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los altos neighborhood guide · property nerds® at compass
Fallen Leaf Park Eichlers, Los Altos Homes for sale, recent sales and a Property Nerd’s guide
A cluster of 37 Eichler atrium homes designed by Claude Oakland and built in 1968-69 on Clay Drive, Alexander Way and Fallen Leaf Lane, just south of Fremont Avenue.
Fallen Leaf Park by the numbers
fallen leaf park by the numbers · live from the mls
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Calculated in your browser from MLS data for Fallen Leaf Park: Clay Dr, Alexander Way and Fallen Leaf Ln south of Fremont Ave. Sales are single-family homes, townhomes and condos.
homes in fallen leaf park · live from the mls
Homes for sale, for rent and recently sold in Fallen Leaf Park
Every active listing, rental and closed sale in Fallen Leaf Park 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 (Fallen Leaf Park: Clay Dr, Alexander Way and Fallen Leaf Ln south of Fremont Ave); it may not match every local definition.
the story
How Fallen Leaf Park came to be
Fallen Leaf Park is a group of 37 Eichlers designed by architect Claude Oakland and built in 1968 and 1969, most of them on Clay Drive, with a handful on Alexander Way and Fallen Leaf Lane. An Eichler publication reports that they went up on the cherry orchard of the old Clay Ranch, and early buyers found working cherry trees in their backyards. The city's other Eichler groupings include a cul-de-sac cluster on Parsons Way off North San Antonio Road and a pair of custom Eichlers on Almond Avenue.
This is late Eichler. By the time these houses were built, Eichler Homes had gone through bankruptcy and Joseph Eichler was building as J.L. Eichler Associates, a pared-down operation, according to an Eichler publication. Eichler ran the sales office himself.
In 2015 two neighbors started a push to make Fallen Leaf Park the first historic district in Los Altos. They gathered signatures from roughly 70 to 75 percent of owners (25 percent was required), and in January 2016 the City Council considered their request to waive the city's application fee; an Eichler publication reported that it was waived. Some owners objected at Historical Commission meetings, and in March 2017 the proponents told city staff they would not pursue the application. Today the city's zoning map shows the tract as ordinary R1-10, with no historic or single-story overlay.
streets and homes
The streets and the houses
The tract is a closed loop that you enter from Fallen Leaf Lane. Clay Drive comes in at the south end, runs west and then north along the tract's western edge, and meets Candace Way, which curls back east and south to Alexander Way; Alexander Way returns to Fallen Leaf Lane mid-block, with short Alexander Court off it. No street connects to Fremont Avenue or Newcastle Drive. An Eichler publication credits the curving streets, the tree canopy and the lack of sidewalks for the semi-rural look, and notes that the tract has no park or neighborhood association of its own.
The houses are atrium and gallery models with post-and-beam framing and glass walls facing the atrium and yard; an Eichler publication describes sizable loggias and galleries between the atrium and the rear courtyard in some models. Listings we checked include a 1968 double A-frame atrium model on Alexander Way of about 2,569 square feet plus a roughly 420-square-foot atrium, and a 1968 four-bedroom atrium model on Clay Drive of 2,301 square feet with radiant heat. Assessor records for the Clay Drive houses show 1,963 to 3,363 square feet (median about 2,540, additions included) on lots of 0.22 to 0.33 acre. So the quarter acre you may hear about is right for some lots and generous for most; the median is about 9,600 square feet.
Not every late-1960s house on the block is one of the 37. Assessor data show about 70 houses on Clay Drive, Alexander Way, Alexander Court, Candace Way and the west side of Fallen Leaf Lane built from 1967 to 1970, plus five houses on Alexander Court built in 2017. Two of the Eichlers have second-story additions designed by Oakland's firm, according to an Eichler publication. The zoning is R1-10 with no single-story overlay, unlike the Larkellen Lane area just north of Fremont Avenue, where a single-story overlay was adopted in 2017.
streets in fallen leaf park
- Clay Drive
- Alexander Way
- Alexander Court
- Candace Way
- Fallen Leaf Lane
- Fremont Avenue
- Ben Roe Drive
parks and places
Parks, shops and landmarks near Fallen Leaf Park
- park
Grant Park and Community Center
1575 Holt Avenue, about a third of a mile southwest. About 4.5 acres on a former school site, with a community center (multipurpose room, stage, kitchen and four classrooms), an outdoor basketball court, a playground, a soccer field and picnic areas.
