Burbank | Three or More Homes

Burbank, California Three or More Homes: Development Review, the 15 Percent Inclusionary Rule, Density Bonus, Housing in Commercial Zones, SB 79 and Tenant Relocation

This page covers Burbank projects of three or more homes on one lot: where they are allowed, who reviews them, what the City asks for at five homes, and how two state laws change the numbers. The rules are in Article 6 and Article 19 of Title 10 of the Burbank Municipal Code. A triplex or fourplex follows the same multiple family rules as a larger building. The Burbank overview has the summary.

Where Three or More Homes Are Allowed

Table 10-1-627 lists "Multiple family dwelling" as a permitted use in R-2, R-3 and R-4, and the code defines it as "a residence consisting of two (2) or more dwelling units." The number of homes comes from the lot area tables on the zoning districts page: on a 6,000 square foot lot, two homes in R-2 and R-3 and three in R-4 (VanPlex arithmetic). Three homes need 9,000 square feet in R-2, 7,200 in R-3 and 6,000 in R-4. The General Plan caps of 14, 27 and 43 units per acre in Section 10-1-626.5 apply on top.

Outside those zones, Table 10-1-502 marks housing combined with another use for an Administrative Use Permit in 12 commercial zones, and housing with no other use as allowed "When required by State preemption law" in all but BCC-3. In practice a residential-only building on commercial land in Burbank is a state-law project. Voters also limit how far the City may raise densities until 2030; see Measure One on the zoning districts page.

Sources: Burbank Municipal Code 10-1-628, 10-1-631, 10-1-635 and 10-1-645.

Development Review

Section 10-1-631: "no structure shall be erected on any multiple family lot, nor shall any permits be issued until a Development Review has been submitted to and approved by the Director." The Director is the Community Development Director. Demolition and grading permits wait for the same approval. A single house on a multiple family lot is exempt under Section 10-1-1914.

• Completeness. "Not later than 30 calendar days after application submittal, the Director or designee shall determine whether such application is complete and accepted for processing."
• Environmental review. Each application for "Any multiple family project" is treated as a project under the California Environmental Quality Act, the state law on environmental review, and its status under that law is decided before approval.
• Community meeting. "Prior to making a decision on a Development Review application, the Director must hold a community meeting." The applicant attends, and the Director may not decide at the meeting.
• Notice. Notice of the project and of the pending decision is "mailed to surrounding property owners and occupants within 1000 feet of the project site" at least 10 business days ahead, and "one four (4) foot by eight (8) foot sign" is posted on the lot.
• The standard. An application "shall be approved if the Director or if appealed, the Planning Commission, finds that the application/project is consistent with all provisions of this Code."
• The neighborhood finding. In the multiple family zones the Director may also require changes or deny the project on finding that it "would conflict with, or would have an adverse impact on, the existing or intended neighborhood character" or "would have an adverse impact on nearby single family residential structures." Building height, size and massing, roof style, parking access, entries and open space are the listed features.
• Appeal. A Director decision may be appealed to the Planning Commission "by 5:00 p.m. on the 15th day following the date that the Director's decision is issued," and the Commission "decision will be final."
• Life of the approval. "Development Review approval shall terminate within one (1) year of the date of approval" unless a building permit application is filed and kept alive.

The neighborhood finding calls for judgment. The City's own January 2026 report on SB 79 describes Development Review as "administrative level discretionary review," in which a project is "reviewed for consistency with all applicable objective development standards." Ask the Planning Division how it applies Section 10-1-631 to your project.

The 15 Percent Rule at Five Homes

Burbank calls its affordable housing rule the Inclusionary Ordinance. Section 10-1-645: "An inclusionary requirement shall apply to all projects involving new construction of five (5) or more residential dwelling units, including units developed in commercial districts and/or within mixed use developments." Section 10-1-646: "At least 15 percent of all newly constructed dwelling units in Residential Developments shall be developed, offered to and sold or rented to Very Low, Low and Moderate Income Households."

Source: VanPlex arithmetic from Section 10-1-646: "any decimal fraction shall be rounded up to the nearest whole number."

