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Cupertino signs on to West Valley shelter feasibility study; council approves MOU with one dissent
Summary
The Cupertino City Council authorized the city manager to join a West Valley feasibility study on April 2 that will assess whether and how Campbell, Cupertino, Saratoga, Los Gatos and Monte Sereno could develop temporary housing, navigation centers or emergency shelter capacity.
The Cupertino City Council authorized the city manager on April 2 to execute a memorandum of understanding that adds Cupertino to a West Valley regional feasibility study examining the need for and options to develop temporary housing and emergency shelters for unhoused people.
Campbell is the lead jurisdiction and will procure and manage the consultant, Good City Company, using funds committed by Campbell; the consultant contract cost was cited at $99,000 and Cupertino's direct consultant contribution was listed as $0 in the staff presentation. Under the MOU Cupertino's obligations are to provide data and staff participation and to present the study results back to council when complete.
City staff framed the study as a step to understand local capacity and to help the city meet specific housing-element strategies. Nikki Vu, senior housing coordinator, told the council Cupertino has no year-round shelter beds and relayed data from the county point-in-time count: Santa Clara County was estimated to have roughly 10,000 people experiencing homelessness in 2023 while Cupertino's count was about 50, with 100% of those in Cupertino recorded as unsheltered during the count.
"We currently do not have a shelter available to the general public that is available year round," Vu said. She described a range of shelter types the study will consider, from emergency congregate shelters to navigation centers, transitional housing and permanent supportive housing, and said the study would also assess staffing and connections to county-provided services.
Legal considerations and fair-housing obligations were raised in the staff presentation. The city attorney briefed the council on recent legal changes national and statewide courts have grappled with, noting that rulings such as the Grants Pass case changed the conditions under which cities can clear encampments on public land. Staff also said demonstrating "affirmatively furthering fair housing" in the housing element can include zoning and planning for shelters and navigation centers.
Council expressed a range of questions about county funding levels, how shelter capacity is distributed across the county and whether the study could compare San Jose's larger-scale programs to West Valley needs. Staff said the county continuum of care and the Office of Supportive Housing would be consulted; they also said the MOU explicitly names those county offices as stakeholders to be interviewed.
Public commenters praised the staff presentation and urged caution about creating duplicative regional bureaucracy; others urged council members to use their relationships with the county to secure more regional resources. "This body should pick up the phone and solve problems," a commenter said.
After discussion Councilmember Wong voted no; the motion to authorize execution of the MOU otherwise carried.
The consultant-led study is expected to continue through the summer with a deliverable estimated by staff in mid-2025; staff estimated an August 2025 completion in its presentation. Cupertino's role will be to participate in data gathering, stakeholder interviews and to review the consultant's recommendations once the study is complete. The MOU does not obligate Cupertino to fund construction or operations of any shelter beyond staff time for participation and subsequent implementation decisions would return to council for funding and policy direction.
