Fontana | Three or More Homes

Three or More Homes in Fontana: R-2, R-3, R-4, R-5, Form-Based Code Multiplexes and Bonuses

A multiplex is a building, or a group of buildings, with three or more homes on one lot. In Fontana, three or more homes are possible in R-2, R-3, R-4 and R-5, in the R-4 overlay, and in several districts of the Form-Based Code. This page compares those routes and explains the City's two density bonus programs and its inclusionary housing rule. Every rule comes from the Zoning and Development Code, Supplement 18, and the Code of Ordinances. The Fontana overview sums up the whole guide.

The Routes to Three or More Homes

Sources: Fontana Zoning and Development Code Table 30-434, 30-326, 30-447, 30-365, 30-338 and 30-967, Supplement 18.

R-2 and R-3 Multifamily Standards

R-2 allows attached and multifamily homes at 5.1 to 12.0 per adjusted gross acre, and R-3 at 12.0 to 24.0. An adjusted gross acre is the site area less future collector and larger streets, which Section 30-12 says may be estimated at 70 percent of the gross area. By VanPlex arithmetic, a half-acre R-3 site estimated at 0.35 adjusted gross acre allows 8.4 homes at 24.0 per acre, which Section 30-415 rounds to 8.

Section 30-444 adds rules for "all multiple-family residential developments in the R-2 and R-3 zoning districts." Table 30-444 sets building separations: 25 feet front to front, front to side and front to rear, and 15 feet for the other pairs. Buildings sit 20 feet from a local street, 25 feet from a secondary street and 30 feet from a major street. A building next to R-1 land must be 25 feet from the line, next to R-E land 75 feet, and next to R-PC land 25 feet (R-2) or 50 feet (R-3). The table's note (c) subtracts ten feet for a one-story home.

• Driveways. Access drives must be 26 feet wide, or 30 feet for buildings of three stories or more.
• Storage and laundry. Each home needs 125 cubic feet of private storage outside its closets, washer and dryer hookups, and its own water heater or a central system.
• Garages. Garages need sectional doors with automatic openers, and parking stalls must sit within 150 feet of the home they serve.
• Trash. One 3-yard bin for up to 8 homes, behind a masonry wall at least 60 inches high, within 150 feet walking distance of each home.
• Recreation. A project of 30 or fewer homes provides three of four facilities: a lawn at least 50 by 20 feet, a tot-lot, a spa or pool, or a barbecue area. Larger projects add more. Minor PUD projects are exempt.

A minor planned unit development lets R-2 infill sites of three acres or less use smaller lots, four foot side setbacks and six feet between buildings, by right (Sections 30-324 and 30-326). It suits small-lot detached or attached homes for sale. Each home needs 200 square feet of private open space, and the drive aisles must use decorative paving such as pavers or stamped concrete.

R-4, R-5 and Mixed Use

R-4 and R-5 standards apply to projects "within 2,640 feet (one-half mile) of light-rail/commuter rail stations, future bus rapid transit stations and/or on a corridor with an operating Omnitrans bus route" (Section 30-445). Section 30-447 sets R-4 at a "minimum density of 24.1 to 39 dwelling units per acre" and R-5 at 39.1 to 50, with homes of 550 to 1,800 square feet, 55 foot buildings and 70 percent lot coverage. Common open space must be 30 percent of the site and usable open space 35 percent.

Setbacks in Table 30-448 are small at the street: 5 feet from a major or secondary street and zero from a local street. They grow next to houses: 25 feet from R-1 land and 75 feet from R-E land. Note (15) lets a building in the R-4 overlay sit 10 feet from R-1 land when the R-1 parcel next door is vacant. Buildings on the same site sit 30 feet apart front to front and 15 feet side to side. Entries facing Foothill Boulevard, Orange Way, Cypress Avenue or Valencia Avenue must face the street.

A mixed-use project, with shops below or in front of homes, needs a conditional use permit in R-4 and R-5 (Section 30-452), a permit decided at a public hearing where the City may add conditions. Table 30-454 allows a floor area ratio of 5.0, four stories in R-4 and six in R-5, a 55 foot height and zero front setbacks. Parking for R-4 and R-5 within one-half mile of transit is 1.25 to 1.5 spaces for a home under 550 square feet and 1.75 to 2.0 for a larger home (Section 30-455).

Form-Based Code Building Types

The Form-Based Code, Article III, regulates buildings by type. Where it and other parts of the code cover the same topic, Section 30-355 says "the requirements of the Form-Based Code article shall prevail unless otherwise specified." Its Multi-Family district "provides higher densities focused along the fringe of the more urban development," at 12 to 39 homes per acre (Section 30-365). Table 30-359.A permits multiple-family development in the Multi-Family, Transitional, Village and gateway districts, among others, but not in the Neighborhood district, where the single-family home is the only home building type.

