Cupertino’s Planning Division supports thousands within an active community of residents, property owners, contractors, sign makers, brokers, architects, designers, public agencies and many more. To help you get what you need as seamlessly as possible, please consider these options:

1. Email your question to planning@cupertino.org (save a trip, save time).  This mailbox is monitored daily by our team and allows you to be directed to the right person and/or department.
   
   
2. Call 408.777.3308/3309. If you get voicemail during regular business hours, it’s only because the planner-on-duty at that time is assisting other community members. Be sure to leave your name, a call back number and, your question in brief, clearly, in the event you get to voicemail. Emailing: planning@cupertino.org, as an alternative is encouraged.
   
   
3. Check www.cupertino.org for resources such as, public records, meeting agendas, Muni Code and major project updates.
   
   
4. Sign up for e-notification and select the topics that interest you most:  http://www.cupertino.org/visitors/enotification-signup.
   
   
5. Make an appointment. (Avoid walk-ins and a second trip!) This allows your planner to prepare information for you. You are also assured your planner is available rather than in a meeting, out in the field or assisting another person within the Cupertino community.
   
   
6. Contact your project planner and stay in touch about expected milestones. All applications are assigned to a single project manager who will help you from preliminary concept phase through to signing off on occupancy (finalizing your building permit).  Work with the same person throughout the process for an efficient response. In the event of any staffing changes, you will be assigned a new project manager to guide you through the process.
   
   
7. Check cupertino.buildingeye.com for information on building and planning projects currently under review, under construction, or completed; or, if you simply want to know if your neighbor down the street has a permit for “that.”
   
   
8. Use Cupertino 311. Have concerns about unpermitted work, spotted a pothole, a listing street tree, a branch blocking the sidewalk, a trip hazard on a sidewalk or simply anything? Use the Cupertino 311 app (iOS or Android) or visit www.cupertino.org/cupertino311 to let the City know from wherever you are, except if you’re driving! (But please, do let us know when you get there.) 

The rear yard setback in R1, R2 and R3 zoning districts may be reduced so long as the amount of usable rear yard prescribed in the ordinance is provided. 

In the R1 zoning district, the required 20 foot rear yard setback may be reduced to 10 feet with a Minor Residential Permit as long as the usable rear yard area is at least 20 times the lot width (measured from the front setback line). 

Example:

Floor area differs from Lot Coverage in that it only calculates floor area to the exterior of the wall, not overhangs, but also that it counts second story square footage. 

Therefore, the lot coverage of a two story home may be almost half the square footage of it's Floor area and the lot coverage of a single story home may be quite close to it's Floor area.

Lot coverage refers to the footprint of all structures, plus the roof eaves and patio/porch overhangs. Basically, if you took an aerial photo of your property and traced the outline of all structures, that is lot coverage. 

In R-1, 45% of the lot can be covered by structures, with an additional 5% allowed for coverage by roof overhangs, patios, porches, and other structures not enclosed by walls on at least three sides.

The Maximum FAR determines how many square feet can be built on a property. In R1 Zoning Districts, the Maximum FAR is 0.45 or 45%.

Example: 

In this scenario, a maximum of 4,500 square feet can be built.

The lot area is the area of the parcel, and can be measured or verified by a surveyor. Some of this area may need to be excluded from the calculations, such as:

• street right-of-way
• natural waterway, river, creek or stream, or flood control or drainage easement
• the portion of a flag lot connecting to the street

The Floor Area Ratio (F.A.R.) of a property/development is calculated by dividing the floor area of the development by the lot area.

In R1 zoning districts, interior building area above 16 feet from the finished floor to the top of the rafters is counted twice toward Floor Area.

For instance, if a single story home has an 18 foot tall entry way, the area of the floor of the entry way and the area of the entry way at 16 foot height are both counted, as though there is a second story at 16 feet. This would all apply to the floor area of the home.

In a two story home, the first floor portion of the high volume area would apply toward the first floor Floor Area and the area where the second story would intersect would apply to the second floor Floor Area.

Common examples where Floor Area is counted twice include:

• Entry ways;
• High Volume living rooms;
• Staircases; and
• Garages

Floor area is the total area of all habitable floors of a building measured to the outside of exterior walls including the following:

• Depth of all walls
• Rooms
• Hallways
• Stairways
• Base of stairwells
• Base of elevator shafts
• Services and mechanical equipment rooms
• Interior building area above 15 feet in height between any floor level and the ceiling above
• Residential garages
• Roofed arcades, breezeways, porches, and similar features that are enclosed by walls on three sides
• All accessory structures, such as sheds and Accessory Dwelling Units

The following features are not included in floor area calculations:

• basements with lightwells that conform to Section 19.28.070(I)
• lightwells
• attic areas

The building envelope is like an imaginary tent placed on your property within which single story elements of your home (including eaves) or single-story sections of two-story homes must fit.

