Lawrence-Mitty Park and Trail Plan

The City of Cupertino has prepared a Draft Mitigated Negative Declaration (MND) for the Lawrence Mitty Park and Trail Project which is available beginning on Monday, February 12, 2024 for review and comment by the public and all interested persons, agencies, and organizations for a period of 30 days, ending on Wednesday, March 13, 2024. All comments on the Draft MND must be received by that date.

Project Location: West Side of Lawrence Expressway, between Calvert Drive and Mitty Way.

Project Description: The project consists of the development of a new public park and extension of the existing Saratoga Creek Trail on an approximately 7.8-acre site, located along the west side of Lawrence Expressway, south of Interstate 280 and adjacent to Saratoga Creek in the City of Cupertino.

Potentially Significant Environmental Effects: Potentially significant impacts in the following areas are discussed in the Mitigated Negative Declaration: Biological Resources, Cultural and Tribal Cultural Resources. Each potentially significant effect is reduced to a less-than-significant level through mitigation.

The document will be available for review at the following locations:

• Cupertino City Hall, 10300 Torre Avenue, Cupertino, CA
• Online at: cupertino.gov/lawrencemitty

Comments on the Draft MND may be submitted in writing to:

City of Cupertino, Public Works Department

10300 Torre Avenue

Cupertino, CA 95014

ATTN: Susan Michael, Capital Improvement Programs (CIP) manager

(408-777-1328 or susanm@cupertino.gov)

From January 2023

The City has completed Phase 3, Conceptual Design Alternatives, of the work leading up to final design of the park. In this phase the community provided feedback via an online survey, at several pop-up events including a site tour, a virtual community meeting, and Bicycle Pedestrian and Parks & Recreation Commission Meetings.

Next a conceptual design that incorporates the information gathered by the City’s outreach efforts will be developed and that plan presented to City Council for adoption in early 2023.

Phase 3 Park and Trail Concepts: Concept A | Concept B | Concept C

https://youtu.be/_TCl1_6kzmk (video of the presentation of the 3 Concepts)

BACKGROUND

The City of Cupertino worked for years to acquire the 7.83-acre site known as Lawrence-Mitty, located west of the Lawrence Expressway and to the east of Saratoga Creek. The property has historically been used for agriculture. But beginning in the 1970s the property was used for construction storage and staging by the Santa Clara County Roads and Airports Department. The City acquired the Lawrence-Mitty site in 2020. The annexation was approved by the Santa Clara County Local Agency Formation Commission (LAFCO) and will be finalized in 2022.

The City intends to develop this site as a park, which will include an extension of the San Tomas Aquino – Saratoga Creek Trail. The City is excited about this opportunity to plan for and develop a park and trail at the Lawrence-Mitty site. The first steps to developing this park will be to develop a Master Plan that will reflect community needs and strive toward the goals laid out in the 2020 Parks System Master Plan adopted by City Council. This site will offer Cupertino residents, especially those living in the eastern portion of the City, the opportunity to experience a sizable, green space for leisure and play.

In preparation for the development of the Park and Trail Plan, the City issued a Request for Qualifications (RFQ) to qualified landscape design consultants in August 2021. Five RFQ responses were submitted to the City for review. Through the review and scoring process of the submittals, the City selected three firms to interview. Through the written submittals and interview process the City determined that MIG Inc. was the most qualified to assist the City through the Park and Trail Planning process. On December 7, 2021 City Council approved the recommendation to hire MIG Inc. (See "Important Documents at right for RFQ Submittals.)

The product of the Park and Trail Plan will be an adopted Conceptual Design and the completion of several site-specific studies that will outline site conditions and constraints. Throughout the development of the Park and Trail Plan, the City will engage with the public, Planning Commission, Bicycle Pedestrian Commission, Parks and Recreation Commission, as well as City Council, to solicit input and ideas on design and amenities to provide at the site.

Site-Specific Considerations

As the City moves along in the Park and Trail Plan process there are several site-specific factors to consider that may influence the direction of the final conceptual design. These elements include:

1. Site Access – Currently the site's primary access is via the Saratoga Creek Trail to the south of the site. Access via Lawrence Expressway will be limited to only emergency and maintenance vehicles. No onsite vehicle parking will be available for the park.
   
2. Saratoga Creek - Roughly 1.9 acres of the gross area has limited improvement potential due to Saratoga Creek, which is managed by the Santa Clara Valley Water District. While the Creek will be a wonderful aspect of the park there will likely be limits on alterations within the drainage corridor.
   
3. Lawrence Expressway- The site’s proximity to Lawrence Expressway and associated noise pollution will be a consideration throughout the design. The City will be charged with finding a balance between noise reduction and site safety.
   
4. Permits and permissions - Permitting agencies may place limitations or restrictions on park design or use. Findings from Environmental Studies conducted for the site may influence feasible options for the design of the park.

Phase 3: Conceptual Design Alternatives

• Community Survey
  • Available October 3 to October 31
  • Provide input on three design options based on community input from the community vision survey.
• Community Input Pop-up Event at the Cupertino Library
  • Saturday, October 8 from 10 a.m. to noon
• Lawrence-Mitty Drop-In Site Visit
  • Saturday, October 15 from 10 a.m. to noon
  • Visit the Lawerence-Mitty Park and Trail site, learn about the three design options, and ask City staff questions. Meet at Sterling Barnhart Park, 10486 Sterling Boulevard, Cupertino, CA 95014
• Community Meeting, Virtual
  • Monday, October 17 from 6 to 7 p.m.
  • Register Here

As the project progresses, additional public comment opportunities will be posted on this webpage.