The Rancho Sans Souci Eichler tract is a small Sunnyvale neighborhood built around 1968 by J.L. Eichler Associates, one of the development companies of Joseph Eichler's later years. On the four streets a published account gives for the tract, Sunnyvale's parcel layer lists 35 one-story houses from 1968, and the tract's drawings are filed in the archive of Claude Oakland's firm at UC Berkeley.
This post covers what that archive and the city's records say about the tract, the ten model codes in its files, how the houses look in the city's parcel data today, and the city rules that apply. 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 clearest source on Rancho Sans Souci is the Oakland & Imada Collection at UC Berkeley's Environmental Design Archives. The collection runs from 1942 to 2002 and documents Oakland & Imada and its predecessor, Claude Oakland & Associates. Eichler project records make up the bulk of it.
The collection's project index has a single row for "Rancho Sans Souci" in Sunnyvale. It is filed as a residential subdivision, with J.L. Eichler Associates, Inc. as developer. The files sit in manuscript box 11, folder 84, and in drawings box 14, folder 207, with a further entry marked FF 252.
The finding aid explains the firm's place in Eichler's work. Oakland joined Anshen & Allen in 1950 and soon became the principal designer for Eichler Homes. In 1960 he left to start Claude Oakland & Associates and took over the Eichler account, and the association lasted until Eichler's death in 1974. Our Claude Oakland page covers his career.
The finding aid also dates Eichler's development companies: Eichler Homes, Inc. from 1950 to 1968, and J.L. Eichler Associates, Inc. from 1966 to 1972, with two other companies dated 1967 and 1973–1974. Rancho Sans Souci falls in the J.L. Eichler Associates years, the same period as Sunnyvale's Primewood tract.
The dates don't fully agree. The index dates the Rancho Sans Souci files to 1968 and 1972, while the parcel layer gives 1968 as the build year for all 35 houses. The index doesn't say what the 1972 material is, and we couldn't open the folders, so we give both dates.
Ten model codes
The index lists ten house models for the tract: L-215M, SM-4M, SV-3, SV-4, SV-4S, SV-5, SV-5A, SV-5OK, SV-14 and SV-105. The finding aid says Eichler models are named with a subdivision location code plus a model number. Its example is MC-184, Marin County model 184. Eight of the ten codes here carry the SV prefix, and the index's own model-location sheet lists SV for four Sunnyvale subdivisions, Rancho Sans Souci among them. The same sheet gives SM for two San Mateo subdivisions, and L both for Fallen Leaf Park and San Antonio Court in Los Altos and for Diamond Heights in San Francisco. It doesn't explain the letters after the numbers, so we won't guess at them.
Two comparisons help place the tract:
No Jones & Emmons codes. The finding aid says Jones & Emmons models carry a numerical code, such as 2.1. Rancho Sans Souci's list has none, and its row names no other architect. Primewood's row, by contrast, includes models 2.4 and 3.5 and lists Jones & Emmons as architect.
A shared plan. SV-14 also appears in the Primewood row, on a 1962 Pine Hills No. 2 lot at Stanford, in the 1969–1970 Sereno Foothills row for Monte Sereno, and in a general "SV models" row covering 1960–1963 and 1968–1972. The same plan code turns up across tracts, cities and companies.
If you own one of these houses, the model code is the key to the drawings. The index points to the folders, but it doesn't say which lot got which model.
Placing the name on the map
The archive row gives no tract number or streets. A published account places Rancho Sans Souci on MacKenzie Drive, Laurentian Way, Olympus Court and one side of Pendleton Avenue.
Sunnyvale's parcel layer fits that description. It flags Eichler houses built from 1966 to 1974 in seven numbered tracts, and the archive index gives tract numbers for six of them: Fair Orchard (3631 and 4289), Primewood (4621), Midtown (4694), Fairwood Addition (4789) and Fairpark (5171). That leaves Tract 4465, built in 1968 on those four streets. The county's online map index covers maps recorded up to about 1957, so it doesn't include Tract 4465, and we couldn't read its recorded map.
No official record we read ties the name to the tract number. The match rests on the published street list and this process of elimination, and the layer also flags 17 Eichler parcels from 1967 and 1968 that carry no tract number at all. Treat the match as likely, not proven.
The houses in the city's parcel data today
On the four streets, the parcel layer lists 35 houses with a 1968 build year: 12 on MacKenzie Drive, 10 on Olympus Court, 8 on Laurentian Way and 5 on Pendleton Avenue. Thirty-two carry Tract 4465, and three have no tract number. The layer flags 34 of the 35 as Eichlers. The one exception, on Laurentian Way, has the same build year, and the layer doesn't say why it isn't flagged.
Stories. All 35 are recorded as one story.
