Property Nerd Lab

Eichler Remodel Rules Finder

Pick a city to see the five layers of rules to check before you remodel an Eichler there, and how binding each one is. Then add a project for its code, lead and asbestos notes. Rules as of November 2026.

This view shows every city and every project. Find your city's heading, then the project you're planning.

Five layers to check

  1. Design guidelines. Advice written for Eichler neighborhoods. Their weight depends on the city.
  2. Zoning overlays. Binding rules in the municipal code, such as single-story overlays. They show up as a suffix on the zone.
  3. Objective design standards. Binding rules too, such as Palo Alto's two-story standards (February 2025) and San Jose's Eichler standards (December 2025).
  4. National Register districts. The National Park Service says listing places no restrictions on what a non-federal owner may do unless a project involves federal assistance, usually funding or licensing and permitting. California lists these properties on its own register automatically, which may bring local design review or state environmental review.
  5. Private CC&Rs. Recorded covenants, a separate layer that can limit homes to one story on its own. Read the title report.
1. Choose a city

Pick a city above to see its five layers and the label to look for on the zoning map. Not listed? Choose "Somewhere else."

Palo Alto

Voluntary guidelines, binding zoning. Overlays and the two National Register districts sit on some Eichler tracts and not others, so check the parcel.

  1. Design guidelines

    Voluntary
    The Palo Alto Eichler Neighborhood Design Guidelines, adopted April 2, 2018, cover additions, rooflines, glass, siding and roofing. They call themselves voluntary unless the City Council writes them into the zoning code, and their FAQ says they don't affect Single Story Overlay zoning.

  2. Zoning overlay

    Binding

    Single Story Overlay districts. The 2018 guidelines describe a 17-foot height limit and one habitable floor, and say the overlays then overlapped eleven Eichler tracts.

    Map label: (S) in the zone name, as in R-1 (S)

  3. Objective design standards

    Binding where they apply
    The Two-Story Objective Design Standards, effective February 14, 2025, apply to new two-story homes and second-story additions of 150 square feet or more unless the owner chooses the Individual Review process. Section E applies only in the Eichler tracts mapped in the 2018 guidelines, with rules such as roof pitches of 3:12 or less, a 22-foot maximum roof height (with an allowance in flood zones) and no projecting entry porch.

  4. National Register

    Two districts
    Green Gables and Greenmeadow, both listed in 2005. The guidelines suggest owners there may consider a stricter reading of the guidance to keep the listings eligible. The city's historic resources bulletin (pages dated July 2024) says properties listed on the National or California Register may need state environmental (CEQA) review.

  5. Private CC&Rs

    Private
    The 2018 guidelines say Eichler Homes developed CC&Rs for its tracts and that the city doesn't enforce them. Greenmeadow, Edgewood and Charleston Meadows have architectural control committees.

Read next

Confirm the rules for your lot with Palo Alto's Planning and Development Services department before you design. General information as of November 2026, not legal advice.

Sunnyvale

Sunnyvale chose design guidelines instead of a historic district, and leaves height to zoning.

  1. Design guidelines

    Review must be compatible
    The City Council adopted Eichler Design Guidelines in July 2009. Staff reports say they are used "in support of the zoning code," and that design review decisions in Eichler neighborhoods "must be compatible with the Guidelines." They cover the neighborhoods the city designated; a 2017 report says Sunnymount Garden, an early Eichler tract, wasn't designated.

  2. Zoning overlay

    Binding

    A single-story combining district. As posted in November 2026, the code sets 17 feet, one habitable floor and a 45 percent floor area ratio. A July 2026 ordinance amended the chapter that sets heights and floor area ratios, so check the current figures.

    Map label: /S after the zone, as in R-1/S

  3. Objective design standards

    Not in Eichler areas
    The council report on the Lower Density Residential Objective Design Standards, adopted in July 2026, says they will not apply to homes within Eichler neighborhoods.

