Cities | El Monte
El Monte, California Multiplex Rules 2026: Zoning, ADUs, SB 9, Apartments, the Downtown and Gateway Plans and Fees
El Monte, California is a city of 105,075 people in Los Angeles County. It is a separate city from South El Monte. Its zoning rules are Title 17 of the Municipal Code, which the City Council replaced as a whole in May 2025 and published on Municode. The new code has three house zones, three multiple-family zones, two corridor zones for housing mixed with shops, and its own sections for ADUs and SB 9. Parts of the ADU and SB 9 text are stricter than current state law, and on those points the statute decides. This page summarizes the ways to build two, three, four or more homes on an El Monte lot. The seven guide pages below cover each topic in depth.
El Monte in six facts
- The US Census Bureau estimates the population of the City of El Monte, California at 105,075 on July 1, 2025. Source: US Census Bureau, Vintage 2025
- El Monte's zoning rules are Title 17 of its Municipal Code, adopted as a whole by Ordinance No. 3053 on May 14, 2025. Source: EMMC Title 17
- The Municode copy, Supplement 36 Update 1, is current through Ordinance No. 3055 of June 11, 2025. Source: El Monte Municipal Code, preface
- Duplexes and apartments are allowed by right in R-2, R-3 and R-4, and housing of five or more attached homes in the MMU and UMU corridor zones. Source: EMMC 17.24.040, 17.30.030
- ADUs and SB 9 urban dwellings are approved by staff through a zoning clearance, with no hearing. Source: EMMC 17.110.030, 17.110.110
- A new housing project of 10 or more homes must reserve at least 15 percent of them as affordable homes. Source: EMMC 17.102.040
El Monte Guide Pages
Start With State Law
Four state laws set the minimum El Monte must allow. SB 9 (2021) allows two main homes on a lot in a single-family zone, a split into two lots, or both, approved by staff with no hearing. ADU law sets the accessory dwelling units (ADUs), second homes on a lot, and junior ADUs a city must allow; a junior ADU is a unit of 500 square feet or less inside a house. SB 684 and SB 1123 allow maps of up to 10 lots with 10 homes. The state density bonus gives extra homes to projects of five or more units that include affordable homes.
El Monte writes ADU law into Section 17.110.030, SB 9 into Section 17.110.110 for added homes and Chapter 16.25 for lot splits, and the density bonus into Chapter 17.100. Chapter 17.104 and two sections of Chapter 17.110 apply state laws for housing on commercial land and on land owned by religious institutions. The code has no section for SB 684 and SB 1123 maps, so the statute applies directly. The ADU, urban dwelling and lot split texts each say they are "not intended to conflict with state law." Where a section is stricter than the current statute, the statute controls; the guide pages name each such point.
SB 79 allows taller and denser projects near qualifying rail and bus stops. The state Department of Housing and Community Development (HCD) says in its SB 79 advisory that its height and density rules took effect on July 1, 2026 in seven counties, and Los Angeles County is one of them. El Monte has a Metrolink station and a bus station. Whether either one qualifies depends on service counts that were not checked for this guide.
El Monte in Numbers
The US Census Bureau's Vintage 2025 city file estimates 105,075 people in the City of El Monte on July 1, 2025, down from a 2020 estimates base of 109,485. In that file El Monte is the 68th largest city in California, after Chico (105,081) and ahead of Vacaville (103,850). Los Angeles County has 9,694,934 people in the same file.
The code's preface shows the City was incorporated in 1912 and the Municipal Code was first published in 2000. The General Plan, the City's long-range land use plan, was "Adopted in 2011" according to the Planning Documents page. Title 17 dates from 2025: every section carries Ordinance No. 3053 of May 14, 2025 in its history note. Title 16, the Subdivision Ordinance, carries Ordinance No. 3023 of May 2, 2023.
