Cupertino Complies with State Housing Law

Published on April 11, 2025

On January 9 and 10, 2025, Cupertino notified the developers of the Vista Heights project and the 20739 Scofield project that their applications were incomplete due to the failure to submit the necessary information within the designated timeframe. The information requested was standard and consistently required of all similar development projects. Subsequently, both developers filed lawsuits against the City on April 9, 2025, with the assistance of YIMBY Law.

The 20739 Scofield project is a 5-story condominium project with 20 units planned above a ground floor parking garage to be built by demolishing an existing home on one single-family parcel. The site is in a neighborhood of single-family homes.

The Vista Heights project is a 33-unit project with a private community facility, adjacent to a single-family neighborhood. The neighborhood is situated in a high fire severity zone within a woodland-urban interface. The site is atop an abandoned quarry, on a steep hillside with limited access and evacuation routes.

Cupertino’s housing element was initially submitted in February 2023. In May 2024, the City submitted a fourth version, which was ultimately certified by the State of California in September 2024. Both developers submitted preliminary applications that did not conform to the zoning code in an attempt to utilize Builders Remedy provisions before Cupertino’s housing element was certified. However, neither developer was able to complete their applications within the required timeframe as mandated by state statute.

Cupertino is fully compliant with the State housing law and is committed to achieving its fair share of the region’s housing needs. Under its certified housing element, Cupertino must entitle 4,588 new housing units by 2031. The City is committed under its current zoning to allow for the development of over 5,800 units, exceeding the state’s minimum requirements by approximately 28% or 1,293 units. Moreover, just two years into the eight-year housing element cycle, the City has already approved 2,852 units, with an additional 424 under review. This brings the total to 3,267 units—more than 70% of the required goal.

“Cupertino has always welcomed development projects from responsible developers who care about our community and the impacts their projects may have. We remain committed to holding everyone to the same objective standards so that more housing can be approved in accordance with our General Plan, zoning ordinance, and state laws,” said Mayor Chao.