Simi Valley | Lot Size and Subdivisions

Simi Valley Lot Size and Subdivisions: Minimum Lots, Maps, SB 9 Splits and Park Land

In Simi Valley, the minimum size of a new lot comes from Table 2-3 of the Development Code, and the steps to create one come from Article 6, the subdivision rules in Chapters 9-60 to 9-68. A subdivision is any division of land into new lots. Each one goes through a tentative map, a proposed layout approved with conditions, and then a recorded parcel map or final map. This page covers the lot sizes, who decides each map, the time limits, the costs the code puts on new lots, and the state routes, SB 9 and SB 684, that skip some of these rules. The Simi Valley overview gives the short version.

Minimum Lot Size and Width

Source: Simi Valley Municipal Code Sec. 9-24.050, Table 2-3 and its notes.

Table 2-3 gives "Minimum area and width for parcels proposed in new subdivisions." The figures apply when land is divided. Three notes to the table change the numbers on the ground:

• Lot shape. "Proposed parcels shall not exceed a depth-to-width ratio of 3-to-1." A 50 foot wide lot can be no more than 150 feet deep. The note for the apartment districts says "should not" instead of "shall not."
• Larger subdivisions. When a lot is in a "major subdivision (5 or more lots)," the RE, RVL and RL width rules become an average, with a lower minimum and a narrower cul-de-sac lot. In RL, for example, the average is 80 feet, the minimum is 70 feet, and a cul-de-sac lot may be 40 feet wide.
• Ownership lots. In RMod multi-family, RH, RVH and MH, "Condominium, townhome, or planned development projects may be subdivided with smaller parcel sizes for ownership purposes," as long as the whole site meets the lot area rule.

Section 9-64.030 requires each new lot to meet "all applicable requirements of this Development Code before the application is deemed complete, unless a Variance is being requested." The same section requires "direct access to a public street," unless the Director and the City Engineer approve a private street, common driveway or easement and it is recorded with the Ventura County Recorder.

Which Map You Need

Section 9-60.060 sorts subdivisions by size. A division into "four or fewer parcels," or four or fewer condominiums, needs a Tentative Parcel Map and a Parcel Map. A division into five or more parcels or condominiums needs a Tentative Map (called a tract map) and a Final Map. The count covers "cumulative subdivisions under one ownership." Divisions that the Subdivision Map Act exempts are also exempt here.

The Director may waive the Parcel Map under Section 9-62.030 after written findings that the split "fully complies with all requirements as to area, improvement and design, floodwater drainage control, appropriate improved public roads, sanitary disposal facilities, water supply availability, environmental protection," and that "no conditions of approval are necessary." The Director must approve or deny a waiver "within 60 days of the application being deemed complete."

Who Decides

Source: Simi Valley Municipal Code Sec. 9-60.050, Table 6-1.

Table 6-1 calls each decision maker the Advisory Agency, the official or body that holds the hearing and makes the findings the Map Act requires. "In any case where the Director or City Engineer is designated as the Advisory Agency, either individual may choose to defer action on any matter, and refer the matter to the Commission for its decision." A Tentative Tract Map that comes with a legislative application, such as a zone change, goes to the Council. The Council may hand approval of a single Final Map or Parcel Map to the City Engineer.

Under Section 9-61.050, the Advisory Agency holds a public hearing on every Tentative Map, makes written findings, and approves, conditionally approves or denies it within the time limits in Map Act Sections 66452.1 and 66452.2. Approval takes effect "immediately after the adoption of the resolution of decision by the Advisory Agency." Changes "which do not substantially comply with the approved Tentative Map" need a new Tentative Map with a new number, and "Substantial compliance shall be determined by the City Engineer." Exceptions to optional subdivision standards go to the Planning Commission, which must make five findings under Section 9-60.100, including "exceptional or extraordinary circumstances" affecting the land.

Time Limits

• Tentative maps "shall expire 36 months from the date the map was approved or conditionally approved," and extensions "shall not exceed an aggregate of five years," under Section 9-61.120.
• Director extensions. Section 9-71.030 allows "One time extension, not to exceed three years," for a Tentative Map or Tentative Parcel Map, requested in writing with the fee before the map expires.
• Companion permits. A Planned Development Permit tied to a map "shall be vested before the expiration of the Tentative Map, or the permit shall expire." When the map is extended, the Director may extend the companion permit for the same period.
• Vesting maps confer "a vested right to proceed with development" under Map Act Chapter 4.5.

