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Green Development

Development and Construction Guidelines

The City of Cupertino Environmental Programs Division administers various requirements that must be included in new or redeveloped private commercial and single/multi-family housing projects. Covered projects include new construction, tenant improvements, and/or new or modified development use permits. These requirements are required to be implemented to conform with State stormwater pollution requirements and solid waste reduction and recycling mandates. Based on the scope of the project and existing site improvements, all or some of the requirements below must be included in the project submittal.

Conditions of Approval

At the time of submittal, the project applicant must include a signed Environmental Programs Division Conditions of Approval for Tenant Improvements and Development(PDF, 161KB) . This document is designed to provide guidance to the applicant of what conditions must be planned for with the project. Many of the conditions are in common areas of larger retail areas. Any building permit application or development permit triggers the implementation of the conditions described below and applicants are encouraged to discuss these required improvements with the property owner in advance of project submittal. Environmental Programs Division staff is available to explain and provide guidance concerning any of the required Conditions of Approval described below.

Construction and Demolition Waste Tracking and Diversion Requirements

In order to get a building permit in the City of Cupertino, all Covered Projects must submit a Debris Recovery Plan at the time of building permit application and plan review. The City uses Green Halo which provides an online portal to create a Debris Recovery Plan, upload and submit weight tickets, and manage the nonhazardous waste diversion tracking process.

Is your project a Covered Project?

Project Type	Description of Covered Projects
Residential	Demolition, new home construction, additions, or alterations of existing residential buildings where the addition or alteration increases the building’s square footage.
Non-Residential	All demolition, interior tenant improvement and/or preparation, exterior site work, newly constructed buildings and/or building alterations with a permit valuation of $100,000 or above.

Note: If your project is NOT a Covered Project, no Debris Recovery Plan is required.

Requirements for Covered Projects

Each Covered Project must create and submit an individual Debris Recovery Plan in Green Halo to be reviewed by the Environmental Programs Division. The permit will not be issued without the Debris Recovery Plan. If you are new to Green Halo:
Per State and City laws, Covered Projects must recycle or divert from landfill a minimum of 65% of nonhazardous construction and demolition waste.
Treated wood waste (TWW) such as pressure-treated lumber must be managed as hazardous material and may not be comingled with other mixed C&D material. Hazardous construction waste including TWW, paint, solvents, and contaminated soil must be transported and managed in accordance with all federal, state, and local laws and is not required to be included in the Debris Recovery Plan.
A hold will be placed on the building permit final inspection until the Debris Recovery Plan has been finalized in Green Halo (including uploading weight tickets) and approved by the Environmental Programs Division. You will not be permitted to schedule the final inspection until the finalized Debris Recovery Plan has been approved.
Applicants for demolition projects (excluding interior demolitions) must complete and submit the PCB Screening Assessment Form(PDF, 444KB) . You must have this form approved before receiving a building permit for demolition.

PCBs Screening Mandates: Are you exempt?

Pic of Caulking at Window As of January 24, 2019, applicants proposing to demolish a building must submit a PCBs (Polychlorinated biphenyls) Screening Assessment Form prior to obtaining a demolition permit. The Screening Form will determine if the building is likely to have materials containing PCBs. Structures built or remodeled between January 1, 1950 and January 1, 1981 may contain caulks/sealants, thermal/fiberglass insulation, adhesive/mastic, rubber window seals/gaskets with PCBs concentrations at or above 50 ppm that require abatement before demolition in accordance with state and federal laws.

For more information on PCBs, please refer to the links below:

Trash Enclosure Modification

All new buildings and all wet waste businesses (defined as a business that produces food, organic and/or liquid wastes) must include a covered trash enclosure to accommodate all waste containers. Properties with existing trash enclosures that do not have a roof, must include a roof covering the enclosure. Properties that do not have any trash enclosure must identify a suitable location and include the trash enclosure with the plan submittal. Trash enclosures for multiple tenant properties, such as a shopping center, must design the enclosure to accommodate all waste containers on the property.

For more information, please refer to the resources below:

Waste Trios and Cigarette Urns

Whole Foods Trio In keeping with the City’s goal of creating a pedestrian friendly community, waste trios and cigarette urns are required to be included with the project submittal. Waste trios are three, side-by-side waste containers which are clearly labeled Landfill, Recycling, and Compost. These receptacles are required to be located on private property adjacent to the sidewalk for use by the public and are maintained by the property owner as a component of the overall site maintenance program. Waste trios and cigarette urns must be designed for outdoor use, permanently affixed to the pavement, and have covers to prevent rainwater loading and scavenging animals. For multiple tenant retail centers, one trio set and cigarette urn satisfies the requirement for up to four adjacent businesses on one property.

Full Trash Capture Storm Drain Catch Basin Inserts

For projects located in medium and high trash management areas or adjacent to a creek, full trash capture storm drain catch basin inserts are required to be included in the project scope. Fueling stations, automotive, light industrial or other uses which may have fine particulate or liquid based pollutants (including cooking oils and grease) may require an additional media filter attached to the trash capture device for hydrocarbons and/or FOG (fats, oils, grease). Devices selected must be approved by the California State Regional Water Quality Control Board. See a list of approved and certified trash full capture system devices.

Please refer to City of Cupertino Municipal Code Section 9.18 (Stormwater Pollution Prevention and Watershed Protection).

full trash capture storm drain catch basin

Topographical Storm Drain Map

Topographical flow maps, often found on the civil site plan sheets are required to be included with project submittal. The plans must clearly identify all storm drain inlets on the site, all storm drain lines and flow, and all connection points of the storm drain lines to the City’s storm drain system.

City of Cupertino Storm Drain Map.

Storm Drain Inlet Markers

Drain Inlet Marker All exterior storm drain inlets on the property must be clearly marked with “No Dumping Flows to Creek” or “No Dumping Flows to Bay”. Cupertino creeks drain into the San Francisco Bay, so clearly marked storm drain inlets help us keep our Cupertino creeks and our San Francisco Bay healthy and clean. Please refer to the City of Cupertino Municipal Code Section 9.18 (Stormwater Pollution Prevention and Watershed Protection).

For more information on preventing pollution in our waterways, please refer to the resources below:

Exterior Copper

The exterior use of copper for roofing materials, rain gutters, downspouts, or any ornamental enhancement is prohibited. Small copper adornments such as door handles or fence post caps are exempted, however, the City discourages exterior copper whenever possible due to copper oxidation contributing to stormwater runoff pollution.

Restaurant and Food Establishment

California Assembly Bill 1826 mandates wet waste businesses to divert food waste from the landfill waste stream. All wet waste businesses, such as restaurants must identify on the plans, the location of all waste containers located within the food preparation area. Plans should include the capacity of the containers and be identified as “Food” and “Non-Food”.

Helpful Links

Below is a comprehensive list of links mentioned within each of the conditions of approval sections above: