Cities | Hesperia
Hesperia, California Multiplex Rules 2026: Zoning, ADUs, SB 9, Apartments, Sewer and Septic Rules and Fees
Hesperia, California is a city of 102,605 people in San Bernardino County, in the High Desert. Its zoning rules are Title 16 of the Municipal Code, the Development Code, published on Municode. Most of the city is designated for one house on a large lot, and many of those lots use septic systems. Apartments are allowed in the R3 and C2 designations and in parts of the Main Street and Freeway Corridor Specific Plan. The City has a section for ADUs and none for SB 9, and on several points its ADU text is stricter than current state law, where the statute decides. This page summarizes the ways to build two, three, four or more homes on a Hesperia lot. The seven guide pages below cover each topic in depth.
Hesperia in six facts
- The US Census Bureau estimates the population of the City of Hesperia, California at 102,605 on July 1, 2025. Source: US Census Bureau, Vintage 2025
- Hesperia's zoning rules are Title 16 of its Municipal Code, the Development Code, and its subdivision rules are Title 17. Source: City of Hesperia, Development Code page
- The Municode copy, Supplement 24 Update 2, is current through Ordinance No. 2025-09, passed December 5, 2025. Source: Hesperia Municipal Code, preface
- A single-family dwelling is permitted in R1, R3, RR, A1 and A2, and multiple-family dwellings are listed only in R3. Source: HMC 16.16.085
- ADUs are approved by staff within 60 days of a completed application, with no notice and no hearing. Source: HMC 16.12.360
- Development impact fees are $15,215 for a single-family home and $10,315 for a multi-family unit. Source: City-Wide Fee Schedule, Appendix A
Hesperia Guide Pages
Start With State Law
Four state laws set the minimum Hesperia 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.
Hesperia writes ADU law into Section 16.12.360 and the density bonus into Sections 16.20.190 to 16.20.267. A search of Titles 16 and 17, as published through December 5, 2025, found no section on SB 9 two-unit projects, urban lot splits or SB 684 maps, so those statutes apply directly. The density bonus article says later state changes "shall be deemed to supersede and govern any conflicting percentages." For ADUs, the state housing department sent the City findings on June 19, 2025, and the guide pages name each point where the statute controls.
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 the law's provisions "will take effect on July 1, 2026, in Alameda, Los Angeles, Sacramento, San Francisco, San Mateo, Santa Clara, and San Diego Counties." San Bernardino County is not in that list.
Hesperia in Numbers
The US Census Bureau's Vintage 2025 city file estimates 102,605 people in the City of Hesperia on July 1, 2025, up from a 2020 estimates base of 99,798. In that file Hesperia is the 72nd largest city or town in California, after Burbank (102,988) and ahead of Tracy (101,901). Its neighbors are Victorville at 141,395 and the Town of Apple Valley at 75,247. San Bernardino County has 2,224,091 people in the same file.
The City's Specific Plan page says "Since its incorporation in 1988, Hesperia has grown in population to over 85,000 and in land area to approximately 75 square miles," a sentence written before the current count. Ordinance No. 2025-05 recites that the City adopted the Hesperia Municipal Code by Ordinance No. 250 on January 5, 1998. The Housing Element says the 2010 General Plan update was "the first comprehensive update since the original General Plan was adopted in 1991." The Council adopted new Land Use and Health and Safety Elements on July 15, 2025 and a Circulation Element on October 21, 2025, according to the General Plan page.
The Housing Element gives the state housing allocation for 2021 to 2029 as 8,155 homes. The staff report of April 7, 2026 says "In 2025, the City issued building permits for 505 single-family homes and 23 accessory dwelling units (ADUs), resulting in a total of 528 residential units permitted during the year." That is 6.5 percent of the allocation in one year (VanPlex arithmetic: 528 divided by 8,155).
