Housing Element 2015-2023 

In accordance with State law, California cities must have an adopted General Plan and the General Plan must contain a Housing Element. Cupertino's Housing Element comprises of Chapter 4: Housing Element and Attachment B: Technical Report. While all elements of a General Plan are reviewed and revised regularly to ensure that the plan remains current, state law requires that the Housing Element be updated every five years. State law also dictates the issues that the Housing Element must address and furthermore requires the element to be reviewed by the California Department of Housing and Community Development (HCD) to assure that it meets the minimum requirements established by Government Code §65580-65589.8. This process is commonly referred to as “certifying” the Housing Element. 

The major, and most controversial, requirement for the Housing Element is that it requires cities to adequately plan to meet their existing and projected housing needs including their share of the regional housing need. The Association of Bay Area Governments (ABAG) recently completed the Regional Housing Needs Allocation (RHNA). As part of this process, ABAG worked with regional and local governments to develop a methodology for distributing the nine-county Bay Area's housing need (as determined by HCD) to all local governments in the region. Each city and county has received an allocation of housing units, broken down by income categories, for which it must plan for by identifying adequate sites zoned at adequate densities.

Housing Mitigation Manual

The City Council adopted the Housing Mitigation Fees (effective July 1, 2021) for both residential and non-residential uses. On July 02, 2024, the City Council adopted an updated version of the Below Market Rate (BMR) Housing Mitigation Program Procedural Manual (Housing Mitigation Manual) which establishes procedures to implement housing mitigation as required by the General Plan 2015-2022 Housing Element. This manual consists of two major components, Section One addressing the office and industrial mitigation and Section Two addressing residential housing mitigation. 

Below Market Rate (BMR) Manual

On March 20, 2018, the City Council adopted an updated version of the Policy and Procedures Manual for Administering Deed Restricted Affordable Housing Units (BMR Manual). 

BMR Housing Program

See Chapter 19.172 of the Municipal Code for more information on the City's BMR Program. The purpose of City's Below Market Rate Housing Program is to:

The 2015 Residential Nexus Study documents and quantifies the linkages between new market-rate residential development in the City and the demand for additional affordable housing. The analysis, which demonstrates ongoing support for an affordable housing requirement, has been prepared by Keyser Marston Associates, Inc. (KMA) for the City.

The 2015 Non-Residential Nexus Study is the non-residential component of the City ’s Housing Mitigation Program, which requires that commercial and industrial development pay an affordable housing impact fee, or “housing fee.” This report documents a Non-Residential Jobs-Housing Nexus Analysis, which provides legal support for establishing an affordable housing impact fee for non-residential development. The materials have been prepared by KMA for the City.

Regional Housing Needs Allocation (RHNA)

The CA Department of Housing and Community Development (HCD) maintains an Annual Progress Report (APR) Permit Summary that shows how cities and counties are progressing toward meeting their RHNA housing goals. Progress is measured by how many housing construction permits have been issued at various income levels. Information on Cupertino's RHNA progress is available as part of HCD's Housing Element Open Data Project.

Information about the 2022-2030 RHNA Cycle is available on the Association of Bay Area Government website.

RHNA Data for Santa Clara County Jurisdictions (2015-2019)

Housing Element Sites 

Table HE-5: Summary of PRIORITY HOUSING ELEMENT SITES To Meet the RHNA- Scenario A

as of 5/9/22