Mayor: 'No Chance' City Will Reject Apple's Spaceship-Esque Cupertino HQ

What would it take to bulldoze Apple's plans for a brand-new, spaceship-esque office building in Cupertino? The apocalypse, apparently.

The city's mayor this week was emphatic in his support for Apple and its 3.1 million square foot office building, arguing that there was little chance that city officials will reject Apple's plans.

"There is no chance that we're saying no," Mayor Gilbert Wong said during a Wednesday a press conference. He later tempered that by stating that "nothing is a sure thing," but in listening to his presentation, it would appear that Steve Jobs has nothing to worry about when it comes to gaining support from Cupertino officials.

Jobs made a surprise appearance before the city council on Tuesday night to present Apple's plans for the circular, four-story building Apple hopes to have completed by 2015. Jobs said it has a "spaceship" quality, with a courtyard in the middle. It will hold about 12,000 employees; Apple would retain the building at 1 Infinite Loop, too. Most of the parking will be underground so that 80 percent of the land, most of which was purchased from HP in 2009, will be landscaping.

Wong said Wednesday that the process officially kicks off when Apple submits its plans to the city's planning and building department. There will then be a series of reviews (environmental checks and such), and the planning commission expects to have its first public hearing on the matter in the fall of 2012. Shortly after, the city council will take up the issue.

Not surprisingly, Cupertino is eager to have Apple, its biggest taxpayer, remain in the city. "In my mind, one of the city council's most important challenges and accomplishments has been to make sure that companies like apple can grow and thrive," Wong said.

With the new building, "the mothership has landed in Cupertino," he said.

Wong pointed to nearby communities like San Jose, which has had to cut down on public services due to budget constraints. With all those iPad- and iPhone-infused tax tax dollars, however, Cupertino is under no such constraints, the mayor said.

"While other cities are struggling ... we can grow," he concluded.