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cupertino neighborhood guide · property nerds® at compass
Rancho Rinconada, Cupertino Homes for sale, recent sales and a Property Nerd’s guide
East Cupertino's early-1950s Stern & Price tract of Cliff May-designed ranch houses, a county pocket until 1999, where originals on small R1-5 lots now share blocks with two-story rebuilds.
Rancho Rinconada by the numbers
rancho rinconada by the numbers · live from the mls
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Calculated in your browser from MLS data for Rancho Rinconada: Stevens Creek Blvd to Bollinger Rd, Miller/Tantau aves to Saratoga Creek (city planning-area outline). Sales are single-family homes, townhomes and condos.
homes in rancho rinconada · live from the mls
Homes for sale, for rent and recently sold in Rancho Rinconada
Every active listing, rental and closed sale in Rancho Rinconada from the MLS, updated automatically, with a map of the neighborhood outline.
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Listings come from MLSListings and other MLSs through IDX and show their listing brokerage; confirm details with the listing agent. The map outline is the neighborhood boundary used by our listing search (Rancho Rinconada: Stevens Creek Blvd to Bollinger Rd, Miller/Tantau aves to Saratoga Creek (city planning-area outline)); it may not match every local definition.
the story
How Rancho Rinconada came to be
Rancho Rinconada is where Cliff May, the architect most tied to the California ranch house, tried mass production. In a 1984 oral history for UCLA, May recalled designing a tract for the builders Stern and Price in Cupertino, near San Jose: about nine hundred houses, sold out from four models as fast as buyers could sign up. He said that experience got him and his partner Chris Choate thinking about the prefabricated houses they went on to sell nationally. Call it the beta test for the mass-market Cliff May ranch house. County records date most of the houses in the main tracts to 1952-1955.
For more than four decades the tract sat outside city limits as an unincorporated county pocket. In 1955 it got its own special district, the Rancho Rinconada Recreation and Park District, which still runs the neighborhood pool and recreation center. By the 1990s the small ranch houses were being replaced: county records show about 230 single-family homes with build years from 1990 to 1999.
Cupertino's annexation records show the 'Rancho Rinconada 98-09' annexation took effect March 1, 1999, bringing about 1,560 parcels into the city at once. Since then, Cupertino's single-family zoning has governed rebuilds. Today about four in ten single-family parcels show a build year of 1990 or later, so one block can run from a 1950s original to a two-story house finished last year.
streets and homes
The streets and the houses
East of Tantau Avenue the streets form a tight grid of long blocks: Johnson, Barnhart, Pendergast, Tuggle, Newsom, Tilson, Loree, Stern, Bret and Judy avenues, crossed by Wunderlich, Gascoigne, Culbertson, Johansen, Minette, Carver, Morengo and Calvert drives, with short courts off Sterling Boulevard along Saratoga Creek. The oldest blocks, on Judy and Bret avenues near Stevens Creek Boulevard, predate the Stern & Price tracts by a few years (county records date them to 1948-49).
The originals are compact single-story ranch houses on small lots. Most of the area is zoned R1-5: a 5,000-square-foot minimum lot and 5-foot side setbacks on both sides, tighter than the 15 feet combined required in Cupertino's other R1 districts. With floor area and lot coverage each capped at 45 percent of the lot, many rebuilds add space by going up. County records count about 1,009 one-story and 461 two-story single-family homes, and about 106 parcels already carry a second dwelling unit.
West of Tantau and north of Phil Lane, the city's planning area picks up different tracts: Calle de Barcelona, Corte de Seville and Corte de Madrid (1955), Greenwood Drive and Circle, Sakura Way and Yoshino Place (1960s and 70s), plus the big school sites of Cupertino High School and Sedgwick Elementary. In the southeast corner, Chelmsford Drive, Edminton Drive and Barrington Bridge Court are a 1990s subdivision next to the district pool.
streets in rancho rinconada
- Johnson Avenue
- Barnhart Avenue
- Pendergast Avenue
- Tuggle Avenue
- Newsom Avenue
- Tilson Avenue
- Loree Avenue
- Stern Avenue
- Bret Avenue
- Judy Avenue
- Wunderlich Drive
- Gascoigne Drive
- Culbertson Drive
- Johansen Drive
- Minette Drive
- Carver Drive
- Morengo Drive
- Calvert Drive
- Menhart Lane
- Moretti Drive
- Arata Way
- Sterling Boulevard
- Chelmsford Drive
- South Tantau Avenue
- Calle de Barcelona
- Greenwood Drive
- Phil Lane
parks and places
Parks, shops and landmarks near Rancho Rinconada
- park
Rancho Rinconada Recreation Center
18000 Chelmsford Drive, near Bollinger Road and Lawrence Expressway: an outdoor 25-yard pool, bathhouse, snack bar and recreation hall on about 2 acres, owned and run by the Rancho Rinconada Recreation and Park District, a special district formed in 1955 and the only one of its type in Santa Clara County. It has its own board; check the district for swim programs and fees.
