Daly City | Lot size and subdivisions

Daly City, California Lot Size and Subdivisions: The 1949 Rule, Tentative Maps, Park Fees, Condominiums and SB 9 Lot Splits

Daly City sets its smallest lot by the date the land was first recorded. One section of the zoning title, 17.38.040, gives the two figures: 2,500 square feet and 25 feet of frontage before January 11, 1949, and 3,000 square feet and 33 feet after. Title 16 of the Municipal Code, most of it from 1974, sets how land is divided, and it sends every map to the City Council. The title has no section on the newer state lot split laws, so those statutes apply directly. This page covers lot sizes, the map steps, park fees, condominiums and the state laws. The Daly City overview has the summary.

Minimum Lot Size by District

Sources: Daly City Municipal Code 17.08.010, 17.09.050, 17.10.010, 17.11.050, 17.12.010, 17.13.010, 17.14.010, 17.18.010, 17.28.020, 17.38.040 and 17.58.050 (Supplement 38); 2023-2031 Housing Element.

The January 11, 1949 Rule

Section 17.38.040 reads: "The minimum lot area shall be three thousand square feet with a minimum frontage of thirty-three feet for all lots or subdivisions recorded subsequent to January 11, 1949. For lots or subdivisions recorded prior to January 11, 1949, the minimum lot area shall be two thousand five hundred square feet with a minimum frontage of twenty-five feet." Frontage is the edge of a lot along a public street. The section dates from the 1965 zoning ordinance and has not been amended since.

• Dividing an older lot again. "Where a recorded lot existed prior to January 11, 1949, which exceeds the minimum lot area of two thousand five hundred square feet and the minimum frontage of twenty-five feet, it may be resubdivided so as to establish a greater number of lots each having a lesser area, but which must provide a minimum lot area of two thousand five hundred square feet and a minimum frontage of twenty-five feet." A 5,000 square foot lot of that age with 50 feet of frontage could become two lots of 2,500 square feet (VanPlex arithmetic: 5,000 divided by 2).
• Lots below the minimum. "Any lot of record existing as a separate parcel thirty days before the effective date of the ordinance codified in this chapter which has lesser dimensions and area than required by this chapter may be occupied by a dwelling if all other requirements of this chapter are met."
• Land annexed in 1972. Section 17.38.050 makes one exception. Lots recorded before the 1949 date "which are annexed to the city during the period from January 1, 1972 to September 15, 1972" need 3,000 square feet and 33 feet.
• Homes per lot. Section 17.38.060 uses the same date for lot area per home: 3,000 square feet in R-1 and 1,500 in R-2 for the newer lots, 2,500 and 1,250 for the older ones.
• Coverage follows the date too. Buildings may cover 50 percent of a newer R-1 lot and 55 percent of an older one. See the parking, setbacks and height page.

The code does not say how an owner proves the recording date. Ask the Planning Division which date it applies to a lot before relying on the smaller figures.

Larger Minimums in the Apartment and Mixed-Use Zones

The districts for larger buildings ask for larger lots, to keep big sites from being divided into house lots. The City's Housing Element explained the reason in 2024: the R-3 and C-1 districts then had 2,500 square foot minimums and allowed houses, which "effectively causes scarce larger parcels that could be used for higher density mixed-use development to be underutilized."

• R-3. Since Ordinance No. 1476 of November 12, 2024, the R-3 table shows a minimum lot area of 43,560 square feet. The table still gives a lot width of 33 to 25 feet. The code has no sentence on existing R-3 lots smaller than an acre; ask the Planning Division how it treats them.
• C-MU. Section 17.58.050: "For the purpose of subdividing land, the minimum lot area in the C-MU district shall be ten thousand square feet," and the minimum width is one hundred feet. "This regulation shall not apply to lot assemblages and mergers." The section gives its purpose: to "encourage lot mergers or the assemblage of smaller contiguous parcels" and to "prohibit sites larger than 10,000 square feet to subdivide into sites smaller than 10,000 square feet."
• BRM and R-4. BRM lots need 5,000 square feet and 50 feet of width. R-4 lots need 10,000 square feet and 100 feet.
• Planned development. A P-D district must cover "one contiguous acre except in the redevelopment plan area where no minimum site area is required," and lot sizes inside it follow the precise plan.

