Cupertino for All is a progressive coalition comprising longtime residents, displaced individuals, students, parents, homeowners, renters, and allies, united by a shared belief in creating a more sustainable and inclusive Cupertino for future generations. We recognize that decades of exclusionary policies have prevented many families from moving into our city. However, we believe there is a path forward that benefits current residents as well. By implementing thoughtful policy recommendations, Cupertino can become a more accessible and vibrant town, ensuring that our children have a place to live in the future.

Our Dilemma

Cupertino's success has led to high-ranking schools and numerous job opportunities, attracting many new families and encouraging our children to return. Now, we must decide whether to welcome more neighbors or turn them away. The Bay Area is experiencing a major housing affordability crisis, with Cupertino having added 14 times as many low-wage jobs relative to affordable homes—the worst jobs-housing ratio in Santa Clara County and among the worst in the Bay Area. This shortage of housing has significant negative impacts on our community.

The Cupertino Union School District faces an enrollment decline crisis, leading to the closure of several schools, largely due to a lack of new families moving into the district. Hard-working students and workers cannot afford to become our neighbors, despite contributing to our economy and enriching our community. Our city effectively excludes teachers, De Anza College students, and workers across various sectors, as well as our own children who find it difficult to return and contribute to our community after graduating.

Despite this reality, Cupertino continues to embrace exclusionary zoning, effectively banning most forms of housing for middle- or lower-income families. Convoluted fees and unnecessary bureaucracy further intensify our affordable housing shortage. Historical resistance to housing development has exacerbated these issues, leading to increased traffic, environmental concerns, and social inequities.

Our Vision

We aim to create a closer, more welcoming community. Since our daytime residents already contribute to our community and economy, we should welcome them to live here, further enhancing vibrancy and investment in our city. We especially advocate for housing for our teachers, De Anza students, workers, seniors, multigenerational families, and returning college graduates. We envision achieving this in a way that promotes our schools' success, lively community spaces, walkable and bikeable streets, and engaging recreational activities for families, seniors, and young adults. This approach would also reduce car dependency by laying the groundwork for feasible transit options.

Our organization believes that there is a severe housing crisis, and that Cupertino is not exempt from its effects. But even if we were, we have a responsibility to be a good regional partner and mitigate the drastic effects that the crisis has on families across the Bay Area. Yes, we are a relatively small city, but Cupertino nonetheless has a crucial role to play as a jobs-rich center. The region has been growing for decades, but we have failed to adapt accordingly by building the necessary housing and transportation services to accommodate this growth. The question is not whether or not we will or should grow—because a quick glance at traffic on Stevens Creek Blvd. shows that we have—but rather if we will choose to let these daytime residents into our community.

Cupertino for All also firmly believes that we have a climate emergency which mandates bold change beyond minor policy changes like plastic straw bans. Our city and others must fundamentally change where and how people live by strategically reducing sprawl and investing in mass transit solutions.

Our Plan

Government policies helped create the housing crisis, so we need to make changes to policy in order to get out of it. Several of those policies are within Cupertino’s power to change. We, as citizens of Cupertino, would like to see:

Let homeowners build on their own property: Reduction of unnecessary fees that make accessory dwelling units (also known as granny flats or ADUs) costly to build. We could implement city pre-approved templates for granny-flat designs, so homeowners can easily provide affordable housing on their own property.
Make better use of limited land: Streamlined conversion of existing office/retail space into housing. Legalize housing that isn’t exclusively single-family homes. Convert vacant parking lots or buildings into residential space. Remove or heavily modify parking requirements for most projects. For major projects, maximize the number of homes permissible. Promote mixed use developments to increase vibrancy and connectivity between commercial and residential space.
Prioritize transit and biking: Continue to add safe, protected bike lanes throughout the city. Transform Stevens Creek into a transit corridor, with high density running alongside major bus routes. Add signal prioritization and a dedicated bus lane, so the bus can run seamlessly through traffic. Require developers along the corridor to provide transit passes. Add “no right on red” to increase safety in the city.
Housing affordability: Massively expand the city and our affordable housing trust fund to subsidize low-income housing. Speed up affordable projects to reduce construction costs and increase the frequency of the bidding process. Allow for naturally affordable housing such as duplexes and triplexes.
Give renters a voice: Add a city requirement to have at least 1 “renter representative” on the planning and housing commissions.
Promote home sharing of vacant rooms: Work with older residents to rent out vacant rooms through a registry—in partnership with nonprofits, especially to house homeless De Anza College students.

Cupertino for All does not accept donations from political action committees or developers. We are funded only by the donations of volunteers and passionate supporters.

Our Vision: A Cupertino for All

Our Dilemma

Our Vision

Our Plan

Our Values