Planning FAQs

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:

Email your question to planning@cupertino.gov (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.

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:

Check www.cupertino.org for resources such as, public records, meeting agendas, Muni Code and major project updates.

Sign up for e-notification and select the topics that interest you most:  http://www.cupertino.org/visitors/enotification-signup.

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. 

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.

Check cupertino.agencycounter.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.”

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: Determining Building Addition allowed

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 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

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.

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: Determining Building Addition allowed

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
•     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.

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.

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

Laserfiche

Online Public Records Portal

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.

Agency Counter – 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. 

Please see the Comparison Matrix for New vs Existing Construction to determine whether your project qualifies as a remodel or a rebuild, which will indicate whether fire sprinklers are required or not.

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:

    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.

    Fences not over 7 feet (2134 mm) high.

    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.

    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.

    Sidewalks and driveways.

    Painting, papering, tiling, carpeting, cabinets, counter tops and similar finish work.

    Prefabricated swimming pools that are less than 24 inches (610 mm) deep.

    Swings and other playground equipment.

    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.

    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:

    Listed cord-and-plug connected temporary decorative lighting.

    Reinstallation of attachment plug receptacles (but not the outlets).

    Replacement of branch circuit overcurrent devices of the required capacity in the same location.

    Electrical wiring, devices, appliances, apparatus or equipment operating at less than 25 volts and not capable of supplying more than 50 watts of energy.

    Minor repair work, including the replacement of lamps or the connection of approved portable electrical equipment to approved permanently installed receptacles.

Gas:

    Portable heating, cooking or clothes drying appliances.

    Replacement of any minor part that does not alter approval of equipment or make such equipment unsafe.

    Portable-fuel-cell appliances that are not connected to a fixed piping system and are not interconnected to a power grid.

Mechanical:

    Portable heating appliances.

    Portable ventilation appliances.

    Portable cooling units.

    Steam, hot- or chilled-water piping within any heating or cooling equipment regulated by this code.

    Replacement of any minor part that does not alter approval of equipment or make such equipment unsafe.

    Portable evaporative coolers.

    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.

    Portable-fuel-cell appliances that are not connected to a fixed piping system and are not interconnected to a power grid.

Plumbing:

    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.

    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.

Please visit our Building Code Standards page.

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

During the daytime period only, brief noise incidents exceeding limits in other sections of this chapter are allowed; providing, that the sum of the noise duration in minutes plus the excess noise level does not exceed twenty in a two-hour period.  For example, the following combinations would be allowable:

            Noise Increment Above Normal Standard            Noise Duration in 2-Hour Period    

                                              5 dBA                                                                                 15 minutes

                                             10 dBA                                                                               10 minutes

                                             15 dBA                                                                                  5 minutes

                                             19 dBA                                                                                  1 minute

For multifamily dwelling interior noise, Section 10.48.054, the sum of excess noise level and duration in minutes of a brief daytime incident shall not exceed ten in any two-hour period, measured at the receiving location.

Grading, Construction and Demolition

   A.   Grading, construction and demolition activities shall be allowed to exceed the noise limits of Section 10.48.040 during daytime hours; provided, that the equipment utilized has high-quality noise muffler and abatement devices installed and in good condition, and the activity meets one of the following two criteria:

      1.   No individual device produces a noise level more than eighty-seven (87) dBA at a distance of twenty-five (25) feet (7.5 meters); or

      2.   The noise level on any nearby property does not exceed eighty (80) dBA.

   B.   Notwithstanding Section 10.48.053A, it is a violation of this chapter to engage in any grading, street construction, demolition or underground utility work within seven hundred fifty (750) feet of a residential area on Saturdays, Sundays and holidays, and during the nighttime period, except as provided in Section 10.48.030.

   C.   Construction, other than street construction, is prohibited on holidays, except as provided in Sections 10.48.029 and 10.48.030.

   D.   Construction, other than street construction, is prohibited during nighttime periods unless it meets the nighttime standards of Section 10.48.040.

   E.   The use of helicopters as a part of a construction and/or demolition activity shall be restricted to between the hours of nine a.m. and six thirty p.m. Monday through Friday only, and prohibited on the weekends and holidays. The notice shall be given at least twenty-four hours in advance of said usage. In cases of emergency, the twenty-four hour period may be waived. 

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. 

Yes. Please refer to the Electronic Plan Submittal webpage for guidelines.

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.

While the City cannot give preference to one profession over another, there is a point system in place which places a preference to all to qualify individuals who that already work in Cupertino.

For information on the BMR Rental Program, visit our BMR Rental Program webpage.