What a New Lot Must Have

Title 16 adds design rules to the zoning sizes. Section 16.12.080: "All lots created under this title shall be capable of use as zoned, including all setback, height, lot coverage and other zoning ordinance standards applicable at date of filing of final map or parcel map." Section 16.12.090 lists the rest:

• "Minimum area and dimensions of all lots shall conform to the requirements of the zoning ordinance of the city for the district in which the subdivision is located."
• Side lines "so far as possible shall be at right angles to the front property line."
• "No remnants of property shall be left in the subdivision which cannot conform to lot requirements."
• "Lots without access to a street shall not be permitted."
• "All lots shall drain to the street or to a developed drainage easement."

Section 16.12.030 requires that "All lots on parcels created by division or redivision of land shall have access to a public street." Where lots "cannot be served feasibly by a public street, a private street may be approved," built to the same standards and finished before the homes are occupied. Section 16.12.060 limits a cul-de-sac, a street closed at one end, to 500 feet in length with a turnaround radius of at least 45 feet, and limits blocks to 1,800 feet.

The Map Steps

A tentative map shows the proposed lots for the City to approve. A final map or parcel map is the surveyed map recorded with the county, which creates the lots. Government Code 66426 requires a tentative and final map "for all subdivisions creating five or more parcels," with listed exceptions, and a parcel map for the smaller divisions.

Sources: Daly City Municipal Code 16.16.010, 16.16.060, 16.16.070, 16.18.100, 16.20.050 and 16.24.020 (Supplement 38); 2023-2031 Housing Element, Table HE 72; Gov. Code 66411.7 and 66499.41.

• Every division needs a tentative map. Section 16.16.010: "A tentative map shall be approved by the city council prior to any land division or redivision or realignment of property lines for the purpose of sale, lease or financing." Section 16.16.080 adds that in any case covered by Government Code 66426 a tentative map is still submitted, and "Some of the required information may be omitted at the discretion of the planning division, based on the circumstances of the case."
• Filing. The map and statements are filed "not less than fifteen days prior to the regular meeting of the planning commission at which consideration of such map is desired," with a filing fee. "A map shall be deemed filed after final action under the California Environmental Quality Act is completed." That act, known as CEQA, is the state environmental review law. The section still asks for 25 paper copies; the City's current application page says it accepts digital files only.
• The statement. Section 16.16.050 requires a written subdivision statement with 14 items, among them "The size of the smallest lot in the tract," the sewer and water plan, any exceptions requested and "The preliminary soils report."
• Planning Commission. The Commission "shall approve, conditionally approve or disapprove" the map and send it to the Council with a memorandum.
• City Council. The Council "may either approve or disapprove the tentative map, or make modifications to same." If it makes major changes, the map goes back to the Commission for a report at its next regular meeting.
• How long it takes. The Housing Element lists "Parcel Maps" and "Subdivision Maps" at "10 to 12 weeks" each, decided by the City Council.

Vesting Maps, Final Maps and Parcel Maps

• Vesting tentative map. Chapter 16.18, added in 1985, applies to residential subdivisions. Section 16.18.110 says approval "shall confer a vested right to proceed with development in substantial compliance with the ordinances, polices, and standards described in Government Code Section 66474.2." A design review committee reports within 30 days of a complete application and the Planning Commission holds its hearing within 60 days.
• Life of the map. Section 16.18.120: a vesting tentative map "shall expire two years after its approval or conditional approval." Under Section 16.18.130 "the applicant may apply for a one time extension of up to two years." After the final map is approved, the vested rights "shall last for a one year period." Title 16 states no life for an ordinary tentative map, so Government Code 66452.6 sets it.
• Final map. After the City Engineer's check, the map goes to the City Council "at its next regular meeting." Section 16.20.050: if the map conforms to the Map Act and the code as they stood when the tentative map was approved, "the same shall be approved."
• Unfinished street and utility work. Where required improvements are not complete, Section 16.20.070 requires an agreement with the subdivider, backed by "improvement security." The fee schedule sets the improvement security deposit at 200 percent of improvement costs.
• Hazard areas on the map. Section 16.20.120: land "subject to overflow, inundation or flood hazard by stormwaters or mud slides, or by indication by a licensed engineering geologist to be unstable" must be "clearly shown and delineated" on the final map.
• Parcel map. Chapter 16.24 sends the parcel map to the City Engineer "to determine completeness and correctness," with the surveyor's field notes and "A separate letter" from each owner agreeing to the division. Required dedications are completed before the map is recorded.
• Exceptions. Under Chapter 16.36 the Planning Commission may recommend that the Council modify a Title 16 requirement where it finds "special circumstances or conditions affecting that property."