  4. National Register

    None in our records
    None of the four Eichler districts in our records is in Sunnyvale. Ask whether your lot is on a local historic inventory.

  5. Private CC&Rs

    Private
    Recorded CC&Rs can limit homes to one story on their own. Read the title report.

Read next

Ask Sunnyvale's planning division whether your lot is in a designated Eichler neighborhood before you design. General information as of November 2026, not legal advice.

Cupertino

Fairgrove is the only tract zoned R1-e, Cupertino's Eichler single-family district. Its rules shape a second story's design rather than ban it.

  1. Design guidelines

    Voluntary
    A 2001 Eichler Design Handbook adds voluntary guidance for Fairgrove on rooflines, form, glass, materials and color.

  2. Zoning

    Binding

    As of November 2026, Municipal Code section 19.28.080 sets mandatory R1-e design requirements, such as a 3:12 maximum roof slope and vertical-groove siding on street-facing walls. It opens: "Nothing in these regulations is intended to preclude a harmonious two-story home or second story addition." Single-story overlays limit homes to one story, not to exceed 18 feet; the city's parcel map shows none in Fairgrove.

    Map label: e for the Eichler district (Fairgrove is R1-6e), i for a single-story overlay, as in R1-6i

  3. Objective design standards

    Ask the city
    In December 2023 the City Council took up amendments to remove the Two-Story Permit and make some discretionary design standards non-discretionary. The staff slides note an exception for the R1-e zone but don't say which standard it covers, so ask which process applies today.

  4. National Register

    None in our records
    None of the four Eichler districts in our records is in Cupertino.

  5. Private CC&Rs

    Private
    Recorded CC&Rs can limit homes to one story on their own. Read the title report.

Read next

Confirm the current R1-e text and setbacks with Cupertino's planning division before you design. General information as of November 2026, not legal advice.

San Jose

San Jose's Eichler standards apply to tracts on the city's Historic Resources Inventory, which as of 2025 meant only the Fairglen Additions.

  1. Design guidelines

    None in our guides

  2. Zoning overlay

    None in our guides

  3. Objective design standards

    Listed tracts
    On December 2, 2025, the City Council approved Eichler Neighborhood Objective Design Standards (Resolution No. RES2025-409). They cover exterior work that needs a permit, not interiors or backyard landscaping. In the version presented to the council, raising a roof above its original height is prohibited and second-story additions are strongly discouraged. As adopted, they didn't apply in Morepark, Fairglen, Hudson or Fairhaven.

  4. National Register

    One district
    The Fairglen Additions, listed June 6, 2019. The city then placed its homes on the Historic Resources Inventory, and a 2019 city memo says exterior changes need discretionary review through a Single-Family House Permit.

  5. Private CC&Rs

    Private
    The city's standards say your deed's CC&Rs may add their own limits. Read the title report.

Read next

Check your parcel with San Jose's Historic Preservation Officer and planning division, and get the current version of the standards from the city. General information as of November 2026, not legal advice.

Mountain View

The one Eichler-tract rule in our guides is zoning: a one-story overlay on the streets of the 1972 Grandmeadow tract.

  1. Design guidelines

    None found
    We found no Eichler design guideline for Mountain View's tracts in the records we checked.

  2. Zoning overlay

    Binding

    The height limitation overlay sets a limit in stories or feet. The city's zoning layer shows a one-story limit on Trophy Drive, Eichler Drive and Eichler Court in Grandmeadow. In the council records we searched, we found no overlay for the Monta Loma Eichlers.

    Map label: -H1S, shown as R1h1s in the city's zoning layer

  3. Objective design standards

    None in our guides

  4. National Register

    None listed
    The city's historic context statement (final draft, August 10, 2026) says no postwar residences in Mountain View are listed in the National Register, California Register or Mountain View Register.

  5. Private CC&Rs

    Private
    Recorded CC&Rs can limit homes to one story on their own. Read the title report.

Read next

Ask Mountain View's Planning Division how the one-story limit applies to your lot, including lofted ceilings and attics. General information as of November 2026, not legal advice.

