Eichler Homes in Silicon Valley: Overlays, Remodel Rules and Checks
Santa Clara County’s Eichler homes are concentrated in Palo Alto, which the city counts at 31 tracts, with further tracts in Sunnyvale, Cupertino, San Jose and Mountain View. What you can build on an Eichler lot depends less on the house than on the zoning layer over it: Palo Alto and Sunnyvale both use single-story overlay districts capped at 17 feet and one habitable floor, Cupertino zoned its Fairgrove tract as an “R1e” Eichler district, and San Jose regulates the Fairglen Additions as a historic district.
This guide is the Silicon Valley companion to our Bay Area Eichler overview and our Marin County Eichler guide. It goes city by city through the South Bay tracts and the rules that come with them, then covers what to inspect and how to prepare an Eichler for sale. Rules are stated as of October 2026; each city’s planning staff has the final word on a specific lot.
Where the Silicon Valley Eichlers are
The table lists the tracts we could confirm from city records, the National Park Service and the Eichler Network. It is not a complete inventory, and a street name with “Fair” in it is not proof that a house is an Eichler.
| City | Tract or area | What the sources say | Zoning layer to check |
|---|---|---|---|
| Palo Alto | 31 tracts, from University Gardens (1949-1950) to Los Arboles Addition No. 2 (1974), including Greenmeadow and Green Gables | Some 2,700 Eichlers, per the city’s 2018 design guidelines | Single Story Overlay (R-1(S)) in parts; advisory Eichler guidelines citywide |
| Sunnyvale | Sunnyvale Manor, where Eichler built AA-1 prototype houses in 1950; Fairbrae Addition | Palo Alto’s guidelines (Sunnyvale Manor); Eichler Network reporting (Fairbrae) | Single-story (S) combining district on blocks that have adopted one |
| Cupertino | Fairgrove | About 220 Eichlers built in the early 1960s, per the city’s 2001 Fairgrove handbook | R1e Eichler district standards |
| San Jose | Fairglen Additions (Units 1-3); the city also lists Morepark, Fairglen, Hudson and Fairhaven as Eichler neighborhoods | National Register listing, period of significance 1959-1961 | Historic district review; Eichler objective design standards |
| Mountain View | Monta Loma | 200-plus Eichlers built roughly 1954 to 1957, per the Eichler Network | Ask the city; we did not confirm an Eichler-specific overlay |
Eichler also built later models in Los Altos; Palo Alto’s guidelines show a Claude Oakland design there from 1968. If you are searching more widely, our Los Altos guide covers that city’s market.
Palo Alto: Single Story Overlay districts and advisory guidelines
Palo Alto has the deepest Eichler stock in the county, and two separate tools govern it.
The Single Story Overlay
An SSO district, created under Palo Alto Municipal Code section 18.12.100, limits a home to one habitable floor and 17 feet measured to the roof peak, rising to 20 feet in a special flood hazard area. Lofts and mezzanines count as a floor; basements, and attics without a stairway or built-in access, do not. The city’s guidelines say SSO districts overlap eleven Eichler tracts, and the Greenmeadow and Green Gables National Register districts both carry SSO zoning.
A 2016 staff report on the Royal Manor tract shows how a district was created at that time; the thresholds below come from that report, so confirm current requirements with Palo Alto planning staff. An application needs support from 70% of owners (60% where CC&Rs already limit homes to one story), at least 80% of the homes must already be single-story, and the boundary must follow an identifiable neighborhood. Staff noted the overlay does not reduce allowable floor area, and that a one-story replacement home needs only zoning compliance review.
The Eichler design guidelines
The Eichler Neighborhood Design Guidelines, adopted April 2, 2018 by Resolution 9748, are advisory unless the City Council turns them into zoning rules. Two-story projects outside SSO districts go through Palo Alto’s Individual Review, which applies to new two-story homes, new second-story additions and second-story expansions over 150 square feet in R-1 zones. Individual Review does not prescribe an architectural style.
Sunnyvale: single-story combining districts
Sunnyvale’s single-story (S) combining district, in Municipal Code section 19.26.200 (which we read on GoCodebook’s unofficial online copy of the code, dated October 22, 2026), is meant to keep single-family neighborhoods of predominantly single-story character. On mapped lots it sets:
- Height: a 17-foot maximum.
- Floors: one habitable floor, counting lofts and mezzanines but not basements.
- Floor area: a 45% maximum floor area ratio.
Owners start the process. An application must show support from at least 55% of property owners in the proposed district, which needs at least 20 homes, at least 75% of them one-story. The Eichler Network reported in April 2016 that Sunnyvale neighborhoods were adopting these block by block, with the Dartshire-Devonshire district approved and a Fairbrae Addition group reporting 39 of 45 houses in support. Because coverage is block by block, two Eichlers in the same tract can sit under different rules, so check the zoning map for the specific parcel.
The same report described neighbors citing Sunnyvale’s Eichler design guidelines in a dispute over a two-story plan. Ask the city’s planning division how those guidelines apply to your project before you design it.
Cupertino: the Fairgrove R1e district
Cupertino took a different route. Its Eichler Design Handbook for Fairgrove, dated January 16, 2001, describes about 220 Eichlers built in the early 1960s and the rezoning of the neighborhood as an “R1e” district. Rather than a fixed height, the R1e standards control form:
- Exterior walls along side yards no taller than nine feet, floor to top of plate.
- A first floor no more than 12 inches above existing grade.
- A maximum roof slope of 3:12, with hip roofs discouraged.