The City's Housing Element Update page gives the state housing allocation for 2021 to 2029 as 8,502 homes. A staff report in the April 22, 2026 Council packet counts "218 units" approved or permitted in 2025 and says "A total of 106 Accessory Dwelling Units (ADUs) obtained permits for construction." Its "Grand Total (2021 to 2025)" is 1,517 homes, which is 17.8 percent of the allocation (VanPlex arithmetic: 1,517 divided by 8,502). ADUs were 106 of the 218 homes counted for 2025.
The Ways to More Homes Compared
| Way | Where | Homes | Approval |
|---|---|---|---|
| ADU and junior ADU | Any lot with a house or apartments in an R zone, MMU or UMU | House plus a converted ADU, a junior ADU and a detached ADU of up to 800 sq ft (state law) | Staff zoning clearance, 60 days |
| SB 9 urban dwelling | R-1A and R-1B lots | One beside a house, or two on a vacant lot; at least 800 sq ft each | Staff zoning clearance, no hearing |
| SB 9 urban lot split | R-1A and R-1B lots | Two lots of 1,200 sq ft or more, two units each | Community Development Director, no hearing |
| Two or more detached houses | R-1B lots | One per 8,720, 7,920 or 7,260 sq ft of lot, by frontage | Zoning clearance or minor design review |
| Duplexes and apartments | R-2, R-3, R-4 | One per 5,445, 4,356 to 3,111, or 1,740 sq ft of lot | Design review by the Planning Commission above three new homes |
| Corridor and commercial housing | MMU, UMU, C-1, C-2, C-3 | 25 to 50 per acre in MMU and UMU; one per 1,740 or 1,450 sq ft in C zones | Initial plan review, then design review |
| Downtown and Gateway plans | SP-4 and SP-1 | 25 to 80 per acre Downtown; 60 per acre in Gateway | Design review; added homes Downtown by director clearance |
| Small-lot map (SB 684 / SB 1123) | Multifamily lots up to 5 acres; vacant single-family lots up to 1.5 acres | Up to 10 | No hearing under Gov. Code 66499.41, 60 days |
Sources: El Monte Municipal Code 17.110.030, 17.110.110, 16.25.030, 17.20.050, 17.24.050, 17.30.040, 17.122.020 and 17.134.050 (Supplement 36 Update 1); Gov. Code 66323, 65852.21, 66411.7 and 66499.41.
Zones That Allow Homes
The house zones are R-1A, R-1B and R-1C. R-1A and R-1C allow one house per lot. R-1B allows two or more detached houses on a large lot, at one home per 8,720 square feet where the lot has 100 feet of street frontage or less. The use table lists no duplex in any R-1 zone. Duplexes and apartments are allowed by right in R-2, R-3 and R-4, at one home per 5,445, 4,356 and 1,740 square feet of lot. The MMU and UMU corridor zones allow up to 35 and 50 homes per acre and require at least 25 for a housing-only project. Apartments are also a by-right use in the C-1, C-2 and C-3 commercial zones. See the zoning districts page.
House Lots: ADUs and SB 9
Section 17.110.030 allows a new ADU of up to 850 square feet as a studio or one-bedroom and 1,000 with more than one bedroom, at a height of 16 feet with listed exceptions, and with four-foot side and rear setbacks for a detached unit. Its table gives a house lot one ADU and one junior ADU. State law requires more: a converted ADU, a junior ADU and a detached new ADU of up to 800 square feet together. The City text also requires the owner to live on site for every junior ADU, where state law now requires it only when the unit shares a bathroom with the house. See the ADUs and SB 9 page.
SB 9 homes, which the code calls urban dwellings, are allowed in R-1A and R-1B: one beside an existing house or two on a vacant lot, each with a right to 800 square feet. An R-1A or R-1B lot may also be split into a front lot and a rear lot of at least 1,200 square feet each, with two units on each, and the applicant signs an affidavit to live in one home for three years. The lot size and subdivisions page covers lot splits, parcel maps and small-lot maps.
