Two builder's remedy projects in Cupertino have been stalled since the city declared their applications expired in January 2025. In January 2024, in a suit by YIMBY Law and the California Housing Defense Fund, Santa Clara County Superior Court Judge Mary Arand ruled that developers who filed affordable housing projects after Cupertino missed its housing element deadline could use the builder's remedy until the state approved the city's housing element. Preliminary applications for the two projects followed on February 20 and 21, 2024: one at 20739 Scofield Drive, replacing a single-family home on a corner lot of about 0.32 acres, and one on a hillside near Linda Vista Park that YIMBY Law calls Vista Heights. San Jose Spotlight has described them as 20 condominiums and 33 homes; HCD's notice of violation describes them as a combined 50 units, 10 of them deed-restricted affordable, and the figures above use HCD's count. Residents protested the Scofield Drive proposal at a City Council meeting in July 2024, and neighbors raised fire risk at the hillside site. The applicants filed full applications on August 16 and 19, 2024, and HCD found the city's housing element in substantial compliance on September 4, 2024. The city found the applications incomplete on September 13 and 16, 2024, and on January 9 and 10, 2025 told the applicants that the Permit Streamlining Act allows only one 90-day period to complete an application, so the applications and their vested rights had expired. On April 8, 2025, YIMBY Law, the California Housing Defense Fund and the two applicants filed two petitions in Santa Clara County Superior Court asking that the city be ordered to process the projects. On July 16, 2025, HCD issued a notice of violation saying the 90-day period resets after each incompleteness determination and that the city must honor the projects' vested rights, including builder's remedy status. The city answered in August 2025, defending what it called the plain meaning of the statute. On January 29, 2026, in a separate case brought by the Town of Los Gatos, Judge Helen E. Williams of the same court rejected the single-window reading. No ruling in the Cupertino cases has been reported as of October 2026.
Staff · Court · Santa Clara County Superior Court
| Date | Event | What the record shows |
|---|---|---|
| January 8, 2024 | Judge Opens Cupertino to Builder's Remedy Projects | In a suit by YIMBY Law and the California Housing Defense Fund, Judge Mary Arand rules that developers who filed affordable housing projects after the city missed its housing element deadline may use the builder's remedy until the state approves the element. San Jose Spotlight: https://sanjosespotlight.com/advocates-cheer-cupertino-judgement-on-affordable-housing-development-builders-remedy/ |
| February 20, 2024 | Builder's Remedy Preliminary Applications Filed | The two projects file preliminary applications on Feb. 20 and 21, invoking the builder's remedy because the city lacks a compliant housing element. HCD: https://www.hcd.ca.gov/sites/default/files/docs/planning-and-community/HAU/cupertino-hau-1585-psa-90-days-nov-071625.pdf |
| July 30, 2024 | Residents Protest Scofield Drive Plan | San Jose Spotlight reports that more than a dozen residents raised traffic and safety concerns near Faria Elementary School at a City Council meeting earlier in the month. The plan then called for 23 homes. San Jose Spotlight: https://sanjosespotlight.com/potential-cupertino-development-irks-residents/ |
| August 16, 2024 | Full Applications Filed | Filed Aug. 16 and 19, within the six months that keep the preliminary applications' vested rights. HCD: https://www.hcd.ca.gov/sites/default/files/docs/planning-and-community/HAU/cupertino-hau-1585-psa-90-days-nov-071625.pdf |
| September 13, 2024 | City Finds Both Applications Incomplete | The incompleteness determinations are dated Sept. 13 and 16, 2024. HCD: https://www.hcd.ca.gov/sites/default/files/docs/planning-and-community/HAU/cupertino-hau-1585-psa-90-days-nov-071625.pdf |
| January 9, 2025 | City Declares Applications Expired | On Jan. 9 and 10, the city tells the applicants that the Permit Streamlining Act allows a single 90-day period to complete an application, so the applications and their vested rights have expired. HCD: https://www.hcd.ca.gov/sites/default/files/docs/planning-and-community/HAU/cupertino-hau-1585-psa-90-days-nov-071625.pdf |
| April 8, 2025 | Housing Groups and Developers Sue Cupertino | YIMBY Law, the California Housing Defense Fund and the two applicants file two petitions in Santa Clara County Superior Court. San Jose Spotlight: https://sanjosespotlight.com/cupertino-sued-over-expired-housing-proposals-builders-remedy/ |
| July 16, 2025 | HCD Issues Notice of Violation | HCD says the 90-day period resets after each incompleteness determination and tells the city to honor the projects' vested rights. The city defends its reading in an August response. HCD: https://www.hcd.ca.gov/sites/default/files/docs/planning-and-community/HAU/cupertino-hau-1585-psa-90-days-nov-071625.pdf |
| January 29, 2026 | Judge Rejects Same Reading in Los Gatos Case | In a suit the Town of Los Gatos brought over two other builder's remedy projects, Judge Helen E. Williams rules that each incompleteness finding opens a new 90-day period. Los Gatan: https://losgatan.com/judge-sides-with-developers-and-housing-activists-in-lawsuit-over-vesting-rights/ |
| Date | Body | Action | Vote | Staff rec. | Source |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| September 13, 2024 | Staff | deemed application incomplete | — | Unknown | HCD: https://www.hcd.ca.gov/sites/default/files/docs/planning-and-community/HAU/cupertino-hau-1585-psa-90-days-nov-071625.pdf |
| April 8, 2025 | Court | lawsuit filed | — | Unknown | San Jose Spotlight: https://sanjosespotlight.com/cupertino-sued-over-expired-housing-proposals-builders-remedy/ |
Rating 4 of 5. Primary records for the key facts; minor details may rest on reporting. Corrections: https://whokilledthebuilding.com/corrections.