Lancaster | Zoning Districts
Lancaster Zoning Districts: Rural, Urban, MDR, HDR, Mixed Use and Overlay Zones
A zoning district, or zone, is an area on the City's map where one set of rules decides what may be built and how much. Lancaster's zones are in Title 17 of the Lancaster Municipal Code, read here in Supplement 10 - 2025. This page lists the zones that allow homes, how many homes each allows, which ones allow a duplex or apartments, and the overlay zones that change the base rules. The Lancaster overview sums up the whole guide.
Lancaster zoning in six facts
- Lancaster's residential zones are the RR, R, MHP, MDR and HDR zones. Source: LMC 17.08.010, 17.08.030
- The MDR zone allows 6.6 to 15 homes per acre and the HDR zone 15.1 to 30. Source: LMC 17.08.030
- A duplex needs a director's review in the rural, urban, MDR and HDR zones. Source: LMC 17.08.050
- Apartments (multi-family homes) are not allowed in the rural or urban house zones, and are permitted with site plan review in MDR and HDR. Source: LMC 17.08.050
- The Housing Density Overlay raises the cap to 50 homes per acre, and only on HDR, C and CPD land. Source: LMC 17.20.740, 17.20.750
- Lancaster first adopted Los Angeles County's zoning ordinance, No. 1494, as it stood on May 7, 1979. Source: LMC 17.04.010
Where Lancaster's Zoning Code Came From
Lancaster's zoning began as a copy of the County's. Section 17.04.010 adopts "that certain zoning ordinance of the county of Los Angeles, known as Ordinance No. 1494, as amended, and in full force and effect on May 7, 1979." Section 17.04.040 says "This chapter is adopted as a temporary interim zoning ordinance," and Section 17.04.050 adopted the County zoning map as the City's interim map. Over the following decades the City wrote its own chapters. The residential zones in Chapter 17.08 come from Ordinance No. 989 of April 9, 2013, and the mixed use zones in Chapter 17.10 from Ordinance No. 946 of July 13, 2010.
Two recent ordinances matter most for homes. Ordinance No. 1106 of October 10, 2023 rewrote the ADU rules, moved the two-unit project rules for SB 9 into Chapter 17.41 and added the objective design standards there. Ordinance No. 1130 of May 27, 2025 amended the residential uses matrix and the development standards. The code's own history notes show both. Because the County text was the starting point, some older sections still name zones Lancaster no longer uses. For example, Section 17.40.100 speaks of land zoned "R-1, R-2, R-A, A-1, A-2 or A-2-H" before City zoning, and the commercial uses matrix sends separate apartment projects in the C zone to "the provisions of the HDR-1 zone," a zone that Section 17.04.100 does not list.
The Residential Zones
| Zone | Homes allowed | Density | Minimum lot |
|---|---|---|---|
| RR-2.5 Rural Residential | One house per lot, a duplex or SB 9 project by director's review, plus ADUs | One home per 100,000 sq ft net | 100,000 sq ft, 165 ft wide |
| RR-1 Rural Residential | Same as RR-2.5 | One home per 40,000 sq ft net | 40,000 sq ft, 110 ft wide |
| SRR Semi-Rural Residential | Same as RR-2.5 | One home per 20,000 sq ft net | 20,000 sq ft, 85 ft wide |
| R-15,000 Residential | One house, a duplex or SB 9 project by director's review, plus ADUs | One home per 15,000 sq ft net | 15,000 sq ft, 85 ft wide |
| R-10,000 Residential | Same as R-15,000 | One home per 10,000 sq ft net | 10,000 sq ft, 70 ft wide |
| R-7,000 Residential | Same as R-15,000; infill lots up to 8 homes per acre | One home per 7,000 sq ft net | 7,000 sq ft, 60 ft wide |
| MDR Medium Density Residential | Houses, duplexes and apartments | 6.6 to 15 homes per acre | 6,000 sq ft for apartments |
| HDR High Density Residential | Houses, duplexes and apartments | 15.1 to 30 homes per acre (50 with the HD-O overlay) | 6,000 sq ft for apartments |
| MHP Mobilehome Park | Mobilehome parks | Set in Article VII of Chapter 17.08 | Park standards |
Sources: Lancaster Municipal Code 17.08.030, 17.08.050, 17.08.060, 17.08.080 and 17.20.750, Supplement 10 - 2025.
Section 17.08.030 groups the zones into three families. The non-urban residential or RR zones are for single-family homes "in a non-urban environment with minimal urban services," and "The primary difference between the zones is the minimum lot size." RR-2.5 allows one home per 100,000 square feet of net area, RR-1 one per 40,000 and SRR one per 20,000. Net area means the lot without streets. The urban residential or R zones are for single-family homes "in an urban environment with full urban services": R-15,000, R-10,000 and R-7,000, where the number in the name is the square feet of land per home.
