Residents living within the Cupertino Union School District will continue to have after-school access to park space thanks to an agreement with the city of Sunnyvale.
The city of Sunnyvale and Cupertino Union renewed a joint-use agreement regarding the use and maintenance of open space for public recreation.
The Sunnyvale City Council voted unanimously Sept. 16 to approve a 10-year agreement with an option for a five-year extension to share open space at five school campuses, including Nimitz, Serra, West Valley and Stocklmeir elementary schools and Cupertino Middle School.
The agreement requires the city to maintain the school open space at its expense and in exchange, the district will allow public recreational use of the sports fields and open space during non-school hours, including permits for exclusive use of the sports fields.
The city entered into its first open space agreement with Cupertino Union in 1989, encompassing 29.5 acres of total open space. The agreement was for a term of 25 years and was set to sunset on June 30, 2014.
According to city staff, the city notified the district in June 2012 that it was interested in initiating a process to review the agreement and amend as needed.
“The goal was to accomplish the review and implement a new or revised agreement on or before the expiration date of June 30, 2014,” city staff reported. “Although both parties had been working in good faith to provide a new agreement by that time, it became evident that more time was needed and on May 19, 2014, the city sent a side letter to the district with the intent to provide additional time to reach consensus on a new operating agreement.”
Both parties agreed that the existing agreement would continue for an additional six months or until a new agreement had been approved by the city council and the school district board.
The board approved the new agreement a week prior to the city council’s approval.
The new agreement takes the old one a step further by adding shared use of some facilities.
The city may now use the existing gymnasium at Cupertino Middle School for library and community service programs after the district’s use for all school activities and after community groups that currently rent it.
The city will also be granted priority use–after school activities–of the new multi-purpose building at Cupertino Middle School beginning in the 2015-16 school year. The new agreement also requires the district to reimburse the city annually for water costs. Historically, water costs have been between 15-25 percent of total maintenance costs.
“I’m really glad that we could reach an amicable agreement that works out for the school and the city, and provides this for the public to use in the hours available,” Sunnyvale Councilman Dave Whittum said during the meeting.
He added that the city has seen a loss of about an acre a year of open space from the different schools building onto their sites due to the need for more space.
As it is, the new agreement will encompass 28.7 acres as opposed to the original 29.5 acres.
In May 2013, the district board voted to issue a notice to end the open space agreement with the city.
The decision came after the city council voted against the district’s plans to expand Cupertino Middle School, saying it would infringe on shared open space with the city and significantly affect neighbors.
The two parties worked together, however, and there will be a reduction in acreage with 0.3-acre between the east side of the new multi-purpose building and the eastern property line of the school and 0.5-acre between the lit ball field and Bernardo Avenue being removed.
The area next to the building was removed because it was deemed as having “insignificant recreational value” and the area off Bernardo Avenue was removed to provide for a new parking lot that had been planned to be located off Helena Drive, but was relocated by the district at the request of adjacent neighbors.
The new agreement contains an outline of where the schools have designated space on each campus that might be able to accommodate future growth.
“Overall, [this agreement] was seen as a good precedent to be set,” Henry Alexander III, chair of the parks and recreation commission, said at the meeting.
