The notoriously private Apple Inc. has taken yet one more small step to keeping its secrets in house.
The Cupertino company came before the planning commission Dec. 9 to request that an easement near its employee-only cafeteria be removed.
Caffe’ Macs is a dining location at the corner of Alves Drive and Bandley Drive for Apple employees only; however, a walkway leading to the cafe could become a security issue if Apple ever stopped leasing an adjacent building. The commission voted unanimously Dec. 9 to eliminate the easement.
The easement helps with the pedestrian movement of employees between the office building to the north and the cafeteria. Currently, all such properties house Apple employees.
The removal of the cross-access easement over the pedestrian walkway will allow Apple to maintain a secure access to its property in the event the parcel located at 10201 N. De Anza Blvd. is leased to another occupant, according to city staff.
If Apple were ever to discontinue leasing the adjacent property, the access easement would not have automatically terminated and could have allowed both the adjacent property owner and occupants of the adjacent building legal access to Apple’s property, according to an Oct. 21 letter to the city from Apple’s Vanessa Chow.
“This would not only present a security risk for Apple, but is almost certainly not the intended result of this condition,” the letter states.
The move is for the long term. Chow told the commission that while she can not give details about the lease with the adjacent property, Apple’s lease to stay in the building was for more than 10 years.
Caffe’ Macs was approved and constructed in the last couple years for employees to have a safe place to freely talk business without fear of eavesdropping competitors or nosy restaurant patrons. The easement was a requirement of the first round of approvals by the city and was initially supported by Apple, according to the Dec. 9 city staff report.
