Arts and Culture Commission - Regular Meeting

The time is 06:33PM, and I call the meeting to order. Can we have roll call, please?

Commissioner Chen is not here. Commissioner Aurora? Yes. Commissioner Panda? Yes. Vice chair Lamba?

Yes.

Chair Wang?

Present.

For the record, Commissioner Chen is absent.

Okay. Thank you.

Yes.

So the first item on the agenda is approval of minutes. The subject is approval of the 03/23/2026 arts and culture meeting minutes. The recommended action is to approve the minutes. Do we have any questions or a motion?

I can make a motion for approval.

Do we have a second? Five sec.

Sure. Oh, sorry. Is it Five seconds. Okay.

Commissioner Chen is absent. Commissioner Aurora? Aye. Commissioner Gandhi? Aye. Vice Chair Lamba?

Yes.

Chair White?

Aye.

The motion carries unanimously.

Moving on to oral communications. This portion of the meeting is reserved for persons wishing to address the commission on any matter within the jurisdiction of the commission and not on the agenda. Speakers are limited to three minutes. In most cases, state law will prohibit the commission from making any decisions with respect to a matter not on the agenda. Do we have any oral communications?

We have no speakers share.

So the next item on the agenda is item number two. But I would like to propose bringing item number four, the presentation by Tianqi Wang of Alcoholics and Academy first so that we can excuse our guests if they would like to be in touch with their agenda

item. You

need a second? Yeah. We need a second. I'll second it.

Okay.

Okay. Commissioner Chen is absent. Commissioner Aurora? Aye. Commissioner Panda? Yes. Vice chair Lamba?

Yes.

Chair Wang?

Aye.

The motion carries unanimously.

Okay. Perfect. So we'll move along to the presentation by Tianqi Wang of Calcutta Cal Color Academy on a proposal for a student led utility box beautification project. Please.

Thank you so much. Do you guys need the presentation slides?

Yep. Yep.

Oh, okay. Perfect. Beautiful.

Let me just Anyways, we'll see.

First of all, thank you for being here. Thank you for joining.

No. Thank thank you for the opportunity. I really appreciate it. Or we really appreciate it. So

all the participants are from your community, like,

of the institute? Or on which

But, yeah. On on your own.

So that's different. Yes.

Size size.

In the

bar. The

one that looks like yep. That

helps. So just let me know when you wanna go to the next

slide.

Yes, Okay. So my name is Daniel. I am one of the volunteer coordinators here at CapColor Foundation. And, this is mister Dan. He is one of our more decorated teachers, for Calcutta Academy, which is our parent company. And, also, he is the associate program, manager for the team program for our students. And we are both the co owners of this pilot project, which is the Calcutta Foundation Civic Art Leadership Program. And then next slide, please. So just a little quote, just to show, our vision and also a quote that resonates us is empowering young creators through real world art projects. And then next slide, please.

So just to give a little bit of a background, we are both from Cal Color Academy. So we are a WASC and college board certified institution and one of the most prominent youth art, education organizations in the South Bay Area. We operate six campuses mainly, some in the East Bay and some in the South. We have a student body of over 5,000 students, ages from four to 18 years old annually through a structured and comprehensive art education program supported by approximately 60, professional art educators. And just to, highlight some of our achievements, our team specific our team program specifically, we have over 800 students.

And within that student body, we have 150 of them actively pursuing, our portfolio, application to leading art and design colleges. Some to note are, like, RISD, Maryland, SCAD, so on and so forth. And in 2025, our students received 365 Scholastic art and writing awards, including over 80 gold keys, both on the regional and national level. So just a little cool fact about ourselves. And then feel free to go on the next slide.

And then within, Cal Color Academy, we have Foundation, which is our nonprofit, organization, who, our main objective is not only to empower our local students within Cappeller Academy, but also the, local art groups, or youth, groups here, in our communities, specifically in Cupertino, where we aim to, not only empower them, to apply their artistic skills in real world, experience, but also to foster their leadership, collaboration, and strong senses of civic responsibilities. We want to create, impactful opportunities for them to engage with and contribute onto their local communities through art. And then feel pretty good. And then just to, kind of explain about our civic arts leadership program, we are a student led civic art instant, initiative guided by Kefler's professional instructors such as mister Tan himself and fully supported by the Kefler Foundation where students design x and execute city approved public artworks in collaboration with the community. This program transforms traditional art education into a world leading, learning experience, empowering students to lead creative projects, work collaboratively, and contribute to public spaces in a structured professionally supervised environment.

By integrating artistic practice with leadership and civic responsibility, the program not only enhances the city's cultural landscape, but also cultivates ownership, project management, and civic engagement, enabling students to make a meaningful impact while developing experiences that support their broader academic and personal growth. And then next slide, please. So here are some of our target, target project examples. Well, in this project specifically, we're going to be, trying to beautify some, utility, boxes. But later on, if you guys have any opportunities for us, we would also like to expand on more grand and more bigger projects such as, like, public art like, public buildings, like libraries, maybe some crossroads, some buildings, so on and so forth.

So you would like to remain in contact with us, and we'll be reaching out to you guys as well, we would love the opportunity, and we would be honored. And the next and just to give a little bit of insight about our execution workflow, within our program structure, our preliminary phase would be, the concept and research in which we will identify potential public BART opportunities on inside ex conditions, then we will conduct research on locations, safeties, and community context, then initiate communication with the city and confirm the project scope and requirements. The next phase would be our design and approval phase in which we will, have student teams develop in concept, proposals based on the project themes and the site conditions. Then we will conduct internal reviews by counselor instructors, to ensure quality and feasibility. Then we will submit, our students design to the city for feedback, revision, final approvals, and any, city standards set, you guys might have.

Then our next phase would be the planning and execution phase where we will form, student teams based and assign roles based off their interest and also their, capabilities. We will help them plan timelines, materials, and budgets, and then conduct any safety trainings if applicable. And then we will prepare a site and execute paintings under professional supervision. And then the final phase would be the completion presentation where we will find, do any final checks, quality controls, and also provide any protective coatings if necessary. We will clean and restore the site to ensure public safety and visibility.

Then we will document the processes and then present the completed project to our local community, which would be. And then next. And then I'll give the call. Figure that you can

Yeah.

This part, we're gonna introduce our team structure. So, basically, we have we want to make this project to be, like, professionally and in high quality project. So we organize our team structure into three part. So first of all, we have our student leadership team to lead and oversee the whole project and work with our student project team together to complete this work. And, also, we have our supervision team to provide all the potential, like, guidance or any of the like, anything they need, and we can help them to fin to also per help them to finish the job.

So to talk about our supervision team, so all the team members is from our CalPolar professional art instructors and also our senior, operation, team members. And they all have, many years of, art teaching background and also, our project management experience. So they can, provide any of the, you know, like, technical, guidance or any of the safety training and all the, information they need to, for the students to help them to, to finish the job. And also for our student lead team, they all from our advanced level class. And also they are high schoolers.

They are junior and seniors. So they are leading their job in in different aspect. We have our project lead to overseas the whole project. And, also, we have our design lead to charge the visual development and also for the quality of the work. We also have our production lead to make sure everything on track, during the execution.

And finally, we have our, student project team. So they are all selected from our CalPolar, regular class students. So they also have mainly high schoolers, and but they have been, with CalPolar, have many years of our training. So we can make sure they have enough, like, knowledge and also, the the other skills to finish a job. So with all this put all this together, we have our team structure and to make sure all everything goes well.

Yeah. Is it again?

Thank you, Peter.

Yeah.

And just to overview, our supervision and control. So all activities are going to be led and directly supervised by experienced Calculator, staff members, such as, myself and mister Tien. We're going to maintain low, student to, staff ratio, from one staff number to five students to ensure close monitoring. And then all execution steps are going to be, staff guided and out of quality control. And then just to go briefly into safety measures and site management, we're going to be using, protective equipment.