Three or More Homes
The use is by right in the multiple-family, corridor and commercial zones; the building design is what gets reviewed. Two new homes on a vacant lot need a minor design review by the Community Development Director. More than three need a design review by the Planning Commission after a public hearing, and a table note sends some housing projects back to the Director. A project of 10 or more homes must reserve 15 percent as affordable homes or use an alternative such as an in-lieu fee. The density bonus chapter follows Government Code 65915, from 20 to 50 percent more homes. See the three or more homes page.
Parking, Setbacks and Height
A house needs two spaces in an enclosed garage for its first 2,000 square feet or four bedrooms. An apartment in the R zones needs 1¾ to 3 spaces by size, plus one guest space for every four homes. No minimum applies within one-half mile of a major transit stop. Every R zone has a 20-foot front yard, and an upper story sits 5 feet further back. Heights are two stories and 30 feet in R-1A, R-1B, R-2 and R-3, three stories and 40 feet in R-4, and four stories and 50 feet in MMU. See the parking, setbacks and height page.
The Downtown and Gateway Plans
Near the Metrolink station and the bus station, two specific plans replace the regular zones. The Downtown plan has four subareas with by-right limits of 25 to 35 homes per acre and 30 to 40 feet. A project may go higher by earning or buying development opportunity reserve credits, up to 80 homes per acre and 75 feet in the Station Subarea; the in-lieu fee is $24,133.12 per credit in 2026. The Gateway plan allows up to 1,850 homes at 60 per acre. See the Downtown and Gateway plans page.
Fees
El Monte's Planning Division fee schedule, approved June 17, 2026 and effective July 1, 2026, lists $1,021.78 for a zoning clearance for an ADU or urban dwelling, $3,648.83 for a tentative parcel map and $3,648.83 for a design review of up to 10 homes. The City charges sewer, storm drain, street, traffic and park fees on new homes. The latest posted table of those amounts is in a fee study dated April 2019, and the Council approved yearly increases in 2025 and 2026, the latest of 2.9 percent. See the permits and fees page.
Tenants and Existing Homes
El Monte's code has rent stabilization for mobilehome park spaces in Chapter 8.70 and a tenant relocation chapter, Chapter 8.79, for units the City orders vacated over code violations. The code as published through June 11, 2025 has no chapter that limits apartment rents. State law protects tenants where a project replaces rented homes: an SB 9 project may not demolish a home a tenant lived in during the last three years, and a small-lot map looks back five years. The statewide rent cap is on the rent and tenant rules page.
Recent City Council Actions
- February 1, 2022. The City adopted its Housing Element for 2021 to 2029, and HCD certified it on September 30, 2022, according to the April 2026 staff report.
- May 2, 2023. Ordinance No. 3023 adopted the Subdivision Ordinance, Title 16, with the urban lot split chapter. The staff report gives the same date for the inclusionary housing ordinance.
- May 14, 2025. Ordinance No. 3053 adopted Title 17 as it reads today, with the UMU zone.
- June 25, 2025. Resolution No. 10612 approved a yearly inflation increase to fees from July 1, 2025.
- December 10, 2025. A first reading of Ordinance No. 3056, on tobacco retailers, "was pulled," according to the minutes.
- January 14 and March 18, 2026. Urgency Ordinance No. 3057 put a 45-day halt on approvals for significant tobacco retailers, and interim Ordinance No. 3063 put a 45-day halt on new data center applications.
- April 8, 2026. Ordinance No. 3064 amended six chapters of Title 17 and Chapter 8.10 on tobacco retailers, by a 7-0 vote. The Municode text does not yet show it.
- April 22, 2026. The Council approved the 2025 General Plan and Housing Element progress reports and, by interim Ordinance No. 3065, extended a temporary halt on new data center applications, according to the minutes.
- June 17, 2026. Resolution No. 10703 raised user and regulatory fees by 2.9 percent and Building and Safety Division fees by 3.4 percent from July 1, 2026, by a 7-0 vote.
- August 26 and September 9, 2026. Ordinance No. 3067 adopted the 2025 California Building Standards Code, and Ordinance No. 3068 set a faster permit process for electric vehicle charging stations.
