Cupertino is taking steps toward renovating City Hall

The Cupertino City Council has taken its first decisive steps toward a multimillion-dollar renovation of its 60-year-old city hall, as it seeks to renovate a building that for decades was at risk of collapsing in the event of a major earthquake.

With an estimated cost of $54 million for design and construction over the next five years, the City Council decided to hold off before committing to the huge expense — which both residents and council members balked at — allocating the first $2.5 million to allow the project to get underway and for staff to explore ways to reduce the cost.

“We've been talking about (these renovations) for 20 years,” Cupertino Mayor Kitty Moore said. “It's time to actually show that we care about the health and safety of our employees and really do something.”

Cupertino City Hall was built in 1965, and while it was renovated in the 1980s, a 2005 assessment of the building found it to be at risk in the event of a major earthquake. Analyzes and studies conducted in the years that followed confirmed the seismic risk and showed that the building's mechanical, electrical, plumbing, HVAC, fire, life safety and technological systems had exceeded their “useful service life,” according to a staff report on the building.

A 2021 seismic assessment showed that in the event of a large earthquake, the roof could collapse, risking injury to people in the building and disrupting the city's ability to serve the public. “The life safety and economic risks can be significant,” the report concluded.

The Cupertino City Council has been weighing options on how best to address City Hall's deficiencies since 2011, but has debated the best solutions — in 2015 the city set aside money for renovations only to redirect those funds later, and at one point, the council considered building an entirely new building. Meanwhile, costs ballooned.

The specific project under consideration will now maintain the same footprint of the building, update the roof to reduce the risk of collapse, make improvements to the building's infrastructure, improve accessibility and add community meeting rooms.

However, some residents said the city should delay the project to explore cheaper options, give more time for public input and provide more clarity on its plans.

“I urge you to take no action at all tonight… You cannot approve $54 million without taking the time necessary to get public input,” said Cupertino resident San Rao, who said he was “appalled and shocked” that the council would take action.

Councilman Ray Wang echoed some of the concerns. “Addressing employee safety is important, but we also have to be fiscally responsible,” said Wang, who asked city staff to explore cheaper options to improve the building's earthquake preparedness and set up a meeting for public input and education. “We support transparency and we support participation… I'm not trying to delay the project, I'm trying to make sure the public is with us.”

However, continuing city staff to address earthquake risks will cost tens of millions of dollars. Others in the public and on the City Council noted that the project has been discussed extensively over the years.

“We keep going back and forth…the price keeps going up. I think we have to realize that this will just be the cost,” said Deputy Mayor Liang Zhao.

“I'm glad you're finally doing something about City Hall…We've spent 20 years putting things down the road,” Cupertino resident Jean Beador said, though she noted the updated building would look a lot like the old one. “We've spent $54 million and we still have the same old building. I'd like to see you add something that really benefits the community.”

Trying to balance concerns about cost with the need to move forward, the council agreed to allocate the first $2.5 million toward the project's design, voting 4-1 on the proposal with Wang dissenting.

“It's just the start of the ball so we can ask better questions and have a better budget,” said Susan Michael, director of capital improvement programs at Cupertino, who described the move as a “pay-as-you-go” option that would allow staff to gather more information to focus on better estimates and cost savings.

If the project moves forward, staff expects construction to finish in 2030.

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