Rancho Rinconada
Rancho Rinconada is a residential neighborhood in eastern Cupertino.
It is bordered by Saratoga Creek (which runs parallel to Lawrence Expressway), Stevens Creek Boulevard, Miller Avenue and Bollinger Road.
It is bordered by West San Jose to the east and south, central Cupertino to the west, and Santa Clara to the north.
The homes found there were originally low-cost, single-story houses built in the 1950s by building firm Stern & Price.
This style was called “Ranch Houses” and were designed by architect Cliff May.
Their grounds were designed by landscape architect Douglas Baylis.
The modular construction and materials used were designed to keep the cost of construction to the bare minimum in order to produce a very affordable home.
The modular design reduced materials and man hours to the point where a home could be put up in a single day.
Since this area was outside of any city limits until the 1990s and only subject to county regulations, modifications to these houses were not as tightly regulated as those within a city limit.
Over the years, many homes in Rancho were remodeled or changed, and a lot of it was done without regard to building codes or the best practices.
Starting in the 60s, there came a demand for homes with two car garages – these garages held only one car.
The kitchens were designed with only a few low amp outlets connected to the other homes outlets and only two electrical breakers for the entire house.
These homes were not designed to support the new high energy dependent appliances coming into homes like the microwave oven and the home computer.
By the mid 1990s, a lot of people were simply removing the original homes and rebuilding new ones that met modern standards.
Near the end of the 1990s, a portion of the neighborhood bordering San Jose along Lawrence Expressway was annexed by the city, and contractors then began construction on large, executive-style homes.
In March 1999, the residents of the unincorporated part of Rancho Rinconada voted to be annexed to Cupertino, with the promise of more restrictive property development procedures and improved services to the neighborhood.
Later that month, the Cupertino City Council voted into law a bill that required neighborhood comment and reduced the percentage of a lot that could be covered by a building.
Though there were restrictions put in place that reduced the percentage of the lot that could be built above ground, the contractors went underground building lower level spaces.
Thus they maintained a larger available square footage for an executive class home.
As of 2020, the neighborhood was made up of an eclectic group of homes, from the old modestly built Rancho houses of the 1950s, to the higher-end executive homes of the 2000s and 2010s.
Researched and written by Alecia Thomas, CHSM Collection Manager, December 2024