A 2026 Example: Four Lots on Crocker Avenue

The City Council's meeting of February 23, 2026 shows the process on a house-zoned site. The staff report describes "a 13,051 (0.3 acre) vacant property zoned single-family residential (R1)" at 933-969 Crocker Avenue with a downhill slope of 25 percent. The applicant asked to divide it into four lots of 3,065, 2,878, 2,773 and 4,334 square feet and build one house with one ADU on each, "for a total of eight residential units." Staff wrote that "the proposed lots meet the 25’ minimum lot width and 2,500 square feet minimum lot area standards."

The Planning Commission recommended approval 5-0 on February 3, 2026. The Council minutes record that the resolution was adopted by roll call, "allowing for construction within two years," with four ayes and no noes. The application carried a design review and a geotechnical study, a report by an engineer on the soil and slope, which "was reviewed and approved by third party consultants and city staff." The staff report notes that the Council had approved a four-lot map on the same site in 2012, which "was ultimately not pursued due to financial constraints."

Park Land and In-Lieu Fees

Chapter 16.30, adopted in 1992 under Government Code 66477, makes a residential subdivider give park land, pay a fee, or both. The standard is "a three-acre park standard for each one thousand additional population."

• The formula. Section 16.30.040 multiplies 3.18, the "Average person per household for city," by 3 acres and by the number of new homes, and divides by 1,000. Four new homes give 0.038 acre, or 1,662 square feet (VanPlex arithmetic: 3.18 times 3 times 4, divided by 1,000, then times 43,560).
• Small subdivisions pay a fee. Section 16.30.050: "If the proposed subdivision contains fifty parcels or less, the subdivider shall pay a fee equal to the land value, plus ten percent toward costs of off-site improvements."
• How the fee is set. Section 16.30.060 gives "(Required Dedication) × FMV x 1.10 = In-Lieu Fee," where FMV is fair market value "as determined by the city at the time of the final subdivision or parcel map approval," based on "buildable area, excluding areas with physical constraints such as steep slopes." A subdivider who objects may ask for an appraisal at the subdivider's cost.
• When it is paid. Fees "shall be paid prior to the approval of any final map."
• Existing homes. "The term 'new dwelling unit' does not include dwelling units lawfully remaining in place."
• Exemptions. Section 16.30.120 exempts commercial and industrial subdivisions and condominium projects "which consist of the subdivision of airspace in an existing apartment building when no new dwelling units are added."

No dollar amount per home is given here, because the fee depends on a land value the City sets for each map.

Map Fees in the FY 2027 Schedule

Source: City of Daly City, Master Fee Schedule, 2026-2027, sections 7 (Planning) and 9 (Public Works), adopted by Resolutions 26-59 of April 13, 2026 and 26-118 of June 22, 2026.

Title 16 itself has no section on lot line adjustments, lot mergers or certificates of compliance. The fee schedule shows the City processes all three. A lot line adjustment moves the line between two lots and creates no new lot. A certificate of compliance is the City's written finding that a lot was legally created.

Condominiums and Conversions

Selling the homes in one building separately is a subdivision too, and Chapter 17.37 of the zoning title adds rules for it. Until 2026 every condominium project needed both a map and a use permit. Ordinance No. 1489, adopted April 13, 2026, retitled Section 17.37.030 "Use permit and subdivision map required (not including condominiums)" and limited the use permit to "conversions, stock cooperatives, community apartments of communal ownership." The Municode text of Section 17.37.030 still shows the older wording.

• New condominiums. Section 17.37.110: "There shall be no minimum number of units required for a condominium project that involves the creation of a new unit." Each unit needs "separate utility meters for gas and electricity."
• Conversions. "For applications proposing the conversion of a rental apartments building to condominiums, the minimum number of existing units within the building at the time of the application submittal shall be forty."
• Notice to tenants. Section 17.37.090 requires written notice to all tenants "At least sixty days prior to filing a use permit or tentative subdivision map for a conversion." Tenants have "an exclusive preemptive right to purchase a unit upon the same or more favorable terms and conditions than initially offered to the public," for ninety days after the final map records or the state approves sales, whichever is later.
• Relocation report. Section 17.37.100 requires a report "describing all relocation and moving assistance and information to be provided to each tenant," with attention to "the elderly, handicapped and other tenants who may encounter difficulty finding new quarters."
• Pace of sales. In projects of 100 to 500 units, Section 17.37.130 limits how many units may be sold each year, based on the turnover rate of the building.