- landmark
Woodland Branch Library
The Santa Clara County Library District branch at 1975 Grant Road, about 0.6 mile southwest.
- shopping
Homestead Road shopping
A grocery store at 2310 Homestead Road is about 0.9 mile south.
- shopping
Loyola Corners
The small shopping district at Miramonte Avenue, Fremont Avenue and Foothill Expressway, about 1.1 miles west.
- landmark
Larkellen Lane single-story overlay
Across Fremont Avenue, about 47 properties on Larkellen Lane and parts of Ravenswood Drive, Havenhurst Drive and Fallen Leaf Lane are in a single-story overlay adopted in 2017, a useful contrast when you compare additions.
schools and commute
School districts and getting around
School districts
Fallen Leaf Park sits on a school-district line. Census school-district maps put Clay Drive, Alexander Way and Candace Way in the Cupertino Union School District (K-8) and the Fremont Union High School District, and a 2025 MLS listing on Clay Drive shows the same two districts, while the blocks just north of Fremont Avenue are in the Los Altos School District and the Mountain View-Los Altos Union High School District. Do not assume LASD because the address says Los Altos. Attendance boundaries change, so check the exact address with CUSD's and FUHSD's address tools.
Cupertino Union guide · Fremont Union guide · Silicon Valley school districts
Getting around
- SR 85: the Fremont Avenue interchange (exit 20) is about 0.4 mile east.
- I-280: exit 13, at Foothill Expressway and Grant Road, is about 1.1 miles south (straight line).
- Caltrain: Sunnyvale station is about 2.8 miles and Mountain View station about 3.1 miles away (straight line).
- Foothill Expressway, a popular cycling route, is about 0.7 mile southwest at Grant Road.
- Downtown Los Altos is about 3.3 miles (straight line) to the northwest.
nerd notes
Buying or selling in Fallen Leaf Park: what we check
Buying here
- Confirm it is one of the 37. Ask for the model, the original permit or other records; houses on the same block from 1967-1970 may not be Eichlers.
- Radiant heat: ask whether the original in-slab radiant system works, what repairs or conversions have been made, and have it inspected.
- Roof, glass and power: low-slope roofs, walls of glass and older electrical service are the usual Eichler upgrade points. Ask for roof age and type and the electrical panel size before you plan a heat pump or EV charger.
- Additions: there is no single-story overlay on these streets, but talk to Los Altos Planning before assuming a second story, and check permits for any past addition or atrium cover.
- Schools: verify the districts by address. This block is in Cupertino Union and Fremont Union High per Census maps and recent listings, while neighbors north of Fremont Avenue are in LASD and MVLA.
Selling here
- Name the model and the architect correctly (Claude Oakland; for example a double A-frame atrium model) and say what is original and what was changed.
- Have radiant heat, roof and electrical records ready, with permits for remodels and any second story.
- State the school districts accurately; buyers often assume LASD for any Los Altos address.
- Show the provenance. Eichler buyers will ask whether the house is one of the 37 and how much of the original design survives.
nerd noteCommissions are always negotiable, and we offer bundled services, so ask us what's included.
faq
Fallen Leaf Park questions, answered
Who built Fallen Leaf Park, and when?
Joseph Eichler, operating as J.L. Eichler Associates after Eichler Homes' bankruptcy, built the 37 houses in 1968 and 1969 to designs by architect Claude Oakland, according to an Eichler publication and county assessor records.
Is Fallen Leaf Park a historic district?
No. Neighbors pursued a historic district in 2015 and 2016 and won a city fee waiver, but in March 2017 they told the city they would not pursue the application. The city's zoning map shows no historic overlay.
Can a second story be added to a Fallen Leaf Park Eichler?
The tract is zoned R1-10 with no single-story overlay, and two houses already have second-story additions. Any addition still goes through Los Altos planning review, so talk to the city before you buy with that plan.
Which school districts serve Fallen Leaf Park?
Census maps and a recent MLS listing show the Cupertino Union School District and the Fremont Union High School District, not LASD and MVLA, which serve the blocks just north of Fremont Avenue. Boundaries change, so check the exact address.
Is it in the City of Los Altos?
Yes. The tract is inside the city limits in ZIP 94024, east of Grant Road and about a quarter mile west of the Sunnyvale line.
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