The Fairwood Eichler tract is a Sunnyvale neighborhood of one-story houses built in 1961 and 1962 by Eichler Homes, Inc., with site planning by Jones & Emmons. The name and tract number appear in the records of Claude Oakland's firm at UC Berkeley, which files the project under "Fairwood" and Tract No. 2944. In 2016 and 2017, owners in and next to the tract filed three requests for single-story zoning, and the city's reports on them are a detailed public record of the neighborhood.
This post covers what the archive records, where the tract sits, what the houses look like in the city's parcel data today, and how the single-story zoning came about. It is architecture and history, not a market report. For the city's other Eichler areas, see our Sunnyvale mid-century modern page.
What the archive records
The project index for the Oakland & Imada collection at UC Berkeley's Environmental Design Archives has a row for "Fairwood," described as "Units 1B & 2, Tract No. 2944," in Sunnyvale. It dates the project to 1961–1962 and files it as a residential subdivision. The row lists Eichler Homes, Inc. as developer, Jones & Emmons for site planning and a structural engineering firm. It gives two house models: SV-94 and an "SV-154 special." A separate 1962 entry for a single lot in Unit 1-B also lists an SV-154 special.
The index's own code sheet assigns the SV prefix to four Sunnyvale subdivisions: Fairpark, Fairwood, Rancho Sans Souci and Rancho Verde. The archive guide says Eichler model names combine a location code and a model number. The index dates Rancho Verde, which it also calls Fairbrae, to 1960–1961 as Tract 2653, the years just before Fairwood. Our Fairbrae history covers that tract.
The index also lists a later "Fairwood Addition," Tract No. 4789, dated 1969–1970. By then the developer was J.L. Eichler Associates, Inc., one of Joseph Eichler's companies after Eichler Homes. Its models were SV-13, SV-44M, M-14C and M-164, and the code sheet assigns M to Midtown and Rancho Verde in Sunnyvale. Three later house projects on Chukar Court, dated 1979 to 1997, are cross-referenced to Fairwood Addition, which shows the firm doing later work there.
Where the tract sits
Sunnyvale's parcel layer places all 148 lots in Tract 2944 in ZIP code 94087 and the city's Ortega planning area. They're on eight streets: Duncardine Way (38 lots), Devonshire Way (36), Flamingo Way (19), Dartshire Way (18), Firebird Way (16), Flicker Way (9), Kingfisher Way (9) and Dunholme Way (3). A 2017 city report puts the Sunnyvale East Channel on the west edge of the Firebird Way blocks.
Next door, the layer lists Tract 3157, with 67 Eichler-flagged lots on Kingfisher Way, Mallard Way, Cornwall Court, Wolfe Road, Coventry Court, Dartshire Way and Carlisle Way. Its houses were built in the same two years, 29 in 1961 and 37 in 1962. The archive row names Units 1B and 2 under Tract 2944 and mentions no Unit 1 or 1A, and no record we read gives Tract 3157 a name. It may be part of Fairwood, but we can't confirm that.
Fairwood Addition's 20 lots are on Chukar Court and Chickadee Court, 10 on each. Together, Tracts 2944, 3157 and 4789 hold 235 of the 970 parcels the city's layer flags as Eichlers. For more on the ZIP code's mid-century homes, see our 94087 page.
The houses in the parcel data today
The layer's figures come from county records and include later additions, so they describe the houses as they stand now, not the original plans.
Build years. In Tract 2944, 109 houses are dated 1961, 38 are dated 1962 and 1 is dated 2016. In Tract 3157, one is dated 2022. The layer still flags both lots as Eichlers, so the flag alone doesn't prove a house is original.
Stories. All 148 houses in Tract 2944 are recorded as one story, as are 66 of the 67 in Tract 3157.
Bedrooms. In Tract 2944, 105 have four bedrooms, 37 have three and 6 have five. Tract 3157 has a similar mix: 44 four-bedroom, 18 three-bedroom and 5 five-bedroom houses.
Baths. In Tract 2944, 135 houses are recorded with two baths.
Size. The median recorded building size is about 1,550 square feet in both tracts, ranging from about 1,330 to about 2,550.
Lots. The median lot is about 6,760 square feet in Tract 2944 and about 6,530 in Tract 3157.
Zoning and flood zone. Every lot in both tracts is zoned R-0, and all sit in flood zone X.
Fairwood Addition's 20 houses are all dated 1971 in the layer, a year after the archive's 1969–1970 project dates; the records we read don't explain the gap. All 20 are one story, with a median recorded size of about 1,810 square feet and a median lot of about 7,300.
Three single-story requests, 2016 to 2017
Sunnyvale lets owners ask for an "S" single-story combining district on top of their zoning. City reports from the Fairwood requests list the code's tests: the base zoning must be R-0, R-1 or R-2; at least 55 percent of owners must sign; the district must have at least 20 homes; at least 75 percent of the homes must be one story; and the boundary should follow a street, stream or tract line where feasible. Fairwood saw three requests:
Dartshire and Devonshire, 2016. The Planning Commission report covered 36 lots, the whole block between Kingfisher Way and Flicker Way, with 35 one-story homes and one two-story home. Twenty-six property owners (72 percent) applied. It was the city's fourth single-story request since the code took effect on January 1, 2001. The council adopted Ordinance No. 3080-16 on May 3, 2016.