State Lot Split Laws: SB 9 and SB 684

A search of Titles 16 and 17 found no mention of Government Code 66411.7, the SB 9 urban lot split, or of Government Code 66499.41, the small-lot map law covered on the SB 684 and SB 1123 page. Both apply in Daly City as state law. For SB 9 the City publishes an SB 9: Urban Lot Split Project Application, a four-page checklist that the owner signs before a notary. The PDF file was created on December 6, 2023.

• Size of the new lots. The statute allows "no more than two new parcels of approximately equal lot area provided that one parcel shall not be smaller than 40 percent of the lot area of the original parcel," and "both newly created parcels are no smaller than 1,200 square feet." A 3,000 square foot R-1 lot could become lots of 1,500 and 1,500 square feet, or 1,200 and 1,800 (VanPlex arithmetic: 40 and 60 percent of 3,000). A 2,500 square foot lot can only split close to evenly, because each half must reach 1,200 square feet.
• Who decides and when. The City "shall approve or deny an application for a parcel map for an urban lot split ministerially without discretionary review," which means staff check it against fixed rules with no hearing, and the application is "considered and approved or denied within 60 days." Title 16 sends every tentative map to the Planning Commission and City Council. The statute controls for an urban lot split.
• Owner on site. The form asks the applicant for an affidavit of intent "to occupy one of the housing units as their principal residence for a minimum of three years from the date of approval of the urban lot split."
• Recorded covenant. The form says "The applicant has agreed to record a covenant restricting the units to residential uses; requiring that the units are rented only for a period longer than 30 days; and prohibiting the further subdivision of either of the resulting parcels" under the same statute.
• No street work as a condition. A city "shall not impose regulations that require dedications of rights-of-way or the construction of offsite improvements for the parcels being created."
• Homes per new lot. The form lists "No more than two units are proposed on each lot." The City's SB9 Application Materials page says more: "In addition to each two-unit parcel, the applicant may add one ADU and JADU to each lot." The two City documents differ, so confirm the count with the Planning Division before designing.
• Small-lot maps. Section 66499.41 covers a division into "10 or fewer parcels" on a lot "zoned to allow multifamily residential dwelling use" of "no larger than five acres," or a vacant single-family lot of "no larger than one and one-half acres." In Daly City the R-3, BRM and C-MU districts permit multifamily buildings. New parcels are "no smaller than 600 square feet," the homes average no more than "1,750 net habitable square feet," and the City decides "within 60 days from the date the local agency receives a completed application."

Where the Code and City Documents Differ

• Hearings for lot splits. Title 16 requires Planning Commission and City Council action on every tentative map. Government Code 66411.7 and 66499.41 require staff approval with no hearing for the maps they cover.
• Old statute numbers on the forms. The SB 9 two-unit form cites "65852.1" for several items that are in Government Code 65852.21.
• Paper copies. Section 16.16.010 asks for "Twenty-five copies of a tentative map, one of which is to be reproducible by the 'Diazo' process." The City's application page says "Paper material is not accepted."
• Condominium use permits. Ordinance No. 1489 removed the use permit for new condominiums in April 2026. The Municode copy of Section 17.37.030 still requires it.
• Front yard on Crocker Avenue. The February 2026 staff report says the four houses "comply with the required 20 feet front setback." The R-1 table sets the minimum front yard at 15 feet.
• R-3 lot width. The R-3 table asks for a one-acre lot and gives a width of 33 to 25 feet.

Limits of This Page

The code text is Municode's Supplement 38, which lists ordinances through No. 1488 of March 9, 2026 as included. The Daly City Standard Drawings and Specifications, which Title 16 uses for streets, sewers and grading, were not read. The City's Major Development Project Application form was downloaded but its submittal list is not summarized here. No park fee amount, land value or engineering deposit for a specific project is given. Whether the City has approved any SB 9 urban lot split, and how it handles existing R-3 lots below one acre, were not found in the documents read. Ask the Planning Division, 650-991-8033, and the Engineering Division, 650-991-8064, both at 333 90th Street.

Where to Go Next

Related on VanPlex: the Daly City overview, the SB 684 and SB 1123 page and the coastal zone and bluffs page.

Frequently Asked Questions

Official sources (checked October 2026)