• Rental projects. "A minimum of five percent of units in the total Residential Development shall be Very Low Income; the remaining ten percent of the units shall be Low Income."
• For-sale projects. All inclusionary units "shall be sold to Low and/or Moderate Income Households."
• Bonus homes are not counted. Units added by a density bonus "will not be counted in determining the required number of Inclusionary Units."
• Credits. A very low income rental home provided in place of a low income one counts as 1.25 units, and a home for a large family or a fully accessible home counts as 1.5.
• Building elsewhere. "A Developer of a project with five (5) - nine (9) units may satisfy the requirement" through new construction or rehabilitation "at a site different than the site of the Residential Development." At ten or more units this is "subject to the discretion of the City Council."
• Paying a fee. "A Developer may pay a fee in lieu of all of the Inclusionary Units in that amount set forth in the Fee Resolution." It is due "prior to the issuance of a building permit or any other permit," including demolition and grading. The amount is in the City fee schedule, which this guide could not read.
• The agreement. Projects that build the units sign an Inclusionary Housing Agreement before any building permit. The proposed budget for 2026-27 lists a new "Affordable Housing Agreement" fee of $9,021.52, "charged to developers to recover the City's cost associated with drafting and finalizing the agreement."
• Appeal. A developer "may appeal to the City Council for a reduction adjustment, or waiver of the requirements" within 15 days of the action.

One figure in the code is misprinted. Section 10-1-651 says a rental inclusionary unit stays affordable "for as long as the land is used for housing, which shall be less than 55 years." The for-sale line says "not less than 55 years," and Section 10-1-639 says rental units must "remain restricted and affordable for 55 years pursuant to Section 10-1-651(C)." Read together, the term is at least 55 years. Confirm it with the City.

Density Bonus

• The local text. Section 10-1-635 grants a bonus to "a Housing Development of five (5) or more dwelling units" with 10 percent low income homes, 5 percent very low income homes, senior housing, or 10 percent moderate income for-sale homes. It prints a bonus of 20 percent rising to "a maximum of 35 percent."
• State law replaces those numbers. Section 10-1-643: "In the event these sections are amended, those amended provisions shall be incorporated into this Division. Should any inconsistencies exist between the amended state law and the provisions set forth herein, the amended state law shall prevail." The City's July 2026 staff report on ADUs describes the current state law as "potentially resulting in up to a 100% density bonus." See Government Code 65915.
• Parking under the local text. On request: one space for zero to one bedroom, two for two to three bedrooms, and two and one-half for four or more, "inclusive of handicapped and guest parking."
• Concessions. One, two or three incentives by share of affordable homes, such as reduced setbacks, more lot coverage or more height.
• Measure One. The voter measure leaves density bonuses alone: nothing in it shall "affect or restrict the ability of the Council to provide density bonuses."
• Five homes on a house lot. The same staff report warns that a house with four ADUs is five units, and "housing projects consisting of five or more units may be eligible to seek additional residential density and waivers."

Housing in Commercial and Industrial Zones

Division 3.5 of Article 6, added in 2023, sets standards for a residential-only building in a nonresidential zone. They apply when the use table allows the project or when a state law requires a no-hearing review.

• Density. "Based on General Plan Consistency table in underlying zone and the Burbank 2035 General Plan land use designation unless otherwise preempted by State law." Fractions are rounded down.
• Height by distance. 40 feet within 149 feet of a single-family zoned lot; 60 feet from 150 to 299 feet of one, or within 299 feet of a multiple-family zoned lot; 80 feet at 300 feet or more. "A request for greater maximum height may be reviewed through the Conditional Use Permit process."
• Floor area and coverage. Residential-only projects "are not subject to maximum Floor Area calculations." Lot coverage is 80 percent.
• Yards. Front: "at least five (5) feet from the front lot line or 20 percent of the building height, whichever is greater, but no greater than ten (10) feet." Rear and interior side: 5 feet. A buffer of 20 feet from single family zoned property and 10 feet from multiple family zoned property.
• Parking. "1 space per Studio or 1-bedroom unit," "1.5 spaces per 2- or 3-bedroom unit" and "2.5 spaces per 4-bedroom unit."
• Open space. 100 square feet of common area and 70 square feet of private open space per home.
• Soil and site history. The applicant "shall conduct a Phase I Environmental Assessment," a study of past uses of the site that might have left contamination.
• The no-hearing route. Section 10-1-19302 handles projects under the state streamlining laws known as SB 35 and AB 2011. The Director's review "shall be completed within 60 days of an application submittal for projects of 150 or fewer units, and 90 days for projects consisting of more than 150 units," and the approval "may not be administratively appealed."

