Merced | Three or More Homes

Merced, California Three or More Homes: Apartments in R-2, R-3 and R-4, the Urban Residential Overlay, Urban Villages, Design Standards, Parking, the Density Bonus and SB 79

This page covers projects of three or more homes in Merced: triplexes, fourplexes, townhomes and apartment buildings. Merced spreads its rules for these projects, which many cities call "missing middle" housing, across Title 20: the residential zones in Chapter 20.08, the /UR urban residential overlay in Section 20.22.040, the urban village zones in Chapter 20.16, the design standards in Chapter 20.46, the parking table in Chapter 20.38 and the density bonus in Chapter 20.56. This page walks through each and notes where state law now goes further than the City text. The Merced overview has the summary.

The Ways to Three or More Homes

Sources: Merced Municipal Code 20.08.020 and 20.08.040, 20.22.040, Chapter 20.16, Chapter 20.56 and Table 20.64-1.

The number of homes a lot may hold comes from the lot area per dwelling unit in Table 20.08-3: 3,000 square feet in R-2, 2,000 in R-3-2, 1,500 in R-3-1.5 and 1,000 in R-4. A fourplex needs 12,000 square feet of lot in R-2, 8,000 in R-3-2, 6,000 in R-3-1.5 and 4,000 in R-4 (VanPlex arithmetic). The zone minimum lot still applies, so in R-3-1.5 and R-4 the smallest lot is 7,500 square feet, which holds five homes in R-3-1.5 and seven in R-4.

Approval levels matter for timing. A permitted use needs no hearing. A minor use permit is decided by the Director of Development Services with no public hearing, under Section 20.68.020. A site plan review permit is decided by a committee of the chief building official, the Director and the City Engineer. A conditional use permit goes to the Planning Commission, where "At least four (4) members of the planning commission shall be required to vote to approve." The permits and fees page has the steps.

The /UR Urban Residential Overlay

Section 20.22.040 sets an overlay "intended to encourage high quality residential development in Merced's downtown and other urban neighborhoods." It lists residential "building types" that are allowed "in addition to the use allowed by the underlying base zoning district." The main one for small multi-home projects is "Duplexes, Triplexes, and Fourplexes ('Mansion Apartments')", defined as a building of two to four homes "stacked or placed side-by-side" that "appear as a large single-family house." It needs a minor use permit in R-2, R-3 and R-4 and is not allowed on R-1 land in the overlay.

Source: Merced Municipal Code 20.22.040, Tables 20.22-5 to 20.22-10.

Every /UR building type must have a front door that faces or is visible from a street or alley and a path from the sidewalk to the front entry. On an alley lot, cars must enter from the alley, and garages and parking must sit back at least half the lot depth. On a lot without an alley, parking must sit at least five feet behind the front of the building. Section 20.22.040(D)(1) says that where these standards conflict with the base zone, "this section shall govern." The overlay only applies where the zoning map shows /UR, and this guide did not read the map, so ask the Planning Division whether a lot carries the overlay.

Urban Village and Commercial Sites

In the R-IV inner village district, multiple-family dwellings and duplexes are permitted, with an average minimum density of 10 homes per acre and a maximum of 36. Buildings may be 40 feet tall where they are next to residential zones, and the height may be raised with a site plan review permit. Exterior setbacks are zero, rear setbacks 10 feet and side setbacks five feet. Each R-IV district must allow six housing types, from houses on lots of 4,500 square feet or less to live/work units, "with no single housing type making up more than fifty (50) percent" of the homes.

Commercial land is a second source of apartment sites. In C-C, multiple-family dwellings are permitted at 12.1 to 36.0 homes per gross acre, with up to 200 per gross acre for buildings over five stories with a conditional use permit. In C-O, C-N and B-P they need a conditional use permit, at 12.1 to 24.0 homes per gross acre or up to 36.0 with the permit. Downtown districts allow up to 36 homes per acre. Table 20.14-3 sets no height limit in D-COR and 60 feet in D-O and D-CM, and its note says the limits "only apply where directly adjacent to residential zones."

Design Standards for Apartments

Section 20.46.030 applies "to all multi-family residential development of three (3) units or more in any zoning district," unless a minor use permit grants an exception. It requires automatic irrigation, parking areas screened from the street with "a minimum of one (1) tree per every six (6) spaces", screened trash areas, unit numbers six to eight inches tall, and no more than 12 apartments entering from the same hallway or courtyard "or as otherwise approved by city staff." Ground floor units should have private outdoor space of at least five by eight feet, and upper units a balcony of that size, "if feasible."