The Ways to More Homes Compared
| Way | Where | Homes | Approval |
|---|---|---|---|
| ADU and junior ADU | Lots with a house or apartments in R1, R3, RR, A1 and A2 | City text: one ADU and one junior ADU. State law: a converted ADU, a junior ADU and a detached ADU together | Staff, 60 days, $312 planning fee |
| SB 9 two-unit project | Single-family zones (no City section) | Two homes of at least 800 sq ft each | Staff under Gov. Code 65852.21, 60 days |
| SB 9 urban lot split | Single-family zones (no City section) | Two lots of 1,200 sq ft or more, two units each | Staff under Gov. Code 66411.7, 60 days |
| Parcel map | Any designation, to the lot size on the land use map | Four lots or fewer | Development Review Committee with notice |
| Small lot subdivision | R1-4500 land; Low and Medium Density plan zones | Lots of 4,500 sq ft, or 3,000 sq ft on 10 acres or more | Tentative tract map, Planning Commission |
| Apartments and townhomes | R3 and C2 | 15 to 30 per acre in R3; 20 to 30 in C2 | Site plan review; staff review if the design standards are met |
| Corridor plan housing | Medium Density, High Density and Regional Commercial plan zones | 8 to 15, 15 to 20 and 15 to 30 per acre | Site plan review |
| Small-lot map (SB 684 / SB 1123) | Multifamily lots up to 5 acres; vacant single-family lots up to 1.5 acres, with public water and municipal sewer | Up to 10 | No hearing under Gov. Code 66499.41, 60 days |
Sources: Hesperia Municipal Code 16.12.360, 16.12.405, 16.12.460, 16.16.125, 16.16.130 and 16.16.320 (Supplement 24 Update 2); Main Street and Freeway Corridor Specific Plan; Gov. Code 66323, 65852.21, 66411.7 and 66499.41.
Designations That Allow Homes
Hesperia keeps one map. Section 16.16.020 adopts the "official general plan land use map," and the designation printed on it is the zone. The residential designations are R1, R3, RR, A1 and A2. A single-family dwelling is permitted in all five, and the number after the label sets the minimum lot size: R1-18000 means 18,000 square feet and RR-1 means one acre. Multiple-family dwellings are listed only in R3, at 15 to 30 homes per acre, and since November 2025 the C2 commercial designation allows housing at 20 to 30. Inside the Main Street and Freeway Corridor Specific Plan the plan's own zones apply. Rural lots also have animal keeping allowances by lot size. See the zoning districts page.
House Lots: ADUs and SB 9
Section 16.12.360 allows a detached ADU of up to 1,200 square feet and an attached ADU of up to 50 percent of the house and 1,000 square feet, with four-foot side and rear setbacks and a height of 16 feet for a detached unit. The City text allows one ADU and one junior ADU on a house lot. State law, as amended effective January 1, 2026, requires a converted ADU, a junior ADU and a detached new ADU in any combination. A lot with no sewer connection needs one gross acre or an approved Supplemental Treatment Septic System. The Municode copy does not yet show Ordinance No. 2025-05, which changed the section in November 2025. See the ADUs and SB 9 page.
For SB 9 the statute is the only text. It allows two homes of at least 800 square feet on a single-family lot and a split into two lots of at least 1,200 square feet, each decided by staff within 60 days. The lot size and subdivisions page covers lot splits, parcel maps, small lot subdivisions and small-lot maps.
Three or More Homes
Ordinance No. 2025-06 changed the rules for apartments in November 2025. It set R3 at 15 to 30 homes per acre and 45 feet, added multi-family and mixed-use housing to C2, and adopted Objective Design Standards for projects of three or more homes. A project that meets the standards can be approved by the Development Review Committee, a staff body. R3 keeps minimum unit sizes, from 675 square feet for a studio to 1,475 for four bedrooms, and requires a sewer connection. The density bonus article gives 20 to 50 percent more homes, and a voter measure of 2020, Measure N, would cut densities when state law allows it to take effect. See the three or more homes page.
Parking, Setbacks and Height
A house with one to four bedrooms needs a two-car garage, and one with five or more needs a three-car garage. An apartment needs 1.25 spaces as a studio, 1.75 with one bedroom and 2.25 with two or more. The front yard is 25 feet in R1, RR, A1, A2 and R3, measured from the street centerline under Section 16.20.030. Houses may be 35 feet and 2.5 stories tall, and R3 buildings 45 feet. Buildings may cover 40 percent of an R1 or RR lot and 60 percent of an R3 lot. A detached house must have at least 1,000 square feet. See the parking, setbacks and height page.
