Cupertino council declines moratorium, adopts resolution to study student housing after McClellan Terrace debate

The Cupertino City Council on May 6 voted to adopt a resolution directing city staff to study student-housing options and tenant protections after heated public comment over the proposed purchase of McClellan Terrace Apartments by the Foothill–De Anza Community College District. The council did not adopt the interim urgency moratorium that had been proposed.

The vote on the measure to adopt the resolution and not approve the moratorium was 3–2 (Council member Wong, Vice Mayor Moore and Mayor Chow in favor; Council members Fruin and Mohan opposed). The issue drew dozens of speakers and more than an hour and a half of public testimony (the council reduced individual public-comment time to two minutes for this item).

City staff told the council the college district moved quickly: the district voted to proceed with purchase-related due diligence the day before the meeting and had retained relocation consultants. Staff described the interim urgency ordinance as a tool under state law that, if adopted, would have imposed a 45‑day pause on conversions of multifamily housing while the city studied zoning or other regulatory responses. Staff said the sale price on the table was about $65.5 million, the district planned to close in July, and the district had indicated residents would need to vacate by June 30, 2026 if the conversion proceeded.

Don Peterson, a representative of Prometheus Real Estate Group and the seller, told the council: "We obviously would be greatly impacted by this proposed urgency ordinance being considered here this evening. Suffice to say, we are strongly opposed to this measure." Peterson described Prometheus as a long‑term local owner and said the company was working on tenant relocation options within its other properties.

Representatives of Foothill–De Anza addressed the council in support of the purchase as the fastest way to provide affordable student housing. Christopher De La Russa, vice chancellor of business services for the district, said the property meets the district's operational criteria and "offers a faster and more cost effective path, compared to new construction." Peter Landsberger, president of the district board of trustees, told the council that the property is zoned for multifamily housing and, he said, "when this purchase and sale agreement is completed, there will be no conversion under your zoning laws in Cupertino." Several district speakers emphasized relocation assistance and that current leases would be honored through June 2026.

Many current tenants and neighborhood residents urged the council to protect families that they said rely on McClellan Terrace because it is one of the few more-affordable rental options within walking distance of local K–12 schools. Tenant Rosemarie Biswas said, "My son attends Monte Vista High School ... Our apartment is the only affordable place within walking distance. If we're forced to leave before 2026, he wouldn't be able to finish high school." Several K–12 parents and longtime residents warned of school impacts if families were displaced.

Students and De Anza faculty and staff spoke in favor of the district purchase. De Anza student speaker Ricardo Alvarez described students' basic-needs challenges and cited college research showing high rates of food and housing insecurity among students: "This conversion of McClellan apartment is more than just providing students with housing. It's also about providing our students with accessibility to the services and programs De Anza offers," he said.

Several housing advocates and the nonprofit Silicon Valley at Home urged the council not to adopt the urgency moratorium. Lisonbee Singalani, director of policy at Silicon Valley at Home, said the purchase preserves older apartments as permanently affordable homes and warned that a moratorium could violate fair‑housing law.

Council debate focused on process and interagency coordination. Council member Wong said the council needs time to study impacts and to insist the district engage the city earlier. Mayor Chow said she would not support the moratorium because the district had already closed its due diligence, but she asked staff and the district to collaborate and share documents so the city could complete a thorough review and mitigation plan. Vice Mayor Moore and Council member Wong supported pausing to study a zoning response; Council members Fruin and Mohan voted no on the resolution, expressing concerns about the wording of the recitals and insufficiently substantiated findings in the proposed urgency ordinance.

No formal moratorium was adopted. Instead, the council approved a resolution directing staff to return with a study session and to coordinate with education partners, consider tenant protections and relocation best practices, and encourage long‑term on‑campus student housing solutions where feasible.

The council also heard and acted on unrelated procedural items earlier in the meeting: a motion to postpone agenda items 10, 12 and 14 to dates uncertain passed unanimously; the consent calendar passed unanimously; and the council scheduled a future study session on housing policy and coordination with school districts.

The city attorney advised that any personnel matters, including questions about the city manager's employment status, must be discussed in closed session under the Brown Act and could not be discussed in public during the meeting.