The third family is for apartments. The MDR zone has "a density range of 6.6 to fifteen (15) dwelling units per acre" and the HDR zone "a density range of 15.1 to thirty (30) dwelling units per acre." Density is the number of homes allowed per acre of land, and an acre is 43,560 square feet. The table in Section 17.08.060 treats both numbers as a minimum and a maximum. A project may choose to count ADUs toward the minimum, while ADUs are left out of the maximum. The same table adds that "The maximum density may be exceeded on a specific site provided the overall density of the zone does not exceed the maximum."
What Each Zone Allows: the Uses Matrix
Section 17.08.050 lists every use in a table called the Uses Matrix, with one column for the rural zones, one for the urban zones and one for MDR and HDR. Each use gets a letter. P means permitted. D means director's review, a check by the Director of Community Development that the plan meets the code. C means a conditional use permit from the Planning Commission. An asterisk means site plan review, a staff check of a drawn site plan and building elevations. The housing rows read as follows:
- Single-family house on its own lot. D in all three columns.
- Two-unit projects under SB 9. D in all three columns, "Subject to Chapter 17.41, Article III."
- Duplex. D in all three columns. Section 17.04.240 defines a duplex as "a building designed or used for residential purposes and containing 2 dwelling units."
- Multi-family homes. Not allowed in the rural and urban columns; P with site plan review in MDR and HDR. A "Multiple-family project" in Section 17.04.240 has three or more dwelling units.
- Residential planned development (RPD). C in all three columns.
- ADUs and junior ADUs. P in all three columns, under Chapter 17.41, Article I.
- Single-room occupancy. D in MDR and HDR only, and rooming and boarding houses C in MDR and HDR only.
Site plan review is required for uses that are not P or D, and for P uses marked with an asterisk. An approved site plan "shall be valid for 2 years from the date of approval," and the Director may grant "Three one-year extensions" if the request arrives at least 60 days before it expires. A director's review is decided on the principles in Section 17.32.790; for a project that state law limits to objective standards, the Director checks only that public facilities will be available and that the City Engineer has approved circulation and access.
Mixed Use, Commercial and Specific Plan Zones
| Zone | Homes | Note |
|---|---|---|
| MU-N Mixed Use-Neighborhood | Houses, duplexes and apartments permitted | Compact homes near shops and offices |
| MU-C Mixed Use-Commercial | Apartments permitted; houses and duplexes barred by Section 17.10.050.B.5 | Mixed buildings on major streets |
| MU-E Mixed Use-Employment | Apartments permitted; houses and duplexes not allowed | Homes next to offices and light industry |
| MU-TOD Mixed Use-Transit Oriented Development | Set by the Lancaster T.O.D. Zones of February 24, 2015 | 186 acres in the Downtown Lancaster Transit Village District |
| MU-H Mixed Use-Health District | Set by the Lancaster Health District Master Plan of April 27, 2021 | Commercial, office, medical and residential uses |
| C and CPD commercial zones | Apartments with a conditional use permit | Alone or above shops |
| SP Specific Plan | As the adopted specific plan sets | One house on a vacant legal lot before a plan exists |
Sources: Lancaster Municipal Code 17.10.030, 17.10.050, 17.12.040 and 17.20.610.
A mixed use zone allows homes and businesses on the same land, sometimes in the same building. Section 17.10.030 describes MU-N as "compact residential development, built in close proximity to daily commercial/office uses and services," MU-C as "a more fully integrated residential and commercial mixed use development," and MU-E as "an area for non-retail employment uses in close proximity to residential uses." Apartments, condominiums, studios and lofts are permitted in all three. Structures over 50 feet tall need a conditional use permit in each of them.
MU-TOD and MU-H take their rules from separate plans. MU-TOD adopts "Lancaster T.O.D. Zones as adopted by the city council on February 24, 2015, generally covering 186 acres within the Downtown Lancaster Transit Village District." MU-H incorporates "the Lancaster Health District Master Plan as adopted by the City Council on April 27, 2021." Those two plans are separate documents that were not part of the code text read for this guide, so their density and height figures are left out here. In MU-TOD, residential projects follow the objective design standards in Chapter 17.41, and where a master plan or specific plan sets different design standards, the plan prevails.
