HUD Recognizes the City for its Efforts to Meet
Housing and Development Goals
The United States Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD) has recognized the City of Cupertino for its efforts to meet its housing and development goals.
"It is great to be acknowledged by HUD for City staff's hard work supporting those most in need in Cupertino through strong housing and community development goals and actions," Interim City Manager Greg Larson said.
HUD annually allocates Community Development Block Grant (CDBG) funding to local jurisdictions for community development activities. In Fiscal Year 2020-2021, the City received $397,193 in CDBG funding which funded:
- Two grants for senior services and emergency services
- Two grants for residential single-family rehabilitation and residential affordable multi-family renovation
In review of the City's program, "HUD has determined that Cupertino has the continuing capacity to administer its CDBG program. The activities undertaken are consistent with Cupertino's HUD-approved Consolidated Plan, and the City continues to make progress in meeting its housing and community development goals."
City of Cupertino Thanksgiving Holiday Closures
City of Cupertino offices will be closed Thursday, November 25 and Friday, November 26 in observance of the Thanksgiving Holiday. Other Cupertino City facilities will operate as noted below.
These facilities will be closed Thursday, November 25 and Friday, November 26, and will reopen Monday, November 29:
- City Hall
- Cupertino Library
- Senior Center
- Quinlan Community Center
The Sports Center will be closed on Thursday, November 25.
Blackberry Farm Golf Course will be closed Thursday, November 25 after 12 p.m.
The Sheriff's Office West Valley Substation will be closed Thursday, November 25 and Friday, November 26, though officers will be on patrol. For emergencies, call 9-1-1. For non-emergency officer assistance, call the Santa Clara County Sheriff's Office at (408) 299-2311.
Street sweeping will not occur on Thursday, November 25.
Garbage and recycling collection services will be delayed one day for customers on Thursday, November 25 and Friday, November 26. Service that is regularly scheduled for those days will occur on the following day.
CalPERS Approves Discount Rate and
New Asset Allocation
The California Public Employees' Retirement System (CalPERS) Board approved a 6.8% discount rate, selected a new asset allocation for the fund's investment portfolio, and adopted new actuarial assumptions during its November 15-17 meetings. CalPERS administers the defined benefit pension plan for City employees. CalPERS uses the discount rate, the assumed rate of return on investments, to calculate the City's annual required contributions to the plan.
As part of the Asset Liability Management (ALM) process, the board examined different potential portfolios and their impact on the CalPERS fund. Ultimately, the board selected the portfolio with an assumed investment return of 6.8%.
| Asset Class |
Current Allocation |
New Allocation |
| Global Equity |
50% |
42% |
| Fixed Income |
28% |
30% |
| Real Assets |
13% |
15% |
| Private Equity |
8% |
13% |
| Private Debt |
0% |
5% |
| Liquidity |
1% |
0% |
| Total |
100% |
105% |
The new portfolio includes a 5% allocation to leverage.
In Fiscal Year 2020-2021, CalPERS achieved an investment return of 21.3%. As a result, in July of this year, the Funding Risk Mitigation Policy lowered the discount rate from 7% to 6.8%. This policy lowers the discount rate in years of good investment returns to reduce risk in the portfolio.
The FY 2020-2021 investment gain will increase the funded status of the City's plan. As of June 30, the funded status is 78% with a 7% discount rate and 76% with a 6.8% discount rate.
The investment gain and discount rate reduction will impact the City's pension costs starting in FY 2023-2024. In FY 2027-2028, when the investment gain is fully phased in, the City's annual contributions are expected to be $1.35 million lower than previously projected.
Employees hired on or after January 1, 2013, following implementation of the Public Employees' Pension Reform Act (PEPRA) will also be affected by the discount rate reduction. CalPERS expects most PEPRA members to see an increase in their contribution rate, and the average contribution rate increase is 0.8%.
For more information, see CalPERS ALM Decision FAQs.
Quarterly Sales Tax Update
The City receives 1% of proceeds from sales and use taxes imposed within Cupertino boundaries. Sales tax receipts for the second quarter of the 2021 calendar year (April to June) were 4% below the same period on year ago. Results reflected measurable improvement over last year's lows, which suffered the brunt of coronavirus impacts on sales taxes due to temporary closures and other capacity restrictions.
General consumer goods grew 88% and restaurants-hotels reported over 127% growth. Though the fully reopened economy spurred much larger returns in June from dining, apparel, electronics, and home furnishings, all of these groups are still below pre-pandemic levels.
Regarding statewide sales tax trends, according to the HdL Companies, local one-cent tax revenues for California overall were 37% higher than April through June of 2020. The second quarter of 2020 was the most adversely impacted sales tax period related to the COVID-19 pandemic and Shelter-in-Place directive issued by Governor Newsom.
Up to this point through California's recovery, we have seen some regions experience stronger gains than others. However, with the latest data and the depths of declines in the comparison period, most regions saw very similar growth with an emphasis on auto-transportation and building-construction industries generating higher receipts. Although the explosion of sales by new and used car dealers has come as a welcomed relief, the latest news of inventories being stretched thin due to the micro processing chip issues earlier in the year may result in a headwind into 2022. As housing prices in many markets increased over the last year, sustained available homeowner and investor equity is in place for the foreseeable future. Receipts from general consumer goods marked a steady and expected comeback, led by family apparel, jewelry, and home furnishing stores.
View details regarding the top businesses in Cupertino, revenue comparison, and more in the attachments.