San Mateo

The city's design rules are citywide, not Eichler-specific. The San Mateo Highlands is unincorporated, so San Mateo County's rules apply there.

  1. Design guidelines

    Used in design review
    The City of San Mateo's Single-Family Dwelling Design Guidelines (adopted 2001 and revised 2006, in the copy on the city's website) are citywide and don't mention Eichlers. One second-story guideline says that where a neighborhood has "an established common architectural style," the addition should continue it.

  2. Zoning

    Required review
    Under Municipal Code section 27.08.032, adding any second-story floor area to a one-story house needs a Single Family Dwelling Design Review application, decided under those guidelines.

  3. Objective design standards

    None in our guides

  4. National Register

    No district in our guides
    Our guides name no Eichler National Register district in the city. In the unincorporated Highlands, the steel-framed X-100 house is listed on the National Register.

  5. Private CC&Rs

    Private
    A published history of the Highlands says its original CC&Rs allowed architectural control but, according to a local source it quotes, hadn't been used in decades. Read the title report for any lot.

Read next

Confirm the rules for your lot with the City of San Mateo's planning division, or with San Mateo County Planning and Building in the Highlands. General information as of November 2026, not legal advice.

Santa Clara: Pomeroy Green

78 two-story Eichler townhouses on shared grounds, finished in 1963 and run as a housing cooperative. Pomeroy West, across the street, isn't part of the historic district.

  1. Design guidelines

    None in our guides

  2. Zoning overlay

    None in our guides

  3. Objective design standards

    None in our guides

  4. National Register

    Listed 2021
    Listed March 24, 2021. Santa Clara's January 2021 council report said that if the state found the property eligible, future changes would have to conform to the Secretary of the Interior's standards. It also said the city's preservation ordinance wouldn't apply unless the city separately added Pomeroy Green to its own Historic Resources Inventory, and a search of city records on November 6, 2026 found no later item doing so.

  5. Cooperative rules

    Private
    Owners are shareholders, and a five-member elected board sets maintenance and occupancy policies. Ask the board about its own rules before planning any exterior work.

Read next

Check any project with the cooperative's board and Santa Clara's planning division, and ask an attorney about the cooperative's documents. General information as of November 2026, not legal advice.

Somewhere else: a five-step check

Eichler design rules differ from one city to the next, and our guides cover only the cities above. For any other lot, start here.

  1. Read the zoning label

    Look up the parcel on the city's zoning or parcel map. An overlay shows up as a suffix on the zone, such as (S) in Palo Alto or /S in Sunnyvale.

  2. Ask the planning division

    Two questions: is the lot in a designated or mapped Eichler neighborhood, and is it on a local historic inventory? For an unincorporated lot, such as in the San Mateo Highlands, ask the county.

  3. Check the state lists

    The California Office of Historic Preservation's page on whether a property is listed as historic links its directories. It says they aren't comprehensive and leave out properties with only local landmark status.

  4. Read the title report

    Recorded CC&Rs are a separate, private layer and can limit homes to one story on their own.

  5. Describe the project

    A reroof, a rear addition and a second story can each trigger a different review on the same lot. Pick a project below for its notes.

Read next

Confirm the rules for your lot with the city's planning division, or the county's for an unincorporated lot, before you design or buy. General information as of November 2026, not legal advice.

Project notes

2. Add a project (optional)

Pick a project to see the code, lead and asbestos notes that come with it. With a city chosen, only that city's notes show.

