Pomona | Parking, Setbacks and Height

Pomona Parking, Setbacks and Height: Form Module Rules for New Homes

Pomona's Zoning and Development Code puts the size rules for a building in its form module and the street-facing rules in its frontage module, then adds one citywide parking table. The parking table asks nothing of the first three homes on a lot. This page gives the setbacks, coverage, heights and widths for the modules where homes are built, how the code measures them, the front yard rules, and the parking rules. The Pomona overview gives the short version.

Parking: None for the First Three Homes

Section 610.C states its purpose plainly: "To reduce parking demand, support the use of alternative forms of transportation, promote reuse and redevelopment of existing buildings, reduce the overall cost of construction." Its table has one residential line for all housing: "1st 3 dwelling units" need "none," and "4th+ dwelling units" need "1 per 1 du after 3rd du." Non-residential space under 15,000 square feet also needs none. "When the application of these regulations results in the requirement of a fractional automobile parking space, fractions of ½ or more are counted as 1 space."

• A house, duplex or triplex. No spaces required.
• A fourplex. 1 space. A sixplex needs 3, and a 10-home building 7.
• ADUs. Section 830.A says "No parking is required for any ADU," and a garage converted or torn down for an ADU need not be replaced.
• Substitutes. Residential projects may replace up to 10 percent of required spaces with long-term bicycle parking, at 1 car space for every 4 bicycle spaces, and up to 10 percent with marked ride-share pick-up spaces, at 3 car spaces for each.
• Shared parking. Spaces may be shared among uses with different peak hours if the shared lot is within a 660-foot walk of each use.

Where spaces are built, they must meet the design rules of Section 610.C. The 2026 amendments added a line that "Automobile parking must meet the minimum parking dimensions of Sec. 610.3.b.5.i. (Parking Spaces)." The section number drops the letter C; the parking space rules are in Section 610.C.3.b. For ADUs, Section 830.A sets spaces of at least 9 by 18 feet, or 9 by 33 feet for tandem parking, two cars lined up one behind the other.

The AB 2097 Overlay Near Transit

Section 830.C creates the AB 2097 Overlay District. It recites that the state law "prohibit[s] the City from imposing any minimum automobile parking requirement on any residential, commercial, or other development project located within one-half mile of public transit," and applies to any project "required to provide on-site parking pursuant to Sec. 610.C.3.a." within one-half mile of public transit "as defined in the California Public Resources Code (Sec. 21155.)." Government Code 65863.2 is the state section. Since the Pomona table already asks for no parking up to 3 homes, the overlay matters from the fourth home up. Its procedures line, "See Sec. 11XX (Review and Approval Procedures)," points to a section that does not exist, so ask the Planning Division how it confirms a site is in the overlay.

Setbacks, Coverage, Height and Width by Module

A setback is the minimum distance a building must keep from a lot line. Building coverage is the share of the lot under roofs; impervious coverage adds driveways, patios, walks and other hard surfaces that water cannot soak through. The table gives each module's numbers in feet unless marked.

Source: Pomona Zoning and Development Code, Sec. 320.A to 320.D, 330.A to 330.C and 340.A. The figures are unchanged in the 2026 marked copy.

Every module also prints an alley setback of "3' or 20'" from the alley lot line, and many print the side setback as "0' or 5'." The module tables and the rule sections read for this guide do not say which value applies when; ask the Planning Division before you place a garage on an alley or a wall on a side lot line. The 2026 amendments added that an alley setback "only applies to the ground story."

Section 370.C says "All buildings and structures on the lot must be located on or behind a minimum building setback," and that setbacks "apply only to the perimeter edges of a lot," so this rule sets no distance between two buildings on the same lot. Building codes and fire rules still set their own distances.

What May Project Into a Setback

The encroachment table in Section 370.C lets parts of a building extend past the setback line, up to a minimum distance from the lot line. No part may extend into a public right-of-way.