Small Business Saturday 2021
Each year, the Saturday after Thanksgiving is celebrated as Small Business Saturday–a day to celebrate small businesses and all they do for their communities. Founded by American Express in 2010 and officially cosponsored by Small Business Administration (SBA) since 2011, Small Business Saturday has become an important part of the small business support toolbox.
With the 2021 shopping season upon us, the City of Cupertino is gearing up to boost our local small businesses. At the November 16 City Council meeting, the Cupertino City Council proclaimed November 27 as Small Business Saturday, reminding the community to support small and local.
The City would like to thank the highly successful team of SBA, Women Impacting Public Policy (WIPP), and American Express in promoting Small Business Saturday nationwide. The City of Cupertino is looking forward to kicking off the 2021 holiday season by encouraging everyone to support our independent businesses that are a fundamental part of the distinctive character of our community–starting with Small Business Saturday and all year long.
2017 Disaster Assistance Reimbursements
The City of Cupertino has received the final reimbursements for the 2017 Disaster Assistance Reimbursements request. This request was submitted to obtain and provide assistance to people whose property had been damaged or destroyed due to an atmospheric river storm event in February of 2017.
The damages caused by the storm included the uprooting of a redwood tree at Memorial Park, which required immediate removal of the tree and caused damage to portions of Stevens Creek banks, which now require restoration. Additionally, a portion of Regnart Road was washed out, requiring construction of a retaining wall and reconstruction of the roadway. The total cost of these damages was $568,191.
The City's Public Works Department, in collaboration with other government agencies, was able to secure disaster assistance reimbursements of approximately $540,000 and are now working to close out assistance requests.
Food Scrap Collection Containers for Residents
With new state regulations about organic waste diversion beginning in January 2022, the City of Cupertino's Environmental Programs Division is getting an early start on outreach to help provide information and resources to residents.
In the November edition of the Cupertino Scene, an article titled "Food Waste in the Organics Cart" was featured. It included tips for residents to divert their food scraps with ease, having minimal mess or odor.
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The first tip in the article was to request a free collection container to make sorting easier in the kitchen. Since the release of the article earlier this month, 146 residents have requested one. Each pail is delivered to the resident with sample certified compostable bag liners and information about what items can be put in the organics cart or bin. |
With so many requests from residents across the City of Cupertino, help was needed to optimize the deliveries and reduce vehicle miles traveled. Environmental Programs employees partnered with the City's Geographic Information Systems team, who quickly created a delivery route map.
The robust response to the Scene article to request pails shows the community's interest in diverting food scraps into the green bins so they can be taken for processing into compost. This effort will not only reduce input into landfill but is also critical to meeting the City and State targets for greenhouse gas reduction.
Residents who have not received a food scrap collection container from the City or Recology may request one via an online form at cupertino.org/foodscraps.
Community Meeting on Wilson Park Upgrades
The City of Cupertino is inviting residents to attend, learn, and provide input on two new amenities coming to Wilson Park: a full-size outdoor basketball court and a community garden.
The City has organized a virtual community meeting to discuss these improvements to be held on Tuesday, November 30. The community gardens will be discussed at 6 p.m. and the basketball court will be discussed at 7 p.m. This meeting will allow the City and consultants to receive input from the community and go over the next steps.
For more information on the projects, visit cupertino.org/wpgarden or cupertino.org/wpbasketball.
Attend the meeting by visiting this link here.
Do You Know About Senior Resources in Cupertino?
There are a variety of organizations and programs in and around Cupertino that help address the needs of seniors relating to technology, housing, food supply, transportation, and mental and physical health and well-being. The City wants to know what resources you may or may not be aware of.
Take our senior resource availability survey at engagecupertino.org/seniorresources.
A hard copy of the survey may be picked up at the Senior Center, Quinlan Community Center, and Cupertino Library.
The survey will close on Friday, December 3 at 11:59 p.m.
City Commission Recruitment Period Open
Cupertino residents are encouraged to apply for positions on City commissions that will have vacancies in January 2022. Commissions with upcoming vacancies include:
- Fine Arts Commission
- Housing Commission
- Parks and Recreation Commission
- Public Safety
- Sustainability Commission
The application deadline is 4:30 p.m. on Friday, January 7, 2022. The Cupertino City Council will conduct interviews beginning at 5:30 p.m. on Monday, January 24, 2022 and Tuesday, January 25, 2022.
Applications can be submitted via the Online Commission Application. For more details, visit this City webpage or call the City Clerk's Office at (408) 777-3223.
Below Market Rate (BMR) Program 2022 Waitlist
During the month of October, the City’s BMR Affordable Housing Program opened the waitlist and received a total of 833 applications for the 2022 BMR Waitlist. A total of 416 applicants applied for a position on the Ownership Waitlist and 417 applicants applied to the Rental Waitlist. During the month of December, Rise Housing Solutions will conduct a lottery to establish waitlist positions and notify applicants of the results. For interest in Cupertino BMR housing, please visit the City’s BMR Housing Website. The application period will open again in October 2022.
Holiday Banners and Median Lighting
In preparation for the upcoming holiday season, employees in the City's Public Works Department have completed the installation of 100 holiday banners throughout the City of Cupertino. Holiday lighting has also been placed at the medians on Stevens Creek Boulevard and De Anza Boulevard, but will not be lit until the City's Tree Lighting Ceremony takes place on December 3.
Here are the locations where the banners can be seen:
- North Stelling Road in front of the Quinlan Community Center
- Stevens Creek Boulevard from Stelling Road to De Anza Boulevard
- De Anza Boulevard from Bollinger Road to Highway 280
- Torre Avenue from Pacifica Drive to Rodrigues Avenue
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