Exception: A gable end of a roof enclosing an attic space may encroach outside of the building envelope and have a maximum wall height of 17 feet from natural grade to the peak of the roof, or 20 feet with a Minor Residential Permit.

For most R1 zoned property, a 10’ tall vertical imaginary line is drawn at all the property lines that then has intersecting lines at a 25-degree angle that peak towards the center of the property.

In the R1-a zone, the imaginary vertical line is 12’ tall and located 10 feet inside the property lines.

Example:

For permits information, please visit either of the following webpages.

1. Laserfiche

   Research online public records.

   To browse building permits, navigate to Public Records > Building Department > Building Permits, then select the folder with the correct street name, and then select the street address number. 

   To search building permits, select Template search, select the building template, and search by the fields in the template.

2. buildingeye

Explore a map of Cupertino showing the location, status and details of Building and Planning Permits. Set up notifications for new permits in specific areas. 

To review plans and supporting documents, you will need to complete and submit a Request for Research form. The City of Cupertino will complete the research within (10) business days from the date of the submitted request.

Permits are not required for the following when related to single family homes which do not encroach over a subsurface drain system, public utility easement, or into required setbacks from property lines:

Building:

1. One-story detached accessory structures, provided that the floor area does not exceed 120 square feet and not attached to the house. Any electrical work done will still require an electrical permit. Please contact the Planning Department for any questions on property setbacks at (408) 777-3308.
2. Fences not over 7 feet (2134 mm) high.
3. Retaining walls that are not over 4 feet (1219 mm) in height measured from the bottom of the footing to the top of the wall, unless supporting a surcharge.
4. Water tanks supported directly upon grade if the capacity does not exceed 5,000 gallons (18 927 L) and the ratio of height to diameter or width does not exceed 2 to 1.
5. Sidewalks and driveways.
6. Painting, papering, tiling, carpeting, cabinets, counter tops and similar finish work.
7. Prefabricated swimming pools that are less than 24 inches (610 mm) deep.
8. Swings and other playground equipment.
9. Window awnings supported by an exterior wall that do not project more than 54 inches (1372 mm) from the exterior wall and do not require additional support.
10. Decks not exceeding 200 square feet (18.58 m2) in area, that are not more than 30 inches (762 mm) above grade at any point, are not attached to a dwelling and do not serve the exit door required by Section R311.4. Please contact the Planning Department for any questions on property setbacks at (408) 777-3308.

Electrical:

1. Listed cord-and-plug connected temporary decorative lighting.
2. Reinstallation of attachment plug receptacles (but not the outlets).
3. Replacement of branch circuit overcurrent devices of the required capacity in the same location.
4. Electrical wiring, devices, appliances, apparatus or equipment operating at less than 25 volts and not capable of supplying more than 50 watts of energy.
5. Minor repair work, including the replacement of lamps or the connection of approved portable electrical equipment to approved permanently installed receptacles.

Gas:

1. Portable heating, cooking or clothes drying appliances.
2. Replacement of any minor part that does not alter approval of equipment or make such equipment unsafe.
3. Portable-fuel-cell appliances that are not connected to a fixed piping system and are not interconnected to a power grid.

Mechanical:

1. Portable heating appliances.
2. Portable ventilation appliances.
3. Portable cooling units.
4. Steam, hot- or chilled-water piping within any heating or cooling equipment regulated by this code.
5. Replacement of any minor part that does not alter approval of equipment or make such equipment unsafe.
6. Portable evaporative coolers.
7. Self-contained refrigeration systems containing 10 pounds (4.54 kg) or less of refrigerant or that are actuated by motors of 1 horsepower (746 W) or less.
8. Portable-fuel-cell appliances that are not connected to a fixed piping system and are not interconnected to a power grid.

Plumbing:

1. The stopping of leaks in drains, water, soil, waste or vent pipe; provided, however, that if any concealed trap, drainpipe, water, soil, waste or vent pipe becomes defective and it becomes necessary to remove and replace the same with new material, such work shall be considered as new work and a permit shall be obtained and inspection made as provided in this code.
2. The clearing of stoppages or the repairing of leaks in pipes, valves or fixtures, and the removal and reinstallation of water closets, provided such repairs do not involve or require the replacement or rearrangement of valves, pipes or fixtures.

