A group of residents called the Garden Gate Coalition for Mary Avenue Safety filed\u00a0the lawsuit. A Santa Clara County Superior Court judge denied a request to halt the project at the end of March. Potential settlement talks are scheduled for Wednesday.<\/p>\n
Councilmember R \u201cRay\u201d Wang cast the lone dissenting vote. He supported reconsidering the project in part to avoid further legal conflict between the city and residents. He said there is a disconnect between legal standards and community concerns.<\/p>\n
\u201cI may be the only member that\u2019s going to say this right now, but I\u2019m going to say the process was backwards,\u201d Wang said at the meeting. \u201cThe order of operations was not accurate, and I can understand why there was a petition for this.\u201d<\/p>\n
Councilmember J.R. Fruen agreed there is an alternative to litigation between the city and residents, but it doesn\u2019t involve reconsidering the project.<\/p>\n
\u201cI\u2019ll just say that the community can avoid a lawsuit because (the plaintiffs) can withdraw their suit,\u201d Fruen said.<\/p>\n
Attorney Joshua Safran, representing the coalition, attended the council meeting remotely and argued the city should not have taken up the reconsideration requests.<\/p>\n
\u201cThe basic issue for us is that this hearing, particularly given the late hour, is unnecessary and improper,\u201d Safran said at the meeting. \u201cThe city should not be proceeding tonight, as though this is an ordinary reconsideration matter \u2026 and it certainly should not be used tonight to harden or ratify these approvals that are already under judicial review in superior court.\u201d<\/p>\n
Safran did not respond to requests for comment.<\/p>\n
The Mary Avenue Villas project is a 40-home affordable housing development on a narrow, 0.79-acre strip of city-owned land near Highway 85. It would eliminate 89 public parking spaces and include housing for residents with intellectual and developmental disabilities<\/a>.<\/p>\n Some residents backing the lawsuit said the city\u2019s process has been flawed over the past few years.<\/p>\n \u201cI\u2019ve been very disappointed with how the Cupertino City Council is treating residents,\u201d 20-year Cupertino resident Aditya Agarwal told San Jos\u00e9 Spotlight. \u201cIt feels like they\u2019re discarding resident input.\u201d<\/p>\n The lawsuit states the coalition is not opposed to affordable housing, but rather is challenging the city\u2019s approval process.<\/p>\n But some supporters of the project characterize the group as being broadly opposed to new housing<\/a>.<\/p>\n Stephen Quan, a father of a son with autism, said he feels personally connected to the issue and supports the housing project. He said as parents get older, families need to know their children will have safe, independent living options in the future like what is being offered at Mary Avenue Villas.<\/p>\n \u201cI\u2019ve looked for places in Sunnyvale (and) Santa Clara, but Cupertino is the ideal place to live on his own,\u201d Quan told San Jos\u00e9 Spotlight. \u201cChange is really hard for him.\u201d<\/p>\n![\"In-line](\"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ca\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/03\/interactive-321838904008.png\")
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