We're going to be using high vis vests, traffic cones, masks, the spa, and so forth. And if you guys have any standards, feel free to set them our way. We'll gladly apply them. We're going to clearly define work zones with no interference to pedestrian or traffic flow. Then we're going to try to conduct during low traffic hours to minimize risks, so around from 10AM to 2PM. And then, regarding liability and compliance, all participants are going to be using or assigning liability waiver forms, and parental, consent forms if, applicable. All the activities are going to be conducted under established the safety and operational guidelines. And a Cal Poly Foundation will ensure compliance with city requirements and any safety requirements.

And

here are some of the, we have a mock up over here of some of the drone samples. So we have two locations that we're trying to propose for. One would be located on Dienza Boulevard in Pacifica. The other would be on Dienza Boulevard in Bollinger. And then during the design process, our theme is going to be youthful perspectives on nature and technology, which kinda coincides with, I feel, the vision for Cupertino.

Throughout the since this is a preliminary, example, and not the final one, we're going to be in contact with, the corresponding individuals regarding any, like, design processes or anything like that. And then regarding the creative process, I want to reiterate that they are going to be student led. And then regarding the materials, all the costs will be covered by the Kaltura Foundation. And just to go kind of briefly into what we're going to be using, we're going to be using UV resistant, lightfast expeller paint, anti graphite coating, and any safety equipment. And our proposal date, would be from June 22 to the twenty sixth. The next one, please.

Sorry to interrupt. I believe commissioner Chen just joined the meeting. Commissioner Chen, is that you? It looks like we're having a technical issue. Go ahead and continue. And

just give a brief overview of what we said. In terms for a city partnership, we're asking if the city of Cupertino can provide real world public art opportunities for our program. And in return, we will enhance public spaces and strengthen community identity and then create a platform for our program, for meaningful youth engagement. And then Cal Color Foundation will provide professional artistic guidance and project, supervision. We will also, fully sponsor any resources and operational support, and we will also offer structured programs with verified volunteer service credit for the individuals that participate.

In regards for the students, we will give them hands on experience with real world, creative projects, develop their leadership collaboration and civic awareness, and help them contribute meaningfully to their community through art. That's pretty much it. If you have any questions, feel free to send them our way. But thank you so much for having us.

Thank you. Very nice. So

next, we're going to go around the room for the commissioners to ask any technical or clarifying questions. Please keep this as questions only. Then we will open it up for public comment. And then lastly, we'll have a discussion among the commissioners. So first and in the interest of time, if you could please limit your your questions to maybe the the top two, one or two on your mind. Can we start with you? Thank you. Sure.

I have two questions. One is

Yes, sir.

Most of their students, are they in the South Bay and Cupertino? What's the criteria?

For sorry. Go ahead.

Oh, for our student bases, we actually do have a couple of locations. But for this project in specific, they will be Cupertino based.

Okay. And quick second question. You have your students have done utility boxes in the past or your organization?

I think for this part, this is the first time to do the utility box, but they do sound like a mural painting project before in the public.

Perfect. Thank you so much. Thank you.

Sorry to interrupt again. I think commissioner Chen. Commissioner Chen, you're unmuted.

Yeah. I'm here. Actually Can you hear me? I have your unmute. Right?

Real quickly.

Can you hear me?

Yes. We can hear you.

Okay. Great. I just Yeah. Okay.

Before we proceed, chair, vice chair, and commissioners, and members of the public, commissioner Chen is participating remotely this evening. We have not heard from any members of the public that they plan to participate in tonight's meeting from commissioner Chen's remote location. Commissioner Chen, are you at Building 5105 Yangcheng, Ganghao Garden, Hayden District in Beijing, China?

Yes. Can

you confirm that you posted the agenda at your location?

Yes. The location in Beijing, China.

Are there any individuals over the age of 18 with you? And has anyone indicated to you that they intend to make public comment or address the commission?

No. Just myself here. Okay.

I'll rely on you to notify me if any member of the public wishes to speak from your location.

I know that's myself.

K. Thank you.

Not a problem, Eureka.

K. You can continue.

Okay. Well, since commissioner Chen is already unmuted, commissioner Chen, do you have any questions on the presentation?

I can see the pictures, but I prefer not too colorful to, obviously, to see on the street. You know, we already saw some samples along the Deanda College, Deanda Boulevard, and some area. I prefer any painting to harmony, to match the surrounding area, not to actually to see the colorful box. That's my comment.

Thank you, commissioner Chan. Moving on. Sure. Commissioner.

So to color the design to implement, do you have a theme in mind, or what how does it work out? What do you choose? How do you decide what to what is to be made then?

Right now, we have our team as combining like, based on our research on the local area, which is. So we wanna use the technology and tech technology and nature as a as a theme. So that's where we start. But right now, it's just a theme and concept. And also color, I think we've probably we may use some color. And, also, we do research about, like, the heat. Right? The yeah.

Yeah. So I I some preliminary research, and I found out that some cities actually don't or restrict people from using dumpster flood, especially with the utility boxes in case that they overheat. So we're going to be using mainly, lighter colors and more vibrant colors.

Awesome. My second question would be, you just mentioned pricing, but is there a standard range that we're always looking forward for from Citi for this production? Because I know you just mentioned, but there was no details on it.

We are going to be covering all the costs. So we're we're asking nothing from the city except for our permissions.

Thank you.

Yeah. Thank you. Yeah. I appreciate you coming, and thank you for presenting. I really appreciate that you are working with students to promote art and the and the connection with the community. That's really, really positive for our youth. My question is Cal Cal Color Academy, is that a nonprofit organization?

It's a for profit organization, but we have a nonprofit as well on under under Calcutta.

Okay. Is that the foundation then? Yes. That would be the foundation. Okay. One more question. Have you seen that in Cupertino, there's been a previous project for the utility boxes in the past. I don't know. I think it was some years ago. So I don't know how many utility boxes are still Available. Available.

Yes. I think the the the two we're showing in the pictures, we find that they're empty.

Yeah. That may be.

And then there are a lot of yes. There are a lot of being already being painted. Yeah. I I know there last summer, they also have some events about this utility box. Yes. Maybe Maybe some research.

But may I have an additional question? Yeah. So talking about other community projects, what you said, that's what you would like in return, but, yeah, you like the opportunity. Are those that paid projects? Would some would a city have to commission or an organization would commission you to paint, for example, if it's

a library ball or something like that?

Open for any option today.

Oh, any option. Oh, that's great. Okay. Okay. Thank you very much.

No problem.

Thank you.

That was it.

Okay. Yeah. First of all, I wanted to say thank you so much for sharing this presentation and coming here to speak with us. It's clear that you put a lot of thought into this, so it's really great to see. My first question is what examples or can you give a couple examples of related projects that you've completed in the past? What cities have you worked with? Montemi?

Yeah. We we worked on a, like, a arrow painting at Montemi, but I it's in our own location. It's a, like, a large wall, like, the front. So we have to photo it actually with us. Want to oh, you you we can show you this.

Maybe it's off. Yeah.

It's offline. It's offline. Email. Yes. We we have couple of those kind of, like, mirror painting before, but that is all all based on our own locations. Yes.

So in terms of okay. So in terms of art pieces on public property, haven't executed that yet. Correct. Perfect. And then my second question well, actually, my second question was going to be, what have what has been some challenges or learnings from previous executions of projects like this, but it sounds like you this would be your first public property execution. Okay. Understood. Thank you. I believe those were questions from around the room from the commissioners. I want to open it up for public comment. Do we have any speakers for public comment?

We have no speakers, chair.

Okay. The last step, now I'm going to open it up for a discussion among the commission. Please feel free to share your thoughts on the presentation and or how you can see this moving forward.

Sure. Talking about equality, I mean, this given a project of fusion, like, at an institute, it will be limited to some students, their students. But if you open up the public, so all corporate, you know, children can try their luck, which has been the case in past. We had a contest, and the winner paints the box. Usually, he put all that apart from all your experiences.

So one negative would be, here, we limit to one institute, whereas we have issue opening to all children. But having said that, the positive side is the responsibility, the accountability, and the honest lies on one group, and it will be taken properly. We'll have a point of contact to ask if things are right or wrong. Either ways, we have somebody to ask to take the ownership. They have talked about compliance, safety. So everything all in all, that sounds very inviting appealing.