Where the Code, City Documents and State Law Differ
The guide pages flag each difference where it arises. The main ones:
- Table 17.110-1 gives a house lot one ADU and one junior ADU. Government Code 66323 requires a converted ADU, a junior ADU and a detached ADU of up to 800 square feet together. The statute controls.
- Section 17.110.030 requires the owner to live on site for every junior ADU; Government Code 66333 requires it only where the junior ADU shares a bathroom with the house.
- Sections 17.110.110 and 16.25.030 limit SB 9 homes and lot splits to R-1A and R-1B. The statutes apply to "a single-family residential zone," and R-1C is also a one-family zone.
- Section 17.110.110 bars an ADU on any lot with an urban dwelling. Government Code 65852.21 gives that exception only to parcels that use both the two-unit rule and a lot split.
- Chapter 16.25 adds an inspection every six months for three years after a lot split; Government Code 66411.7 bars added owner occupancy standards.
- Table 16.30-1 gives R-2 lots a depth of 80 feet; Table 17.24-2 gives 100 feet. Table 16.30-2 gives C-2 lots 20,000 square feet; Table 17.40-2 gives 30,000.
- Table 17.122-1 sends more than three new homes to the Planning Commission, and a note to the same table sends housing development projects to the Director.
- The fee schedule says fees rise each July 1 by an employee cost index; Resolution No. 10703 used the Consumer Price Index.
- The City's "About El Monte" page gives a population "of approximately 120,000." The Census Bureau estimate for July 1, 2025 is 105,075.
- The Housing Element Update page says HCD approved the housing element "On August 30, 2022" and, lower on the same page, "HCD Certified on 9/30/22." The April 2026 staff report gives September 30, 2022.
Limits of This Guide
The code comes from Municode's Supplement 36 Update 1, current through Ordinance No. 3055 of June 11, 2025. Later City actions come from the Municode list of newer ordinances, read on October 10, 2026, and from the City's Agenda Center: City Council regular meeting agendas from January 14 to September 9, 2026, minutes of six special meetings in 2026, and posted minutes from June 18 to December 10, 2025. Minutes for August 13, August 27 and November 26, 2025 were not posted, and no agenda after September 9, 2026 was read; the September 23 meeting was canceled. Those records show Ordinance No. 3064 and no other ordinance on zoning, ADUs, SB 9 or lot splits. Ordinance No. 3060 was not found in any record read. Council staff reports are scanned pages; the ones quoted were read with OCR and checked against the page images. The zoning map, the General Plan, the Housing Element document, the Downtown and Flair Spectrum plan documents and the City's 2012 design guidelines were not read. The current impact fee amounts, the inclusionary in-lieu fee and building permit fees were not found in a readable City document. Whether El Monte is a general law or charter city was not confirmed from a City document. Ask the Planning Division at City Hall, 11333 Valley Boulevard, which standards apply to your lot and whether any later ordinance applies.
Best For
- ✓ House lots that can take a converted ADU, a junior ADU and a detached ADU under state law.
- ✓ R-4 and commercial lots, at one home per 1,740 square feet with three stories and 40 feet.
- ✓ Sites near the stations in the Downtown plan, at up to 80 homes per acre with credits.
Usually Fails When
- ✕ A plan follows a City table with no check of the statute where the two differ.
- ✕ A project of 10 or more homes is budgeted with no affordable homes and no in-lieu fee.
- ✕ An SB 9 plan is drawn for a house a tenant lived in during the last three years.
What To Verify Before Spending Money
- → The lot's zone, overlay and specific plan on the City's interactive zoning map.
- → Current planning, impact and building fees with the City, since fees change each July 1.
- → Whether an ordinance adopted after May 14, 2025 changes the section you rely on.
Where to Go Next
Related on VanPlex: the SB 684 and SB 1123 page, the California impact fees page and the duplex to fourplex guide.
Frequently Asked Questions
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Official sources (checked October 2026)
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