Costs the Code Puts on New Lots

Source: Simi Valley Municipal Code Sec. 9-68.050, population density for park land.

"As a condition of the approval of a Parcel Map or Final Map, every subdivider shall dedicate a portion of the land, pay a fee in lieu thereof, or a combination of both." The amount is "five acres per 1,000 persons," using the table above. The formula multiplies the homes by the persons per home, divides by 1,000 and multiplies by five. As a worked example (VanPlex arithmetic), a ten-house subdivision counts 39.7 people and owes 0.1985 acres of park land or its value. The fee in lieu is that acreage times the value of an acre from the City's Table of Values, an agreed value, or an appraisal. This guide could not read the current Table of Values. The rule applies to all subdivisions except those Map Act Section 66477 excludes.

Chapter 9-66 lists other costs a map may carry: fees for bridges and major thoroughfares under Map Act Section 66484, set for an "area of benefit" at a Council hearing; fees for planned drainage and sanitary sewer facilities under Section 66483; and, in the Kadota Fig Area, a sewer reimbursement fee for parcels created after April 13, 1983, set in the same way as Assessment District No. 83-1 and adjusted each year by the Engineering News Record Index. Section 9-64.030 adds stormwater detention "to limit project runoff to a 10-year-developed storm event," extension of the public sewer when it is close enough, and annexation to the Simi Valley Lighting Maintenance District for street lights. Processing fees come from "the Council's Fee Resolution," plus a County of Ventura mapping fee. The permits and fees page lists the other charges.

Clusters and Hillside Land

A Cluster Development Permit under Section 9-52.040 lets a residential project group its homes and keep more land open. The front, side and rear setbacks and the lot width rules of Article 2 do not apply to a site with an approved cluster permit, but "the sum of both side yards for any such single-family residential project shall add up to a minimum of 15 feet," and the open space saved must be within "250 feet from the residential unit." The Planning Commission decides it after a public hearing. The glossary adds that clustering may not increase "the number of units permitted under conventional standards."

On land outside the valley floor, Section 9-32.090 adds hillside subdivision rules. A subdivision may not "preclude the reasonable use of any resulting parcel." Each new lot gets "a proportionate share of the total developable land or the total dwelling units allowable," unless the steep land is held in common or conveyed to a public agency with an open space easement. A parcel entirely on slopes of 20 percent or more, or designated open space, "shall be no less than 40 acres in size," and a lot of record from July 21, 1986 under 40 acres is allowed at least one home. The hillside, fire and flood rules page has the slope table.

State Routes: SB 9 and SB 684

The Urban Lot Split in Section 9-24.080 is Simi Valley's version of the SB 9 lot split in Government Code 66411.7. It creates no more than two lots, each at least 1,200 square feet of gross lot area and 40 percent of the original lot, with no minimum width, by a Tentative Parcel Map decided by the Director. The City "shall not impose regulations that require dedications of right-of-way or the construction of offsite improvements." The statute requires a decision within 60 days of a complete application. The ADUs and SB 9 page covers the homes that may go on each lot and the owner occupancy rule.

Government Code 66499.41, the small-lot map law from SB 684 and SB 1123, requires ministerial review of small-lot maps. Title 9 of the Simi Valley code contains no section on it, so the statute applies on its own terms. In the version in force until January 1, 2027, the map must create "10 or fewer parcels" with "10 or fewer residential units," on a lot "zoned to allow multifamily residential dwelling use" of up to five acres, or a vacant single-family lot of up to one and one-half acres. New parcels may be as small as 600 square feet, or 1,200 square feet on single-family land, the average home may not exceed 1,750 net habitable square feet, and the City must decide "within 60 days." See the SB 684 and SB 1123 page.

Where to Go Next

Related on VanPlex: the Simi Valley overview, the SB 9 page and the SB 684 and SB 1123 page.

Frequently Asked Questions

Official sources (checked October 2026)