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Tracy, California Multiplex Rules 2026: Zoning, ADUs, SB 9, Apartments, the Growth Management Ordinance and Fees

Tracy, California is a city of 101,901 people in San Joaquin County, east of the hills that separate the Central Valley from the San Francisco Bay Area. Its zoning rules are Chapter 10.08 of the Municipal Code, published on Municode. Two facts matter most for a builder in Tracy. A voter measure of 2000 limits how many homes the City permits each year. And between December 2025 and September 2026 the City Council rewrote its housing rules to carry out a new housing plan, with several of those ordinances not yet in the Municode copy. This page summarizes the ways to build two, three, four or more homes on a Tracy lot. The seven guide pages below cover each topic in depth.

Tracy Guide Pages

Start With State Law

Four state laws set the minimum Tracy must allow. SB 9 (2021) allows two main homes on a lot in a single-family zone, a split into two lots, or both, approved by staff with no hearing. ADU law sets the accessory dwelling units (ADUs), second homes on a lot, and junior ADUs a city must allow; a junior ADU is a unit of 500 square feet or less inside a house. SB 684 and SB 1123 allow maps of up to 10 lots with 10 homes. The state density bonus gives extra homes to projects that include affordable homes.

Tracy writes ADU law into Ordinance No. 1394 and the density bonus into Article 36.5 of Chapter 10.08. A search of Titles 10, 12 and 13, as published in Supplement 69, found no section on SB 9 two-unit projects, urban lot splits or SB 684 maps, so those statutes apply directly. A fifth state law affects the City's growth limit. The Housing Crisis Act, Government Code 66300, bars an affected city from capping housing permits, with an exception for a limit "approved by voters prior to January 1, 2005" in "a predominantly agricultural county." The state housing department's list of affected cities includes Tracy.

SB 79 allows taller and denser projects near qualifying rail and bus stops. The state Department of Housing and Community Development (HCD) says in its SB 79 advisory that the law's provisions "will take effect on July 1, 2026, in Alameda, Los Angeles, Sacramento, San Francisco, San Mateo, Santa Clara, and San Diego Counties." San Joaquin County is not in that list.

Tracy in Numbers

The US Census Bureau's Vintage 2025 city file estimates 101,901 people in the City of Tracy on July 1, 2025, up from a 2020 estimates base of 93,146. That is growth of 8,755 people, or 9.4 percent (VanPlex arithmetic: 101,901 minus 93,146, divided by 93,146). In that file Tracy is the 73rd largest city or town in California, after Hesperia (102,605) and ahead of El Cajon (101,755). In San Joaquin County, Stockton has 324,597 people, Manteca 96,693, Lathrop 42,783 and Mountain House 25,315, and the county as a whole 823,815. The Bureau's 2020 list of urban areas names "Tracy--Mountain House, CA" with 120,912 people.

The City's Draft EIR of January 2026, an environmental report on its rezone program, gives the local history. "In 1882, Southern Pacific established the 'Town of Tracy' around the junction of the three rail lines," and "Tracy was incorporated in 1910." The report places the city "68 miles south of Sacramento and 60 miles east of San Francisco," inside a triangle of Interstates 205, 580 and 5. Its 2024 baseline counts a population of 96,076, 29,653 housing units and 39,921 jobs in the planning area, and it projects up to 51,008 housing units by 2045.

The same report gives the state housing assignment for 2023 to 2031 as 8,830 homes: 2,994 very low income, 1,879 low income, 1,175 moderate income and 2,782 above moderate income. With a carryover of 500 lower-income units, "the City has a RHNA obligation of 9,330 units." RHNA is the Regional Housing Needs Allocation, the number of homes the state assigns each city to plan for.

The Ways to More Homes Compared

Sources: Tracy Municipal Code 10.08.1600, 10.08.1660, 10.08.3930, 10.12.060, 12.12.020 and 12.24.040 (Supplement 69); Ordinance No. 1394; Gov. Code 65852.21, 66411.7 and 66499.41.

Zones That Allow Homes

Section 10.08.980 names 24 zones. The Residential Estate (RE) and Low Density Residential (LDR) zones are for houses; LDR allows 2.0 to 5.8 homes per gross acre, and since April 2026 it permits "Duplexes, triplexes and fourplexes as part of a larger subdivision." The Medium Density Cluster (MDC) and Medium Density Residential (MDR) zones allow houses, duplexes and apartments at 5.9 to 20 homes per gross acre. The High Density Residential (HDR) zone allows 20 to 35 and has no height limit. The Small Lot Residential (SLR) zone of September 2025 allows lots of 1,400 square feet. Housing is also permitted in the Central Business District, in General Highway Commercial, and in the Mixed Use (MU-1) zone that Ordinance No. 1391 created on June 2, 2026. Planned unit developments and six specific plan zones follow their own documents. See the zoning districts page.

