The Fairgrove Eichler tract in Cupertino is a group of 220 Eichler houses built in 1960 and 1961 on Shadygrove Drive and Shadygrove Court, Stendhal Lane, Hyde Avenue, Brookgrove Lane, Ferngrove Drive and Phil Court. It sits inside Phil Lane, Tantau Avenue, Bollinger Road and Miller Avenue. On the city's parcel map, its 220 lots are the only ones in Cupertino zoned R1-e, the city's Eichler single-family district.
That zoning is the main thing to know about Fairgrove. It sets design rules for additions and new houses, but it doesn't ban second stories, and Fairgrove has no single-story overlay. This post walks through the records: the city's zoning code as posted in November 2026, its 2001 Eichler design handbook for Fairgrove, its planning pages, its parcel map and recent council items. For homes across the city, see our Cupertino mid-century modern page.
Two tracts, 220 houses
The city's handbook describes Fairgrove as "a group of 220 Eichler homes built in the early 1960's" that have kept a consistent Eichler style. The parcel map agrees on the count. It flags exactly 220 parcels as Eichlers, all zoned R1-6e, in two tracts:
Tract 2533: 128 lots, all with a 1960 build year except one that shows 2008.
Tract 2828: 92 lots, all with a 1961 build year.
Based on the parcel map's acreage, the middle Fairgrove lot is about 6,100 square feet, and they run from about 4,800 to 11,800 square feet.
The count isn't settled everywhere. A 2018 published account puts Fairgrove at more than 230 homes. The parcel map's "Fair Grove" neighborhood area does hold 238 parcels, but the 18 beyond the Eichlers aren't zoned R1-e or flagged as Eichlers: ten lots from 1958 in a planned duplex zone, six in a planned residential zone (four built in 1995 and 1996) and two in non-residential zones. We use the city's 220.
One more date needs care. The parcel map gives all 220 parcels an annexation date of July 1, 1979. That is a single database field, and we didn't find the annexation record itself, so treat it as a lead. If the date is right, the tract was built outside Cupertino's city limits and joined the city almost two decades later. For another Cupertino tract that came into the city later, see our Rancho Rinconada history.
We also didn't find a public record that names Fairgrove's architect. The county's online index of recorded maps ends in about 1957, so it doesn't cover these tracts, and the city documents we read don't credit a firm.
How Fairgrove got its own zoning
The handbook tells the story briefly. Some Fairgrove residents went to the city, concerned about keeping the neighborhood's identity and the privacy of existing homes as building went on. A citywide architectural survey confirmed that Fairgrove, with its Eichlers, was worth preserving. Work among the neighborhood, an architectural consultant and the city led to the "R1e - Single Family Eichler" development standards and the rezoning of Fairgrove as an R1e district.
The handbook itself is dated January 16, 2001. The city's single-family residential planning page says it was developed "with the residents of the neighborhood" to help preserve the Eichler style, and it links to the current zoning code. That code cites two 2011 ordinances for today's R1-e section. We didn't find the ordinance that first created the district or the date of the rezoning.
What R1-e requires today
As posted in November 2026, the code sets the Eichler rules in section 19.28.080, "Eichler (R1-e) Building Design Requirements." It opens with a line the 2001 handbook also printed: "Nothing in these regulations is intended to preclude a harmonious two-story home or second story addition." The requirements:
Street-facing entry features must be part of the house's roofline.
Roof slope of no more than 3:12.
Siding on walls facing a public street, not counting the garage door, must have vertical grooves no more than six inches apart.
Straight architectural lines, not curves.
The first floor can be no more than 12 inches above existing grade.
Exterior walls next to side yards can be no more than nine feet from floor to top of plate.
Other lines in the same chapter cover the R1-6e zone, which has a 6,000-square-foot minimum lot area. Entry features can be no higher than 14 feet from natural grade to plate. Side- and rear-facing second-story windows need exterior louvers or obscure glass up to five feet above the second floor, or a sill at least five feet up. The chapter's rule that a street-facing elevation include at least four architectural features doesn't apply in R1-e. Exceptions to the Eichler requirements go to the Planning Commission.
The 2001 handbook printed an earlier version of these rules, then numbered 19.28.100, and it differs in places. It listed a 20-foot minimum front setback, waived the second-story wall offsets required elsewhere in R1, called for window screening up to six feet rather than five, and sent exceptions to the city's Design Review Committee. So don't design from the handbook's rule list; confirm the current text, setbacks included, with the city.
The voluntary design guidelines
The current code still points to the handbook for added design guidance in the R1-6e zone. The handbook says its guidelines "are voluntary" and focus only on the exterior features essential to the neighborhood's character. Its main points:
Rooflines: broad, low-pitched gables facing the street with the ridge perpendicular to it, low gables combined with flat roofs, or flat roofs at different heights, all with overhangs that match the originals. Hip roofs are "not desirable."