• Duplex and multiplex (Section 30-372). A duplex is "two side-by-side or stacked dwelling units, both facing the street." A multiplex has three to six side-by-side or stacked homes, "typically with one shared entry or individual entries along the front." The lot must be at least 50 feet wide and 100 feet deep. In the Multi-Family district the type may be one to three stories and 40 feet.
• Bungalow court and Rosewalk (Section 30-373). A bungalow court is four or more houses around a courtyard at least 20 feet wide and 50 feet deep, on a lot at least 75 feet wide. A Rosewalk is six or more houses along a common green that connects two streets. Up to two stories and 40 feet.
• Rowhouse (Section 30-374). Attached homes side by side, each 15 to 36 feet wide, on a lot at least 125 feet wide and deep. Two to three stories and 40 feet.
• Court and liner (Section 30-365). The Multi-Family district also lists the court and liner types, each up to four stories and 55 feet on a lot of at least 100 by 100 feet.

In the Multi-Family district, buildings sit 5 to 20 feet from the front street, zero feet from an interior side line and 10 feet from the rear. At least half the frontage must be lined by buildings. Parking is one space per studio or one bedroom home and 1.5 per larger home. Section 30-356 requires design review for "Residential projects of five units or more, excluding accessory dwelling units."

Density Bonus and the No Net Loss Program

A density bonus lets a project build more homes than the zone allows in exchange for affordable homes. Section 30-337 says "The City shall provide the density bonuses and other incentives that are required by California Government Code §§ 65915 through 65918." Section 30-338 requires five or more homes and one of several set-asides, such as 5 percent for very low income households or 10 percent for lower income households. The Planning Commission recommends and the City Council decides under Table 30-22, and a monitoring fee is due before the first certificate of occupancy. Table 30-437 lists the City's bonus standards, including 15.0 homes per acre in R-2 and 30.0 in R-3. See the Government Code 65915 text for the state bonus percentages.

Fontana's own No Net Loss program, Article XV, was written so "there is no net loss of residential capacity within the City as required by SB330," a 2019 state housing law. When land is rezoned to a less intensive use, the lost homes go into a "Unit Bank." A housing project of five or more homes or lots in R-E, R-1, R-2, R-3, R-4, R-5, R-PC or the Form-Based Code can draw on the bank for a bonus of 20 percent: the zone's maximum density times 1.2, with fractions of 0.5 or more rounded up. Setbacks, lot area and lot coverage may shift by up to 20 percent. Section 30-971 says a qualifying request "shall have its unit bank request processed ministerially by the City within 30 days."

The City's No Net Loss Program page lists four rezonings in 2023 that added 555, 725, 507 and 38 units, less 4 units used on October 7, 2025, for "TOTAL UNITS CURRENTLY AVAILABLE" of 1,821. Section 30-967, amended by Ordinance No. 1988 on June 9, 2026, says "In no case shall the number of No Net Loss/Density Bonus Units available in the Unit Bank exceed 1,600 units." The code is the binding rule, so plan on the 1,600 cap until the City updates its page.

Inclusionary Housing

Chapter 14, Article IV of the Code of Ordinances is Fontana's inclusionary housing rule, adopted by Ordinance No. 1661 in 2012. It applies to "All new residential projects of five or more dwelling units or parcels." Projects of fewer than five homes, the remodel of a single-family home, and market rate units "produced as a density bonus" are exempt.

• For-sale projects. At least 10 percent of new homes must be sold to very low, low and moderate income households, split 4, 4 and 2 percent, and kept affordable for at least 45 years. An owner may ask to pay an in-lieu fee instead, with an analysis showing the units are not economically feasible.
• Rental projects. The owner pays an affordable housing impact fee before the building permit. The City Development Fees sheet lists it at $1,574 per single-family home and $768 per multifamily home, for projects of five or more homes. An owner may instead provide 10 percent affordable rentals for at least 55 years under an affordable housing agreement.
• Design. Affordable homes must look the same outside as market rate homes and have the same bedroom count, up to four bedrooms.

SB 79 and SB 684

SB 79 raises zoning near rail and frequent bus stops, but HCD's SB 79 advisory lists seven counties where it took effect on July 1, 2026, and San Bernardino County is not among them. The SB 79 page explains how a county can qualify later. SB 684 and SB 1123 maps of up to 10 lots apply in Fontana now; the lots and subdivisions page covers them.

Where the Code Disagrees With Itself

• Combining bonuses. Section 30-338(3), adopted January 28, 2025, says an affordable housing density bonus and a No Net Loss bonus "shall be mutually exclusive." Section 30-967(2)(b), amended June 9, 2026, says No Net Loss bonuses "can be combined with other density bonus programs." Section 30-967 is the newer text, and a newer ordinance usually controls an older one, but get the City's answer in writing.
• Private open space. Table 30-434 asks R-2 and R-3 multifamily homes for 150 square feet of private open space on the ground floor and 100 on upper floors. Note (20) to the same table asks 100 square feet for two-story homes and 75 for homes above the ground floor. The larger table figures are the safer plan.
• Unit bank size. The City web page lists 1,821 available units; Section 30-967 caps the bank at 1,600.
• Missing references. Note (8) to Table 30-437 sends multifamily standards to "Table No. 30-466," which is the swimming pool section. Note (1) refers to features "listed in Section 30-444," which has no such list.
• A wrong income level. The "Affordable sales price" definition in Section 14-71 lists "very low income households" twice, the second time at 110 percent of area median income, which is the moderate income level.

Where to Go Next

Related on VanPlex: the duplex to fourplex guide, the SB 79 page and the Fontana overview.

Frequently Asked Questions

Official sources (checked October 2026)