House Lots: ADUs and SB 9

Ordinance No. 1394, adopted July 7, 2026, replaced the City's ADU section. It allows a detached ADU of up to 1,200 square feet, an attached ADU of up to 50 percent of the house and 1,200 square feet, and a junior ADU of up to 500 square feet, with four-foot side and rear setbacks and a height of one story and 16 feet for a detached unit. No parking is required. Staff decide within 60 days of a complete application. The Municode copy of Section 10.08.3180 still shows the 2018 text, which allowed one ADU and asked for a parking space. On two points the new ordinance is stricter than state law: it exempts ADUs under 750 square feet from impact fees where the statute says 750 or less, and it requires an owner on site for every junior ADU. See the ADUs and SB 9 page.

For SB 9 the statute is the only text. It allows two homes of at least 800 square feet on a single-family lot and a split into two lots of at least 1,200 square feet, each decided by staff within 60 days. The lot size and subdivisions page covers lot sizes, parcel maps, tentative maps, lot line adjustments and the state lot split laws.

Three or More Homes

A triplex or larger building needs a development review permit, the City's design permit; a house, a duplex and an ADU are exempt under Section 10.08.3930. Since December 2025, a project of five or more homes with at least 20 percent of its units affordable to lower-income households "shall be a permitted use by right" in MDC, MDR, HDR and GHC, and other projects of five or more homes "shall require staff level review." All of them follow the objective design standards of Chapter 10.10, which set rules such as a 50-foot limit on unbroken street walls. The density bonus article, readopted in January 2026, gives up to 50 percent more homes. In August 2026 Ordinance No. 1399 rezoned 187 parcels, 184 of them to HDR. See the three or more homes page.

Parking, Setbacks and Height

The parking chart asks for two non-tandem garage spaces for each house or duplex unit, 1.5 spaces for a studio or one-bedroom apartment and two for a larger one, plus one guest space for every five apartments. The downtown zone has no parking minimum, and ADUs need none. Front yards are 15 to 20 feet in LDR, 15 feet in MDR and HDR, and three feet in SLR. Buildings may reach two and one-half stories or 35 feet in RE, LDR, MDC and MDR, three stories or 40 feet in SLR, and 50 feet or four floors downtown; HDR, GHC and MU-1 have no height limit. Lot coverage runs from 30 percent in RE and 45 percent in LDR to 75 percent in SLR. See the parking, setbacks and height page.

The Growth Management Ordinance

Chapter 10.12 requires one residential growth allotment (RGA) for each new home before its building permit. Section 10.12.100, which carries the words "as set forth in Measure A adopted by voters November 2000" in its title, limits the City to "an average of 600 RGAs per year" and "a maximum of 750 RGAs per year." Up to 150 a year are set aside for affordable homes. Section 10.12.060 exempts three kinds of small project: an ADU, a replacement of demolished homes, and "a four-plex or lesser number of dwelling units on a single existing lot," up to four such homes per subdivider per calendar year. Section 10.12.065 lets permits continue past the yearly numbers where they are needed to reach the regional housing goal for an income group. See the growth management page.

Permits and Fees

A development review permit is decided by the Director, the Planning Commission or the City Council, with a ten-day appeal period. Use permits go to the Planning Commission and lapse after six months with no building permit. The City adopted the 2025 California building codes in December 2025, and Section 9.52.120 requires a development permit before building in a special flood hazard area. Fee amounts are set by Council resolution and are not in the code. Under Section 13.04.060 impact fees are paid in full before the building permit; Ordinance No. 1404 of September 15, 2026 rewrote Title 13, added a park dedication chapter and a water capacity fee chapter, and lets residential projects defer fees to occupancy. No fee amount is given in this guide, because the City's website could not be read. See the permits and fees page.

Rentals and Existing Homes

A search of Titles 10, 12 and 13 found no mention of rent control or rent stabilization, and the chapter lists of Titles 4, 6, 9 and 11 show no chapter on rents or rental registration. Ordinance No. 1394 bars renting a junior ADU for a term shorter than 30 days. Section 12.41.060 protects tenants when apartments are converted to condominiums: notice at least 60 days before the map is filed, a right of first refusal for at least 90 days, and at least 180 days to move. State law protects tenants where a project replaces rented homes: an SB 9 project may not demolish a home a tenant lived in during the last three years. The Growth Management Ordinance exempts new homes that replace demolished ones, up to the number demolished. The statewide rent cap is on the rent and tenant rules page.

