Hesperia | Parking, setbacks and height

Hesperia, California Parking, Setbacks, Height and Lot Coverage: Garages, Apartment Parking, Yards, House Size and Minor Exceptions

These are the measurable limits that decide how much building fits on a Hesperia lot. A setback is the open distance a building must keep from a lot line or street. Lot coverage is the share of the lot covered by buildings. Hesperia's limits are in Chapters 16.16 and 16.20 of the Development Code, with separate figures for lots inside the Main Street and Freeway Corridor Specific Plan. The City also sets a minimum house size and requires a garage for every house. The Hesperia overview has the summary.

Parking by Home Type

Section 16.20.080 opens with "Adequate parking shall be provided on-site for each use" and sets the residential numbers in Table 16.20.080 (A).

Source: Hesperia Municipal Code 16.20.080, Table A (Supplement 24 Update 2).

• What counts as a bedroom. "A bonus room, den, library, recreation room, study, or similar habitable room which functionally can be used as a bedroom or may be converted to a bedroom shall be considered to be a bedroom."
• Covered spaces for apartments. "A minimum of one space per unit is to be covered. Each space shall contain a minimum of 100 cubic feet of lockable storage space per unit." The storage may be placed at the home on a patio or balcony, and it "is not required if each unit is served by an enclosed garage in lieu of a carport."
• Guest parking. Condominiums and townhomes need 0.25 guest spaces per unit, "designated and dispersed throughout the development." The table adds "Guest parking shall be handled in the same manner for multiple-family units and mobile home parks."
• Rounding. Section 16.20.077 rounds a fraction "to the nearest whole number with 0.5 rounded up."
• Space size. Section 16.20.085 sets an open space at "nine feet in width and eighteen (18) feet in length." Section 16.20.090 sets a covered space in a garage or carport at nine feet by 19 feet, and "A fully enclosed two-car garage shall have a minimum interior size of nineteen (19) feet in width and nineteen (19) feet in depth."
• Driveways. A driveway serving "two or less dwelling units shall be a minimum of twelve (12) feet in width." One serving "three or more dwelling units" needs 13 feet for one-way traffic and 26 feet for two-way traffic. A driveway to a garage needs "a minimum length of twenty (20) feet."
• No renting out spaces. "No property owner shall sublease, subrent or otherwise make available to residents of other properties, the off-street parking spaces required by this article."
• Apartment yards. In R3, "Except for required landscaped areas, parking and loading is permitted in the interior side yard and rear yard setbacks."

Where State Law Lowers the Parking Number

• ADUs. Section 16.12.360 sets no parking space for an ADU, and spaces lost when a garage or carport is converted or removed for an ADU "do not need to be replaced." See the ADUs and SB 9 page.
• SB 9 homes. Government Code 65852.21 allows a city to require "Offstreet parking of up to one space per unit" for a two-unit project in a single-family zone. Hesperia's two-car garage rule exceeds that figure, and the statute sets the upper limit.
• Density bonus projects. Section 16.20.230 lets a bonus project ask for one space for a studio or one-bedroom home, two spaces for two to three bedrooms and two and one-half for four or more, and says "Required parking must be on-site and may be uncovered. Tandem parking is permitted." Tandem means one car parked behind another. Government Code 65915 caps a two to three bedroom home at "one and one-half onsite parking spaces," and the statute controls.
• Near major transit. Government Code 65863.2 says a city "shall not impose or enforce any minimum automobile parking requirement" on a project "located within one-half mile of public transit," a term that statute ties to major transit stops. This guide did not check whether any stop in Hesperia qualifies.

The City's code update may change the local numbers. The presentation of September 10, 2026 lists, under parking, "Address tandem parking within multi-family residential developments" and "Review bicycle parking and electric vehicle parking requirements."

Setbacks, Height and Lot Coverage in Title 16

The table in Section 16.16.120 has one column per designation. The small lot column applies to R1 small lot subdivisions under Section 16.16.125.

Source: Hesperia Municipal Code 16.16.120 (Supplement 24 Update 2, last amended by Ordinance No. 2025-06 on November 4, 2025).

