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Residents press council for $150,000 Memorial Park noise abatement; housing commissioner urges action to replace lost CDBG funding
Summary
Public commenters urged the council to fund a $150,000 noise‑abatement project at Memorial Park for pickleball courts and warned the council that cuts to federal CDBG funding and the maturing of below‑market rental units threaten low‑income housing supply.
Cupertino — During the May 11 budget study session, two public commenters asked the City Council for targeted budget actions to address park noise and affordable housing shortfalls.
Arif Shik, speaking on behalf of a group of Cupertino residents, urged the council to approve a $150,000 noise‑abatement allocation at Memorial Park to reduce pickleball noise for nearby neighbors. "Pickle ball delivers on both (physical activity and community)," Shik said, and argued the courts generate economic activity for local businesses and that sound barriers would be a small, high‑impact investment.
Connie Cunningham, speaking as a housing commission member but for herself, asked the council to address cuts to federal Community Development Block Grant (CDBG) funds and to identify ways to replace an estimated $100,000 to $300,000 in lost federal funding. She warned that many below‑market‑rate (BMR) rental units are approaching maturity and may be lost from the local affordable housing stock without new funding tools or incentives for developers.
Council did not take immediate action on the requests but heard them as part of the budget deliberations. Staff did not provide a cost‑benefit or ROI calculation for the Memorial Park sound wall during the session and did not provide a numeric reconciliation for the CDBG range claimed by Cunningham; both commenters asked the council to follow up in the coming weeks.