Second story

  • Recorded CC&Rs can limit homes to one story on their own, so read the title report first.
  • Palo Alto. An (S) overlay means one habitable floor and 17 feet. Elsewhere, second-story additions of 150 square feet or more follow the Two-Story Objective Design Standards (Section E in mapped Eichler tracts) unless you choose Individual Review. The guidelines say "Second story additions are generally discouraged" and ask for setbacks from the front and from the side walls nearest the neighbors.
  • Sunnyvale. A /S district allows one habitable floor. Elsewhere, staff reports say the guidelines don't prohibit two-story additions but "can be used to ensure that all such additions are respectful of the unique privacy needs of Eichler homes."
  • Cupertino. R1-e isn't meant to preclude a harmonious second story, and Fairgrove has no overlay. 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. In an i overlay, a second story needs a Conditional Use Permit.
  • San Jose. In the Fairglen Additions, the standards as presented to the council strongly discourage second-story additions, allow one only under set criteria such as keeping it to the rear half of the roof, and prohibit raising a roof above its original height.
  • Mountain View. On the Grandmeadow streets zoned -H1S, the overlay sets a one-story limit.
  • San Mateo. Adding any second-story floor area to a one-story house needs Single Family Dwelling Design Review. In the Highlands, ask San Mateo County.
  • Pomeroy Green. The townhouses were built with two stories. Ask the cooperative's board before planning any exterior work.

Rear addition

  • Enclosed space can count too: the Energy Commission's compliance manual lists converting a garage into living space and enclosing and conditioning a patio as additions.
  • Palo Alto. The guidelines say to explore a first-story addition before a second-story one, keep its roof no higher than the original house and use the same roof form.
  • Sunnyvale. When design review happens depends on project size, and the 2026 changes revised the thresholds, so ask the city where your project falls. In a /S district the floor area ratio limit is 45 percent.
  • Cupertino. In R1-e, exterior walls next to side yards can be no more than nine feet from floor to top of plate, roofs no steeper than 3:12, and street-facing siding needs vertical grooves no more than six inches apart.
  • San Jose. In the Fairglen Additions, ground-level additions go at the side or rear, with rear additions inset at least 2 inches, a smaller footprint than the original house and a flat, skillion or matching roof (version presented to the council).
  • Mountain View. On an -H1S lot, ask the Planning Division whether a lofted ceiling or an attic counts against the one-story limit.

Any addition, up or out

  • Energy code. A change that increases both conditioned floor area and conditioned volume is an addition. It must meet the code's mandatory measures plus the prescriptive or performance approach. Solar panels aren't required for additions.
  • Air District. Every demolition of a load-supporting structural member, such as a wall, roof support or rafter, needs a demolition J number, even with no asbestos present.

Reroof

  • The 50 percent trigger. The Energy Code's reroof rules apply when more than 50 percent of the roof is replaced, including a new layer over the old one. The compliance manual's example says "50 percent or more," so if you're right at half, ask the building department.
  • Slope. A roof with a rise under 2 in 12 is low-sloped. A 2:12 or 3:12 gable is steep-sloped, with a lower reflectance target.
  • Climate zone. In Zone 4, low-sloped roofs need a cool roof surface plus R-14 continuous insulation or a U-0.039 assembly, with trade-offs and exceptions; Zone 3 requires neither. The Energy Commission's ZIP list puts the Palo Alto, Sunnyvale, Mountain View, Cupertino, Santa Clara and San Jose ZIP codes our guide checked in Zone 4, and San Mateo's 94402 and 94403 in Zone 3. A ZIP code can contain more than one climate region, so confirm your address.
  • No attic. Eichler roofs have no attics; the underside of the roof decking is the ceiling. Insulation above the deck keeps the wood ceiling but makes the roof thicker.
  • Fire class. State law sets a minimum fire class for the roof covering when more than 50 percent of the roof area is replaced within one year.
  • Palo Alto. The guidelines (voluntary) favor plain roofing such as "tar and gravel, single-ply, foam, and composite shingles," ask owners to keep narrow roof edges and exposed beam ends, and say raising a roof above its original height "is not preferred."
  • Cupertino. The city's Instant Permits page lists re-roofs with "no Eichler" and says unlisted permit types need a Standard Building Permit, so ask the Building Division which path an Eichler reroof takes.
  • San Jose. In the Fairglen Additions, flat and low-pitched roofs must be re-covered with built-up, membrane, rolled or foam roofing (version presented to the council).