Are able to execute the project. We're not limiting it just to our students.

Awesome. So when they join, are they charged? No. Oh, perfect. That that's also the issue then. Because and are we willing to open this to the city?

Correct.

Oh, so that's even better. Thank

you. No problem.

Sorry about that.

Sure. Could be clarified.

How do you publicize to the public? Like, how would students who are not currently members of your foundation hear about this opportunity?

We haven't quite thought about that yet, to be honest. But, well, giving maybe some thought, maybe putting posters around from the to the, like, local businesses or cities or, like yeah. We also have, well, some social media that we could, post, both on our, local Catcaller Academy, like, social medias as well as, Catcaller volunteer, social media stuff on.

The other I have a

question, but I don't know if anyone else of us would know the answer. How was this done in the past for that other utility boxes?

I think it was done as a council work program item. That's my understanding. And I think there might have been some some monies from the city to have it done, less than the process for which the Article Commission reviewed the actual design prior to a a utility box. I'm not not quite sure. One of the questions there, I'm I'm thinking about, well, who actually manages utility box? You guys

so, like, step number one,

is it PG and E? Is it, you know, who has the discretion? See, you might not even have discretion over it. You know? So that's I could

be wrong. Yep. Right. Oh, I I did.

So I that's those are definite questions that I can ask. Let me you know, I could what I would suggest, if you guys can send me some write ups, what you wanna do. It's only the presentation. I'll call the board's director and see what they think. What they think is the or does city. Do see move off of this? I I don't know the process. I guess, but I guess I guess Right. Don't know the process. So

That's where I was headed, which is is this within the scope of this commission? Now, the highest level, it should be because it is public art. On the other hand, it's not explicitly stated in the charter anyway. So either way I mean, we could approve or not approve or whatever. What does that mean? So what John is recommending is right on, which is get the appropriate city agency involved for execution of the process. We can give our opinions and comments.

So so sure. There might be a link on the web page that goes to the that's still available. And that's that.

Yeah. Especially because we don't know two phones each one. Could be AT and T with their fibers, could be PG and T.

Yeah.

I definitely agree with everything that has been shared so far. That's kind of what I was getting at when I asked if you have experience working with other municipalities because every municipality is different. And, I mean, figuring out the process is is a big part of the work. But I do think the proposal that you put together is incredibly compelling. I think, at least speaking for myself and hopefully some of my fellow commissioners as well, I think it's a huge asset to the city if we can empower our youth and also create a currently blank slate more beautiful.

I think there's it's only positive for our city. So I personally would love to see this move forward. I think the the task at hand is really to see how we can help you execute on that. Thank you. So, yeah, I think

I have

a ahead.

Tell me.

Please.

Before you close the discussion. Okay. So when I had seen even before you came and I had seen the utility boxes and painted, I had some concerns. And at that time, I was not even in arts and culture for me, sure, because first of I think it's electrical. I was concerned about the safety of students and just kind of the process around it.

It's a little bit also worth effort, but also because it's electrical. I, you know, I had some safety concerns. Obviously, it's been done it's been done with city authority and the process. So I'm sure there is something in place for that, and we've talked about it. Still, on the other hand, and that's what triggered my question to you, is that the most relevant opportunity or the blank space that we have in the city where we have at least I have some there could be concerns on ownership, on safety, also a little bit on the harmony in the in the environment.

Are there other places where a community will have more benefit by standing and looking at what it is and drawing more benefit from all the effort that will go from your students, the cost, also the staff time. Right? So that's a little bit my thought process is where is our most value valued opportunity. You know, in our city, we have done art in

Oh, some

other places.

So I don't want to derail it, but just want to kind of still give it a thought as we are looking into the process, as each of us commissioners may even think about how to get the best value all community to involve your leadership and to get the best outcome. That's my thought. Yes. My thought.

Thank you. Thank you, guys. I completely agree with your your thought. Actually, this is why, like, when we do the research, we actually look for, like, many different, like, cities website and look for this kind of, like, opportunity and chance. And one of the result is, like, the, like, some like, website that shows, like, utility box is open for some, like, a chance for us to apply for it.

Otherwise, probably, at the other chance, they might also put post on the on the web to just tell the public saying, well, we have this project. Any artist too willing to do it. Right? And also, on in the other hand, I think utility box is a small thing. And then it's we don't have since we don't have, like, much experience, so I think good to start with. And then it's sort of very easy to control. So for for many aspect, I think that's a good start. But we do really want to do more and also more valuable project. If if we can make the connection and then maybe let us know where other places we can work with, that will be great in the future. Yes.

Thank you.

Sorry to interrupt. Commissioner Chen, you have your hand raised. Would you like to make a comment?

No. No comment so far.

K. I

So for the key first. So it's from any random art. If you can connect with the city and do the mission mission and vision of our place, What do we stand for? And if it can inspire people who are watching, who come and pass by, if it makes sense to all the residents of something that is very important to our vision, to the city, that would be very helpful.

Definitely. That's why we kind of, like, have a time for for us to communicate with the city to to develop state for uniform. Yes.

So in the interest of time, I'd like to wrap up this discussion. I'm curious. So I I think we already, at least through discussion, decided that a logical next step would be for for John to reach out to the relevant staff members to understand how we could execute on this. It is does that kind of capture your thoughts? I guess what I'm asking is whether or not there would be value in us as commissioners to, I guess, formalize our opinion or our recommendation in a motion.

Sure.

So what is the is it approval or suggestion? What are we giving? Just to clarify.

Because my understanding is we don't have approval authority on this. Right? I mean, explanation needs to be done. However, I think as a commission, because this topic is related to our city, we could provide a unified recommendation that we think this is something that we would like staff to investigate.

Sure. May I make

Please. Go ahead.

May I make a motion? So based on what I heard from all our commissioners and and the chairperson, I want to make a motion to request staff to explore the part process of having Cal Color Academy or a similar organization take on the responsibility of of providing art on the utility boxes in the city of. Yeah.

I would add something to the recommendation for the the motion. So having said that, we want to request with the condition that the safety be taken care of, that the team should be matching our city's vision. The color palette, the thought process, the artistic taste should match what is around. It cannot be totally drastically different from we what we already have. It has to gel with it, with the people and our mission. And lastly, like, we should have opportunity given to all the children of. That's

Nancy, do you feel like

May may I ask may I respond to it? It was my motion. So Sure. May I respond to it? Yeah. So I I totally agree on the safety. All the other items, I agree with you totally, but I don't think that's for staff to figure out. That is something the Arts and Culture Commission would be, I think, very capable to give an input and a follow-up piece. Sure. That's what I I Absolutely. So I can amend my motion if you like.

Okay. So we're amending the motion to include with the condition that the safety be taken care of and that it matches the city vision while dealing with the people and the mission to give to all the children of Cupertino?

That's

what I got. Does that sound right? Yes.

I think I I mean, just I'm sure you can wordsmith it, but I think the last point on the children specifically that this opportunity open to any student in Cupertino. Yeah. Sure. Okay. I second.

Alright. Commissioner Chen?

Uh-huh. Yeah. I like to give priority to our Cupertino residents' students.

I think you can go on.

Priority. Yeah. I want to priority for Cupertino residents. I heard the academy with the many students from all over the area. So I prefer the Cupertino as students as a priority to do the artwork on our own street.

And would you still like to go to a vote on the amended motion?

Sorry. I was

Yeah. Okay. I didn't hear.

Yeah. Yeah. Yeah.

Commissioner Aurora? Aye. Commissioner Panda? Yes. Vice chair Lambda?

Yes.

Chair Wang?

Aye.

Motion carries unanimously.

The vote. Excellent. Thank you so much. Thank you so much. That was very well thoughtful. Appreciate it.

Thank you so much for your help.

Okay. Thank you. Please feel free to stick around if you would like, but no obligation.

Okay.

Thank you. Alright. Moving on to the next item on the agenda. Item number two, architectural and site approval to consider a public art installation for Bianca Way Townhomes. Applicant, mister Leon Hu, property owner. Location, etcetera. Bianchi Way.

You're gonna read all the numbers?

