While voters won’t directly decide the fate of Cupertino’s City Hall this November, the council majority elected will play a key role in shaping its future. The current council favors an extravagant new city hall, four times the size of the current one, and is considering a public-private partnership to build housing on city hall land to finance the project. However, building a new city hall would take significantly longer. If a resident-focused council gains the majority, the city could pursue a faster, more cost-effective solution: renovating the current city hall and the recently purchased annex, focusing on bringing both buildings up to seismic safety standards.
The Push for a New City Hall (2014-2015)
Gilbert Wong and Rod Sinks advocated for a new city hall during their terms as mayors. They proposed a $60 million loan for a new Civic Center, but community opposition led to the project’s abandonment when costs couldn’t be lowered.
Failed Renovation Attempt by Mayor Darcy Paul (2018)
In 2018, Mayor Darcy Paul proposed a city hall renovation, but the majority of the council favored a new 40,000-square-foot building instead.
Resident-Focused Council Moves Forward (2019-2022)
With a majority on the council, resident-focused members approved the library expansion and a $27.5 million city hall renovation plan, prioritizing cost-saving measures and completing the library expansion on time and under budget.
Wei-Fruen-Mohan Majority Pushes for a Larger City Hall (2023)
Following the 2022 election, the council majority directed staff to pursue an ambitious 80,000-square-foot city hall, doubling the size of the 2015 plan.
Public-Private Partnerships for Housing (2023-2024)
The current council majority is also exploring public-private partnerships to develop multi-family housing on city properties, further deviating from the previous renovation plan.
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Full Story: The Future of Cupertino City Hall: What’s at Stake?
The current City Hall was constructed in 1965 and modified in 1986. To address insufficient parking for the library, the City Council began studying Civic Center renovations in 2012.
Wong and Sinks Push for New City Hall (2014-2015)
In 2014 and 2015, during their respective terms as mayor and vice mayor, Gilbert Wong and Rod Sinks pushed for a new city hall. In July 2015, Wong moved, and Sinks seconded, a motion to approve the Civic Center Master Plan, which included a new city hall and library program room. However, councilmembers Darcy Paul and Barry Chang voted against the plan. The following month, Sinks placed a $60 million loan proposal on the Consent Calendar, attempting to push it through without debate.
Fortunately, concerned residents intervened and removed the item from the Consent Calendar, demanding the city identify funding sources before moving forward. Some residents even called for the issue to be put on the ballot for voter decision. Sinks and Wong pushed to move forward, but the motion failed in the face of strong community opposition. As a result, the Council directed staff to come back with financial options. After reviewing those options in November 2015, the Council directed staff to reduce the cost to $40 million. However, when staff couldn’t lower the cost, the project was abandoned, and the Council failed to consider alternatives, such as renovating the current City Hall or addressing seismic safety concerns.
Mayor Darcy Paul’s Efforts to Renovate City Hall (2018)
In 2018, Mayor Darcy Paul placed a “City Hall Renovation Project” item on the April 3 agenda to discuss renovation alternatives. However, the majority of the Council did not support renovation and instead directed staff to bring back designs for a new 40,000-square-foot City Hall within 5-7 months.
Resident-Focused Council Approves Library Expansion and City Hall Renovation Plan (2019-2022)
After the 2018 election, the Better Cupertino-backed Councilmembers, with newly elected Liang Chao and Jon Willey joining Steven Scharf and Darcy Paul, gained a majority. In 2019, the Council separated the Library Expansion from the Civic Center Master Plan, allowing the expansion to proceed with external grant funding, as Cupertino’s library was the only one in the county without space for community programs. The expansion was completed on time and under budget in May 2022.
Additionally, in 2021-2022, the resident-focused Council approved a City Hall renovation plan. They purchased an office building for $4.45 million at the corner of Pacifica and Torre to serve as a City Hall annex. After six in-depth meetings, a subcommittee led by Councilmembers Kitty Moore and Jon Willey recommended a cost-saving measure: moving the Emergency Operations Center (EOC) to the new annex, reducing the overall renovation cost. In November 2022, the Council directed staff to proceed with the City Hall renovation, with an estimated cost of $27.5 million.
Wei-Fruen-Mohan Majority Pushes for a Much Bigger City Hall (2023)
Following the 2022 election, the Council composition shifted, leaving only two resident-focused Councilmembers—Liang Chao and Kitty Moore. The remaining three Councilmembers—Hung Wei, J.R. Fruen, and Sheila Mohan—are backed by Rod Sinks and his supporters. In March 2023, the new Council majority directed staff to explore a much larger project: a new 80,000-square-foot city hall and civic center, including flexible event spaces for up to 500 people. This proposed city hall would be double the size of the 2015 plan and quadruple the size of the existing facility.
Public-Private Partnership and Housing (2023-2024)
In November 2023, the Wei-Fruen-Mohan Council majority directed staff to consider a public-private partnership (PPP) to build mixed-use developments, including multi-family residential and below-market-rate housing, on city properties like the City Hall and Sports Center. A motion by Moore and Chao to continue with the already-adopted $27.5 million City Hall renovation plan failed. Instead, the majority directed staff to explore potential partnerships with developers.
