The rules that turn a weekend project into a fine
Most home projects are cheap to do legally and expensive to do without a permit. The biggest trap in Cupertino is cutting down the wrong tree.
Last checked Oct 20, 2026 · Fees from Cupertino's FY 2025–26 fee schedule
Trees
In Cupertino, removing a protected tree costs $465 with a permit ($851 with arborist review). If you remove it first and apply afterwards, it's $6,055 per tree, plus replacement trees or an in-lieu fee.
- Protected in Cupertino: listed native species (such as oaks) 12 inches or more in diameter, plus trees required by a past development approval or planted as replacements.
- Sunnyvale: any tree 38 inches or more around (at 4.5 ft) needs a permit, filed 10 working days ahead.
- Mountain View: heritage trees (48 inches or more around, or any oak, redwood or cedar 12 inches or more around) need a permit: $116 for the first tree, $58 each after. Fines can reach tens of thousands per tree.
- Street trees in Mountain View belong to you. You water and care for the tree in front of your house, and the city prunes it.
Common permits and what they cost
| Project | Cupertino permit, about |
|---|---|
| Water heater replacement | $363 |
| Furnace or AC replacement | $578 |
| Sewer lateral repair | $71 + permit fee |
Each is a $71 unit fee plus the plumbing or mechanical permit fee ($292 for water heaters; $286 + $292 for HVAC). A licensed contractor usually pulls the permit and builds it into the quote. Ask to see it.
Why bother: when you sell, you must disclose unpermitted work. A buyer can ask for credits, and a retroactive permit can mean opening walls.
Building an ADU
- State law bans city impact fees on ADUs of 750 sq ft or less. School fees still apply on larger ones (Sunnyvale charges from 500 sq ft).
- Mountain View lets owners legalize an existing unpermitted ADU with no penalty fees.
- An ADU counts as a separate unit for garbage service, and can change your sewer and water charges.
Sidewalk in front of your house
Good news: Cupertino Public Works repairs damaged city sidewalks, and so do Sunnyvale and Mountain View. Sunnyvale's code still allows billing the owner, and it has a backlog of about 4,500 locations. Report trip hazards early: in Sunnyvale through Access Sunnyvale or 408-730-7415.
Fireplace and wood smoke
Between Nov 1 and Feb 28, burning wood on a Spare the Air day costs $100 for a first ticket (or you can take a class instead) and $500 for a second. The air district tightened when alerts are called in Oct 2025, so there are more of them. Sign up for alerts at sparetheair.org.
Flood zone
If your home is in a FEMA high-risk flood zone and you have a federally backed mortgage, flood insurance is required. Cupertino's flood-management work gives NFIP policyholders a discount: 20% inside the high-risk zone and 10% outside it (from Oct 1, 2025). Sunnyvale gets 15% and Mountain View 10%. Policies outside the high-risk zone can start around $119 a year (Mountain View's quote).
- Cupertino fee schedule (tree permits) · Cupertino building fee schedule FY25-26
- Sunnyvale private trees · Mountain View heritage trees
- Cupertino ADU FAQ · Mountain View: legalize an existing ADU
- Cupertino street trees and sidewalks · Mountain View urban forest
- Bay Area Air District: Spare the Air · Cupertino floodplain management
Facts are checked against the public sources listed on each page. Rates change every year; each page shows when it was last checked. Individual bills are confidential in California, so personal numbers are estimates from public rates. Nothing here is legal, tax or insurance advice.