Construction is allowed during Cupertino daytime hours, which are defined as being between the following hours:

• Weekdays – 7:00am to 8:00pm
• Weekends – 9:00am to 6:00pm

Construction, other than street construction greater than 750 feet of a residential area, is prohibited on holidays, except that construction conducted by a homeowner or resident of a single family dwelling using domestic construction tools is allowed on holidays between the hours of 9:00am to 6:00pm.

Noise levels should not exceed the following limits:

• Residential Point of Origin - 60 dBA
• Nonresidential Point of Origin - 65 dBA

Brief Noise Incidents

For more information on noise control, please refer to Chapter 10.48 of the Cupertino Municipal Code. 

Monday through Thursday from 10:00 AM until 12:00 PM. 

Santa Clara County Fire Department is available to review plans from Monday through Thursday from 11:00 AM until 12:00 PM. 

The City of Cupertino is currently working on a new Online Portal which will be launched in 2018. In the meantime, to apply for a building permit, schedule building inspections and ask any questions related to Building, please call 408.777.3228.

Home-based businesses are permitted in some zones of the city. The business proposed to be conducted may not change the residential nature of the property or the neighborhood. For example, while a small or large family day care use, where the care provider resides and provides child care services as an ancillary business, may be allowed, a commercial day care use, where the business is the sole purpose of the property, may not occur.

Please see Chapter 19.120: Home Occupations for details or contact the Community Development Department at 408.777.3308 for information.

The Builder’s Remedy is a provision of the Housing Accountability Act (HAA) dating back to the 1990s which disallows jurisdictions from denying certain housing projects that do not meet its zoning or land use development standards if the jurisdiction doesn’t have a certified housing element. To be eligible as a Builder’s Remedy project, a proposed housing development must have at least 20 percent of its total units available to lower-income households or all its units available for moderate-income households.

The Association of Bay Area Governments (ABAG) has made a technical memo available on this subject online here: The Builder's Remedy and Housing Elements (ca.gov).

The City Council had requested an informational memo on the Scofield SB330 Preliminary Application about a potential Builder's Remedy project with 23 units (5 affordable units) on a single family residential lot at 20739 Scofield Drive. This informational memo is available online here: Scofield SB330 Prelim Info Memo (cupertino.org).

Existing garages can be converted into an ADU, but no portion of the existing garage may be converted for use as livable/usable space by the principal dwelling unit.

A JADU is created by converting space within a principal dwelling unit. An attached garage is an accessory use and therefore, not a part of the principal dwelling unit. Therefor, the garage conversion would have to be the property's only ADU and can not be considered a JADU. In this situation, for this single family property, you could have a detached ADU and a JADU (located within your home).

No internal access is allowed except for a JADU that has a shared bathroom with the principal dwelling unit on property with single family uses. All other ADUs must be completely separated from the principal dwelling unit or other units (in a multi-family development.)

Yes! You may construct any combination of JADU, attached ADU (≤ 800 sq. ft.), detached ADU (≤ 800 sq. ft.), as long as there are no more than 3 total ADUs on your property.

For single family property, you can construct a maximum of three streamlined attached or detached ADU (≤ 800 sq. ft.) or JADUs for a total of three ADUs. 

For duplex property, you can construct a maximum of two streamlined attached or detached ADUs (≤ 800 sq. ft.) or JADUs for a total of two ADUs.

For multi-family property, you can construct up to two detached ADUs and convert non-habitable spaces to construct up to 25% of the number of existing units (minimum one) as ADUs.

A detached ADU is required to have its own address. All other types of ADUs may have their own address but are not required to.

There is no limit on the number of bedrooms in an ADU. However, for single family property, there are size restrictions depending on the number of bedrooms proposed. For a studio or one-bedroom unit, the maximum size allowable is 850 sq. ft. while for any ADU with two or more bedrooms, the maximum allowable size is 1,000 sq. ft.

You do not need to provide replacement parking when converting a garage into an ADU.

An ADU may be rented, but not sold, separately from the principal dwelling unit. However, ADUs, including JADUs, may not be used for short-term rental activity. 

For JADUs, the owner must occupy either the principal dwelling unit or the JADU. Additionally, the owner shall record a deed restriction prohibiting the sale of the JADU separate from the principal dwelling unit and restricting the size and attributes of the JADU to conform with JADU regulations.