Torrance | Zoning Districts

Torrance, California Zoning Districts: R-1, R-2, R-3, R-4 and R-5, Townhouse and Downtown Districts, Homes in Commercial Zones, and Overlay Zones

A zoning district is the label on a lot that says what may be built there. Torrance keeps its districts in Division 9, Land Use, of the Municipal Code. The City has added three pieces to it since 2023: an overlay for housing on commercial and industrial corridors in 2023, an overlay for housing on land owned by religious institutions and colleges in 2025, and a target density section the same year. This page lists each district that allows homes, how many homes it allows, and which ones need a hearing. The Torrance overview has the summary.

Districts That Allow Homes

Sources: Torrance Municipal Code, Division 9, Chapter 1, Articles 4, 6, 7, 8, 9, 10, 11, 13, 20, 21, 39 and 48, and Section 95.3.28 (current through Ordinance 3969). For C-1, Section 91.20.4 refers to the R-4 lot area per unit and Section 91.20.9 states 1,600 square feet.

Section 91.3.2 lists the districts and says they are "shown and delineated on that certain series of maps" that the section adopts by reference. The residential articles share one opening sentence: no building or premises shall be used "for any purpose other than the following." A use that is absent from a district's list is therefore not allowed in that district, unless a permit section elsewhere in Division 9 allows it. Three terms appear in the table above. A floor area ratio is floor area divided by lot area. A conditional use permit is an approval the Planning Commission grants after a public hearing. An overlay zone is a second set of rules laid over a base district.

R-1, the Single Family District

• Use. Section 91.4.1 permits a "Single family residence, together with the accessory buildings customary to such use and located on the same lot or parcel of land," and names a private garage "with a capacity not to exceed one thousand (1,000) square feet."
• Added units. The same section allows "A maximum of one (1) accessory dwelling unit or one (1) junior accessory dwelling unit, or combination thereof" on an R-1 lot with a house. An accessory dwelling unit (ADU) is a second, smaller home on the lot. The ADU section itself allows more in some cases; see the ADUs and SB 9 page.
• Lot. Section 91.4.3: "the minimum lot area shall be one (1) recorded lot or parcel of land not less than six thousand (6,000) square feet in area."
• Size of the house. Section 91.4.11 holds a single-family dwelling to "a floor area to lot area ratio (F.A.R.) of .6 to 1," and "the area of any garage shall be included." On a 6,000 square foot lot that is 3,600 square feet with the garage (VanPlex arithmetic: 6,000 times 0.6).
• Height. 18 feet for a single-story dwelling and 27 feet for a two-story dwelling.
• Other listed uses. Home occupations, small family day care homes, and large family day care homes with a permit.

State law adds to this list. SB 9 lets an owner build two homes on a lot in a single-family zone, and the City's own SB 9 section says two-unit projects "are allowed within the R-1 zone (Single-Family Residential District) only."

R-2, the Two Family District

Section 91.6.1 permits "Two (2) single family dwellings or one (1) two family dwelling containing not more than one (1) kitchen per dwelling unit." It also permits "Any use permitted in the R-1 zone," and a single house that is remodeled there must meet the R-1 standards. The lot is the same 6,000 square feet, with an exception for lots that legally existed on November 1, 1988. Section 91.6.10 limits the dwellings and accessory structures to "a floor area to lot area ratio (F.A.R.) of .65 to 1.0 except as provided for in Chapter 5 of this Division," and here "any garage area shall not be included." Chapter 5 is the conditional use permit chapter, so a larger duplex is possible with a hearing. The height limit is 27 feet, and a building "proposed to be higher than two (2) stories including any garage located beneath the dwelling unit as a story" also goes to Chapter 5.

R-3, R-3-3 and R-R-3: One Home per 1,600 Square Feet

• R-3 uses. Section 91.7.1 permits "Any flat building, apartment house, bungalow court, bachelor apartment or garage apartment," and any use permitted in R-1 or R-2. A house built there follows the R-1 standards and a two-family building follows the R-2 standards.
• R-3 count. Section 91.7.9: no residential building "shall occupy a site which provides less than sixteen hundred (1,600) square feet of land area per dwelling unit." An acre holds 27 units at that rate (VanPlex arithmetic: 43,560 divided by 1,600 is 27.2).
• R-3 floor area. The base is "a floor area ratio (F.A.R.) of 0.6 to 1.0 except as provided for in Chapter 5 of this Division." The section then adds a sentence for small projects, covered below.
• R-3 height. "The maximum building height shall be thirty-five (35) feet," and a building above two stories is subject to Chapter 5.
• R-3-3. Article 13 repeats the R-3 rules by reference and adds "No lot or parcel of land shall contain more than three (3) dwelling units."
• R-R-3. Article 8 permits flat buildings, apartment houses and "One (1) or more two-family dwelling units." It has two rules of its own: no building may contain "less than one thousand four hundred (1,400) square feet of floor area," and a third floor may not occupy more than 65 percent of the ground floor area.