• How the front setback is measured. A table note sends the 25-foot front yard to Section 16.20.030. "Where the street is located on a right-of-way width of sixty (60) feet or less, the minimum street setback shall be fifty-five (55) feet, measured from the centerline." On a wider street the setback is "twenty-five (25) feet in addition to one-half (½) of the width of the existing right-of-way." On a private road easement it is 25 feet from the easement line.
• Corner and through lots. Section 16.20.015 says "Side yards on the street sides of corner lots require the same building setback as do front yards unless otherwise specified," and "On through lots, front yards shall be provided on all street frontages." On a reversed corner lot the street side yard may be reduced "to fifteen (15) feet along secondary arterial, collector and local streets."
• Setback lines on old maps. Street setback lines drawn on final maps, parcel maps and records of survey "recorded in the city between March 1, 1948, and January 1, 1987" are the required setbacks for those lots. Check the recorded map before designing.
• Older lots. For an R1 or RR "Lot Created before Jan. 9, 1969" the interior side yard is 10 percent of the lot width, with a floor of 3 feet and a top of 5 feet.
• Small lot height. "The maximum building height shall be eighteen (18) feet to a depth of twenty (20) feet from the street property line."
• Attached homes. In a small lot subdivision "A zero setback on one of the interior sides with shared party walls between adjacent attached units" is permitted.
• Alleys. "One-half of the width of such alley may be assumed to be a portion of the required rear yard."
• How coverage is counted. Section 16.08.430 defines building coverage as "the percentage of lot surface area occupied by any building," and leaves out "roadways, swimming pools, tennis courts or solar collection devices."

More Height, and Height of Other Buildings

• Taller houses on wide lots. Section 16.20.055 says single household dwellings in districts with a limit of 35 feet or less "may exceed the height limit by up to twenty-five (25) feet, when two side yards of at least twenty (20) feet are provided."
• Roof features. Section 16.20.060 lets the building official grant "Special height limits up to fifty (50) percent greater" for listed structures, among them chimneys, cupolas, flag poles, solar energy collectors, and barns and silos in agricultural districts.
• How height is measured. Section 16.08.110 measures to "the average height of the highest gable of a pitched or hipped roof," or to the top of a flat roof.
• Accessory buildings. Section 16.20.410 says "Accessory buildings shall not exceed thirty-five (35) feet in height and a maximum of two and one-half stories. Accessory buildings within thirty (30) feet of any side or rear property line shall not exceed twenty (20) feet in height." The 25-foot increase for houses does not apply to them.
• ADUs. 16 feet for a detached ADU with listed increases, and 25 feet and two stories for an attached one.

What May Stand in a Required Yard

Section 16.20.075 is a table of features that may extend into a required yard. Section 16.20.070 keeps them out of the clear sight triangle at street corners and, as a rule, five feet from any lot line.

• Eaves, awnings and canopies. Up to 10 feet into a front or street side yard, "provided they are a minimum of 6 ft. from the right-of-way and do not extend over any portion of a septic system."
• Attached patios. An attached patio open on at least half of its perimeter may extend 10 feet into the front yard, and in the rear "May occupy no more than 25% of 15 ft. rear yard" with a "Minimum 5 ft. separation from rear lot line."
• Detached garages and sheds. "Garages, carports, sheds and other detached, enclosed accessory buildings" are not allowed in front and side yards. In the rear yard they "May occupy no more than 25% of rear yard" with a "Minimum 5 ft. separation from side and rear lot lines."
• Air conditioning and pool equipment. 4 feet into a front yard when screened from view, and 5 feet from a side property line.
• Swimming pools. "Not allowed in front yards," and 5 feet from side and rear property lines.
• Stored boats and trailers. Open storage is allowed in the rear yard only.

Fences follow Section 16.20.072. In a front yard a view-obscuring wall, fence or hedge is limited "to a maximum of thirty-six (36) inches above grade," and estate type fences of ornamental metal and masonry pillars may reach six feet. In rear and interior side yards the limit is 6 feet. For "All residential tracts zoned R1 or located within the Main Street and Freeway Corridor Specific Plan," the table requires "a 6 ft. high block wall on all sides," with split face block on sides that can be seen from the street.

House Size, Garages and Accessory Buildings

Section 16.20.160 sets construction standards for "all detached single-family residential structures."

