Richmond | Zoning Districts

Richmond, California Zoning Districts: Residential, Mixed-Use, Form-Based and Overlay Districts

Richmond, California sorts every lot into a base zoning district, a named area with its own list of allowed uses and its own size rules. Some lots also carry an overlay district, a second layer of rules on top of the base district, for creeks, historic buildings or the shoreline. The rules sit in Chapter 15.04 of Article XV of the Richmond Municipal Code. This page explains the residential and mixed-use districts, how many homes each one allows, and the 2026 change that the published code does not yet show. The Richmond overview has the summary.

The Districts That Allow Homes

Source: Richmond Municipal Code Table 15.04.101.060-A. The code also has commercial, industrial, public, open space and agricultural districts.

Each base district carries out a designation in the City's General Plan, the long-range land use plan. Section 15.04.101.040 says every permit must be consistent with the General Plan and any specific plan, and "Where there is a conflict between the Zoning and Subdivision Regulations and the General Plan, the General Plan prevails." The same section says that when the zoning rules conflict with another City ordinance, resolution or guideline, "the more restrictive provisions control, unless otherwise specified."

To find a lot's district, the City's Zoning Ordinance page points to its Interactive Zoning Map. You enter the address or the assessor's parcel number, choose the result, right-click the highlighted property and select "Find data on the map." The City notes that "entering an APN will give you the best search results."

Residential Districts and Their Densities

Source: Richmond Municipal Code Table 15.04.201.030 (units per net acre) and Table 15.04.201.050 (dwelling units per acre); Sec. 15.04.201.010. Supplement 74.

Density is the number of homes allowed on each acre of land. The district purposes in Section 15.04.201.010 describe each district in plain terms:

• RH, Single Family Hillside Residential, is for single-family homes "on developable portions of hillside lots below the 400-foot elevation," with a minimum lot of 11,000 square feet that "may be reduced with clustered development."
• RL1, Single Family Very Low Density Residential, covers "outlying, undeveloped hillside areas" and promotes clustered development to keep open space. Its minimum lot is 6,000 square feet.
• RL2, Single Family Low Density Residential, is for "attached and detached single-family homes in level to moderately sloped areas." Its purpose lists "small lot single unit development, duplexes, townhomes, cottages, bungalows, and second units" as possible types.
• RM1 is for "one to three-story garden apartments, historic bungalows and cottages on small lots, townhouses and stacked flats."
• RM2 is for "apartments, condominiums, townhouses, and group housing," with a minimum density of 15 homes per acre.

The RM districts set a floor as well as a ceiling. A project in RM1 must reach 10 homes per acre and a project in RM2 must reach 15, so one house on a large RM2 lot would fall below the required minimum. The RM1 and RM2 purposes, and the RL2 purpose, also allow "Neighborhood mixed-use development" at "neighborhood nodes identified by the Planning Commission."

Which Housing Types Each District Allows

Source: Richmond Municipal Code Table 15.04.201.020, Supplement 74. P = permitted; C = conditional use permit from the Planning Commission; L = limited by the numbered note.

"P" means the use is allowed by right, subject to the standards. "A" means an administrative use permit, a permit the Zoning Administrator decides after notice, and "C" means a conditional use permit, decided by the Planning Commission at a hearing. The numbered notes carry most of the limits for small multiplexes:

• L13 (RL2 duplexes): "A duplex may be allowed with an administrative use permit on lots 5,000 square feet or larger."
• L14 (RL1 duplexes): the same rule on "lots 7,500 square feet or larger."
• L1 (multi-unit in RL1 and RL2): "Existing multifamily residential structures may be improved," subject to the nonconforming rules. "No new residential structures allowed."
• L8 (multi-unit in RH): "Up to 10 units allowed with a conditional use permit in a neighborhood mixed-use development at a neighborhood node."
• L7 (houses in RH): only single-family housing on subdivided parcels and "clustered multi-family residential" are allowed, "with design review on developable portions of hillside parcels below the 400-foot elevation."

The code defines a duplex as "A single building that contains two dwelling units or two single unit dwellings on a single parcel," and a multiple-unit dwelling as "Three or more dwelling units within a single building or within two or more buildings on a site or parcel." State law adds two routes these notes do not show: SB 9 two-unit projects and lot splits in RH, RL1 and RL2, and accessory dwelling units in every residential district. The ADUs and SB 9 page covers both.

What a 5,000 Square Foot Lot Holds

Section 15.04.103.030 rounds fractions of one-half or more up and fractions under one-half down, "except as otherwise provided." An acre is 43,560 square feet, so a 5,000 square foot lot is 0.115 acre. Assuming the whole lot counts as net area, the densities work out as follows (VanPlex arithmetic):

• RL2: 0.115 x 15 = 1.72, rounded to 2 homes, which matches the duplex rule for lots of 5,000 square feet.
• RM1: 0.115 x 27 = 3.10, rounded to 3; the lot area rule gives 5,000 / 1,650 = 3.03, also 3.
• RM2: 0.115 x 40 = 4.59, rounded to 5; the lot area rule gives 5,000 / 1,100 = 4.55, also 5.
• RL1: a 7,500 square foot lot, the duplex threshold, is 0.172 acre; 0.172 x 9 = 1.55, rounded to 2.

ADUs are counted separately under state law, and the state density bonus can add homes to projects of five or more units. The three or more homes page explains the bonus.

Mixed-Use Districts

Source: Richmond Municipal Code Tables 15.04.202.030(1) and (2) and Table 15.04.202.020, Supplement 74.

