The year 2024 was a busy and eventful year for housing news in Cupertino. The most important achievement was the official certification of the Housing Element by the California Department of Housing and Community Development (HCD) on Sept 4, 2024. For the last four years Cupertino For All has relentlessly advocated for passage of an ambitious Housing Element (HE) that would be inclusive, fair, and forward-looking. CFA participated in community outreach, wrote letters, and gave public comment in support of this milestone. The resulting HE plan restores local control over development and paves the way for building over 4000 new homes in Cupertino.

2024 began with the successful settlement of a YIMBY lawsuit that was designed to urge cities like Cupertino, to follow state housing laws. The settlement was controversial at first; however, the accelerated timeline for approval of the state-mandated Housing Element undoubtedly saved Cupertino from the most dire consequences of an established California law, nicknamed “Builder’s Remedy” that limited local control over building and zoning regulations.

Progress was finally made on the largest housing project in Cupertino at the site of the former Vallco Mall. The Rise is a large SB35* project with 2700 apartment units, retail space, and office space that is being developed by Vallco Property Owner LLC. In July, the Cupertino City Council agreed to settle a dispute with The Rise over assessment of impact fees that would likely be found to be excessive and unjustified. As a result, further delays and potential for significant legal fees were avoided. *SB35 allows expedited review.

Smaller projects are also coming online. Housing development at Westport (formerly The Oaks) is progressing with 48 units of senior Below Market Rate (BMR) Housing now fully occupied, and the 88 townhomes at Arroyo Village largely completed.  Nine townhomes at Allan Row  (former Bateh Bros. Liquor)  have also been completed and are now partially occupied. Also, a very low income development project of 19 apartments was approved on city-owned land at Mary Ave.

Here is an abbreviated timeline of the unfortunate tussle over the Housing Element in Cupertino: Little progress was made on HE in 2021-2022 but a new majority on City Council completed the HE in record time in 2023-2024. See more details in Cupertino Matters from Sept 4, 2024 and Sept 10, 2024.

Builder’s Remedy is a provision of the Housing Accountability Act that was put into place to streamline building affordable housing all over the state. The law can be invoked by builders in jurisdictions that have not passed a compliant Housing Element. Cupertino was subject to the Builders Remedy for a short period in 2024 before the state HCD approved the Housing Element on Sept 4, 2024 and the City was once more in compliance. See TLDR below.