Sewer, Septic and Flood Rules
Section 14.08.020 requires a connection to the public sewer for a project that exceeds two equivalent dwelling units per acre or lies within 200 feet of a public sewer. Elsewhere a septic system may be used. This one rule decides many projects, because R3 housing, small lot subdivisions and SB 684 maps all require sewer. Chapter 8.28 requires a development permit from the City Engineer before building in a special flood hazard area. The code also limits density on slopes of 20 percent or more and requires a permit to remove a Joshua tree. See the sewer, septic and flood rules page.
Fees
Hesperia's City-Wide Fee Schedule, effective December 1, 2025, lists $312 for the planning review of an ADU, $3,811 for a site plan review and $826 plus $2 per lot for a residential tentative parcel map, each with a 10 percent technology fee. Development impact fees are $15,215 per single-family home and $10,315 per multi-family unit. The school fee is $6.43 per square foot, a 3/4-inch water meter for a house is $7,991, and sewer connection fees are $4,679 and $1,406 per equivalent dwelling unit. A fee update of 3.3 percent was proposed for December 1, 2026. See the permits and fees page.
Rentals and Existing Homes
The City's Rental Housing Business License and Inspection Program "was adopted in January 2021," and "Registration is required for all rental properties under Hesperia Municipal Code Chapter 5.72." The page lists a possible $500 fine for failing to pay the fees and another for failing to obtain the license. ADUs may not be rented for less than 30 consecutive days. 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. Chapter 5.72 and any other local rules on rents were not read for this guide.
Recent City Council Actions
- November 3, 2020. Hesperia voters passed Measure N, according to the 2025 Land Use Element. Its lower densities "would not take effect until allowed by State law, which is currently January 1, 2030."
- May 2, 2023. The Council adopted the Housing Element for 2021 to 2029, after HCD's letter of March 24, 2023 on the draft.
- December 3, 2024 and May 20, 2025. Ordinance Nos. 2024-13 and 2025-01 amended the ADU section.
- June 19, 2025. HCD sent the City written findings that the ADU ordinance "fails to comply with State ADU Laws" on six points.
- July 15 and October 21, 2025. The Council adopted the Land Use and Health and Safety Elements, then the Circulation Element, of the General Plan update.
- September 16, 2025. The Council adopted the fee schedule that took effect December 1, 2025.
- November 4, 2025. Ordinance Nos. 2025-04, 2025-05 and 2025-06 were listed for second reading under Consent Ordinances, which the Council approved. No. 2025-05 amended the ADU section. No. 2025-06 adopted the Objective Design Standards, raised R3 to 30 homes per acre and added housing to C2. No. 2025-04 changed building height in the Commercial Industrial Business Park zone of the Specific Plan.
- December 2, 2025. Ordinance No. 2025-08 adopted the 2025 California building codes.
- December 16, 2025. The Council continued Ordinance No. 2025-07, a Development Code amendment on residential outdoor lighting. No later action on it was found.
- April 7 and April 21, 2026. The 2025 annual report on the General Plan was on the Council's April 7 agenda, and an agreement with PlaceWorks, Inc. for a full Development Code update was on the April 21 agenda.
- August 18, 2026. A staff report on impact fees said a new nexus study is planned for fiscal year 2027-28.
- September 15, 2026. The agenda carried a fee update of 3.3 percent, effective December 1, 2026. The records read show no vote.
Where the Code, City Documents and State Law Differ
The guide pages flag each difference where it arises. The main ones:
- Section 16.12.360 gives a house lot one ADU and one junior ADU. Government Code 66323 requires approval of a converted ADU, a junior ADU and a detached new ADU "or any combination." The statute controls.
- The Municode copy of Section 16.12.360 stops at Ordinance No. 2025-01. Ordinance No. 2025-05 of November 2025 changed the decision wording, raised detached ADUs on apartment lots from two to eight and added three subsections.