10,000. The recommended action. Staff recommends that the Arts and Culture Commission approve the public art application for Bianchi Way townhomes subject to conditions of the draft resolution. Yes.

Yeah. Jean Marc here. Senior manager, community development department. I wanted just, again, with no content. She was the project manager for the development as well as this ASA. Public arches as you recall. This was first presented March at the March 23 ACC meeting. The client commission I'm sorry. Excuse me. The arts and culture commission did have some comments and suggested some revisions to the RPs.

So tonight, the applicant has ready as well as staff ready to present those modifications in response to the ACC's motion. And not much, but, again, recommendations. And his recommendation is that the ACC act on this and approve the the project that's presented. And I will move to miss Condon to present the ASN.

Good evening, chair, vice chair, commissioners. I'm Stan O'Connor, an associate planner here with. So we are here to revisit the public art installation at the Bianchi Townhomes Develop. Just a little background on this. The applicant did process or is processing an architectural set approval application to consider the public art installation at the site of 170, 172, 170 174, 176, 178, 107181 Hundred 82. This

is a

The Arts and Culture Commission asked the applicant team to return at a letter later date to address the potential safety concern concerns of the art piece. This included to address potential safety concerns with sharp tips near the limb and changing the tilt or rounding the edges were a couple of the recommendations, to reduce the accessibility of the pedestal, and to bring to the commission more evidence on the fabrication, construction made by the select and construction made by the selected builder. More examples of sculptures made by the selected builder. The public art piece is located at the northwest corner of the site. This is near the public sidewalk and located within the landscape front setback of the development.

The creator, Amelia Tang, she has incorporated some of the recommendations made by the commission. She is here to talk further in more detail about those modifications, the fabrication, and the installation that will occur on-site. The modified design has been found consistent with the design criteria of the Cupertino chapter 19 going for eight. Staff recommends that the commission approve the public art application subject to the permissions of the draft resolution. And if there are no questions from the commissioners, then I can also bring up Annelia's presentation.

Go ahead.

Good evening, everyone. Once again, my name is Melia Tang, and I'm the artist for this piece. Just quickly quick run through of what the inspiration was. It was inspiration by my dance background at this at Cupertino and in the local South Bay. And it is inspired by a dancer's mood called at Barabas, hence the title of the name.

And from what we've we did make a couple adjustments based on what your recommendations for in terms of this sculpture. And also, we did have, like, a couple adjustments on the material side just to quickly reintroduce those. Then the material last time we did, like, a a brushed steel. We have has changed it to a mirrored stainless steel. And we have also clarified that the base is a reinforced concrete with but then it would be covered with marble tile marble tiling.

From last time, the base was, like, around two by two. We have expanded it to a four by four base. It is no longer a full two foot height base, but more of a one foot high base altogether.

Slide these.

This is just bigger pictures for comparisons of the old sculpture model and then also the new one. We have increased the base so that is less accessible to on each of the size of the of the square footage of the base so that's less accessible. It creates more boundaries so that you don't really step into where the sculpture is. We have also and also pre proportioned the sculpture itself so that the limbs are overall higher than what was displayed before. I've also made a couple changes.

We have added the name plate when I pressed it last time. I currently have it on this bottom corner of one of the face that is still bigger. I have here the calculations. Calculation m weights were done by both the MBA consultants, And, also, we have gotten a confirmation for weights from our applicator finest. And as for with installer and the fabricator, do have examples of our sculptures for one.

For the install, we are working with a tiger construction. And then we here have two sculptures by installed by his team. One at Dublin, Alfred Center and located in Dublin, California, and another in Fremont, Times Square.

And then

we also do have examples of fabric fabrications of sculptures from the fabricator itself. They do have a variety of material they work with. So they do have marble, bronze, and and also stainless steel.

Thank you so much for the updated presentation. Similar as the last item, I'll go around the room and call on commissioners to ask any technical or clarifying questions first. Please limit it to one or two at most, starting with vice chair management.

No questions?

Do you mind that over? I lose my

Oh, yeah. Of course.

Hearing aid today.

Please. Please. Please.

Yeah. Sure. Yeah.

No questions.

Okay. Any questions, commissioner Amanda?

Just one. Does it make any difference to the pricing of the additional new one that we update it?

Pricing wise, it will be the same.

As you

see the pre previous presentation, we run up the tip the tips to avoid, you know, you know, the previous safety concerns. And, also, we upgrade the base from two by two to four by four. The two by two support, you know, 80 parts, and the four by four support up to 250 parts. So, you know, this three times is more than required. The actual sculpture is about 72 parts.

Alright? So, yeah, we make those corrections. And in the same in the same time, you know, if if you can see, you know, from the website, the fabricator, they they they have, you know, all five five star reviews from their past customers. Zero complaints. Zero complaint. They deliver, you know, the finest quality products, you know, to the consumers. Alright? And the for the installation, the this I'm working with Pentagon Construction to do the installation. You know? They are highly qualified, you know, since they got, you know, over a 100 project done in Bay Area.

Alright. They build commercial, residential, you know, the old housing probably have the base foundation. And the framing, roofing is now facing and building on the foundation. So this four by four, you know, will be, you know, you know, they are highly qualified, you know, to do the installation for for me. And very I'm open you know, I'm thank you all for your time and continue in, you know, partnership in bringing my project alive. I'm welcome to any question you may have.

First of all, we really appreciate your patience. I know it is very hard when things get delayed, But we really appreciate that you've been so patient with us and so encouraging. We love the design. And now that the safety is in place, this is a perfect that, you know, one can see in the society of the community. So, really, kudos to your patience and the hard work you have put. Lovely design. Thank you.

Okay. Any comments, miss Nora?

Yeah. Thank you very much for taking our recommendations as also commissioner Panda, and I have reviewed it before coming. You've got the clearance of minimum. I think it's already four and a half feet to the lowest limb that clears what was my height? No. But

it clears all children.

So so that's that's that's that's that's really good. And we see the sharpness has been smoothed out. We all had always liked the design, the theme on the dance. So, yeah, for me, this is really good, and it looks beautiful. Also, I I like the marble, the change of it gives a different finish. So thank you for doing that. My only question is, what is written on the on the on the on the plan? What what would be written?

That's her name. Yeah. Local artist.

Has And also the title? Yes.

It'll have the title. It'll have the name and also the date. I know it's a bit small. Right?

Can we say anything about the dance, or or is it too much? Because if if not everyone knows what is

Barbas.

Barbas. Libre. Oh, no. But I just That's it. It's it's I'm just curious because it's such a beautiful description. So Yeah. Of course, your name and the team, if that's there, both are even like the library. It's it's really nice. Very nice very nice title. So thank you very much.

Thank you, ma'am.

K. Commissioner Chen, do you have any clarifying questions?

No. Sounds like it's getting better, so I don't have any other options.

Okay. And then, yeah, from me, no no additional

Thank you. No.

I really appreciate you all for taking our feedback and making the adjustments from our last meeting.

Thank you.

Okay?

Recommendation, just not question. Mhmm. But my name, your name, name, name, name, name, your And and, no, that's such a great thing that you're name, producing. So your name should also go then. That's humbleness. That's your humbleness.

Alright. Thank you for your comment. Yeah.

Okay. Now I'd like to open it for public comment. Do we have any people wishing to speak?

We have no speakers. Okay.

Now I'll bring it back to the commission for a discussion and a motion.

I can

suggest start?

Yeah. I can suggest a motion because all our requests have been complied to. I'll go ahead and request that it just be approved. I can second it.

I guess, in terms of the wording, should it be that, basically, we follow accept the recommended action as listed in the agenda.

Yes, sir. And even with the as you know, even with the motion on the table in a second, we still have a discussion on that. Okay. Good job. Any discussions? I love it.

We love yeah. We we already love the design. It was just a safety concern. They they have it dressed beautifully.

Okay. Alright. Thanks to you all.

Okay. Can we bring it to a vote?

Sure. Commissioner Chen?

Yeah. I agree.

Commissioner Aurora? Commissioner Ganda? Yes. Vice Chair Lamba?

Yes.

Chair White?

Aye.