Section 20.46.040(A) adds stricter rules for "Multi-Family Dwellings with Five (5) or More Units (or Three (3) or More Units on Corner Lots)" outside planned development zones, and for all apartments in planned development zones:

• Height plane. Buildings may not cross a plane set by a "1:1 height and setback ratio from any exterior property line" for more than 50 percent of the allowable building area at any distance.
• Trees. "A minimum of one (1) tree per three (3) units", and foundation plantings at least three feet deep along half the building frontage.
• Fences. Patios and balconies screened with solid or near-solid railings; no chain link around patios or pools.
• Equipment. "No roof-mounted air-conditioning equipment shall be permitted", and utility meters may not sit in a setback or be visible from the street.
• Directory. A site map of all units at each parking lot entrance for emergency vehicles.

Section 20.46.040(C) sets a lighter rule for "Three (3) to Five (5) Units" outside planned development zones: roof-mounted air conditioners are allowed if screened. The two subsections overlap at five units, where one bans roof units and the other allows them screened, and subsection (A) refers to "the standards in Section 20.46.040 above" when it means Section 20.46.030. Ask the Planning Division which rule it applies to a five-unit building. Multi-family buildings in R-2, R-3-2 and R-3-1.5 need 15 feet between buildings and in R-4 10 feet (Table 20.08-3).

Parking for Three or More Homes

Table 20.38-1 sets "1.75 spaces per unit of 2 bedrooms or less up to 30 units and 1.5 spaces per unit thereafter, plus 0.5 spaces per additional bedroom over 2 in each unit and 1.0 spaces per additional full or partial bathroom over 3 in each unit." A fourplex of two-bedroom units needs 7 spaces; four three-bedroom units need 9 (VanPlex arithmetic). Fractions over one-half round up. Up to 25 percent of spaces may be compact, and tandem spaces are allowed when assigned to one home.

Section 20.38.050 allows reductions: up to 5 percent for "commercial or multiple-family development projects within four hundred (400) feet of a City-approved bus stop", up to 10 percent within 400 feet of a transit center, up to 20 percent with a transportation demand management plan approved by the Director, and up to 30 percent for a mixed-use project with a parking study. In R-3 and R-4, parking may sit in exterior setbacks "if the total off-street parking requirement exceeds four (4) spaces."

The Density Bonus

Chapter 20.56, adopted by Ordinance 2556 in 2023, grants a density bonus, extra homes above the zone limit, to "a housing development of five (5) or more units" that sets aside 5 percent of units for very low-income households, 10 percent for low-income households, 10 percent of for-sale condominium units for moderate-income households, or that is senior housing of 35 units or more. The City table starts at a 20 percent bonus and rises to "a maximum of thirty-five (35) percent." Affordable units stay restricted for "not less than fifty-five (55) years." Table 20.64-1 makes the City Council the decision body for a density bonus.

Government Code 65915, as amended effective January 1, 2026, goes further. Its very low-income table reaches a 50 percent bonus at 15 percent of units, and its lower-income table reaches 50 percent at 24 percent. A project that is all affordable to lower-income households gets an 80 percent bonus, and no density cap within one-half mile of a major transit stop. Section 20.56.020(A)(4) says that where the chapter "conflicts with density bonus law or other applicable state law, then state law shall supersede this chapter." The statute controls, so plan with its tables.

SB 79 and Transit-Area Housing

SB 79, the 2025 state law on housing near major transit, sets minimum heights and densities near qualifying rail and bus stops in "urban transit counties." HCD, the state housing department, says in its March 20, 2026 advisory that SB 79's upzoning "will take effect on July 1, 2026, in Alameda, Los Angeles, Sacramento, San Francisco, San Mateo, Santa Clara, and San Diego Counties." Merced County is not on that list, so SB 79's upzoning does not reach Merced today. The advisory adds that the law's reach "is dynamic and will modify over time" as new transit service opens.

Where to Go Next

Related on VanPlex: the Merced overview, the California SB 79 page and the California duplex to fourplex page.

Frequently Asked Questions

Official sources (checked October 2026)