SB 79 Near Transit

SB 79 is the 2025 state law on housing near transit stops. HCD's advisory says its upzoning provisions "will take effect on July 1, 2026, in Alameda, Los Angeles, Sacramento, San Francisco, San Mateo, Santa Clara, and San Diego Counties." A project must "include at least five dwelling units" and reach at least 30 homes per acre. Burbank's stops are Tier 2, the tier for light rail, high-frequency commuter rail and qualifying bus service.

Source: Government Code 65912.157, as amended effective July 16, 2026, and 65912.156.

• Which stops. The City's January 27, 2026 report found "no Tier 1 stops in Burbank" and named two Tier 2 stops: "The Downtown Burbank Metrolink Station" and the future BRT stops at Glenoaks Boulevard and Alameda Avenue. BRT means bus rapid transit, here Metro's planned North Hollywood to Pasadena line.
• How much land. Within a half mile of those two stops "there are just under 3,000 parcels. Of these, 1,304 parcels are within a quarter mile," and "fewer than 300 parcels are zoned exclusively for single-family residential use."
• More stops are in dispute. The May 20, 2026 report says "five of six BRT stations could be designated SB 79 TOD stops, depending on the final lane configuration." The six stations are on Olive Avenue, Hollywood Way, Buena Vista Street and Glenoaks Boulevard.
• The regional map. The Southern California Association of Governments, SCAG, draws the official map. The August 11, 2026 report says SCAG "adopted TOD stop maps on July 2, 2026." That map was not read for this guide.
• The City's response. On August 11, 2026 the Council approved, 4 to 0 with one abstention, $200,000 "to conduct CEQA review of SCAGs SB 79 mapped areas in Burbank." The same report says Metro "has initiated litigation against the City" over environmental review of the bus line.
• Fire zones and the airport. The January report notes that SB 79 has limits in Very High Fire Hazard Severity Zones and that "Projects near airports must meet additional requirements regarding height, noise, and safety standards."
• Review. An SB 79 project may use the City's Development Review or the state no-hearing process.

Neither Title 10 nor Title 11 mentions SB 79. Until the City writes it into the code, the statute and the SCAG map decide where it applies. Ask the Planning Division whether your lot is inside a mapped area.

Replacing Homes That Have Tenants

Chapter 4 of Title 5, Residential Tenant Protections, was added in 2023 and last amended effective April 11, 2025. It adopts Civil Code 1946.2, the state just cause eviction law, and adds to it. The chapter sets no limit on rent increases; the state rent cap is covered on the rent and tenant rules page.

• Demolition is a no-fault cause. The state law lists "Intent to demolish or to substantially remodel the residential real property" among no-fault just causes.
• Three months of rent. For a no-fault termination "the relocation assistance shall be increased to an amount no less than three (3) months of the tenant's rent that was in effect when the owner issued the notice." The state amount is one month.
• Owner move-in. A termination for the owner or a close relative to live in the home stays at "no less than one (1) month."
• Failure to comply. It "shall render the notice of termination void and shall be an affirmative defense to an unlawful detainer action," the court case an owner files to evict.
• Buyout offers. The harassment section bars offers of payment to vacate "more frequently than once every six months, after the tenant has notified the owner in writing" that no more offers are wanted.
• SB 9. A house rented in the last three years cannot be demolished or altered for an SB 9 project; see the ADUs and SB 9 page.

Limits of This Page

The City website, burbankca.gov, answered 403, so the inclusionary in-lieu fee, the Inclusionary Housing Implementing Regulations, the density bonus regulations, the objective design standards adopted by resolution and the City's SB 79 page, if one exists, were not read. The SCAG SB 79 map, the General Plan, the Housing Element and the draft Downtown, Golden State and Media District specific plans were not read. Condominium conversions and planned residential developments, which need 5 acres, are outside this page. The code is stated to be current through Ordinance 26-4,038, passed February 24, 2026. Ask the Planning Division whether a newer ordinance is in force.

Where to Go Next

Related on VanPlex: the Burbank overview, the California SB 79 page and the California rent and tenant rules page.

Frequently Asked Questions

Official sources (checked October 2026)