Carlisle, Mallard and the courts, 2016–2017. This request covered 54 lots bounded by Panama Park, Dartshire Way, Mallard Way and Carlisle Way, including Coventry and Cornwall Courts. The report counted 50 one-story Eichlers, 1 two-story Eichler, 2 two-story non-Eichler homes and a California Water Service lot. Thirty-seven property owners (68.5 percent) applied. The council adopted Ordinance No. 3108-17 on February 7, 2017.
Firebird, Flamingo and Dunholme, 2017. This request covered 29 lots, with 28 one-story Eichlers and one one-story non-Eichler home, and 20 property owners (68.9 percent) applied. On March 13, 2017, the Planning Commission voted 4-3 to recommend denial, with some commissioners citing the required public-interest findings and a boundary they saw as mid-block. Staff replied that the district follows the Tract 2944 boundary on the north. The council introduced the ordinance on April 25, 2017, and Ordinance No. 3114-17 was on its May 9, 2017 consent calendar for adoption. The city's legislative records list that item's status as "Consent Calendar," with no passed date.
A city list of approved single-story districts, updated August 15, 2017, counts all three areas as approved. Its dates (April 19, 2016, January 24, 2017 and April 25, 2017) are earlier than the adoption dates on the first two ordinances; for the third, April 25 is the day the council voted to introduce the ordinance.
Today the parcel layer shows the S district on 64 lots in Tract 2944 and 46 in Tract 3157. In Tract 2944, those are the 36 Dartshire and Devonshire lots from the first request and the 28 Firebird, Flamingo and Dunholme lots from the third. The Tract 2944 lots on Duncardine, Flicker and Kingfisher Ways and the rest of Devonshire and Flamingo Ways show no combining district, and neither does any lot in Fairwood Addition.
One small conflict: the 2016 report counted a two-story home on the Dartshire and Devonshire block, while today's layer records every house in Tract 2944 as one story. Check the house itself before relying on either.
What the single-story rules mean
The reports describe these limits for homes inside the districts:
One habitable story, with lofts, mezzanines and habitable attics prohibited. The limit also applies to detached structures such as garages.
A maximum height of 17 feet, down from 30.
A maximum floor area ratio of 45 percent; additions beyond that need a variance.
Existing legally built homes over 45 percent or 17 feet become legal non-conforming. They can be maintained and repaired with permits as long as the non-conformity isn't increased.
The 2016 report says a district stays in effect unless owners apply to remove it. The reports also say the Eichler homes on these blocks are subject to the Sunnyvale Eichler Design Guidelines, adopted by the City Council in 2009, which guide design where fixed standards don't fit. A Planning Commission report of April 27, 2026, on proposed objective design standards for lower-density housing, says the city still maintains its Eichler Design Guidelines and that the study does not include changes to them.
This is general information, not legal advice. Rules change, so confirm what applies to a specific lot with the City of Sunnyvale's planning division or an attorney.
What to check on a Fairwood house
The tract number. It tells you whether the lot is in Tract 2944, Tract 3157 or Fairwood Addition.
The build year. A 1961 or 1962 date fits the original tract; a later date can mean a rebuild, even on a lot the layer flags as an Eichler.
The combining district. An S in the parcel record means the single-story rules apply.
The model code. The archive lists SV-94 and SV-154 for the 1961–1962 tract, but its index doesn't say which lot got which model.
Frequently asked questions
What tract number is Fairwood?
UC Berkeley's architecture archive lists Fairwood Units 1B and 2 as Tract No. 2944, built in 1961–1962, and Fairwood Addition as Tract No. 4789. The neighboring Tract 3157 was built in the same years, but no record we read names it.
Who built the Fairwood Eichlers?
The archive lists Eichler Homes, Inc. as developer of the 1961–1962 tract, with Jones & Emmons doing the site planning. Fairwood Addition was developed by J.L. Eichler Associates, Inc. For more on the architects, see our Jones & Emmons page.
Is Fairwood in a single-story district?
Parts of it are. Sunnyvale adopted ordinances for two single-story districts on Fairwood-area blocks in 2016 and 2017, and a city list from August 2017 counts a third as approved. Today's parcel layer shows the S district on 110 lots across Tracts 2944 and 3157; other streets, and all of Fairwood Addition, show none.
Related reading
Primewood Eichler History: Sunnyvale's Late Steep-Gable Tract
Sunnyvale Manor Eichler History: Where the AA-1 Prototype Began
Single-Story Overlay Districts: Check Your Street, Know the Rules
More guides on this topic: Eichler Neighborhoods & Tract Histories
Curious about a Fairwood Eichler's model, tract or single-story rules? Call or text the Boyenga Team at Compass at (408) 373-1660 or (650) 383-8606, or contact the Boyenga Team online.