- The City's ADU application packet says the City acts "within 120 days." The code and the statute say 60 days.
- Section 16.12.360 requires an 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.
- Section 16.16.130 sets R3 at 15 to 30 homes per acre. The 2025 Land Use Element prints 8.1 to 30.0.
- The posted Specific Plan is amended through July 15, 2021 and gives the Regional Commercial zone 15 to 25 homes per acre. Ordinance No. 2025-06 raised that to 30.
- The density bonus article keeps lower-income homes affordable for 30 years and gives two incentives at 20 percent lower income homes. Government Code 65915 requires 55 years for rental homes and gives two incentives at 17 percent.
- Section 17.08.040 says both that no extensions are allowed for residential subdivisions and that the planning director may extend a tentative map by 36 months.
- The fee schedule dates the impact fees April 2, 2022; a 2026 staff report dates them April 22, 2022. The schedule still prints a drainage area fee that the staff report says the City stopped collecting in 2025.
- The code's preface says the Municipal Code was "originally published by Book Publishing Company in 1977." The City's Specific Plan page dates incorporation to 1988, and Ordinance No. 2025-05 dates the adoption of the code to January 5, 1998.
Limits of This Guide
The code comes from Municode's Supplement 24 Update 2, current through Ordinance No. 2025-09, passed December 5, 2025. Later City actions come from the City's Legistar records: City Council and Planning Commission agenda items from October 2025 to October 8, 2026, and the staff reports and exhibits attached to them. Minutes files were listed for three 2026 Council meetings only and were not read, so votes are taken from the action records where they exist, and the outcome of the September 2026 fee item is not known. Legistar's own detail pages returned no content to a script; the links here go to the attachments. Those records show no ordinance amending Title 16 or Title 17 after Ordinance No. 2025-06, other than the continued lighting ordinance.
Several documents were not read: the land use map itself, the Tapestry and Summit Valley Ranch specific plans, the Oak Hills Community Plan, the Health and Safety Element, the federal flood maps, the City's Local Agency Management Program for septic systems, the state rules on Joshua trees, and the current text of the Specific Plan after its 2023 to 2025 amendments, apart from the Ordinance No. 2025-06 exhibit. The Objective Design Standards were read in the draft dated August 27, 2025 from the Council packet. Whether any Hesperia bus stop is a major transit stop, whether Hesperia lies in a Census urbanized area for SB 9, and whether Hesperia is a general law or charter city were not confirmed. The City is rewriting its Development Code, with workshops in fall 2026. Ask the Planning Division at 9700 Seventh Avenue, (760) 947-1224, which standards apply to your lot and whether a newer ordinance is in force.
Best For
- ✓ Sewered house lots, where an ADU of up to 1,200 square feet needs staff review and a $312 planning fee.
- ✓ R3 and C2 sites, at up to 30 homes per acre and 45 feet since November 2025.
- ✓ Large R1 and RR lots that can be divided by a parcel map of four lots or fewer.
Usually Fails When
- ✕ A septic lot under one acre is bought for extra homes with no check of the sewer rules.
- ✕ A plan follows the Municode ADU text with no check of Ordinance No. 2025-05 and the statute.
- ✕ A lot in the corridor plan area is designed to Title 16 standards.
What To Verify Before Spending Money
- → The lot's designation, lot size label and any specific plan on the City's Public Viewer.
- → Sewer and water availability and current connection fees with Engineering at (760) 947-1438.
- → Whether the Development Code Update or a later ordinance 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 Victorville guide.
Frequently Asked Questions
How many people live in Hesperia, California?
Where is the Hesperia zoning code?
What is the easiest way to add a home to a Hesperia house lot?
Which state housing laws apply in Hesperia?
When did Hesperia last change its housing rules?
How many homes did Hesperia permit in 2025?
Where is the Hesperia Planning Division and when is it open?
What should I check before buying a Hesperia lot to add homes?
Is Hesperia rewriting its Development Code?
Do I need a license to rent out a home in Hesperia?
Official sources (checked October 2026)
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