Motion carries unanimously. Excellent. Congratulations. And

thank you very much. Yeah. Thank you. It's a party. Party. It's going to look beautiful. Yeah.

We'll take go and take pictures, selfies, and try to Okay.

Thank you. Thank you. You

for the presentation, and thank you.

Alrighty.

Have a

great evening.

Congratulations.

Thank you.

What is it? Do we need a quick break, or are we good to keep on going?

I'm good.

A Lot of people sitting

in the house.

Yeah. It's nice

The back dates? Unchecked.

Back dates?

Do you know who's brown bag that is? That's mine.

Oh, good. I wouldn't present it. It's all.

Okay. Thank you all for being here. We're we're honored to have you join us today. Moving on to agenda item number three, architectural and site approval ASA twenty twenty six zero zero seven to consider a public art installation for Valencia Townhomes. Applicant, Summerhill Homes LLC.

Location, two zero eight three zero Stevens Creek Boulevard, APN three five nine zero eight zero three one. The recommended action, staff recommends that the Arts and Culture Commission approves a public art public art application for Summer Hills Valencia townhomes subject to conditions of the draft resolution.

Right. John Mark's here again. But here, love to introduce Amy Sukiyama, senior plan, development department. She was a positive subdivision as well. She's a project say, which some of the last Mhmm. With the last item was conditional approval to provide site. This project, as far as long as the other one, this is the recent initiative.

Oh, yeah.

So they're pretty early on with the process, so Alright.

And we love that you brought this to the commission at this stage.

That's you all. Alright.

As John mentioned, I'm a senior planner with City of Cupertino, and I was the original project planner for this. Currently, Seminole Homes, the applicant for the original development, is requesting an ASA to consider their public art installation. As noted, it is the Valencia Townhomes development, and it's just right over there on Stevens Creek at the old Staples site. And as you all, I'm sure, we do require public art when there is development of greater than 10,000 square feet. Least they are proposing 59 new townhomes, each about 300 square feet.

So roughly 36,000 square feet of development overall, and that was approved by our city council on 07/01/2025. Okay. And here, you can see just a general site plan. The applicant has proposed a public art plaza located in the Upper Northeastern corner, outlined in red here. And then the location of the public art is identified by the yellow star.

And here's just a quick preview of what that public art will be. I'll allow the artist and the applicant to kinda give you a more in-depth overview. And so we do require 1% of the project construction value for this project. The construction value is $243,000,000. So they are proposing a, I believe, two sorry.

24.3. Goodness gracious, Sammy. $24,300,000, and they are proposing a 243, roughly, thousand dollar valued. We have reviewed this. We believe that it meets the review criteria, criteria, and that it is integrated with the landscape and architecture on the site. It is very easily visible from the public right of way. They, in fact, had planned to remove a couple of street trees to ensure that can see it from their vehicles. They're made of permanent materials. It's a local artist. Again, I'll be more in-depth.

You can hear that later. And it will incorporate a. And so with that, we are recommending that you approve this public art as it's proposed. And I will hand it over to the applicant's team so they can give you, again, a more in-depth review of the project.

Sorry to interrupt. At some point, will you be going over the draft resolution?

I absolutely can. Yeah.

But were you planning this later or do not

Well, typically, we haven't gone through. We never presented the resolution. The commission's approval are pretty much the same throughout the whole, unless the commission wants to add further commissions themselves, such as design modifications. Like, this commission was done a few years ago. But if you'd like to have a we can we can show the I mean, the resolution was attached to the agenda path. Correct? So if you want the initial approval, you wanna go over it, or you want Henry to project the conditions of approval, that's fine.

Maybe why don't we just start with the presentation? I'll pull it up because I'm curious, but please feel free.

Be presenting.

Oh, I will share yours.

You should be able to.

Thank you so much. I mean, you just kinda did a lot of my work for me, so that was wonderful. Good evening, commissioners. So happy to be here. My name is Chandra Cerrito, and I'm a public art adviser.

I've been working with Summerhill. A couple of representatives are here today to first envision where art could could be, although they had made a lot of progress by the time I came on board, so that was great. And then as you'll see, we had a process to select an artist, and I've been helping facilitate the process of coming up with the design, working with the artist. And I'm sorry that the artist couldn't be here in person today, but Anna from Wahhaus will be presenting after my short introduction. So as Emmy said, this is quite an extensive development project.

There are 59 for sale townhomes that will be within eight Mediterranean style buildings, and that is all, within a landscaped site that's, 2.97 acres. So it's quite large. And the first homes are anticipated to be complete in the 2027. So you can go forward. I just actually did this bit of the intro.

So and, this is just an aerial view to give you a sense of where this is in the city, not far away, and, somewhat close to De Anza College. So we'll move on to the next. I'm gonna keep my part brief so Anna has more time. These are just some photos of the area to give you a sense of the site and its surroundings, and we can move on to the next. And this is a site plan, which you saw a version in Andy's Andy's presentation.

Welcome to the next. And here we have, again, a site plan that's highlighted with the actual location of the art, and that's in this plaza that's at the Northeast Corner of the project, which has had been identified as a very likely location for for public art by the time I got there because Summerhill and their landscape architect really gave a lot of thought to that. So this area is, as Emmy said, very visible to the general public given, you know, all the traffic that goes by in Stevens Creek Boulevard. It also has a pedestrian walkway and is fully accessible to, the general public. So that's wonderful.

Another bonus is the adjacent site right next to the plaza has a sort of, you know, simply landscaped area. So instead of fully blocking off this plaza, the Summerhill kind of pulled back the fence between them. So there's kind of a nice flow between this new plaza and the sort of landscaped area that's next to it. Kind of a simple

understand the location. I'm really curious. That's a you said near De Anza. So is it, like, towards the freeway or where exactly is this someone? They'll go back to

It's only a target. The goal is the target.

Yeah. So

Steven Street.

Steven Street target.

Where Pizza Hut and Staples are registered.

Oh, that's like, like Right

here right now? Yes. Okay.

Just across.

Oh.

Oh, yeah. Old Staples.

But it's a Staples. Staples. Staples. That is that content? The

Staples? Oh,

all the all

all the

all all all

stable state. It's content?

All

So we'll go to the next slide. And I'm just gonna tell you briefly how we got to this point. So next slide, please. So as part of this process to identify an artist for the project, the summer team, Summerhill team, and I, including their landscape architect, reviewed 13 artists who we thought were capable or you know, this is my field, so I I have a lot of network of artists. Those who really have the experience and sort of the the approach that would be appropriate for a project like this. We also really focused on local artists, meaning those from the Bay Area. So among those

This is one. It's Bay Area, not Cupertino. It is open. Yes. And the final artist, where does it come from?

Sebastopol and also they had a studio in Oakland for a long time. So North Bay and East Bay.

Oh, they're two artists? It's one artist team,

and they have two locations, studio and residence where they also make art. So Okay. So Oakland and Oakland and Sebastopol. Yeah.

I guess as a order of clarification, I believe there's a dedicated section for questions after the presentation. Questions. Yes.

I think you said formality.

I don't plan to go into

the we should we

should adhere the formality. So we interviewed three of those finalists, and Wow House, the two artists team, was unanimously selected. They have incredible amount of experience, The sort of aesthetic and their interest in really being very site specific, site responsive, really tuning each work to the place was very much what we're looking So if you go to the next slide, please. So just a little background about WOW House. They were founded in 1997, and they're a transdisciplinary art and design team.

And they're based in the San Francisco Bay Area, specifically Sebastopol, with the studio for a long time in Oakland. It's a collaboration between Scott Constable and Anna Osteris Constable, who you'll hear from soon. And they have ex extensive experience creating site responsive public art. So this is very much in their wheelhouse. Their work explores cultural, historical, and ecological factors that shape a sense of place.

And these are just four of their many projects that you'll see on their resume from the next page are very extensive. So they have completed over 30 public art commissions throughout The United States, here in California, of course, many of them, but also in Colorado, Tennessee, Massachusetts, Wisconsin, Washington State, New Jersey, North Carolina, and Ohio. And next. And Anna earned her Bachelor of Fine Arts from the University of Massachusetts, and Scott earned a BFA in sculpture from RISD. And with that, I'm very happy to turn it over to Anna on Zoom who will introduce their proposed project. Thank you.