The sentence for small projects in Sections 91.7.9 and 91.13.9 reads: "For housing developments consisting of three (3) to seven (7) units, the floor area ratio including enclosed private garage areas shall not exceed 1.0 and for housing developments consisting of eight (8) to ten (10) units, the floor area ratio including enclosed private garage areas shall not exceed 1.25." The ordinance table shows the City added it by Ordinances 3896 and 3897 in December 2021 and January 2022. The figures match Government Code 65913.11, which bars a city from imposing "a floor area ratio standard that is less than 1.0" on a project of three to seven homes in a multifamily zone, and less than 1.25 on a project of 8 to 10. The three or more homes page covers how the two texts fit.

R-4, R-P and R-5

• R-4. Article 9 permits "Any use permitted in Zone R-3" and adds libraries, lodge halls, boarding homes and similar uses. Section 91.9.10 requires "one thousand (1,000) square feet of land area per dwelling unit," which is 43 units on an acre (VanPlex arithmetic: 43,560 divided by 1,000, rounded down). "The maximum building height shall be fifty (50) feet."
• R-4 review. Section 91.9.13: "The Planning Commission shall review the plans of development for residential uses in the R-4 zone for location and design of buildings, open space, parking and circulation."
• R-P. Article 10 permits "Any use permitted in Zone R-4" together with a list of professional offices. Homes and offices may share a building site only with a conditional use permit. Land area is 1,600 square feet per dwelling unit and the height limit is the R-1 limit.
• R-5. Article 11 permits "Multiple family dwellings." Section 91.11.9 asks for "a minimum area of one (1) acre" with average width and depth of at least 200 feet. No unit may be under 700 square feet, or 500 for a bachelor apartment, and no structure may be closer than 30 feet to the rear or side property lines.

Townhouses, Downtown and Planned Developments

• R-TH. Article 39 allows a townhouse planned development with a conditional use permit and a tentative subdivision map. Section 91.39.5 caps it at "twelve (12) residential units per net acre of land in developments of less than five (5) acres and fifteen (15) units per net acre of land in developments of five (5) acres or more." Each home needs 1,000 square feet of usable open space, and a three-bedroom unit must have 1,200 square feet or more. The article bars townhouse planned developments in every other district.
• Downtown Residential. Article 48 covers land near Downtown Torrance. Houses, duplexes and apartment buildings "constructed prior to January 1, 2001" may be altered under the R-1, R-2 or R-3 rules. New "Multiple-family residences consisting of three (3) or more units" need a conditional use permit, with "a minimum of one thousand (1,000) square feet of land area" per unit, a 15,000 square foot lot and a 35-foot height limit.
• P-D. Article 42 limits all uses and standards in a Planned Development District to those in "a Development Plan approved by the City," on five acres or more. The City Council agenda of January 13, 2026 carried a hearing on a 272-unit residential condominium development in the P-D zone at 2325 Crenshaw Boulevard.
• Hawthorne Boulevard. Article 45 applies the Hawthorne Boulevard Corridor Specific Plan's own chapters on land use and design to land in that zone. The plan was not read for this guide.

Homes in Commercial Districts

The first permitted use listed for C-1 and for C-2 is "Residential uses when a conditional use permit has been granted in accordance with the provisions of Chapter 5." Residential structures there may be 50 feet tall, the front and rear yards follow R-3, and usable open space follows R-3. Senior citizen housing has its own permit section, which allows it "in all residential and commercial zones with the exception of the R-1 and R-2 zones" at 750 square feet of land per unit. A second option exists on mapped corridor sites: the Housing Corridor Overlay. The City's question and answer sheet describes it as "an additional layer above existing Zoning which allows property owners of industrial and commercial property the ability to develop residential uses."

The Overlay Zones

Sources: Torrance Municipal Code, Division 9, Chapter 1, Articles 41, 44, 46, 47, 49, 51 and 52.