Form: simple rectangular, L, H or C-shaped plans.
Glass: large panes without grids, including glass in gable ends.
Materials: vertical redwood or plywood siding in widths of 1-1/8 to 6 inches on walls and garage doors, 2x tongue-and-groove soffits, concrete block or brick fireplaces, and square-ended beams and posts.
Color and details: muted earth tones such as brown, tan, rust, green, light gray and desert sand, with bright color mainly on doors, and simple geometric light fixtures.
Front yards: open, with geometric walks and planting beds. Because the houses have little glass toward the street, the handbook says front fences and hedges aren't needed for screening.
For two-story designs, the handbook asks that second-story roofs match the form and pitch of the first floor and that second-story walls step back from the first-floor walls. In atrium models, a second-story wall may line up with the first floor at the rear of the atrium. It also warns that upstairs windows can look into neighbors' atriums and rear glass.
The single-story question
Design rules aren't the same as a single-story rule, and the records show Fairgrove has only the first:
No overlay. Cupertino's single-story areas carry an "i" in their zoning, such as R1-6i. The parcel map shows 126 R1 parcels with an "i" code elsewhere in the city, and none in Fairgrove. Its single-story field is blank for all 220 lots.
What an overlay does. The city's planning page says R1-i areas are where residents "limited development to single story and 18 feet in height," and tells anyone interested in a new one to contact city staff.
How to get one. The code's overlay section, from a 2017 ordinance, asks for a map covering whole blocks, whole tracts or opposite street faces within a block, evidence that at least 75 percent of the homes in the area are single-story, and a petition signed by the owners of at least 66-2/3 percent of the lots, one signature per lot. The City Council decides. A 2018 published account said a city planner knew of no Fairgrove application then, and the parcel map shows no overlay today.
Two-story permits. On December 5, 2023, the City Council took up amendments to remove the city's Two-Story Permit and make some discretionary design standards non-discretionary, after a 5-0 Planning Commission recommendation on November 14. The staff slides note an exception for homes in the R1-e Eichler zone (Fairgrove) but don't say which standard it covers. The state's environmental database shows it received the city's notice of exemption for those amendments on February 7, 2025. The city's two-story page still describes a two-story application, so ask staff which process applies today.
On flood risk, the parcel map puts the tract in FEMA's 0.2 percent annual chance flood hazard area, outside the special flood hazard area. Check the FEMA map for your parcel.
What to check before you buy or remodel
Confirm the current R1-e text and setbacks with the city's planning division. As of November 2026 the design rules are in section 19.28.080; the handbook's rule list dates from 2001.
Ask whether a two-story permit or design review applies to your plan, and how the R1-e exception works.
Plan second-story windows around the privacy rule.
Match street-facing siding to the vertical-groove rule; see our guide to Eichler siding replacement.
Pull the permit history for past additions, garage changes and roof work.
This is general information, not legal advice. Check with the City of Cupertino planning division before you design anything, and with an attorney if a question turns on how the code applies to your lot.
Frequently asked questions
Can I add a second story to a Fairgrove Eichler?
Yes. As of November 2026, the R1-e rules say they aren't meant to preclude a harmonious two-story home or second-story addition, and Fairgrove has no single-story overlay. The R1-e design and privacy rules and the city's other R1 rules still apply, so check with the planning division first.
How many Eichlers are in Fairgrove?
The city's handbook and parcel map both say 220, in Tracts 2533 and 2828. A 2018 published account says more than 230. The parcel map's wider Fair Grove area has 238 parcels, but only the 220 are flagged as Eichlers.
Who designed the Fairgrove Eichlers?
We didn't find a public record that names the architect. The city's handbook describes the houses' style but doesn't credit a firm, and the county's online map index stops before 1960.
Could Fairgrove get a single-story overlay?
Owners can apply. The city's code asks for evidence that at least 75 percent of the homes in the proposed area are single-story and a petition from the owners of at least 66-2/3 percent of the lots, and the City Council decides. Rules change, so confirm the current process with city staff.
Related reading
Rancho Rinconada, Cupertino: The 1950s Tract and Its Builders
Eichler Atrium Models vs. Courtyard and Gallery Plans Explained
Single-Story Overlay Districts: Check Your Street, Know the Rules
SB 9 Lot Split on an Eichler Lot: State Rules and City Overlays
More guides on this topic: Eichler Neighborhoods & Tract Histories
Want help reading a Fairgrove house's zoning, permits or remodel options? Call or text the Boyenga Team at Compass at (408) 373-1660 or (650) 383-8606, or contact the Boyenga Team online.
