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Resident warns against state upzoning bill and raises ADU design and tree-loss concerns
Summary
Jennifer Griffin, a Cupertino resident, told the planning commission she is concerned about a state housing bill (referred to as SP 79) that would upzone near transit and said local ADU construction has damaged trees and neighborhood character; she also questioned how subjective design policies align with new objective standards.
Jennifer Griffin, a resident, used the meeting—s oral-communications period to urge the Planning Commission and the public to watch a state housing bill she identified as "SP 79," saying it would allow upzoning within a half-mile of transit across the state and comparing it to past legislation she opposed, including "SB 50."
"This bill would allow upzoning a half mile from transit," Griffin said. "I'm really, really concerned that Senator Wiener has overreached and overstepped his bounds." She said the bill could exclude the public from meaningful input and described SP 79 as a possible "placeholder for something worse."
Griffin also raised local concerns about ADU construction. She said a detached ADU built in Los Altos six months earlier had resulted in the death of two mature oak trees and caused erosion on a neighbor's bank; she criticized the proximity of that ADU to a property line and urged more careful consideration of ADU siting and design.
On policy, Griffin highlighted general-plan policy LU 3.3 (building-site and building design), saying criteria such as "attractive design" and "mass and scale" are subjective and questioning how subjective design elements will be reconciled with required objective design standards. "Objective is like flat concrete with square edges," she said, and added that she feared the city has "overbuilt."
Griffin said she had previously spent significant time opposing SB 50 and encouraged local officials to monitor SP 79. No formal action was taken by the commission on these remarks; the comments were entered into the public record.