Bedrooms. 26 have four bedrooms, 6 have five, 2 have three and 1 has six.
Baths. 20 are recorded with two baths, 8 with two and a half, and 7 with three.
Size. The median recorded building size is about 2,300 square feet, ranging from about 1,880 to about 2,940.
Lots. The median lot is about 8,560 square feet, ranging from about 6,050 to about 14,350.
Zoning. All 35 are zoned R1 with no combining district, none has an entry in the layer's heritage field, and all sit in flood zone X.
These are today's recorded figures, so they include any additions. They describe the houses as they stand now, not the 1968 plans.
The same four streets also hold 19 houses from other tracts. Thirteen are from Tract 5722, built in 1976, and 10 of those are two stories. The rest are three houses from 1957, two from 1974 and one two-story house from 1962. If you see a two-story house on Laurentian Way or Pendleton Avenue, check its build year before treating it as an Eichler or as a guide to what an Eichler lot allows.
The city rules that apply
Sunnyvale adopted its Eichler Design Guidelines in 2009. A 2020 report to the City Council describes them as design suggestions and policies to maintain the architectural style of Eichler and Eichler-like homes and their neighborhoods. That year, city staff also consolidated the city's ten design guideline documents into one. The guidelines, as adopted on July 28, 2009, apply to exterior changes to homes originally built by Joseph Eichler after 1950, and to non-Eichler homes inside the neighborhood boundaries on their map. A published account also calls Rancho Sans Souci a designated Eichler neighborhood. Ask the planning division how they apply to a specific lot.
A 2020 Zoning Administrator report shows how the guidelines work in practice. The city code requires a use permit for front-yard fences over 6 feet, and the guidelines say fences over 6 feet should be set back at least 15 feet from the front property line. They also encourage fences with a modern design and a strong vertical or horizontal emphasis.
The rules for single-family design review changed in 2026. On July 21, 2026, the City Council adopted Lower Density Residential Objective Design Standards and repealed the Single-Family Home Design Techniques of 2003. On July 28 it adopted Ordinance No. 3258-26, which replaces the city's design review chapter. The April 2026 Planning Commission report says the study did not include changes to the Eichler Design Guidelines.
The parcel layer shows no single-story combining district on these lots. A 2017 city report lists what an application needs:
R-0, R-1 or R-2 zoning underneath.
Signatures from at least 55 percent of the owners in the proposed district.
At least 20 homes, with at least 75 percent of them one story.
A boundary that follows a street, stream or tract line where feasible.
A district limits homes to one story and a 45 percent floor area ratio. On paper, the tract's 35 one-story houses clear the size and one-story tests, but a district also takes owners' signatures, a Planning Commission hearing and a City Council vote. This is general information, not legal advice. Check your parcel and the current rules with Sunnyvale's planning division.
What to check on a Rancho Sans Souci house
The model. Ask the Environmental Design Archives for the Rancho Sans Souci files and compare the plans with the house.
The county record. Compare the recorded bedrooms and square footage with the plan to see what has been added.
The build year and tract. Confirm 1968 and Tract 4465 on the assessor record. Houses on these streets from 1957, 1962, 1974 and 1976 belong to other tracts.
Permits. Pull the permit history before you plan changes. Our guide to checking permit history walks through it.
Front changes. Tall front fences need a use permit, and the Eichler guidelines set a setback for them. Talk to the planning division early about any change to the front of the house.
Frequently asked questions
Who built Rancho Sans Souci?
J.L. Eichler Associates, Inc., according to the UC Berkeley archive of Claude Oakland's firm, which holds the tract's drawings. The finding aid lists it as one of Joseph Eichler's development companies, active from 1966 to 1972.
When was Rancho Sans Souci built?
Sunnyvale's parcel layer gives 1968 for all 35 houses. The archive dates its files to 1968 and 1972 and doesn't say what the later date covers.
How many houses are in Rancho Sans Souci?
The parcel layer shows 35 houses built in 1968 on MacKenzie Drive, Olympus Court, Laurentian Way and Pendleton Avenue, 32 of them in Tract 4465. The county's online map index ends at about 1957, so we couldn't check the recorded tract map or the original lot count.
Can you add a second story in Rancho Sans Souci?
The lots aren't in a single-story combining district, according to the city's parcel layer, but the city's design review still applies, and Sunnyvale's Eichler guidelines cover exterior changes to homes Eichler built. Ask Sunnyvale's planning division what a specific lot allows before you design anything.
Related reading
More guides on this topic: Eichler Neighborhoods & Tract Histories
Curious about a Rancho Sans Souci Eichler's model or plans? Call or text the Boyenga Team at Compass at (408) 373-1660 or (650) 383-8606, or contact the Boyenga Team online.