Window replacement

  • Glass only. Glass replaced in an existing sash and frame, or sashes replaced in an existing frame, count as repairs if the replacement performs at least as well as the original.
  • New windows. New manufactured windows that replace existing ones must meet the Energy Code's U-factor and solar heat gain limits. In Climate Zones 3 and 4 the maximum U-factor is 0.27, and Zone 4 adds a maximum solar heat gain coefficient of 0.23.
  • Smaller jobs. Replacing up to 75 square feet of vertical glass can use a U-factor up to 0.40, and a solar heat gain coefficient up to 0.35 in Climate Zones 2, 4 and 6 through 15.
  • Lead. In homes built before 1978, the EPA's renovation rule treats replacing a window of any size as a renovation, not minor repair, when the work is done for pay.
  • Palo Alto. The guidelines (voluntary) prefer repair or in-kind replacement, discourage new vinyl windows and dividing windows into smaller units, and let owners explore swapping single-pane windows for insulated ones while reusing the existing sash and frames.
  • Cupertino. The 2001 handbook (voluntary) calls for large panes without grids.
  • San Jose. The standards treat contributing Fairglen Additions homes as qualified historical properties under the California Historical Building Code, which allows in-kind repair or replacement of original windows and sliding doors without meeting the Energy Code. The city's Building Official decides when that code applies.

Heating replacement

  • Primary heat. Under the 2025 Energy Code, an altered or replacement space heating system generally can't use electric resistance as its primary heat source. There are exceptions, for example when the existing system is already electric resistance.
  • Paperwork. The compliance manual treats replacing a space-heating system, such as a furnace, wall heater, heat pump or radiant floor, as an alteration, with the compliance form submitted with the building permit application.
  • Radiant slab. Palo Alto's Eichler guidelines say plumbing and the original radiant heating sit within the slab and may be difficult to repair without highly invasive work. If the tubing is sound, the boiler is the part you can change.
  • Gas equipment. Bay Area Air District rules set a zero-NOx standard for gas furnaces manufactured after January 1, 2029, and gas boilers rated above 75,000 BTU per hour fall under a 2033 date. The rules apply when equipment is replaced and don't require removing a working appliance.
  • Palo Alto. The city's page on its 2026–2028 green building and local energy code update says the green building ordinance applies to additions and alterations, and for houses lists a heat pump or extra efficiency measures when an air conditioner is replaced.

Every project

  • Energy code. Permit applications filed on or after January 1, 2026 fall under the 2025 California Energy Code. The Energy Commission's compliance manual says it "applies to additions and alterations, but not to repairs," and treats replacing a component system, such as reroofing, as an alteration.
  • Lead. The EPA's renovation rule covers homes built before 1978: anyone paid to do work that disturbs paint in that housing must be certified.
  • Asbestos testing. The EPA lists vinyl floor tiles, roofing and siding shingles and wrapped hot water pipes among products that may contain asbestos. It says you can't tell by looking and that a trained and accredited professional should take samples. For a house, the Bay Area Air District, which covers Santa Clara and San Mateo counties among others, requires sampling and testing before work removes or disturbs HVAC ducting, acoustic ceilings, textured or skim-coated walls, cement siding or stucco, or resilient flooring.
  • Permits. Ask the building department which permits your project needs. In an Eichler tract a remodel can also bring city design review.

What this finder can't do

It can't see your lot, title report or plans. It knows only the cities and rules our guides read as of November 2026, and a few rules come from drafts or older documents, as the notes say. Codes change, so confirm the rules for your lot with the city's planning division or a land use attorney before you design or buy. Your choices aren't saved.

The Boyenga Team at Compass, led by Eric and Janelle Boyenga, has been in Silicon Valley real estate since 1996. Planning a remodel or a purchase in an Eichler tract? Call or text (408) 373-1660 or (650) 383-8606, or contact the Boyenga Team.