Folsom | Three or More Homes

Folsom, California Three or More Homes: Triplexes and Fourplexes in R-3, Apartments in R-M, R-4 and the Mixed-Use Zones, Design Review, Inclusionary Housing, the Density Bonus and SB 79

This page covers projects of three or more homes on one lot in Folsom, California: triplexes, fourplexes, townhouses and apartments. Folsom allows them in four kinds of zones. R-3 holds up to four homes on a lot, R-M one home for every 1,700 square feet of lot, R-4 the number its General Plan designation allows, and the mixed-use zones 12 or 20 to 30 homes per acre. Outside the historic district, every project of more than two homes goes to the Planning Commission for design review, unless it qualifies for staff review under the City's objective standards. For-sale projects of ten or more homes owe 10 percent affordable homes. The Folsom overview has the summary.

Where Three or More Homes Are Allowed

Sources: Folsom Municipal Code 17.06.030, 17.06.040, 17.14, 17.16, 17.17, 17.18, 17.23 and 17.52.540.

Title 17 uses three words for these buildings. A "Multiple-family dwelling" is "a building designed and/or used to house three or more families, living independently of each other." An "Apartment house" is "any building or portion thereof which is designed and built for occupancy by three or more families." A "Dwelling group" is "two or more detached one- or two-family dwellings" on one building site. R-3, R-M and R-4 allow all three, within their limits.

• R-3, up to four homes. Section 17.16.020 permits "Three- or four-family dwellings and apartments, not to exceed four units per lot." Standard single-family detached homes are excluded. A lot of 6,000 square feet inside a block can hold a fourplex if it fits the 50 percent coverage, the yards and the two-story, 35-foot height limit.
• R-M, one home per 1,700 square feet. Section 17.17.030 requires "One thousand seven hundred square feet or more" per home. A 6,000 square foot lot holds three homes, 8,500 square feet holds five, and 13,600 square feet holds eight (VanPlex arithmetic). Buildings may be four stories, up to 50 feet.
• R-4, General Plan density. Chapter 17.18 permits apartments without a density figure, so the General Plan designation of the lot sets the number. R-4 also allows four stories and 50 feet.
• Mixed-use zones. Section 17.23.050 requires a site of 0.5 acre, a minimum of 12 homes per acre in MU and 20 in MU-TCOZ and MU-EDOZ, and a maximum of 30. Every project needs a planned development permit.

Buildings on One Lot

R-3, R-M and R-4 each set distances between main buildings on the same lot. In R-M and R-4 the basic distance is ten feet. For dwellings in "a single row side-to-side series facing a side lot line," the side yard behind the buildings is eight feet and the side yard in front of them fourteen feet. For a "double row side-to-side series facing a central court," the court must be twenty-four feet wide. On a lot with a dwelling group, the rear yard "may be reduced to not less than twelve feet," and "No building in a group dwelling development shall have the rear thereof abutting" a street.

Section 17.58.070 adds that "Yards required for residential buildings which may be permitted on use permit shall be as required for the particular district, or for R-4 districts, whichever yard requirements are greater." The yard tables are on the parking, setbacks and height page.

Design Review and the Objective Standards

Chapter 17.06 sends "Multifamily and residential mixed-use projects containing more than two units" to the Planning Commission for design review, and "Multifamily residential projects containing no more than two units" to the community development director. Design review covers the outside of buildings: siting, landscaping, parking layout, lighting and materials. The commission must find the project complies "with the general plan and any applicable specific plans and zoning ordinances." A commission decision may be appealed to the City Council within ten days.

Ordinance 1357 of 2025 added Section 17.06.045. It applies the City's "objective development and design standards (ODDS)" to "residential multi-unit (i.e., two or more units) and mixed-use residential development within the East Bidwell corridor overlay, the Folsom Boulevard transit-oriented development overlay, and the Folsom plan area specific plan town center overlay areas." Objective standards are rules that can be checked by measurement, with no personal judgment. Where the ODDS and Title 17 conflict, "the standards of the ODDS shall apply."

• Staff review. "If a residential multi-unit or residential mixed-use project meets the requirements of state law for ministerial review," the director checks it against the ODDS. That review is "not subject to public notice, site posting, or appeal."
• Two years. A ministerial design approval "shall be null and void unless the applicant submits a complete application for a building permit within two years of approval."
• Everything else. "All other residential multi-unit and residential mixed-use projects including those located within the regulated area must proceed through a discretionary entitlement process that requires review by the planning commission."
• Density bonus. Projects using a density bonus "may deviate from the ODDS to the extent permitted by state law."
• Not read. The ODDS document and its regulating plan are on the City website, which refused requests, so their standards are not given here.

Parking for Three or More Homes

Section 17.57.040 asks for "one and five-tenths spaces per unit" for "Multiple-family structures and complexes," and "three spaces per unit, one of which shall be available for guest parking" for condominiums, townhouses and planned developments with private streets. The R-3, R-M and R-4 chapters add an exception: "where any residential unit or group constructed upon any building lot consists of four or more residential units, there shall be provided one and one-half times the parking required." A fourplex therefore needs 9 spaces (4 x 1.5 x 1.5, VanPlex arithmetic). Fractions count only when they exceed fifty percent.

• Bicycles. Multifamily projects need "1 bicycle parking space per every 5 dwelling units."
• Near transit. Government Code 65863.2 says a public agency "shall not impose or enforce any minimum automobile parking requirement" on a residential project "within one-half mile of public transit," as that statute defines it. The Folsom parking chapter does not mention it; ask the City how it applies the statute.
• Mixed-use zones. No ratio applies; "A parking study is required."
• Density bonus projects. On request, the City may not require more than one space for a studio or one-bedroom home, two for two or three bedrooms, and two and one-half for four or more, under Section 17.102.030.