In the commercial zones, Section 17.12.040 allows a multi-family project "as a separate development in the C zone" or "combined with commercial development as a mixed use where said apartments are attached to the commercial building (for example, as the second story of a commercial retail center)." Both need a conditional use permit in the C and CPD zones. In the OP office zone they also need a conditional use permit, and are allowed only with a permitted use and with at least half the homes above the ground floor.
The Specific Plan (SP) zone covers land where a detailed plan will set the rules. Section 17.20.600 says "Where a specific plan has been adopted by the city, it shall supersede all regulations contained in this article." Before a plan exists, Section 17.20.610 permits a "Single-family residence on an existing vacant legal lot" with a General Plan designation of UR, MDR or HDR, and Section 17.20.650 requires a specific plan before anyone may subdivide.
Overlay and Combining Zones
An overlay zone sits on top of a base zone and changes some of its rules. Lancaster has three that touch housing:
- Housing Density Overlay (HD-O). Added by Ordinance No. 1090 of June 28, 2022 "to provide flexibility and opportunities for additional housing types." Section 17.20.750 sets one change: "Residential density shall not exceed fifty (50) dwelling units per acre." It may only be applied to HDR, C and CPD land.
- East Side Overlay Zone (EOZ). Added by Ordinance No. 1105 of September 12, 2023 on RR-2.5 land, "allowing one dwelling unit per minimum net area of 100,000 square feet," where it adds light industrial uses such as contractor storage yards and research and development.
- Vegetative Management (-VM) combining zone. Section 17.04.110 creates a -VM version of every zone. The code text read for this guide gives no standards for it, so ask the Planning Division what it requires if your lot carries the symbol.
Lancaster also has a residential planned development (RPD), which is a conditional use permit for a project designed as one whole. Section 17.08.340 requires at least 5 acres in every residential zone, keeps the number of homes "within the density range for the subject property as specified by the zone," and asks that open space, paseos and trails make up at least 15 percent of the net area. The Planning Commission may then approve houses, duplexes and apartments together with custom standards.
Changing a Zone
Zone changes follow Chapter 17.24. The Planning Commission holds a public hearing first (Section 17.24.110), with notice published and mailed at least 10 days ahead under Section 17.36.020. The City Council then holds its own hearing (Section 17.24.170). The Council decides; the Commission advises. If the Commission recommends denial of a zone change, "the action of the commission shall become final unless an interested party appeals." Because an HD-O overlay is applied through the same chapter, adding 50 homes per acre to an HDR lot also takes both hearings.
Where the Code Disagrees With Itself
- MU-C houses. The Section 17.10.050 matrix marks "Detached single-family unit or duplex" as P in MU-C, while subsection B.5 says "Single-family and duplex structures are not permitted." Subsection A says the matrix is "further modified by the use limitation in Section 17.10.050.B," so the bar controls.
- MU-H missing from the lists. Section 17.10.030.E creates the MU-H zone, while Sections 17.04.100 and 17.10.010 list only MU-N, MU-C, MU-E and MU-TOD. The specific section that creates MU-H controls for land shown as MU-H on the zoning map.
- Old zone names. Section 17.12.040 sends apartments in the C zone to "the HDR-1 zone," and Section 17.40.100 names R-1, R-2 and A-1 zones; none are in the Section 17.04.100 list. Ask the Planning Division which current zone it applies.
Best For
- ✓ MDR and HDR lots, where apartments are permitted with site plan review.
- ✓ Urban and rural house lots where a duplex fits the director's review standards.
- ✓ HDR lots that can take the HD-O overlay to reach 50 homes per acre.
Usually Fails When
- ✕ The plan puts three or more homes in one building on an RR or R lot.
- ✕ The plan puts a house or duplex on MU-C land.
- ✕ The lot is zoned SP and no specific plan has been adopted.
What To Verify Before Spending Money
- → The lot's zone and any overlay or -VM symbol on the City Zoning Map.
- → Whether a specific plan, the T.O.D. Zones or the Health District Master Plan applies.
- → Which current zone the City applies where the code names an old one.
Where to Go Next
Related on VanPlex: the Lancaster overview, the lot eligibility guide and the duplex to fourplex guide.
Frequently Asked Questions
What are the residential zones in Lancaster?
Can I build a duplex on a Lancaster R-7,000 lot?
Where are apartments allowed in Lancaster?
What does the HD-O overlay allow in Lancaster?
What is the MU-TOD zone in Lancaster?
Why does the Lancaster zoning code mention Los Angeles County?
Can I build homes on Lancaster land zoned SP before a specific plan exists?
How do I change the zone on a Lancaster lot?
Can two narrow old lots in Lancaster be built as one?
Does Lancaster allow houses in the MU-C mixed use zone?
Official sources (checked October 2026)
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