Long Beach | Lots and Subdivisions

Long Beach Lot Size and Subdivisions: Minimum Lots, SB 9 Urban Lot Splits and Parcel Maps

To subdivide is to divide one piece of land into two or more lots that can be sold separately. In Long Beach the lot sizes come from the Zoning Regulations (Title 21 and Title 22 of the Municipal Code) and the map process comes from the Subdivision Regulations (Title 20). This page covers the minimum lot sizes, the maps the City requires, the SB 9 urban lot split, and the state small-lot law. It was read in Supplement 52 of the code.

Minimum Lot Size and Width by District

Table 31-2A gives each residential district a minimum lot area and a minimum lot width. Lot width is "the horizontal distance between the midpoints of the side lot lines, measured at right angles to the line measuring lot depth." In plain terms, it is the width of the lot measured across its middle.

Source: Long Beach Municipal Code Table 31-2A, notes (a), (c) and (s), Supplement 52.

The most important line is note (c): "These standards apply only to new subdivisions of land area. They do not apply to new construction on existing lots or to air space divisions of existing lots." Section 21.31.210 repeats it. Much of Long Beach was platted on 25-foot and 50-foot lots long before these numbers were written, and those lots remain buildable. An air space division is a map that divides a building into separately owned units, as in a condominium, without moving lot lines.

Note (a) adds a neighborhood rule: "If this lot size exceeds the standards for the neighborhood (as defined in the subdivision regulations), the standard of the neighborhood may be used." Note (s) caps R-1-L the other way: "Lots created through a land subdivision or lot merger shall not exceed 20,000 square feet. Lot mergers shall not be comprised of more than two lots." A lot merger joins two lots into one.

In the Title 22 multi-family zones, Table 40-1 sets only a minimum lot width: 25 feet in MFR-L and 50 feet in MFR-M, or 55 feet on an MFR-M corner lot. There is no homes-per-lot number there; see the zoning districts page.

Lot Design Rules in Title 20

Section 20.08.020 applies the zoning minimums to every new lot, and adds a default for districts that set none: "a minimum width of fifty feet (50') and a minimum area of six thousand (6,000) square feet." The advisory agency, which in Long Beach is the Zoning Administrator or Planning Commission deciding the map, may waive lot width and area when one of three things is true:

• a lot faces a curved street, where frontage may drop to "not less than thirty-five feet (35')";
• most lots nearby are already below the standard, in which case each new lot must still be at least "the average lot width and size existing within a radius of three hundred feet (300')";
• the lot is a through lot with split zoning and two separate projects, one on each street.

The same section also lets the City push lots larger. Under 20.08.020.C, the Planning Commission or Zoning Administrator "may require that lots within a subdivision be increased in size so as to conform to the size of existing nearby lots fronting on the same street," but not "by more than fifty percent (50%) of the minimum lot area requirement of the zoning district." Other rules: side lot lines at or near right angles to the street, every lot fronting a public street or an approved private street, and "No cross-lot drainage shall be permitted," meaning rain from one lot may not drain across another.

Title 20 itself is recent. The City's Subdivision Ordinance Update page says the Council adopted the new ordinance on December 19, 2023, "expected to be effective in late January 2024 outside of the Coastal Zones," and that the next step was to submit it "to the California Coastal Commission for approval and adoption for properties within the Coastal Zones." The Title 20 sections read here carry the note "ORD-23-0051." Lots in the Coastal Zone should confirm with the Planning Bureau whether the Coastal Commission has certified the 2023 text for their area.

Which Map You Need, and Who Decides

A tentative map is the first drawing of the proposed lots that the City reviews. A final or parcel map is the surveyed map recorded with Los Angeles County once the conditions are met. Chapter 20.06 picks the map type, and Chapter 20.04 picks the decision maker.

Sources: Long Beach Municipal Code 20.06.020 and 20.06.040, 20.04.030 to 20.04.060, and 20.18.020.

Section 20.06.020 calls for a parcel map when "The subdivision includes four (4) or less lots or condominium units (or other common interest subdivisions) for residential development or use." Section 20.06.040 requires a tract map "for all subdivisions creating five or more lots, five or more condominiums." Four townhomes for sale on one site therefore fit a parcel map, and a fifth unit moves the project to a tract map.

The Zoning Administrator, a planning officer named by the Community Development Director, decides "Parcel maps" and "Tentative tract maps that consist of 50 or less residential units/lots." The Planning Commission decides tract maps of 50 or more units. The Chapter 20.04 lists name 50 units in both places, so a project of exactly 50 units sits in both lists; ask the City which body hears it. Final and parcel maps are then filed with the Department of Public Works "for review and approval by the Public Works Director." One more overlap: Section 20.04.060 lists the urban lot split among the Community Development Director's ministerial actions, while Section 20.18.020 names the Zoning Administrator, a planning officer the Director designates. Appeals go to the Planning Commission, and "An appeal must be filed within ten (10) calendar days after the decision is made for which a public hearing was required."