Good evening, everybody. You can hear

me? Yes.

Great. I'm so sorry not to be there in person. It was a very unexpected last minute development, and we apologize, but I'm very happy to be here via Zoom. Thank goodness for Zoom. And, my partner, Scott Constable, is part of the artist duo of Wowhouse. That's what we go by as the as the as the studio name. My name is Anna, and my husband Scott is my partner in the artist duo of Wowhouse. I'm gonna just say next as we move along here. Next. We are thrilled about this project.

Honestly, the inspiration behind the artwork was the history and culture of Cupertino. And when we started doing research, which we always do with our site specific work, we dug in and we, you know, we're very inspired by the cherry blossom orchards in the region historically. And then also hit upon the fact that, of course, cherry blossoms, for those of you who may know, they widely symbolize prosperity, good fortune, renewal, community, and the beauty of life and nature in many cultures. So there was a beautiful resonance there between the history and culture in a specific way and then in a more generalized way, a symbol of optimism and positivity that really embodies to to us a lot of what Cupertino is about. So that was our background research for the artwork.

And as you can see here, it is a landmark artwork. It's highly visible from Stevens Creek Boulevard and, both day and night. So I'm gonna move through and share a little bit more with you about it. Next. I think I just said most of what was there, but I can tell you that the material is Corten steel, and and a exterior grade polymer with LED lighting.

And let me think if there's anything else here that you need to know. I think that does also, of course, it's both beautiful, but very low maintenance and highly durable. Having done this work for over twenty five years, we have a tremendous amount of experience in terms of thinking about the pragmatic aspects of design for public spaces as well. Next. This is an example of daytime, nighttime experiences of the artwork. Next. The dimensions. There will be a footing engineered by a structural engineer, a licensed structural engineer. That is still TBD.

So this

is not the actual rendering of the footing, but there will be one. All of our artwork work we work with a licensed structural engineer, and then these are the overall dimensions. And as you can see, the lowest flower is about nine feet from the ground, and there will be flowers surrounding the artwork as well. Next. Corten steel, if you're not familiar with it, is a beautiful material very often used in sculpture.

It it is a has has a a beautiful quality to it. It's hard to describe, and I'm disappointed I couldn't bring you the sample today. But it has a those of you who do know it love it, and those of you who don't will learn to love it because it's really a gorgeous, rich, colored material of of metal and very highly durable exterior grade material, time honored sculpture material. Next. And then the blossoms, this is rather a detailed illustration of how they'll be assembled, but they will be using we'll be using a a a highly durable exterior grade alkyd enamel paint over stainless steel framing.

There's custom hardware on all of the flowers, and then there's LED lighting integrated into the pieces as well. So each of these is a beautiful artwork onto themselves, and then they combine into this graceful composition. I'm gonna give you just a minute to take a look at that just to see how it's made.

Next.

Next now. Thanks. So, again, this is the polymer material, exterior grade polymer. It's three form is a company that's very respected, makes this exterior grade material, and there are quite a few sculptures in the there's actually, the bus stops in San Francisco feature this material, and there was just one done at the San Francisco Port that is also the same material. So it's a very consistent, durable medium for this artwork.

Next. And this is the assembly structure, which is probably getting a little too into the into the weeds, but you can get a sense of the fact that the fabricator we work with is very respected and has a great sense of engineering, and we've worked with him on developing this. And we're actually gonna be prototyping and testing all of the structures related to this particular armature structure. There's a thin rubber gasket between the metal and the polymer, polymer, and this is the fabrication method. Next.

You can get a sense of how you would encounter the artwork on the streetscape. And what's wonderful is it works on a human scale. One of the things we're looking for with our work, for me at least, is looking for it to work on a human scale for people walking by on the street and also at a street based level going by. And this really achieves both of those goals. And so it has that sort of intimacy when you get up close. It'll feel it will be warm and welcoming, but at a distance, it's always striking and iconic. And that's one of the key features for me of a successful public sculpture in a situation like this. Next. Site integration and identifying plaque.

Next.

We worked very closely with the landscape architects on this, and that is, I think, a really key feature of our work and also a key thing that interested us about this project because it's beautifully landscaped. And so we worked everything from thinking about the paving formation, which was custom designed around the artwork itself into this beautiful circular pattern, to the plantings, which all complement the color palette, as you can see. So this was all very thoughtfully, and this this evolved. At the outset, this is not what the design looked like. But in response to thinking about that particular artwork, we were able to collaborate and, I think, really maximize the impact of both the artwork and complement the landscaping in a in a really wonderful way.

This is one of the things that we do regularly, but it was very successful in this case, and we're very pleased with the results. These are the plantings here that you can see that'll be in the planting plan, and the sculpture is in that circular red circle there. And the paving itself is concrete pavers that are set in the circular pattern. There's a very high sense of quality to all the materials. They all work together beautifully, the sculpture, the paving, the plantings.

Next. This gives you a more close-up view of the actual sculpture itself and its relationship to Stevens Creek Boulevard and the landscaping there. The again, the artwork is in the circular space. Next. This is identification plaque, location, and, I I heard your discussion about identification plaques before.

In this situation, we would have the name, the date, the medium, and there would be a narrative, a short narrative, sentence or two that describes the underlying concept that I shared with you related to both the agricultural history of the region with the cherry orchards and then also the symbolism of the cherry blossom, which adds, I think, a depth of of understanding for folks going by an appreciation for the underlying concept of the artwork, even though it'll work without knowing any of that. That's also important too. You might not know, but if you do know, it adds it adds depth to the experience. And you could see around there the circular paving. It's really quite elegant design.

Next. This is the plaque itself. So here we have the narrative description, our names, and then the title and the medium. This is a highly durable cast aluminum plaque that will be integrated that'll be basically in with the plantings, which is a very typical method of integrating identification in landscape. Next.

Oh, maintenance plan. Let's see. I'm just trying to double check here what we're looking at related to the details that you'd wanna know. Well, we can tell you the fabricator. Again, Healer Metalcraft, very respected fabricator who we've worked with in the past and has does public sculpture nationwide.

The art lighting will be specify the specifying the specific LED, TBD, and then the basic materials that I shared with you before, the weathering steel, polymer, stainless, exterior grade paint, and LED lighting. Next. So the key thing out of any maintenance plan is, you know, often what not to do. So we really specifically say no chemicals, no harsh sprays, no harsh brushes, and then we specify specific materials that should be used. But I think it's actually really key that in this case, those are the really the things.

When something's well designed to be highly durable and low maintenance, really, it should in this case, we just wash it off with a brush of water and a soft cloth. That's really the key main maintenance for it. So the details are here, but I'm not sure we're gonna take the time for that. So let's keep moving, and we can go into that if you need to. The estimated schedule, we're on schedule happily, and the goal is to have the artwork done in time for the opening of the first homes.

And we are well known for being on schedule and within budget working with a lot of developers in the Bay Area, and we really appreciate and respect the importance of schedule and organization and communications. And your committee is clearly very, accomplished. So we're it's an honor to work with people like you because it's clear you know what you're doing. So this is the schedule, and that would mean something, I'm sure, to everyone. Next. Thank you. That's it.

Very good. Thank you so much for the presentation. Now I'll open it up to the commissioners for any questions. Let's go in the same order as last time. Vice chair.

Thank you.

And, yeah, let's try to limit it to three questions. It's up to three questions per commissioner. Anna, have you

used LED strips or LED lighting in the past. Do you have experience with that? And the context from a as, you know, the metal and the rest of the fabrication is probably very robust. Electronics fails.

Right. It's designed it's designed specifically, which is why I spent time sharing with you that construction method. It's designed for those LED strips to be laid in to the actual forms such that you can indeed replace them easily. And that's why I shared with you the real details of that because that's part partly what we're doing is anticipating maintenance. Yeah. The the lifespan, as you know, as you if you know LED lighting, the lifespan of LEDs has gotten exponentially better every every year. We are using LED. We've used LED in other projects. We just finished one for Lennar that has LED lighting in it. And the kind of the running joke was, my goodness.