Inclusionary Housing: 10 Percent for For-Sale Projects

Chapter 17.104, amended by Ordinance 1359 in 2026, requires affordable homes in larger for-sale projects. "All for-sale development projects consisting of ten or more units, including condominium conversion projects," and rental projects of ten or more that receive City funding or have a voluntary agreement, "shall include inclusionary housing units equal to ten percent of the total number of units in the project, excluding density bonus units." "The ten percent shall consist of three percent very low income units and seven percent low income units." Very low income means up to fifty percent of the Sacramento County median income, and low income up to eighty percent.

Source: Folsom Municipal Code 17.104.030 and 17.104.080. VanPlex arithmetic: 10 percent rounded to the nearest whole number, split as the section prescribes for four or fewer inclusionary units.

• Exemption. "Residential projects proposed to contain nine or fewer market rate units" are exempt, as are parcels whose maps were approved before September 24, 2002.
• Ways to comply. Units on site, units off site in Folsom, land dedication, buying and converting existing units, credits, or "paying an in-lieu fee," a fee paid instead of building the units.
• The in-lieu fee. It "shall be calculated based on square footage of residential space for each dwelling unit" and is paid before each building permit. The January 13, 2026 City Council agenda lists Ordinance No. 1359, "to Update the Methodology for Calculating In-lieu Fees," for adoption, and Resolution No. 11510, "Establishing Inclusionary Housing In-lieu Fee Amounts for For-sale Residential Development." The resolution's amounts were not read.
• Short form. A developer paying only the fee may submit "a signed letter from the developer confirming this intent" instead of a full inclusionary housing plan.
• Rental term. Rental inclusionary units stay affordable "for a period of no less than thirty years."
• Specific plans. Specific plans set the same 3 and 7 percent requirement "at the specific plan stage, rather than on a project by project basis."

The Density Bonus

The state density bonus law, Government Code 65915, gives a project extra homes, incentives and waivers of standards when some homes are affordable. Folsom's local version is Chapter 17.102, adopted by Ordinance 1145 in 2011. Its text grants a bonus that rises with the share of affordable homes "up to a maximum of thirty-five percent." The current statute goes further: 24 percent low income homes earn a 50 percent bonus, and 15 percent very low income homes earn 50 percent. The statute controls.

Folsom has rewritten this chapter. The City Council agenda of September 8, 2026 lists a public hearing on "Ordinance No. 1374 - An Ordinance of the City of Folsom for the Repeal and Re-Enactment of Chapter 17.102 (Density Bonus)" for introduction, and the agenda of September 22, 2026 lists it for "Second Reading and Adoption." The code host has not added it, and its text was not read. If adopted, the new chapter replaces the 2011 text, so ask the Planning Division for the ordinance before planning a bonus project.

SB 79 and Housing Near Transit

SB 79, in Government Code 65912.156 and the sections after it, allows housing at set heights and densities near qualifying transit stops in large urban counties. HCD, the state housing department, says in its advisory that the upzoning provisions "will take effect on July 1, 2026, in Alameda, Los Angeles, Sacramento, San Francisco, San Mateo, Santa Clara, and San Diego Counties." Folsom is in Sacramento County.

The statute defines a Tier 2 stop as one "served by light rail transit, by high-frequency commuter rail, or by bus service" meeting state standards. Each regional planning agency maps the stops. HCD's advisory names the Sacramento Area Council of Governments (SACOG) among those agencies, and Folsom's mixed-use chapter cites "SACOG's Blueprint principles." This guide did not read any SB 79 map, so it does not say whether a Folsom lot is in an SB 79 area. Folsom's code names a "Folsom Boulevard transit-oriented development overlay," and the April 28, 2026 agenda lists a fee schedule that includes "Light Rail Impact Fees." Title 17 has no SB 79 section.

Other City Rules on Multifamily Housing

• Studio fee reduction. Chapter 16.70 lets a multifamily project pay "fifty percent of the impact fees otherwise applicable" on studio units of up to 630 square feet, for up to "thirty-five percent of the total number of units."
• Fee deferral for affordable homes. Chapter 16.60 lets the City Council defer up to 75 percent of the City impact fees on low and very low income units.
• Condominium conversion. Chapter 17.110 requires a City Council permit to convert apartments to condominiums, and one finding is that "the percentage of multifamily rental units is at or above fifteen percent of the total number of housing units in the city of Folsom."
• Rent control. The disposition of ordinances table lists Ordinance 408 as "Rent control (Defeated)," and no rent control chapter appears in the code. State rent and eviction rules apply; see the rent and tenant rules page.
• Historic district. In the historic residential area every multifamily project needs a conditional use permit from the Historic District Commission and "may not exceed a total of 12 units." See the historic district page.

Limits of This Page

The City website answered 403, so the General Plan densities, the ODDS, the inclusionary in-lieu fee amounts, the Housing Element and the text of Ordinance No. 1374 were not read. City Council agendas list items and record no votes. The code is stated to be current through Ordinance 1369, passed April 28, 2026. Ask the Planning Division which density bonus chapter is in force and whether a lot lies in an SB 79 area.

Where to Go Next

Related on VanPlex: the Folsom overview, the SB 79 page and the California impact fees page.

Frequently Asked Questions

Official sources (checked October 2026)