Chapter 20.12 sets the clock. The City tells the subdivider about missing items "in writing ... within 30 days." Once the map is complete, the Zoning Administrator or Planning Commission considers it at a public hearing "Within fifty (50) days." An approved tentative map "shall expire thirty-six (36) months after its approval," unless extended. Fees for each step are on the permits and fees page.

The SB 9 Urban Lot Split in Long Beach

An urban lot split is the SB 9 route to divide one single-family lot into two, approved by staff with no hearing. Chapter 20.18, adopted with ORD-23-0051, defines it as "the subdivision of an existing legal lot zoned R-1 (Single-Family District) under Chapter 21.31 of the Zoning Regulations to create no more than two (2) new parcels." Section 20.18.010.F says that, for SB 9 projects, "this Chapter shall prevail" over any conflicting part of the City code.

The map rules in Section 20.18.100 include:

• "The two (2) new parcels shall be of approximately equal lot area";
• "One (1) parcel shall not be smaller than forty (40) percent of the lot area of the original parcel";
• "Both newly created parcels shall be no smaller than 1,200 square-feet each";
• each parcel gets "a separate water service meter, a separate sewer connection, and gas connection if required";
• both parcels must meet "the minimum lot width requirements in Chapter 21.31 and Chapter 20.08";
• each parcel needs "public right-of-way frontage (public street or alley)," and "A flag lot ... shall not be permitted."

Section 20.18.070 sets the site limits. The lot must be "located entirely within a Single-Family (R-1) Zoning District," must not be "within a City Historic District, on a designated Historic Landmark property," and each new parcel may hold no more than "two (2) dwelling units of any type," counting main homes, ADUs and junior ADUs. Rentals must be for 30 days or longer, and the owner must not have removed rent-controlled homes from the rental market on the lot in the prior 15 years. The split may not demolish or alter more than 25 percent of the exterior walls of rent-restricted housing or of "Housing that has been occupied by a tenant in the last three years."

Section 20.18.020 sets the process. The owner files with the Planning Bureau, "The city will inform the applicant in writing of any incompleteness within thirty (30) days," and "The Zoning Administrator shall ministerially approve or deny the application." Ministerial means staff check the application against fixed rules, with no public hearing. The decision is due "within fifty (50) calendar days after a complete application for an urban lot split is filed." The application includes the owner's affidavit to live in one of the homes for three years. An approved split "shall expire thirty-six (36) months after its approval," and before the parcel map records, the owner records a covenant barring a second urban lot split and any rental shorter than 30 days.

Where the City Rules and State Law Differ

Three points in the Long Beach rules do not line up with each other or with Government Code 66411.7, the state SB 9 lot split law.

• Lot width and flag lots. The City requires each new lot to meet the district width (50 feet in R-1-N) and bars flag lots. The statute lets a city apply objective subdivision standards, but "A local agency shall not impose objective zoning standards, objective subdivision standards, and objective design review standards that would have the effect of physically precluding the construction of two units on either of the resulting parcels or that would result in a unit size of less than 800 square feet." Where the width or flag lot rule would block two 800 square foot homes, the statute controls.
• Building permits with the map. Section 20.18.070.B says a split "shall not be approved except in conjunction with a concurrently submitted application for building permits for a two (2) unit residential development." The City's ADU and SB 9 page describes the reverse order: "The Tentative Parcel Map must receive approval before you may submit plans for the two-unit development if the project otherwise would not be permitted if the Urban Lot Split were not approved." The adopted code controls over the web page; ask the Planning Bureau which order it will accept for your project.
• When the three years start. Section 20.18.020.B and the statute both count the three-year residence promise "from the date of the approval of the urban lot split." The City's affidavit form has the owner promise three years "from the date of final map recordation of an urban lot split," which falls later. The code and statute set the legal rule; the affidavit wording asks for more.

The City's web page also says "The City is currently updating the Urban Lot Split Ordinance to align with state law," and that "an Urban Lot Split is not required to build an SB 9 unit." The two-unit rules are on the ADU and SB 9 page.

SB 684 and SB 1123: Up to 10 Small Lots

SB 684 (2023) and SB 1123 (2024) let an owner divide a qualifying lot into as many as 10 small lots with a home on each, approved by staff. The Title 20 chapters read for this guide do not mention them, so Government Code 66499.41 applies on its own. In the version in force on October 9, 2026, a qualifying lot is either "Zoned to allow multifamily residential dwelling use" and "no larger than five acres," or "Vacant and zoned for single-family residential development" and "no larger than one and one-half acres." New parcels must be at least 600 square feet, or 1,200 square feet where "the parcels are zoned for single-family residential use," and the average home may not exceed 1,750 net habitable square feet.

In Long Beach, the multi-family test reaches the R-3 and R-4 districts and the Title 22 MFR zones, which list buildings of three or more homes. Whether the City treats the two-family R-2 districts as zoned for multi-family use is a question to put to the Planning Bureau in writing. The City's Chapter 21.11 replacement rules also apply, since that chapter covers "A land division subject to Title 20." The SB 684 and SB 1123 page covers the statute and the 2027 changes.

Where to Go Next

Related on VanPlex: the Long Beach overview, SB 9 in California and the SB 684 and SB 1123 page.

Frequently Asked Questions

Official sources (checked October 2026)