Recent City Council Actions

• November 2000. Voters adopted Measure A, according to the titles of Sections 10.12.100 and 10.12.110.
• July 1, 2025. The Council adopted the 2023-2031 Housing Element, according to the recitals of Ordinance Nos. 1391 and 1394. The City filed a Notice of Exemption with the State Clearinghouse on July 3, 2025. The recitals say HCD "provided tentative certification on August 11, 2025."
• September 2, 2025. Ordinance No. 1361 added the Small Lot Residential zone, and Ordinance No. 1362 rezoned the Triway project site to it.
• December 2, 2025. Ordinance No. 1367 adopted the 2025 California building codes.
• December 16, 2025. Seven ordinances amended Title 10. No. 1368 added streamlined review, No. 1369 the objective design standards, No. 1373 the new densities for MDC, MDR, HDR and GHC, and No. 1375 the downtown height limit and the end of downtown parking minimums. Nos. 1370, 1371 and 1372 dealt with definitions, care facilities, transitional and supportive housing and shelters.
• January 20, 2026. Ordinance No. 1378 repealed and readopted the density bonus article. On January 23 the City released the Draft EIR for its rezone program for comment through March 9, 2026.
• April 7, 2026. Ordinance No. 1385 amended the LDR zone and added the articles on Housing Element sites, cluster development, tiny homes and manufactured homes. Ordinance No. 1386 added parking reductions and water and sewer priority for affordable projects.
• June 2, 2026. Ordinance No. 1391 created the MU-1 zone.
• July 7, 2026. Ordinance No. 1394 replaced the ADU section, and Ordinance No. 1395 added an alternate member to the Planning Commission. The City's Notice of Determination gives this date for approval of the rezone program and its EIR.
• August 18, 2026. Ordinance No. 1399 rezoned the Housing Element Opportunity Sites. Ordinance No. 1401 set shopping center parking at one space per 350 square feet. Ordinance No. 1400 repealed the penalties article of Chapter 10.08 and enacted Chapter 1.36 on notices of violation.
• September 15, 2026. Ordinance No. 1404 amended Title 13 on impact fees. It is the latest ordinance in the Municode list read on October 10, 2026.

Where the Code, City Documents and State Law Differ

The guide pages flag each difference where it arises. The main ones:

• The preface of the Municode copy says the code is current "through Ordinance No. 1359, passed August 19, 2025." The Supplement History Table of the same copy lists ordinances through No. 1390, of 2026, as included.
• The Municode copy of Section 10.08.3180 allows one ADU with one parking space. Ordinance No. 1394 of July 2026 repealed that text.
• Ordinance No. 1394 exempts an ADU "that is less than 750 square feet" from impact fees. Government Code 66311.5 exempts one of "750 square feet of interior livable space or less." The statute controls.
• Ordinance No. 1394 requires an owner on site for every junior ADU. Government Code 66333 requires it only where the junior ADU shares sanitation facilities with the house.
• Section 10.08.4656 says a density bonus needs 10 percent very low income or 20 percent low income units. Section 10.08.4659 and Government Code 65915 start at 5 and 10 percent.
• Section 10.08.980 names 24 zones and leaves out the Small Lot Residential zone of 2025 and the MU-1 zone of 2026.
• Ordinance No. 1399 says it rezones "approximately 239 acres." The acreage column of its Exhibit 1 adds up to 300.92 acres.
• Section 10.12.065 on the regional housing goal still names the planning period "July 1, 2009 through December 31, 2015."
• Section 13.12.080 on Municode sets a park standard of four acres per 1,000 population. Chapter 13.37 in Ordinance No. 1404 cites a goal of three acres of neighborhood park land per 1,000 new residents.
• Title 12 sends every tentative parcel map to a public hearing. Government Code 66411.7 requires an urban lot split to be approved with no discretionary review.

Limits of This Guide

The code comes from Municode's Supplement 69, whose Supplement History Table lists ordinances through No. 1390 as included. Fourteen later ordinances, Nos. 1391 to 1404, are in the Municode ordinance bank as pending codification; six of them were opened for this guide (Nos. 1391, 1394, 1395, 1399, 1401 and 1404) and the others were read by title only. The City's website, cityoftracy.org, answered a script with an access denied page, and no way around that was tried. As a result this guide could not read City Council or Planning Commission agendas, minutes or staff reports, and cannot say whether the Council acted on housing rules after September 15, 2026, or adopted resolutions that are not sent to Municode. Recent actions here come from ordinances in the Municode list and from notices the City filed with the State Clearinghouse through September 30, 2026.

Several documents were not read: the Official Zoning Map, the General Plan, the adopted 2023-2031 Housing Element, the specific plans and planned unit development ordinances, the GMO Guidelines and yearly allotment reports, the Design Goals and Standards, the City Standards for parking, the master fee schedule and impact fee resolutions, any HCD letter on the Housing Element or on Ordinance No. 1394, the federal flood maps and the state fire hazard maps. The earlier density ranges come from the City's Draft EIR. Whether any Tracy stop is a major transit stop, whether San Joaquin County is a predominantly agricultural county under Government Code 66300, and whether Tracy is a general law or charter city were not confirmed. Ask the Planning Division at 333 Civic Center Plaza, (209) 831-6426, which standards apply to your lot and whether a newer ordinance is in force.

Where to Go Next

Related on VanPlex: the SB 684 and SB 1123 page, the California impact fees page and the Modesto guide.

Frequently Asked Questions

Official sources (checked October 2026)