They just keep getting better and and better. We haven't used the specific strip, but there's no question that there's many industrial grade LED strips that, would advise for that. And we can program them to shift in color. So if we wanted to, we could even, you know, add color easily if that was something that was of interest. So yeah.

Thank you. Second one is just something really positive I think, is finally some color. It's shiny steel. Thank you. Thanks.

On that?

Sure. I'll just continue with the color thing that you mentioned. I was was looking at the overall structure when they showed. The pic looks very out of let's say, there's no consistency, no paint elsewhere. And also when you showed pictures, it had green paint, green paint. There's no leaf in this. I mean, it's not a safe issue, but it was a bit, like, looking for me in their structure. It wasn't that appealing to me. For some reason, there's no green. It's only pink. So it's there's a balance lacking in that art form. Like, there might be some reason behind it, but I'm just being honest with you.

Okay. No. I appreciate that. The thing is this is an abstraction, and so the whole thing is an abstraction. None of it is a is a is a figurative realistic illustration of a flower. That would be a completely different sculpture. And so if we were to move in that direction, in fact, if we were to do abstract leaves, then you'd have neither nor. Do you know what I mean? It would look a little bit like, why are those leaves not quite leaf looking? You know?

Because what it is right now is you can look at those flowers. They are almost like an abstract painting, like a Picasso or something. Nobody looks at Picasso and says, oh, that doesn't really look like a person because they're not it's it's it's a certain style. And so I appreciate your point about the greenery. I think the greenery comes in with the plantings, and that was partly why we were so focused on making sure we integrated with landscape.

And there's also trees around. There's a lot of greenery elsewhere. So I agree with you. I understand your point, but I think stylistically, actually, just to beg to differ is that given that particular style of sculpture, I think you would not ultimately be happy even if you saw it in in its in in in its form because of the style of the artwork itself. It would look kind of awkward.

If we did a fully realistic sculpture of flowers, that's one thing for sure, But that's not really what we're doing here. Especially given the size of this, you want something more architectonic and more graphic because you want it to be seen from the street, and you want it to feel bold. And as soon as you move into those really soft I mean, if you really look at a flower and leaves and you're talking a person here who loves flowers and plants. So just saying, Shandra knows this about me. I'm just passionate about them.

I was really into the flowers they picked for this site. It's really just a question of what's appropriate for the site and the scale of what you're working and what your goals are. And if we did a very delicate small flower, it would disappear in the streetscape. It's a very demanding site that way. You really couldn't justify the kind of delicacy of a organic form. I think that's really and we thought a lot. I mean, obviously, I think a lot about flowers. So I hear you on that. And I I you know, if there weren't all the green in the rest of the site, that'd be one thing, but we really imbued the with a natural feeling, and I think that that's what's gonna ultimately come across. So I don't think you'll find yourself missing those when you actually see it.

Absolutely. I'll I'm looking forward. So it's not the size. I meant the same size, but just a balance of colors. But I'm sure you have a reason of what you're doing and why you're doing it.

But what's other the other thing is that because the pieces are translucent, they will have an organicity organicity to them that will shift and change as opposed to something that's just painted in all one thing. So there will actually be shifting and changing in nature the same way that light falls on petals differently. It will feel more more, organic because of that as opposed to right. So that's another factor that's hard to convey. It's always so frustrating when we show renderings because it's only when you're finished that you go, oh, I see. You know? It's hard. I mean, we're really using a very simple medium to convey. The whole point is it different in person. It should have more soulfulness, and it will have more soulfulness. Yeah.

Mhmm.

Yeah.

I took one was the the LED lights, are they solar, or are they connected? Are they wired or solar?

They they I wish they were solar, but they're not. They're They're gonna gonna be wired to there's a stub out with the electrical. Yeah. Eventually, hopefully, they'll all be solar. But this particular one is not. Yeah. It would add it would add cost and complication. So

what's the longevity of each LED bulb? Like, just to understand the usage, the change, frequency. For non Well,

you the the longevity of LED, as anyone who works with it will tell you, depends on usage. So So during the summer, for instance, there'll be less time that it's used versus the winter. At least ten years, at least, and often longer. They're and like I said, it's designed specifically in mind with that. But most people say that, and then they say, oh, but, really, it's a lot longer. You know, when you talk to the pros, they just aren't gonna come out and talk about it that way. So it just depends really on how what the circumstances are for how often it's lit too. That's a that's a judgment call as to when it would start the lighting or end lighting or all of those things that haven't really been discussed in terms of the arc of the time.

Thank you. Those are three questions. Thank you so much.

Great. Commissioner Varunat?

Yeah. Okay. Thank you so much. So I'm going to not give the comments, which are actually very positive. But the questions are you talked about the material, the did you call it exterior steel? My question is, I mean, it looked like the color of wood or rust. Is that what it did?

It is literally what happens is it's amazing stuff. What happens is it develops a skin that seals itself. So it is rust, and you think rust is, like, the worst possible thing you could ever imagine on steel. Like, that's the opposite of what you'd ever wanna see on steel. But what it does is it creates its own seal, like, skin, and it creates a which is essentially like a patina.

So we do a lot of bronze, and we'll do patina on a bronze. This is whether it's seal, which is also why, you know, many artists have used it in the past, is it creates its own skin, and it seals its its it becomes sealed. And so one of the things we'll be doing is with Matthew is he makes the sculpture and and lets it sit so that it cures essentially and creates its skin before it's delivered. That's partly why we wanna keep we get that done first, and he literally lets it sit out and and develop its own skin. But it's essentially a natural patina.

Okay.

That's what

it is.

That Like, rich like, Richard Serra's tilted arc, that that sculpture, all of Richard Serra's work is the same medium. And there's one at Denver at the art museum, and it's just beautiful. And you're just like, wow. Look at that. I mean, so it is a it is it is out there, and it that's exactly I mean, I'm not making it up. It's actually what the medium does. It just sounds kind of wacky, but it's true.

Thank you. So my second question is maybe it was there. What are the dimensions of the petals?

It's in the drawing. It's we go back? It's about, like, two is it I'm I'm so sorry. I don't have it in front of me right now.

Do you

have Well, that's fine. Feet, I think. Somewhere in there. Let's see if we can go I usually rely on my drawings for numbers. I'm not yeah. So if we go back, it should be look called out there. Let's see. Is it in there?

It's in the width. Total width is about

Oh, there it is. Oh, two foot two foot 11 diameter.

Yeah. Two foot. Okay. So my question is, in terms of the wind, like, was pretty gusty winds. And I did check it was 30 miles an hour. Yeah. So and and you have so much experience in in sculptures and, you know, large public art pieces. I'm I'm sure you have taken care. So my question was on how it's it's safe, all the small parts as well.

Sure. Mhmm.

Can you

go to the next picture of the assembly,

for example?

The and further down next. Okay. So that assembly structure right there is gonna be we'll be consulting with our engineers on that. If something needs to change, if he says, hey. You need a thicker thicker piece here or you need a wider piece here. It you can see that the I mean, the what this is what we're doing right now is the design approval phase. After that comes the technical specification where we're really digging into the details on this. And that's where we'd be talking to our engineer, and he and he would tell us, oh, okay. You need to bulk this up or you need to and it wouldn't the nice thing about this design is it won't affect the overall aesthetic because it's designed specifically to have something relatively hefty there already. The question is really just in the in the details.

And so we'll be we'll be working that out with him. That's pretty much the standard procedure for all our pieces. But you're right. It's very important. You think about things like wind load and, you know, there's a reason why we're not making a whole canopy. I mean, you could see there's actually spaces. The pedals themselves allow for wind to move through it more easily. So these are all things we've thought about from the outset, but the engineers are the ones who are gonna weigh in on the final final details.

Okay. Thank you very much.

Yep. No problem. Good question. Very good question. And it's definitely something, you you know, know, that always is is utmost topmost in our minds. We're doing a sculpture right now in Tracy, and Tracy has extremely heavy winds, way more than any of us have. And I'm gonna definitely be calling that out with our engineer And because it's just like they have just some kind of effect, a wind effect. So it's very site specific to the point of even the town you're in. We're gonna be looking at data related to your location and the maximum that has happened. So

Thank you. And commissioner Chen, do you have any questions?

