving the changes to the assisted living facility last month, but asked the developer to explore adding 4,000 more square feet of retail in exchange for a refund of the park fees.
Richard Adler, chair of Age Friendly Cupertino, said he’s glad the development is moving forward because it will increase housing options for the city’s growing older population. Age Friendly Cupertino anticipates older adults will outnumber youths over the next decade in the city, a trend in line with the rest of Santa Clara County.

“The composition of the population of Cupertino is changing dramatically. Housing hasn’t really responded,” Adler, who’s in his 80s, told San José Spotlight. “They’ve got a long way to go, and this is one piece of that puzzle. It’s the first really major senior housing development in (the city in) several decades.”

Contact Annalise Freimarck at annalise@sanjosespotlight.com or follow @annalise_ellen on X.

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