Fresno | Lots and Subdivisions

Fresno Lot Size and Subdivisions: Lot Widths, SB 9 Splits, Parcel Maps and Lot Line Adjustments

To subdivide is to divide one lot into two or more lots that can be sold on their own. Fresno sets lot sizes in Article 9 of its Citywide Development Code and the subdivision process in Part IV, Articles 31 to 45. This page covers lot dimensions, the map you file for each type of split, the City's SB 9 lot split process, the state small-lot rules, and how to move or remove a lot line. The California SB 9 page and the SB 684 and SB 1123 page explain the state laws in full.

Lot Size by District

Table 15-903-1 sets the smallest lot the City will create in each single-unit district: 5 acres in RE, 36,000 square feet in RS-1, 20,000 in RS-2, 9,000 in RS-3, 5,000 in RS-4 and 4,000 in RS-5. RS-5 drops to 2,500 square feet "with Enhanced Streetscape," provided "the overall density of the development does not exceed the approved General Plan densities." An Enhanced Streetscape means at least five design features from a list of fifteen in Section 15-904-B, such as a front porch at least 5 feet deep, a landscaped parkway strip at least 4 feet wide, or a garage reached from an alley.

Three districts also have a maximum lot size: 32,000 square feet in RS-3, 9,000 in RS-4 and 6,500 in RS-5. The maximum decides how homes are counted. Under Section 15-310, a site no larger than the maximum is a "small site," where the count is one home per lot. A larger site is counted in homes per net acre: 3.5 in RS-3, 6 in RS-4 and 12 in RS-5. The zoning districts page explains that rule.

Lot width is measured "at right angles to the lot depth at a point midway between the front and rear lot lines," and lot depth runs from the middle of the front line to the middle of the rear line, under Section 15-306. The table below gives every width and depth in Table 15-903-1, in feet.

Source: Fresno Municipal Code Table 15-903-1, Supplement 54.

The code defines a reverse corner lot as "A corner parcel, the side street line of which is substantially a continuation of the front parcel line of the first parcel to its rear." A corner lot is a parcel "abutting two or more streets at their intersection." Both need more width than an interior lot in RS-3 to RS-5.

Design Rules for New Lots

Article 41 adds rules that apply when lots are created.

• Smaller lots in larger subdivisions. "In any Residential subdivision of five or more lots, up to 25 percent of lots may be up to 20 percent smaller in area and/or width than the normally required minimum," as long as the average lot area and width still meet the minimum. An RS-5 subdivision could include lots of 3,200 square feet and 28 feet wide on that basis.
• Street frontage. "Each proposed parcel shall have frontage on a public street. The frontage width shall be at least the minimum parcel width required by the applicable zoning district." Exceptions cover private streets in an approved Planned Unit Development (a project approved under one combined plan), lots reached by a paseo, which is a shared walkway, or an alley in a subdivision with shared parking, and some commercial and employment lots.
• Blocks. Residential blocks must be between 200 and 600 feet long.
• Side lines. As far as practicable, side lot lines run at right angles to the street, or radial on a curve.
• Oversized lots. Lots much larger than the zoning allows must be laid out so streets can be extended and the lot divided later, and a covenant is recorded where further division could push the subdivision past its planned density.
• Multi-unit lots. New multi-unit lots need an on-site turnaround or a public alley. Private access drives that serve only multi-unit lots are prohibited, except where those homes are under 20 percent of the subdivision.

Which Map You File

Section 15-3202 follows the state Subdivision Map Act, the state law on dividing land. A division into four or fewer parcels uses a tentative parcel map, the first drawing the City reviews and conditions, followed by a parcel map, the final survey that is recorded with the County. A division into five or more parcels uses a tentative map and a final map, with a few exceptions taken from the Map Act, such as land under five acres where every parcel faces a maintained public street and no dedications or improvements are needed.

Source: Fresno Municipal Code Table 15-3106. Appeals of the Director and City Engineer go to the Planning Commission and then the City Council.

A parcel map can be waived. Under Section 15-3503 the Director must first find that the division meets every code and Map Act rule on "area, improvement and design, floodwater drainage control, appropriate improved public roads, sanitary disposal facilities, water supply availability, environmental protection." The 2026 fee for a waiver certificate request is $969.63.

Map Deadlines

• Completeness, 30 days. Section 15-3305 says staff "shall provide written notification to the applicant whether the application is complete and accepted for processing within 30 days." If staff ask for more and the applicant does not supply it within 30 days, processing stops and the application is returned, less the fees for the first review.
• Decision, 50 days. For a tentative parcel map, "the Director shall take action within 50 days" after the application is complete and after any environmental document is adopted. A tentative map goes to a Planning Commission hearing within the same 50-day period, with newspaper notice at least 10 days before.
• Automatic approval. Under Section 15-3312, if no action is taken within the time limits, the map is deemed approved if it meets the Map Act, the code and the General Plan.
• Life of the map, 24 months. "An approved Tentative Map or Tentative Parcel Map is valid for 24 months after its effective date," unless the Map Act extends it. An extension request goes to the Director "at least 60 days, but no more than six months prior" to expiration.
• Filing the parcel map, 20 days. Section 15-3507 says the parcel map must be filed with the City Engineer "at least 20 days before the expiration" of the tentative parcel map.