In CM-2, CM-4 and CM-5, note L1 allows homes "above the ground floor or behind an allowed ground floor use, but not within the Industrial Buffer Zone shown on the Zoning Map." All six districts set a minimum lot of 5,000 square feet and 50 feet of width. A building with only homes in it follows the RM2 setbacks. The higher densities in CM-4 and CM-5 came from Ordinance 06-21 of April 20, 2021, which the code says offset 864 homes of capacity lost when the Richmond Hills Initiative rezoning lowered densities in the hills.

The Form-Based Code Districts

A form-based code regulates the shape and placement of buildings first and their uses second. Richmond's Livable Corridors Form-Based Code, Series 400 of Chapter 15.04, was adopted by Ordinance No. 04-23 N.S. on April 18, 2023, and applies inside the form-based code map boundary in Downtown and along nearby corridors. It sets eleven zones, from T4N-30 (T4 Neighborhood, 30 feet) to T5C-O (T5 Core, Open).

Section 15.04.401.030 excludes "Single-family residences, Accessory Dwelling Units, Dwelling Units constructed pursuant to SB 9," government buildings, work on historic buildings, and the Richmond Bay Specific Plan. A small project of three to six homes on a corridor lot uses the code's building types. "Multi-Plex: Small" covers "3-6 side-by-side and/or stacked dwelling units," "Multi-Plex: Large" covers 7 to 18, and "Rowhouse" covers 3 to 8. Section 15.04.403.020 says "Each lot shall only have one building type," with exceptions for state law, ADUs and multi-site plans.

The T4 Neighborhood zone aims for "a walkable, predominantly single-family neighborhood that integrates appropriate medium-density building types such as duplexes, multiplexes, and bungalow courts." Buildings there may be 30 feet tall in T4N-30 and 35 feet in T4N-35 and T4N-O, set 10 to 15 feet from the front lot line. Residential parking is one space per 1,000 square feet, with none for affordable housing or for "first 2,000 sf of residential use."

Overlay Districts

• CP, Creek Protection. New structures, additions and paving near an open creek stay at least 20 feet from the top of the bank, or 30 feet from the centerline when the bank cannot be found.
• H and L, Historic Districts and Landmarks. Building, exterior changes or moving a structure in an -H district or on an -L landmark needs a certificate of appropriateness from the Historic Preservation Commission. In March 2026 the Council agenda listed an ordinance adding an -L overlay to the RL1 lot at 771 Ocean Avenue, the John Haley Studio.
• S, Shoreline. All land within 100 feet of the San Francisco Bay and San Pablo Bay shorelines, plus a public access zone. Every use and development needs a conditional use permit.
• IS, Interim Study. IS-1 covers the form-based code study area, IS-2 the Richmond Bay Specific Plan area and IS-3 Point Molate.
• NC, Neighborhood Conservation. It takes effect only with a Zoning Map amendment and a Neighborhood Conservation Plan, and in a conflict "the maximum density in Neighborhood Conservation Plan shall control."

Two specific plans replace the base rules in their areas. The City's Zoning Ordinance page lists SP-1, the Tiscornia Estates Specific Plan, and SP-2, the Richmond Bay Specific Plan, and sends readers to each plan's own pages for uses and standards. The rent control and demolition page covers the demolition review that applies to older buildings.

The 2026 Ordinance the Published Code Does Not Show

The Municode copy read for this page is Supplement 74, which says "This Code is up to date through Ord. No. 02-26 N.S. , adopted March 3, 2026." Since then the City Council has amended the zoning articles twice. The first change was Ordinance No. 9-26 N.S. Its steps, from City agendas and minutes:

• April 2, 2026: the Planning Commission heard "PLN26-071 HE Implementation Phase 1," amendments to Articles 15.04.104, 15.04.201, 15.04.202, 15.04.203 and 15.04.607 and several sections, "to implement the Housing Element and align with State Law."
• May 26, 2026: the Council held the hearing, introduced the ordinance by a 7 to 0 vote, and adopted Resolution No. 85-26 amending the General Plan Land Use and Urban Design Element.
• June 16, 2026: the Council adopted the ordinance as Ordinance No. 9-26 N.S., amending Articles 15.04.104, 15.04.201, 15.04.202, 15.04.203, 15.04.602 and 15.04.607 and Sections 15.04.610.180, 15.04.610.360, 15.04.805.040 and 15.04.806.040.

The ordinance text sits on the City's eSCRIBE meeting portal, which refused automated file requests with a browser check, so VanPlex could not read it. Every table on this page is the Supplement 74 text. Article 15.04.201 holds the residential densities and the duplex notes, so ask the Planning Division at 510-620-6706 or [email protected] which of these rules Ordinance No. 9-26 N.S. changed before you rely on them.

Where the Code Disagrees With Itself

• RM1 density. Section 15.04.201.010 says "A maximum density of 26 dwelling units per acre"; Table 15.04.201.050 prints "Min. 10; Max. 27." The code gives no rule for choosing between them.
• District names. Table 15.04.101.060-A calls RM1 "Multifamily Residential" and RM2 "Multifamily High Density Residential"; Section 15.04.201.010 calls them "Medium Density Multi-Family Residential" and "Medium-High Density Multi-Family Residential." Section 15.04.101.060.D.3 lists "Hillside Residential (HR)" for the district mapped as RH.
• Cross references. The residential use table sends readers to "§ 15.04.201.070 Residential Development Types," which is Section 15.04.201.080; Table 15.04.201.030 points to "§ 15.04.601.060 Height Regulations for Sloped Lots," which is Section 15.04.201.060.
• Interim Study districts. Section 15.04.304.030 says the IS designations "will expire no later than December 30, 2019, unless extended by action of the City Council"; the City's Zoning Ordinance page in 2026 still lists IS1 for the form-based code.

Where to Go Next

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

Frequently Asked Questions

Official sources (checked October 2026)