• Overlays that add rules. The hillside, small lot and Torrance Tract articles share one sentence: the base zone stays in force, "except that the requirements of the Overlay Zone shall be applied where the requirements and standards contained therein are more restrictive than those of the preexisting underlying zones."
• The Small Lot, Low-Medium Overlay. Article 44 covers an area south of Carson Street and east of Arlington Avenue that the section describes by its alleys and streets. Planning Commission review is waived for "constructing or remodeling one or two dwelling units" that stay at a floor area ratio of 0.5, keep the main dwelling, provide "not less than three (3) enclosed garages" and add no curb cut.
• Overlays an owner may choose. Section 91.51.030 says the Housing Corridor Overlay "is applied over base zoning districts and is elective, rather than mandatory." The overlay for religious institutions and colleges uses the same words. Both are covered on the three or more homes page.
• Hillside and coast. The hillside overlay and view rules page covers Article 41.

The Target Residential Density of 2025

Section 91.3.4 is the newest part of the districts article. The ordinance table lists it as Ordinance 3955 of September 23, 2025. It reads: "The Housing Element of the General Plan establishes expected density for residential development in Table C-1: Sites Inventory. These expected densities will act as the target residential density for the buildout of proposed residential development." The Housing Element is the housing chapter of the General Plan, the City's long-range plan. The section calls the target "the minimum density which should be considered" in zones that carry out ten General Plan land use designations, from Low Density Residential to Public/Quasi-Public/Open Space. The wording is "should be considered," so ask the Planning Division how it applies the target to a site on the inventory. Table C-1 was not read for this guide.

Rules That Apply in Every District

• One building per divisible lot. Section 92.10.2 bars more than one building on a recorded lot that could have been divided before November 19, 1963 into lots meeting the R-1 dimensions. Accessory buildings, approved condominium projects and SB 9 projects are among the exceptions.
• Older small lots. Section 92.4.1 says the lot area rules do not prevent the use for dwellings of a lot shown on a recorded subdivision map or "Created by a deed recorded on or before January 1, 1952," outside the M-2 district.
• Street frontage. "Each building site used for residential purposes shall front on a public street."
• Annexed land. Land annexed to the City is "automatically" placed in R-1 until the Planning Commission adopts a land use plan for it.
• Room rentals. Section 92.2.6 lets an owner or lessee who lives in a single family residence rent rooms "to not more than two (2) persons," and to three or more with a waiver.
• Short term rentals. In residential zones a rental of 30 days or less is allowed only as a home share, with the host living on site, and it needs a permit.

Where the Code Disagrees With Itself

• R-P is missing from the list of districts. Article 10 sets the rules of the R-P Residential Professional District, and the short term rental article names R-P among the zones. The table in Section 91.3.2 has no R-P line.
• R-MF. The short term rental article lists an "R-MF" zone. No article of Chapter 1 creates a district by that name, and Section 91.3.2 does not list one.
• Homes in C-1 and C-2. Section 91.20.4 says that when C-1 property is used for homes, "the lot area per living unit shall be not less than required in Zone R-4," which is 1,000 square feet. Section 91.20.9 of the same article says a residential building may not occupy a site with less than 1,600 square feet of land per dwelling unit. The C-2 article has the same pair. Ask the Planning Division which figure it applies.
• ADUs on an R-1 lot. Section 91.4.1 allows one ADU or one junior ADU "or combination thereof." Subsection G of the ADU section lists a converted ADU, a junior ADU and a detached ADU together, and says State law governs in a conflict.
• The development permit cross-reference. Section 91.45.3 requires specific plan projects to obtain a Development Permit "as provided for in Article 35, Chapter 2." Article 35 of Chapter 2 is Nuisance Abatement. Development Permits are Article 36.

Limits of This Page

The code text is the publisher's copy, current through Ordinance 3969 of June 23, 2026. City Council agendas were read for 23 meetings from January 13 to October 6, 2026, and they show no ordinance amending the text of Division 9 after that date. The zoning maps, the General Plan land use map, the Housing Element sites inventory, the Hawthorne Boulevard Corridor Specific Plan and the Housing Corridor Overlay map were not read, so this page cannot say which district or sub-area covers a given address. Ask the Planning Division at 3031 Torrance Boulevard for the district and any overlay on your lot.

Where to Go Next

Related on VanPlex: the Torrance overview, the California duplex to fourplex page and the California SB 9 page.

Frequently Asked Questions

Official sources (checked October 2026)