- park
Sterling Barnhart Park
A small city park at 10486 Sterling Boulevard, dedicated in August 2010, with a playground, picnic tables, a game table and native plantings. It sits on Saratoga Creek and connects to the Saratoga Creek Trail on the far bank.
- park
Creekside Park
Across Miller Avenue at Phil Lane, on the west edge: 13 acres with three sports fields, two playgrounds, picnic areas, restrooms and a rentable community room.
- shopping
Main Street Cupertino
Shops and restaurants on Stevens Creek Boulevard at the neighborhood's northwest corner, about 0.6 mile from the middle of the tract (straight line).
schools and commute
School districts and getting around
School districts
Rancho Rinconada is in the Cupertino Union School District (K-8) and the Fremont Union High School District. Two public schools sit inside the city's planning area: Sedgwick Elementary on Phil Lane and Cupertino High School on Finch Avenue. Hyde Middle School is just southwest on Bollinger Road. Attendance boundaries change, so confirm the school for any address directly with the districts.
Cupertino Union guide · Fremont Union guide · Silicon Valley school districts
Getting around
- VTA Route 23 and Rapid 523 run on Stevens Creek Boulevard along the north edge, Route 25 runs on Bollinger Road along the south edge, and Route 56 runs on Miller Avenue. Check VTA for current schedules.
- I-280's interchanges at Lawrence Expressway and Stevens Creek Boulevard are about 0.5 to 0.6 mile north of the middle of the tract (straight line), and Lawrence Expressway runs the length of the east edge.
- Lawrence Caltrain station is about 3.8 miles north (straight line).
- Highway 85 is about 2 miles west (straight line) at De Anza Boulevard, via Bollinger Road.
- The San Tomas Aquino/Saratoga Creek Trail runs along the creek on the east side; Sterling Barnhart Park has the connection.
nerd notes
Buying or selling in Rancho Rinconada: what we check
Buying here
- Original or rebuild? Check the county year built and the city permit history. About four in ten single-family parcels show 1990 or later. For a 1950s original, inspect the electrical panel, sewer lateral, insulation, windows and foundation.
- Know the R1-5 math before you plan: 5,000 sq ft minimum lots, 5-foot side setbacks, and floor area and lot coverage each capped at 45 percent of net lot area. A second story larger than 66 percent of the first floor, or set less than 15 feet from a side property line, triggers residential design review.
- Near the creek, check the maps: parcels on Sterling Boulevard by Saratoga Creek are mapped in FEMA flood Zone A and in the city's liquefaction-inundation zone (city GIS). Confirm the parcel's zone and whether flood insurance will be required.
- ADU and SB 9 potential: county records already code about 106 parcels here as having a second dwelling unit. Check Cupertino's current ADU and SB 9 rules against your lot's size and setbacks.
- Confirm utilities for the address: the city's parcel records show two water companies (San Jose Water and Cal Water) and more than one sanitary district serving this area. Ask for the sewer lateral's condition.
Selling here
- If the house is an original, say so with specifics: the build year, the Stern & Price and Cliff May provenance, and what has been updated. If it is a rebuild, have the permits and final sign-offs ready.
- On R1-5 lots, buyers price what they can build. Have a survey or the recorded tract map, the lot dimensions and the current floor area handy.
- If you are on Sterling Boulevard, disclose the flood and liquefaction mapping up front and include any elevation certificate or insurance history.
- If you have a permitted second unit, document it; if you do not, a quick feasibility note on ADU space can answer the question before it is asked.
nerd noteCommissions are always negotiable, and we offer bundled services, so ask us what's included.
faq
Rancho Rinconada questions, answered
Is Rancho Rinconada a Cliff May neighborhood?
The core is. Cliff May designed the houses that the builders Stern & Price put up in the early 1950s; he later recalled about 900 houses sold from four models. The city's planning area is bigger than that tract: it also includes 1948-49 blocks on Judy and Bret avenues, later tracts west of Tantau Avenue and a 1990s subdivision on Chelmsford Drive.
When did Rancho Rinconada become part of Cupertino?
The city's annexation records show the Rancho Rinconada annexation took effect March 1, 1999, bringing in about 1,560 parcels. Before that it was an unincorporated pocket of Santa Clara County.
What is the Rancho Rinconada pool?
It is the Rancho Rinconada Recreation and Park District's recreation center at 18000 Chelmsford Drive, with an outdoor 25-yard pool and a recreation hall. The district formed in 1955 and is governed by its own board, separate from the city.
Can I build a two-story house here?
Generally yes, within Cupertino's R1 rules. Most lots are R1-5, with 5-foot side setbacks and floor area and lot coverage capped at 45 percent of the lot. Bigger second stories or tighter side setbacks trigger design review, so check with the Planning Division early.
Where are the boundaries?
Stevens Creek Boulevard on the north, Bollinger Road on the south, Saratoga Creek and Lawrence Expressway on the east, and Tantau Avenue on the west, with the city's planning area extending to Miller Avenue north of Phil Lane. Fairgrove is the neighbor in the southwest corner.
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