SB 9 Lot Splits in Fresno

An urban lot split under SB 9 (2021) divides one lot in a single-family zone into two, approved by staff with no hearing. The Fresno code has no SB 9 section; the City publishes a submittal checklist instead, and Government Code 66411.7 sets the rules. The checklist says: "IF THE PROJECT IS AN 'URBAN LOT SPLIT' APPLY FOR A TENTATIVE PARCEL MAP AND IN THE PROJECT DESCRIPTION INPUT 'SB 9 URBAN LOT SPLIT.'"

• Eligible districts. RE, RS-1, RS-2, RS-3, RS-4 and RS-5. RM lots are outside SB 9.
• Size of the new lots. Two 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 proposed parcels shall be a minimum of 1,200 sq. ft. each." VanPlex arithmetic: a 6,000 square foot RS-5 lot can become two lots of 3,000 square feet, and neither may go below 2,400.
• Documents. A grant deed, owner authorization, an operational statement, a preliminary title report dated within 30 days of submittal, and a tentative parcel map "drawn by a licensed architect or engineer."
• Affidavits. One says the lot was not created by an earlier SB 9 split and that the owner, or anyone acting with the owner, has not split an adjacent lot that way. The other says the applicant "will occupy one of the housing units as my principal residence for a minimum of three years." Community land trusts and qualified nonprofits are exempt from the second.
• Exclusions. Historic districts and listed historic properties, prime farmland, wetlands, high fire hazard zones, hazardous waste sites, earthquake fault zones, flood plains without a flood permit, and land protected for habitat or by a conservation easement. The same affidavit as for two-unit projects confirms no tenant-occupied or rent-restricted housing is demolished.
• What the City may not ask for. The statute bars "dedications of rights-of-way or the construction of offsite improvements," meaning the City may not make the owner give land for streets or build street work beyond the lot, as a condition of the parcel map, and the City may not require the correction of nonconforming zoning conditions. It may require easements for utilities and that each lot have access to the public right-of-way.

Two points need care. First, the checklist says that when an owner wants both a lot split and two homes, "the Urban Lot Split application (Tentative Parcel Map) will need to be submitted and approved first, then the Two Residential Units application (Zone Clearance) can be submitted and processed." The checklist's web address places its upload in March 2024. Second, two code sections read against the split. Section 15-2019 says "No substandard lot shall be further reduced in area, width, or depth," and Section 15-4105(H) asks for street frontage as wide as the district minimum. Government Code 66411.7 applies "Notwithstanding any other provision of this division and any local law" and sets 1,200 square feet as the lot floor. For a lot that meets the statute, the statute controls. Ask the Planning and Development Department in writing how it applies the frontage rule to an SB 9 lot, because the statute lets the City require only access to the public right-of-way.

State law also sets the clock: the application "shall be considered and approved or denied within 60 days from the date the local agency receives a completed application," and if not, it "shall be deemed approved." The City checklist says its own completeness review "is up to a 30-day process."

SB 684 and SB 1123 Small-Lot Maps

Supplement 54 of the Fresno Municipal Code contains no section that implements SB 684 or SB 1123. The state statute, Government Code 66499.41, applies directly. It requires staff approval of a map that "will result in 10 or fewer parcels" with "10 or fewer residential units" on a lot "zoned to allow multifamily residential dwelling use" that "is no larger than five acres," or on "A vacant lot zoned for single-family residential development" of no more than one and one-half acres. Both must be "substantially surrounded by qualified urban uses." New parcels must be at least 600 square feet, or 1,200 square feet if zoned for single-family use. The City has 60 days to approve or deny a complete application.

In Fresno, the RM-1, RM-2 and RM-3 districts are the multifamily districts. A lot in RS-1 to RS-5 qualifies only when it is vacant. The three or more homes page covers how many homes such a project may hold.

Moving or Removing Lot Lines

A lot line adjustment moves the line between neighboring lots without creating a new lot. Section 15-4202 allows it "between four or fewer existing adjacent parcels," with three limits: "No more parcels are created than originally existed," "No additional lots or building sites are created," and it may not create a new substandard lot or shrink an existing one. The City Engineer approves it if no street or alley dedication is needed, the lots meet the code and the Building Code, and no new nonconformity is created. It "shall not be effective until a deed signed by the record owners has been recorded."

A voluntary parcel merger joins lots into one, under Section 15-4203. A merger can turn two narrow lots to reach the width or area that a larger project needs, and it uses the same City Engineer review.

Sources: City of Fresno Master Fee Schedule, Planning and Development fees and Public Works fees, Amendment 590, effective July 1, 2026.

The Public Works schedule lists two final parcel map filing fees: $6,439.83 for "5 lots or more" and $4,795.39 for "4 lots or more." The second label overlaps the first; the Planning schedule uses "4 lots or less" for the matching tentative map fee. Confirm the amount with the City Engineer's office before you budget.

Where to Go Next

Related on VanPlex: the Fresno overview, SB 684 and SB 1123 and is your lot eligible.

Frequently Asked Questions

Official sources (checked October 2026)