Looks like we're having technical issues with her again. I can just Can

can you hear me?

Yes. We can

hear you. Mhmm. Yeah. Cool. Great. Yeah. For this project, I can't say anything. I can't see the presentation. So my opinion just follow majority. What you guys says, I followed it. K. I can see the person who's not any comments too. K. Okay. That's it. Yeah.

Okay. Thank you, commissioner Chan. Yeah. So for me, I just wanted to say, I mean, thank you again so much to the project team and for the artists specifically for for being here and presenting this work, and I think it's it's fantastic. A couple clarifying questions. Landscaping, are the plants selected? Are any of them California natives?

That's not my purview, but I would is there anybody on the team who's here who could speak to that? I'm assuming that there are natives for sure. Typically, the most low maintenance plants are the ones that are native. So landscape architects will often use those, and I'm I if I could look at the planting plan, I can tell you, actually. You know, if you wanna go back

Yes. Yes. But the it is part of the plan, and they're called out. So that might if you know plants, it might answer your question.

I don't think they were California native, so I would encourage you to work with your landscape designer.

Does it doesn't he have any penstemon in there? I think he has a salvia. Is that a salvia at the okay. So salvia at the bottom right, that's a native. And I believe the salvia is there another salvia? Right. And And the the deities vegeta is native. So those two are native, and the salvia on the left is native. So there's three natives. And I don't know about the bull vine at all. Don't I don't know know anything about that one or these others. So I can't really speak to the others, but those three at least are native. And I would agree with you. Usually, the cystus, it can depend. But, anyway, I would agree with you that to lean in on that is a is a good point, but my at least three of them are.

That's fantastic. Thank you. Yeah.

Sorry. I didn't even think to look, but yeah. I yeah. That is fantastic. I know. I totally agree with you. And that's great for the pollinators. Really what's cool is you get all the butterflies and bees. I have salvias in my garden, and it is year round food for them. And it's really amazing to just see the butterflies come. So I would anticipate you'll have butterflies there.

That's perfect. It really plays into the blossom theme of the art Yes.

It does. It really does. Yeah.

My last question is what was your favorite part of working on this project?

Oh, boy.

Didn't expect that, No.

That's a really good question. I mean, I love the whole thing. That's why I'm doing what why we do what we do, honestly, to tell you the truth. All the phases are exciting. This committee meeting right now to date is pretty impressive because working with the developers has been amazing. Chandra's been incredible. You guys to me, it's a lot about the collaboration separate from the artistic element. I love the design. I love the art the plantings. But on top of that, this is a cherry on top working with a team like you guys.

And I'm telling you, we do it often. And so working with a team like this, I have to say, it's a real treat. It really is. So the developers, Sandra, and you guys, that has been the best surprise for me because it can go both ways. You know, it really can, and this has just been a really wonderful I'm very impressed by we know the dedication it takes to be on a committee like this, and you guys are asking such good questions and really are present. So for me, that's the most optimistic piece of the of why we're in public art. We do public art because of community, and this is community. So so I I have to say that. You know? Although I love the design, I'm thrilled about that, but that this is the part that has been really wonderful.

Alright. Thank you so much. Okay. That concludes our question section. Now I'd like to open it for public comment. Do we have any speakers?

We have no speakers, chair.

Okay. Moving right along to discussion. Bringing it back to the commission. Do we have any comments? What do we all think?

I Go ahead.

No. You go. No. No. You go. Okay. Thank you. Happened the last time too. So okay. Thank you. Thank you for the opportunity. Yeah. I I really like the theme. The moment I read the title before the picture, because I love flowers. Cherry You got it so right on the nail for Cupertino. We also have a cherry blossom festival. We did it two weeks ago. We have So and I love it. Personally, I love it. It's my mother's favorite flower.

Okay. But that's it's you know, it it's I I thought some some of the comments that commissioner Ponder had, I did give it thought. I I looked at it today earlier in the afternoon, but I I understood it was it was that artist representation of the the also because it's so tall. Right?

Mhmm.

Than a natural blossom tree. Right? And I even looked up pictures on Google for different kinds of blossom trees. But so it is it is an artist impression. It's through your eyes. Yeah. Thing I think can be seen from far. Hopefully, the townhome owners will say, it's the community where you see the possum tree or something like that, you know, kind of park there. So I thought it was really beautiful, and it's you come with a lot of experience. You have the whole list that gives us a lot of confidence on on the process and on the construction.

So I I I've been I I really like it. I really do. So thank you for putting in all the different thought process dimension and your talent.

Thank you.

So quick few comments. So whether it's steel, if you go to Main Street, that restaurant complex Mhmm. In Filipino, I believe, you know, that structure there which assimilates the creek. Oh, okay. That I believe is where it's steep. Yes. It's it's like a patina. Okay. Okay. It's like a thin layer of rust. It looks beautiful. Mhmm.

The one near the. Yes. Exactly.

Yes. Yes.

Exactly. Alright. So my quick comments and for discussion. I think not. So number one, I'll repeat. We'll see some color. Mhmm. Mhmm. Because we've seen quite a few steel, which are fantastic too. And the fact that this complements, you know, some of the steel, especially on the same street. Number two, I love the plaque. Number one, the fact that you have a plaque. It's the star at the bottom. Further, it's got the artist attribution. Third is it's got a little description.

So kudos on that. And lastly, Anna, you handled the questions very well, but I love the passion by which you spoke about. I had some cons I would say, I have confidence. She's gonna take care of it. So that's my

It's it's genuine. It's it it really is.

Yeah.

If I may just jump in, I think this is a I mean, this should be, like, the gold standard, I think, in terms of what we're looking for from public art applications. I mean, not only was art and design stellar I mean, obviously, design is subjective, but I thought it was seller. But all of the all of the background work that was done, it was very clear that the entire process was very thought out all the way from the artist selection, all the way through the design, to to the details of construction. And I think the fact that you included that in your presentation, as mentioned, gave us a lot of confidence in in your work and in the in the execution of this eventual project. So, yeah, I mean, I don't really have that much more to say other than a great job.

Thanks. That's the one

I really loved was that UK Equality made a choice because mostly we have seen this select somebody and do a project. But now you have variety of people applied to it. You reviewed it. You selected three. Then you find made a final choice. That shows that you have given an opportunity to so many people. That was really first, you know, commendation. And secondly, you have a you showed us a difference of day and night. That was so beautiful. I think that that makes much sense that, you know, how it looks in the daytime, how it looks in nighttime, you have colors there. You have, like, shown the light at night nighttime. You have flexibility. So these two points are very

Okay. Thank

I can make a motion that this submission approves the public art application by Summerhill for the Valencia townhomes location.

I can second it. Beautiful.

Thank you. Thanks, guys. Appreciate it. Really do.

No. We signed to vote. We signed

to vote. We're mature.

We can

still do appreciate it.

I'll start building.

Hey. Commissioner Chen? Commissioner Chen?

Yes. I'm here.

Okay. How would you like to vote on the Yeah. I

just follow the majority. I can't see the presentation. Not not any comment.

Can we do the chair? If we can repeat the motion for commissioner Chen.

Well, she said she'll follow the majority, but given that we haven't If you come back at last.

Yeah. We can do that.

Commissioner Commissioner Aura? Aye. Commissioner Panda? Yes. Vice chair Lambda?

Yes.

Chair Wang? Aye. Commissioner Chen?

Yes.

Alright. The motion carries unanimously.

Alright. Now we

Thanks. Loudly. Yes. Yeah.

I appreciate this permission.

I think

you're the gold standard for permissions.

Thank you, everybody. Thanks again.

About 200 feet from

the side.

We're Sorry.

That I missed it. I'm sorry.

I'm gonna say goodbye. Thank you.

Thank you.

The grocery store. I'll bring

up Yeah.

It's to the side. Oh,

you're happy.

Oh, nice. I remember it.

Oh, it's brought to you to me. Yeah. I'm glad something's coming in here.

That's Nice little acidity.