• Porches, decks, stoops and other unenclosed ground story structures under 15 feet tall. Up to 7 feet into a street setback with no minimum distance from the street lot line; up to 5 feet into a side or rear setback, staying 2.5 feet from the lot line.
• Balconies and other unenclosed structures above the ground story. Up to 5 feet toward a street; up to 3 feet into a side or rear setback, staying 5 feet from the lot line.
• Roof projections. Up to 2.5 feet, staying 2.5 feet from a side or rear lot line.
• Projecting enclosed structures. Bay windows, oriel windows and other enclosed parts that overhang the footprint, with a total length under 25 percent of the building width: up to 2.5 feet toward a street and 1.5 feet toward a side or rear line.
• Ground-mounted mechanical equipment. At least 15 feet from a street lot line, and 2.5 feet from a side or rear line.

How Height Is Measured

Each module limits height twice, in stories and in feet. Section 390.A measures feet "from average grade" to "The mid-point of the roof, for a building with a roof having a pitch greater than 4:12," to "The top of the roof deck" for a flatter roof, and to the topmost point for other structures. A pitch of 4:12 is a roof that rises 4 inches for every 12 inches across.

Stories are counted above finished grade. "A story is the part of a building included between the surface of one floor and the surface of the next floor above." The ground story is the first story exposed at least 6 feet above finished grade along the facade, and its floor may be no higher than 6 feet above finished grade at any point. A mezzanine does not count. The house modules reach 2.5 stories through the half story rule: the top story "is counted as a half story" when "It is completely within the roof form of the building and less than 50% of the floor area has a clear height of more than 7.5 feet," or when "Dormers do not exceed more than 50% of the front, rear or side building length." A dormer is a window that projects up out of a sloped roof.

ADUs are measured differently. Section 830.A measures ADU height "from the adjoining curb level," allows a detached ADU 16 feet, or 18 feet near a major transit stop with up to 2 more feet for a matching roof pitch, and caps an attached ADU at 25 feet or the zone limit. See the ADUs and SB 9 page.

The Front Yard: Setback Plus Build-To

Pomona also sets a maximum distance from the street. The frontage module gives a "build-to depth," and Section 470.B defines the build-to zone as "the area on a lot starting at the minimum building setback and continuing inward for the maximum build-to depth for the full width of the lot. A building is required to occupy the build-to zone for the required minimum build-to width." On an RND1 lot, with a 15 foot setback and an N1 build-to depth of 25 feet, at least 50 percent of the lot's street width must have building between 15 and 40 feet from the street, by VanPlex arithmetic. Behind that, "buildings and structures may occupy the area behind the build-to zone."

Source: Pomona Zoning and Development Code, Sec. 420.A, 420.B and 430.A, with the build-to rows checked in the 2026 marked copy.

Each of these modules also requires a street-facing entrance on the primary street and an entry feature: a porch, stoop or forecourt in N1 and N2, with a recessed or covered entry also allowed in MU1. Where a module marks parking between the building and the street "Not allowed," Section 480.A bars a motor vehicle area in front of the part of the building that meets the build-to width, and on the ground story within the frontage depth for that part. "A driveway located between a street lot line-facing building facade and the frontage lot line may be allowed provided the driveway is no wider than the minimum allowed width."

On a corner lot where both frontages have build-to rules, "The building must occupy the build-to zones for both frontage lot lines for a minimum of 30 feet from the corner," and that length counts toward both build-to widths. The frontage planting area is the share of the front yard that must be planted, and it does not apply where there is less than 3 feet between the building and the frontage lot line.

Asking for Relief

Each form rule ends with a relief clause. A smaller setback, more coverage or a wider building can be requested as a variance, which the Planning Commission decides at a public hearing, with appeal to the City Council. The FY 2026-27 fee is $7,000 for a variance, or $2,500 for a single-family property. Section 370.A also lets a lot exceed the impervious coverage limit "where such limitations prohibit compliance with ADA standards," the federal disability access rules, subject to review by the Director of Development Services. See the permits and fees page.

Where to Go Next

Related on VanPlex: the Pomona overview, the duplex to fourplex guide and the SB 79 page.

Frequently Asked Questions

Official sources (checked October 2026)