- A 20-foot minimum front setback, straight architectural lines, and street-facing entries integrated with the roofline.
- Privacy measures, such as obscure glass or high sills, for any second-story windows facing side and rear yards.
The handbook lists a preference for one story rather than a ban, and sends exceptions to the city’s Design Review Committee. It is 25 years old, so confirm the current R1e text with Cupertino’s planning staff.
San Jose: Fairglen Additions and historic review
The Fairglen Additions, Units 1 through 3, are listed on the National Register of Historic Places (reference number 100004036 in the National Park Service’s record) under architecture, with a period of significance of 1959 to 1961 and designs credited to Anshen and Allen and Claude Oakland and Associates. The listing covers streets including Booksin, Fairvalley, Fairhill, Fairwood, Fairlawn, Fairorchard, Fairdell and Andalusia avenues and Fairglen Drive.
The city describes the tract as a National Register historic district listed in the San José Historic Resources Inventory, so exterior changes there go through historic review. San Jose has also written Eichler Neighborhood Objective Design Standards for alterations, additions and new construction, which its page says would apply only within the Fairglen Additions district for now, mixing mandatory “shall” standards with optional guidance.
When we checked in October 2026, that page still showed Planning Commission and City Council hearings set for November 19 and December 2, 2025, and gave no adoption date. Ask the city’s historic preservation officer whether the standards are in force before you plan a remodel there.
Mountain View: Monta Loma
Monta Loma combines three tracts: the Eichler tract originally called Fairview, a Mackay section and Mardell Manor. The Eichler Network counts more than 200 Eichlers there that largely retain their looks, built roughly from 1954 to 1957, with designs by Anshen and Allen and Jones and Emmons. We did not find an Eichler-specific overlay for Monta Loma in the sources we checked, so ask Mountain View’s planning division what applies before you price in a second story.
What to inspect before you buy
The systems that define an Eichler are also the ones that cost most to fix. Our Bay Area overview covers each in depth; in short, plan for specialists on these:
- Radiant slab heat: original pipes run inside the concrete slab, so ask a radiant heating specialist about pressure testing, the boiler, and any rerouting or replacement.
- Low-slope roof: find out the roofing type, age and insulation, since the roof is also the ceiling.
- Possible asbestos and lead paint: in houses of this age, test before remodeling; our lead-based paint disclosure guide covers the seller’s side.
- Glass walls and beams: check single-pane glazing, beam ends and post bases for moisture damage.
- Permit history: compare the floor plan with the permit file, especially enclosed atriums and added rooms.
Diamond may refer you to partners we work with, such as inspectors and contractors; you’re free to choose any provider.
Selling an Eichler in Silicon Valley
Buyers who want an Eichler tend to ask the same questions, so answer them in the listing file. Pull the zoning designation and any overlay for the lot, gather radiant heat and roof records, and document permits for past work. A pre-listing inspection can surface slab or roof issues before a buyer’s inspector does. Transfer tax varies by city in this county; our Santa Clara County city transfer tax guide lists the rates.
Questions people ask
Can I add a second story to an Eichler in Palo Alto?
Not if the lot is in a Single Story Overlay district, which limits homes to one habitable floor and 17 feet. Outside an SSO, a second story goes through Individual Review, and the city’s Eichler guidelines are advisory.
How many Eichler homes are in Palo Alto?
The city’s 2018 guidelines say some 2,700 were built in Palo Alto across 31 tracts, though another passage in the same document says well over 2,000.
What is Sunnyvale’s single-story combining district?
It is a zoning overlay that caps homes at 17 feet, one habitable floor and a 45% floor area ratio. Owners apply for it, and at least 55% must support the application.
Which Cupertino neighborhood has Eichlers?
Fairgrove, with about 220 Eichlers from the early 1960s. The city zoned it as an R1e Eichler district with limits on wall height, roof slope and floor height.
Are the San Jose Fairglen Eichlers historic?
Yes. The Fairglen Additions are on the National Register of Historic Places and the city’s Historic Resources Inventory, so exterior work gets historic review; ask the city whether its Eichler design standards have been adopted.
Does a single-story overlay hurt resale value?
We have not seen a reliable published figure either way. The overlay removes the option to build up, which matters to some buyers, while others pay for the protection of the neighborhood’s single-story character, so price from recent sales inside the same overlay.
If you are buying or selling an Eichler anywhere in the county, we can check the overlay and permit file for the specific lot and price it from sales in the same tract. Start with our Santa Clara County buyer services or seller services, or browse the Santa Clara County guide.
This page summarizes city zoning and design rules for general information; it is not legal or architectural advice, and an architect or land-use attorney should confirm what a specific Eichler lot allows before you rely on it in an offer.
Sources & notes
- City of Palo Alto: Eichler Neighborhood Design Guidelines (adopted April 2, 2018)
- City of Palo Alto: Staff report on the Royal Manor Single Story Overlay (April 18, 2016)
- Sunnyvale Municipal Code chapter 19.26, section 19.26.200 (GoCodebook code library, text as of October 22, 2026)
- Eichler Network: Monster home spurs action in Sunnyvale (April 27, 2016)
- City of Cupertino: Eichler Design Handbook, Fairgrove (January 16, 2001)
- National Park Service NPGallery: Fairglen Additions (Unit 1, Unit 2, and Unit 3)
- City of San José: Eichler Neighborhood Objective Design Standards
- Eichler Network: Monta Loma, Mountain View
Last reviewed October 2026 by Matthew Martinez.