• Minimum house size. "The minimum habitable floor area for detached single-family residential units shall be one thousand (1,000) square feet measured from the exterior of the structure." It is 1,200 square feet "within the residentially zoned area known as the Mesa," 1,400 square feet in Tract 6082, and 800 square feet in small lot subdivisions. The minimums do not apply to below market rate units, adopted specific plans or second dwelling units.
• Width. "Minimum floor width and depth shall each average twenty (20) feet."
• Garage. "All residential structures shall have a fully enclosed two-car garage with a minimum interior size of nineteen (19) feet wide and nineteen (19) feet long."
• Outside finish. Siding of "stucco, wood, brick, stone, or decorative concrete block," and eaves and gable overhangs "of not less than twelve (12) inches."
• Infill variety. On infill lots, when the same floor plan is used on adjacent homes, "one (1) shall be the reverse of the other and have a different elevation."
• Manufactured homes. A manufactured home that meets the section "shall be allowed where this code allows the construction of a detached single-family residential structure." Outside a licensed park, no permit is issued "if more than ten years have elapsed between the date of manufacture and the date of the application."

Accessory buildings have area limits. Outside A2, Section 16.20.390 allows "a one thousand (1,000) square foot aggregate accessory building up to a maximum aggregate accessory building area not to exceed seven and one-half (7.5) percent of the net lot area." A guest house or ADU is counted separately. Section 16.20.400 allows accessory structures of up to 15 percent of the net lot area in addition. Section 16.20.420 says "Metal accessory buildings shall only be allowed in the A, RR and R1-18000 zone districts," placed behind the house. Storage containers are limited to the same districts, one on a lot under two gross acres and two on a larger lot.

Yards in the Specific Plan Zones

Lots inside the Main Street and Freeway Corridor Specific Plan use the plan's figures, measured from the property line. The table reads the copy posted on the City's site, which is amended through July 15, 2021.

Source: Main Street and Freeway Corridor Specific Plan, Chapter 7 (posted copy, amended through July 15, 2021).

The High Density zone offers "A height bonus of 10 feet" for "additional 10 feet of setback space on all sides beyond the specified requirements." It also asks for bicycle racks: two for every five homes for the first 20 homes. In the Oak Hills Community Plan area, Section 16.20.450 gives R-1 and RR lots 35 feet of height, 40 percent coverage, a 25-foot front yard, side yards of 10 and 5 feet, a 15-foot rear yard, and a street side yard of 15 feet on a local street or 25 feet on a collector or wider street.

Minor Exceptions and Variances

Section 16.12.220 lets the City relax a standard in two ways. A minor exception is decided by staff through administrative review with notice. A variance goes to the Planning Commission at a public hearing.

• Setbacks. "In any residential zone, the minimum setback may be decreased by not more than twenty (20) percent" where the yard is in character with the neighborhood.
• Lot coverage. "The maximum lot coverage may be increased by not more than ten percent of the lot area."
• Height. "A ten percent increase in the maximum height limitation for structures."
• Parking. "A maximum fifteen (15) percent reduction in the required number of parking spaces," and "no more than four spaces shall be eliminated."
• Fences. Two more feet of fence height where the ground slopes.
• Limits. "Rounding up of fractions shall not be permitted," and no exception or variance may allow a use the designation does not permit.

The fee schedule effective December 1, 2025 lists a minor exception at $374 and a variance at $2,663, each plus a 10 percent technology fee.

Where the Code Differs From Itself

• Old lot side yards. The table prints the pre-1969 side yard as "10% of lot width, but not less than 3' and more than 5'." The words read as a range of 3 to 5 feet.
• R3 height. The R3 height cell reads "45" with no unit; the 2025 staff report confirms 45 feet. The posted Specific Plan keeps 35 feet for its Medium and High Density zones.
• Fence height. Section 16.16.125 gives a decorative estate fence in a street yard "a maximum height of seventy-two (72) inches"; Section 16.20.072 says "six (6) feet." The two match.
• Small lot streets. Title 16 sets small lot streets at 30 feet curb to curb and the Specific Plan at 32 feet.
• Sign cross-reference. The row for signs in Section 16.16.120 cites "Section 16.16.095," which is the agricultural use table. Sign rules are in Chapter 16.36.

Where to Go Next

Related on VanPlex: the Hesperia overview, the California ADU law page and the duplex to fourplex guide.

Frequently Asked Questions

Official sources (checked October 2026)